Spring Fair at the NEC was the place to be this week if you were buying in order to keep up with the latest trends.

The events organisers, i2i Events, helpfully provided a Top 20 Trending Products display to give you a head start.

But here are some of the trends discovered by our own team of Spring Fair roving reporters. See the gallery of pictures too.

Colours for painted metal garden furniture, for so long dominated by cream and white, are now distinctly pastel-shaded. Acording to Ascalon Design, pale blue (pictured) is now among their top selling finishes.

Tractor seats are officially funky indoors and outdoors, say Ascalon. Gloss-painted in shades of red, green and blue, they make a strong heritage statement.

Natural unpainted wood was everywhere at Spring Fair. An eye-catcher on the Minster stand was a carved wooden set of the Seven Dwarfs (or Dwarves, for the educated), while Dutch Imports had a range of furniture and ornaments in similarly naked glory ready for painting, varnishing, oiling or shabby-chic-ing.

Over at Besp-Oak, a popular supplier of oak furniture to garden centres, we loved their new range of wooden crates, evoking a by-gone age, and the new grey paint finish on certain furniture ranges was attracting plenty of interest from discerning buyers.

The grow-your-own trend shows no sign of fading, according to Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, who report that veg seeds continue to outsell flower seeds by some. Margin. Trending strongly in this category, they tell us, are micro greens as more consumers embrace healthy eating.

The popularity of firepits increases year-on-year, tapping in to the social essence of outdoor entertaining all year round. Kadai Firebowls, best known for their jumbo-size models, were showing their first mini-bowl - targeting keen al fresco cooks who are happy to have two or three different foods on the go.

Products designed to encourage us to take an interest in bee conservation could be found in the home, garden and gift aisles – but the prize for impact has to go to Wildlife World for their giant Bee Nester, a must for any garden centre wildlife department with the space and range to back it up.

History & Heraldry are hugely popular suppliers of personalised Christmas lines to garden centre – but they tell us their offering of scented candles is fast becoming their star performer. The new gondola display is a winner. Also destined for sales success are the new personalised candle cups for the special people in our lives.

Finally, if designer goods are your bag, you won’t want to miss the ‘Sophie’s Garden’ series of gift kits from Burgon & Ball in collaboration with Sophie Conran  – they come in wildflower, edible flower and herb versions – which received a Gift of the Year 2016 award from the Giftware Association. And Briers had their so-stylish William Morris honeysuckle-design garden toolbag featured on i2i’s Trending Area display.