On Christmas Eve, Peter Seabrook invited GTN's Trevor Pfeiffer to review 2020 with a focus on garden centres as part of his Sun Gardening,This Week in The Garden, Podcast. Listen to the podcast here or click below:

There's still time, just, to get your entries and nominations in for The Greatest Garden Centre Christmas Teams of 2020.  Entries close at midnight on New Years Eve.

With over £7,000 worth of prizes to be won, plus the glory, fame and local publicity for being at GTN's Greatest Awards winner it really is worth spending a few minutes to get your entry in to trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk.

Full details of all the categories can be found using this link, and here in GTN's December issue is a sneak preview at some of the entries received early in December as the issue went to press.  Good luck!

Hogewoning is a specialised company in Christmas decoration, all made from eco-friendly natural materials, this year with a new extensive range of dried flowers. 

The company was due to exhibit at the Harrogate Christmas and Gifts in January, but because of the current Covid-19 restrictions there won’t be a show.

“Of course, we have a very nice showroom in Holland where you can see all products in real, but we understand that traveling is difficult at the moment,” said a Hogewoning spokesperson.

“Because of this we have a catalogue and Webshop where you can see our new range of products for Chfristmas 2021. This year we have done our best to make our Webshop almost as real as you are present in our showroom yourself.”

“The company will also have a mobile showroom travelling around the UK from January until March where customers can see the products in real.”

To book an appointment contact Daan Hogewoning on +31 (0)653431099 or email daan@hogewoning.com. For more information visit www.hogewoning.com

Link to brochure: https://indd.adobe.com/view/91da907a-cdae-48aa-b1fe-e44877221ea0

Link to collection video: https://youtu.be/X5NfBrYpdck

Illumination Street, sponsored by British Garden Centres Group, has broken all records this festive period with unprecedented media coverage in the Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Daily Express, Grow Your Own magazine, ITV News and BBC Radio.

Coverage of the competition, highlighting the passion, flair and effort invested into front gardens around Britain in the build-up to Christmas, was also broadcast by 58 individual BBC and commercial radio stations, reaching an audience of 2.1 million listeners. 

Entries to Illumination Street, which had over £5,000 worth of British Garden Centres gift vouchers to be won, skyrocketed this year. 

As the British public took to their streets once again to deck their neighbourhoods with twinkling fairy lights and stunning spectacles, it was great to see so many festively festooned homes. 

This Christmas especially, the country needed some joy, so this has been the perfect opportunity to see families and communities come together to create visual delights full of snowmen, reindeers, polar bears, and nutcrackers.

From traditional wreaths to musically synchronised experiences, there was a huge variety in the competition this year, which made it hard for the judges to decide on the worthy winners. 

The winners were:

Large Outdoor Display 

Dan and Mark Warr-Extance of Yeovil, Somerset, were the judge’s top pick. Transforming their bungalow into the Disney Castle, they created a truly stunning display, whilst raising money for charity.

Second place was awarded to Sue and Graham Hawkes. Their annual display is the talk of Almondsbury in Bristol and this year was no different, as they added a touching tribute to the NHS to celebrate their hard work.

Natalie Price, Rotherham was awarded third place for her colourful display.

Small Outdoor Display 

In first place was Jonathan Burge, Weston-Super-Mare. He transformed his home into an old toy shop and its brilliance and originality blew the judges away.

Second place was awarded to Kavitha Kirby in Leeds. Her and her partner are both doctors and created a beautiful mythical inspired display to raise money for NHS charities. 

In third place was Mike Baldwin, of Portsmouth, with his synchronised light display.

Best Community Display 

The community winner was Hailey’s Christmas Walking Trail. The village of Hailey united and decided to create a cohesive community display. With current restrictions they knew it would have to be an outdoor show, so 46 houses took part in this walking trail, with each displaying a unique festive word.

In second place was Olde Hanwell Advent Window Project, London, for their amazing window advent calendar. With over 200 houses involved, each night a new house lit up their window, adding another window to the display, up until Christmas Eve. 

In joint third place was Bromberrow Way Christmas Lights and Helpston Village Advent. The judges couldn’t decide between the two, so decided to reward them.

Best Front Door Display 

In first place with her fully handmade, upcycled display was Mandy Calderon from Thatcham. Her candy land archway was a unique entry, that showed real originality and resourcefulness as it was made from upcycled carboard boxes!

In second place was Julie Murray in Woodbridge and her simply stunning doorway. The judges loved this entry because it showed warmth and really reminded them of Christmas time. 

In third place wass Emma Ross of Inverness with a frosty white display.

In the public vote for the Best Front Door Display, first place went to William Jenkinson in Craigavon with his gorgeous Red and White frost display. In second place was Bron Waters, Crowborough, for his traditional front door, and third was Donna Mitchell-Talbot in Wednesbury fopr her handmade Santa wreath and festive garland archway. 

Best Children’s Display 

In joint first place was Chewton Common Playgroup, Walkford, and William Law CE Primary School in Dundee.

The children at Chewton made their own snowmen and decided to bring their entire festive display outside because restrictions meant their parents couldn’t visit indoors.

William Law pupils were learning about medicine and the NHS so decided to combine their curriculum with Christmas and made snowmen out of tablet cups. This original and fitting display (right) caught the judges’ eyes.

In second place was Chaucer Junior School whose year 6 bubble made some amazing displays out of recycled materials, including reindeers out of coffee lids. 

In third place was Alice Coad, of Spalding. Inspired by her dad’s outdoor lighting display, Alice wanted to do her own so decorated her chest of drawers with a tree, tinsel and lots of amazing light-up goodies. 

Alice also came third in the public vote, which was won by St Francis Primary School, Dundee, for their Elf your Self wall (pictured below) Second place went to Chewton Common Playgroup.

For more information visit www.illuminationstreet.com

See the gallery of second and third placed winners below...

The decision to remove Scottish garden centres from the list of essential retailers, resulting in them being closed from Boxing Day, has been widely criticised.

James Clark, Director of Policy and Communications at the Horticultural Trades Association, said: “The news that Scotland has decided to tighten the definition of what is included as ‘non-essential retail’ to include garden centres is hugely disappointing. Although the new strain of the virus is concerning and clearly something that demands action, we firmly believe garden centres are essential for enabling better mental and physical wellbeing for people who are trying to manage the impact of restrictions on daily life.  

“There is little to no evidence that garden centres are a covid transmission risk - in fact they provide large and airy environments, which have been enhanced by the introduction of first-class, tailored social distancing measures - and should be able to stay open. Allowing ‘click and collect’ services provides only the barest of business needs – we know from the last lockdown that only 15-20% of sales were achieved in this way. 

 “For Scottish retailers and growers - whose route to market depends on garden centres - going into the key Spring season on the back of a long lockdown period will be hugely damaging to their businesses. Growers are putting planting plans into operation now. We need the Scottish Government to recognise this and take the appropriate action to help safeguard the future of our industry. We will be seeking meetings with Ministers urgently, with a view to getting garden centres open as soon as possible in the new year.”  

The Scottish Retail Consortium said shops have taken “every mitigation possible to keep customers and staff as safe as possible.”

Zest 4 Leisure has delivered on its promise to support both Macmillan Cancer Support and the Greenfingers Charity in 2020, despite the original fundraising plans having to be changed because of the pandemic. £10,000 was raised for Macmillan, as well as £5,000 for Greenfingers.

The Macmillan donation is the result of the individual efforts of many Zest employees, who took part in a range of activities from the fun to the more challenging during the year.  These included eating cake, running, a monthly 50/50 draw and raffling off an extra day's holiday, as well as a ‘Brave the Shave’ and leg-waxing initiative!  Together, these contributed a total of £5,000 which the company then matched with a further £5,000.

The £5,000 raised for Greenfingers Charity, who create gardens for Children in hospices across the UK, was the result of a £2.50 donation per sale of Zest’s popular Tiverton Planter throughout 2020.   

Steve Morgan, Managing Director at Zest 4 Leisure commented, “I’m proud of all the team at Zest for all their efforts this year.  

"In the difficult circumstances created by the pandemic we have not only managed to meet the challenge of a completely changed working environment to deliver a successful year for the company with award-winning new products and outstanding customer service, but we have also delivered on our promises to our chosen charity partners.    

"Charities have been hit hard by the pandemic in terms of fundraising income and it was important to everyone at Zest 4 Leisure to do their bit to help create a more positive future.   

"We have decided to support Macmillan and Greenfingers again next year in the hope that we can raise even more money in 2021 and, of course, have some fun along the way."

To find out more about Zest 4 Leisure, visit www.zest4leisure.co.uk. 

They’re back, all be it in a virtual form.  GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards are back for 2020 to celebrate all that’s great about garden centres at Christmas through the pages of GTN and the GTN Xtra e-mail newsletter and now we can announce there's over £7,000 worth of prizes to be won:

• The Greatest Christmas Houseplant Team – Sponsored by Woodlodge - £500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Outdoor Plant and Christmas Tree Team – Sponsored by GTN Bestsellers -subscriptions worth £580 for the winner
• The Greatest Festive Food Hall Team – Sponsored by Garden Radio – 1 years’ service with bespoke messages, worth over £500 for the winner
• The Greatest Christmas Sizzle Team – Sponsored by SOLEX - 2 x Hotel Rooms at SOLEX 2021 for the winner
• The Greatest Christmas Pets Team – Sponsored by Smart Garden Products, Zöon -£500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Christmas Community/Charity Initiative – Sponsored by Kaemingk – A display from their UK showroom for the winner
• The Greatest Social Media Christmas Marketing Idea – Sponsored by Glee – 2 x Hotel Rooms at Glee 2021 for the winner
• The Greatest Garden Centre Christmas Video – Sponsored by Premier Decorations - £500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Winter Garden Care Sales Team – Sponsored by Elho - £500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Covid Safe Christmas Display Team – Sponsored by Global Journey - £500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Group Garden Centre Christmas Team – Sponsored by DCUK - £500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Small Garden Centre Christmas Team - Sponsored by Ascalon - £500 stock for the winner
• The Greatest Mid-Sized Garden Centre Christmas Team – Sponsored by Kaemingk- A display from their UK showroom for the winner
• The Greatest Large Garden Centre Christmas Team – Sponsored by Festive - £500 stock for the winner

It's simple to take part, all you have to do is start taking photos of your displays and ideas now, remember to include a photo of the team, send an e-mail to trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk, and we'll get back to you with more details.  We're also raising money for Greenfingers Charity to help create more gardens at Children's Hospices during 2021.

Here's more detail about the categories for GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards 2020

• Very important – As GTN’s Greatest Awards are all about the great teams of people working in garden centres we do need a photo of the team involved in every entry!

  The Greatest Christmas Houseplant Team – Who has been “The Greatest” at maximising houseplant sales in the run up to Christmas 2020? What new houseplant merchandising ideas have you implemented this year?

  The Greatest Outdoor Plant and Christmas Tree Team – Which Outdoor Plant Sales team has been The Greatest at making the most of plant sales this Autumn and Winter?  Who has been the most creative in making real Christmas Tree purchases a great event despite the social distancing?

  The Greatest Festive Food Hall Team – As festive food sales in garden centres continue to grow, which garden centre team has been The Greatest at creating sumptuous Festive Food displays and maximising sales?

  The Greatest Christmas Sizzle Team – Who has made the most of the great opportunity to sell BBQ’s, firepits, canopies, outside heaters and garden furniture during this pandemic Christmas season?

  The Greatest Christmas Pets Team – We all love to spoil our pets at Christmas, so which garden centre Pets team have been The Greatest at merchandising pet products and services for Christmas 2020?

  The Greatest Christmas Community or Charity Initiative – Christmas is a time for giving, so this Award is for the garden centre team who have executed The Greatest Christy fundraising activity or local initiative that gives back to the community.

  The Greatest Social Media Christmas Marketing Idea – This year more than ever, Social Media has played such an important part in every garden centres marketing activity.  But who has created and executed The Greatest Christmas Social Media campaign?

  The Greatest Garden Centre Christmas Video – The Christmas Video headlines may go to John Lewis but which garden centre has been super great in creating their very own Christmas video as part of their marketing activity?

  The Greatest Winter Garden Care Sales Team – With an estimated 3 million new gardeners this year there has never been a better time to merchandise gardening products as Christmas gifts.  Which garden centre Garden Care team has put their ‘Christmas jumpers’ on and really sold gardening to customers through the festive period?

  The Greatest Covid Safe Christmas Team – Being able to trade through Lockdown 2 meant every garden centre had to be at the top of its game for creating and maintaining a Covid safe retailing environment.  This special award will go to the team that went that extra mile to make customers and staff feel really safe.

  The Greatest Group Garden Centre Christmas Team – Who are The Greatest Garden Centre Christmas Team overall from a garden centre that is part of a group of 10 or more centres?  The judges will be looking at your photo tour or video to see how you’ve made the most of Christmas as part of your garden centre group.

  The Greatest Small Garden Centre Christmas Team – In many ways small garden centres can have the real creative edge at Christmas so this award is for the team who made Christmas extra special for their customers in a small garden centre.  Send your photo tour now, plus a photo of the team of course!

  The Greatest Mid-Sized Garden Centre Christmas Team – Probably the most competitive category in The Greatest Christmas Awards, which mid-sized garden centre team has made the most of Christmas and maximised sales despite all the social distancing requirements?

  The Greatest Large Garden Centre Christmas Team – Which of the large garden centres teams are The Greatest at Christmas in 2020.  Send us your photo tour and make sure you include all your Christmas areas and the teams as the judges will be looking at overall Christmas merchandising, not just your Christmas displays.

  The Greatest Christmas Supplier – This is an award that every garden centre who makes an entry in one of the categories above will have a chance to vote for.  It’s simply for the Christmas supplier they feel has been The Greatest for their business in this unique year.

We all love to see other centres displays and ideas, especially at Christmas, and as Lockdown 2 and now Tier 4 travel restrictions make that difficult what better way to provide a solution for everyone than inviting garden centres to submit their own photos and videos as part of GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards.

The closing date for entries is Thursday December 31^st, after which our panel of esteemed Greatest Christmas Awards judges, including Santa himself, Roger Crooks, along with his Christmas Elves: Steve Myatt, Andy Campbell, Trevor Pfeiffer, et al will sift through all of the entries and make further enquiries as necessary before the results are announced in GTN Xtra 24^th January 2021 and as part of GTN’s January issue which includes our first ever Christmas Products Directory.

STOP PRESS:  The winners of GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2021 will now be announced live during Glee's Festive Focus Day on Thursday 21st January.  See gleebirmingam.com for more details

So, what are you waiting for, get snapping, remember to take a photo of the team, and send an e-mail today to trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk to get your entry registered.

See a sneak preview of some early entries in GTN's December issue, out this week, and on-line here:

2021 marks a very special occasion for the annual Garden Re-Leaf Day event as this special FUNdraising day (March 19th, 2021) celebrates its 10th anniversary! Looking rather different to previous years as we navigate a new normal, there’s still a whole host of different ways to get involved in this ever-popular charity day that not only kick starts the gardening season but also raises much needed funds for the Greenfingers Charity.

Since its inception in 2012, Garden Re-Leaf Day has been a key event within the garden retail calendar. Each year hundreds of people from across the industry, including suppliers and retailers, come together to undertake an incredible series of fundraising events. During the last 9 years the event has raised in excess of £660,000, all of which has gone towards helping the charity design and create gardens in children’s hospices throughout the country.

In 2021, Garden Re-Leaf Day, like many events, will take on a virtual element to enable more people to get involved from the comfort of their own homes and offices, and to ensure the necessary social distancing can be maintained. To make things a little easier for individuals and teams working within strict Covid-secure measures, the window of FUNdraising will be extended to the whole of March too. This extra flexibility provides more opportunity for not just the garden retail sector to get involved, but for supporters of the event to enlist the support of friends, family and their local communities, to make the 10th anniversary event the biggest and best yet.

As well as great activities in garden centres across the country, the much-loved Sponsored Walk and Cycle Challenge will be shaped differently, with participants invited to walk from their homes, offices or local garden centre. The normal 10 and 20-miles walk and 100- mile cycle goals will remain, though new ideas are welcomed! Why not go floral or dress up in green to generate some buzz in your local area or commit to walking or cycling further throughout the whole of March to raise even more for Greenfingers?! The possibilities are endless.

Speaking ahead of Garden Re-Leaf Day 2021, Greenfingers Director of Fundraising and Communications, Linda Petrons, said: “Despite all the current challenges, and with a growing waiting list of hospices that need our help we would love the 10th anniversary of Garden Re-Leaf Day to be the best yet. Over the last decade Garden Re-Leaf has become such an important part of not just our fundraising activities, but also for the garden retail sector as, for many, the event marks the beginning of the key gardening season.

“Each year we are blown away by the many ways people support and fundraise for us, and whilst we appreciate we have to do things a little differently, we hope that the 2021 event will be full of unique and exciting activities that will bring us together despite the distance between us all.”

How to get involved

Registration for the 2021 event goes live on January 1st, and Greenfingers is also on the lookout for sponsors of the event. From t-shirts to fundraising packs, medals to certificates, there are a wealth of sponsorship opportunities up for grabs. To find out more please contact Linda Petrons by emailing linda@greefingerscharity.org.uk

FUNdraising ideas for Garden Re-Leaf Day 2021

You will find a host of ideas in the Garden Re-Leaf Fundraising pack but here’s a few ways you can get involved and help Greenfingers to continue creating magical gardens in children’s hospices across the nation:

1. Plantathons are perfect for generating some buzz instore whilst simultaneously generating more stock and donating to Greenfingers. Previous events have included 12- and 24-hour Plantathons.
2. Hold a virtual quiz, with a minimum donation for all entrants.
3. Raffles and tombolas are a great way of getting lots of people involved. Gather prizes from around your store, or ask friends and colleagues to donate prizes, before selling raffle tickets ahead of the grand unveiling of the lucky winner!
4. Cake sales and coffee mornings – are simple yet effective FUNdraisers.
5. An online auction is a great way to raise funds and involve your f
6. Team up with friends and colleagues to complete a virtual walk or cycle challenge. Set yourselves a target – 100 miles for example – and work together to achieve it. Walk around your local area, on a treadmill, whatever it takes! Keep in touch via Zoom to keep the group enthusiasm going!

For more FUNdraising ideas or to obtain a copy of the 2021 fundraising pack drop Linda a line, she’d love to hear from you.

The ‘Sustainability Trend’ really isn’t a trend and those that do should stop referring to it as such.

Following the events of 2020 it’s crucial that some time is spent by everyone focusing on the new-significance of sustainability, the environment and climate change. It’s also crunch-time for all businesses to get real about their part in finding and implementing a solution.

The global pandemic has fast-forwarded this movement by five years...  Read the full article in the 2021 edition of GTN's Sustainability Directory that is being delivered this week with the December issue of GTN.  If you ca't wait for your copy to arrive you can read it on-line here:

It was all hands to the pump. literally, at Thetford Garden Centre on the eve of Christmas Eve.  

Torrential downpours caused flooding in the car park and into the garden centre.  In the Eastern Daily Press they reported that owner Lucy Nixon took to facebook for help after all the emergency services were busy elsewhere.  "I was at home and the general manager sent me a video at about 7pm last night and it just got rapidly worse. The team were continuously sweeping the water away trying to keep it from going into the store.  

“We were phoning anyone and everyone, insurance companies, fire bridge, anyone who might have a pump, but everyone was out dealing with incidents elsewhere. 

“I put the post on the forum and after that people kept turning up to help, which was amazing. 

On Christmas Eve the centre was able to say thank you to all who had helped as they were able to open as normal for the last shopping day before Christmas:

"THANK YOU to the amazing people of Thetford and near-by and the huge efforts of our team - you arrived in droves and we’ve gone from A to B in no time - the pumps will be running overnight and we WILL BE OPEN tomorrow! - Last day for Lime Kiln Kitchen for awhile before it closes under tier 4 regulations so we weren’t going to miss that! We are so touched by everyone’s generosity tonight - especially on Christmas eve eve."

During 2020 we've sent out 391,634 GTN Xtra e-mails that have been read by 29,777 unique readers.  The e-mail newsletter and each issues website has been opened 472,682 times during the year and 847,981 pages viewed.

From all that activity, here are the Top 100 Most Read Stories of the year.  The Top 5 are re-published in this year-end newsletter and the rest can be accessed via the links below or by searching the GTN Xtra Archive here.

Thank you for all your reading during the year, and your news items, for which we are extremely grateful.

Happy New Year for all of the team at GTN.  After such a traumatic year, let’s hope 2021 is a prosperous year for UK garden centres!

It's been a sanguine day in the GTN Xtra office as notification after notification has come in from garden centres who have taken the huge decision to close their doors either at the start of today or as business closes tonight/tomorrow.

At Perrywood, Simon Bourne said "It was a decision based purely on social conscious.  We want to be part of stopping the spread of the Coronavirus rather than possibly contributing to the passing on.

"At the weekend too many customers were using the centre as a place to be rather than just a place to shop and staff were getting increasingly nervous," he added.

The list of centres to announce closures either today or at the end of tomorrow includes:  

Aylett Nurseries

Barton Grange

Baytree

Ben Reid

British Garden Centres

Burston

Caulders

Cranswick

Downtown

Klondyke

Knights Nags Hall & Betchworth

Millbrook

Palmers

Perrywood

Planters

Poplars

Rosebank

Silverbirch

Squires

Stewarts

Sunnyside

Sunshine

The Old Orchard

Torwood

Trowell

Waterside

Webbs

As I write this update, many more centres are staying open and promoting gardening for kids and arranging deliveries, but they are also planning for the future and a possible lockdown instruction from the government.

Please do use the comments link below to add your thoughts and ideas.  Or e-mail me: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk.

Stay safe and go well.

As garden centres trade through the first weekend after the move to the Delay phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, GTN Xtra has been asking garden centre managers and owners how trading has been this weekend and about their thoughts for the coming weeks.

Martin Stewart told GTN Xtra that the two supermarkets close to their Christchurch centre had been busy all weekend with shelves cleared out as customers stocked up.  "It's just like pre-Christmas food shopping here but we still had a fantastic day yesterday.  With the rain today if the situation was normal we would be saying the weather is deterring people.

"At Abbey where there are no supermarkets nearby we were 30% up last week.

"I have one wish that is places like us are able to keep trading, we can cope with a spring that is 10% down but we don't want the panic of all shops being closed down. We can run our business leanly if need be and hopefully garden centres will continue to be seen as safe places to be."

Nigel Long at Longacres has tlod GTN Xtra on Wednesday morning: "We have seen some large increases in various departments ,but especially in household ,food and gardening.  Customers look like that they are stock piling just in case that they have been told to self-isolate.

"We've also had a large increase on local deliveries across all departments.  Catering yesterday dropped off the cliff and we will try and promote take away coffees and teas from now on.

"Let hope things get better soon.

At Bents Garden And Home, Matthew Bent says: ""Food sales are doing really well, especially meat and essentials.   Plants, compost, seeds, edibles are really flying, customers are getting ready to spend time in their garden at home.

"We have put extra ranges of products in and more stock on the shop floor. In the restaurants there has been a big downturn and we've been widening between tables, reminding customers in the queues to leave space and the numbers have reduced massively."

Gerald Ingram at Planters sent us this update on Monday morning: "Trade has been very strong for the past week although the restaurants actually traded down slightly. We get the impression people are stocking up on essentials like compost, seeds and veg plants. This week last year saw a big upswing
because of the weather being dramatically better so we may not match the figures, but that’s a weather issue not COVID 19."

Sam Bosworth in the Midlands reports: "Trade is still down on 2019, but up on 2018. Trade year to date to the end of week 10 in 2020 is 22% up on 2018, but 5% down on 2019. 

"The weather is still currently a bigger influence than COVID-19, it is raining as I look outside now at a quiet car park, but the virus is really big long term issue to us and the trade. We have spent this morning looking at scenarios and trying to make plans. These include for total closure to retail businesses, closure of restaurants, or just a significant reduction in trade.

"Trade is still OK, coffee shops ticking along, but a noticeable difference in demographics. Our Elton store has a significantly older demographic and has already seen catering trade drop off significantly in the week, whereas Burton Latimer has held up better with a younger demograhic."

James Ducker at Langlands said: "Trade has been pretty normal over the weekend. The Farm Shop has been really busy and people are spending as usual in the Garden Centre and Coffee Shops."

At GCA Garden Centre of the Year, Fron Goch, Justin Williams says: "The situation seems very fluid with public opinion changing quickly. We are seeing the supermarkets being very very busy with people stocking up at the moment.

"Last week we did manage to match last year. But yesterday the restaurant was approx 25% down on transaction numbers against last weekend and it looks like today could be between 40-50% down transaction numbers wise in the restaurant against last year."

It was a different picture at Poplars in Toddington where Alastair Jackson commented: "Our restaurant was busy this weekend and footfall in general was excellent but lots of those people were just browsing or whiling away time. I think its all this talk of a possible lockdown.  People want to get out while they think they still can!"

Across the big groups, Blue Diamond's Alan Roper said: "I was concerned because it felt quiet in the centres especially on budget day. However I've had some numbers in for Monday to Friday for some of the sites and they are up."

British Garden Centres said they had a slow start yesterday morning but the day picked up well by lunchtime and at Dobbies, CEO Graeme Jenkins has reported: "Trade has been very good, with strong like-for-likes across plants, gardening, food hall and pet categories in particular."

In Scotland, Colin Barrie of Caulders told GTN Xtra: "We are concerned as the current situation develops.  The last 3 days have seen a noticeable decline in our coffee shops, yesterday was around 30% down on expected revenue. That said, the weather has also been against us in Scotland.

"I think over the coming days we will see older people staying at home as the fear factor and self isolation set in. The garden centre side of the business never gets going in Scotland until the second half of March so it’s difficult to judge where the effect on this is at present.

"Without being too pessimistic, I think this will be our most difficult season ahead in our 21 years in business..... hopefully the government will support independent businesses and allow them to survive it!"

Meanwhile at Groves in Bridport, Charlie Grove (pictured above) has found stocks of Christmas loo rolls which they have put out on sale to help alleviate that shortage and give customers some light relief too.  "Look what we found in the stockroom to bring out to the shop! Loads of (Christmas) loo roll!" he says on their Facebook page.

"Perfect for cheering up your bathroom in an emergency!

"Don’t forget you can always phone through orders for local delivery if you find you can't get out so you can stay fully stocked with all of your gardening and pet needs.

"Take care everyone."

Following news that garden centres in England and Scotland can remain open, HTA President Boyd Douglas-Davies has called upon garden centres to work to the highest standards of Covid-19 safe policies and to review everything now before the month long lockdown in England begins or areas in Scotland move into Tier 4.

Boyd told GTN Xtra this morning: "I'm delighted that Westminster has recognised the beneficial part garden centres played in the initial lockdown. The provision of gardening and other products has allowed many millions of people to spend a more fruitful time at home than they would have done without us. This has played a significant part in our continued recognition as an essential sector.

"Throughout this difficult year the horticulture industry has behaved with great integrity and provided a safe environment for staff and customers alike. It is now, more than ever, really important that we continue to work to the highest standards and ensure that our covid safe policies are adhered to. Garden Centres should review everything now and prepare to be very busy over the next month.

The team at the HTA have been brilliant and I thank them all for working so hard on all our behalf. "

Last night James Clark, Director of Policy and Communications at the HTA said: “The announcement to keep garden centres open in England during lockdown is a huge relief and very welcome for members – not only garden centres, but for those in the supply chain. We have been making the case to the Government in England in the last few months and of course today on why garden centres should be classified as ‘essential’ retail in lockdown. Credit to those in Government for this massively significant decision.

"Garden centres offer an airy and open retail environment, providing one of the safest retail environments. It’s important for garden centres to continue to reassert the exemplar social distancing and safe trading measures they have put in place.

"Garden centres staying open will benefit everyone across the country bringing much needed mental and physical benefits as people have to stay at home. It brings some joy at Christmas in these very difficult times for our country. Our sector is an economic driver for the UK - this decision allows us to help the country out of any economic downturn.

"This announcement, alongside the decision in Scotland on Friday, will support our efforts in Wales to make sure garden centres are listed as ‘essential’ for any future lockdown decisions there."

Garden centres to be classed as ‘essential’ in Scottish Tier 4

The Scottish Government has confirmed that Scottish garden centres have been listed as ‘essential retail’ in the Health Protection (Coronavirus)(Restrictions and Requirements)(Local Levels)(Scotland) Regulations 20202 in the event of Tier 4 restrictions being introduced and therefore able to continue trading, with strict social distancing measures in place.

James Clark said: “This decision is hugely significant for the Scottish horticulture industry. It is the culmination of work by the HTA to highlight the importance of horticulture, bringing much needed confidence to the Scottish industry and gardeners across Scotland. It protects the industry and supports wellbeing during any future lockdowns. 

"We support the Government’s efforts to control and eliminate COVID. We have always said that the large airy and open infrastructure of garden centres, alongside implementing first class and tailored safe trading measures, provide one of the safest retail environments. Our members will continue to enact these robust and exemplar social distancing actions."

After trading through the first week of the emergency lockdown Cherry Lane Garden Centres have now closed.  Plants Galore in Exeter, after being served with a prohibition notice, have been allowed to carry on selling hardware and pet products but not plants.

The East Devon News reported last week:  "Plants Galore, in Topsham Road, near Countess Wear, Exeter, became one of the first business in the UK to be served notice of an offence under new Health Protection regulations that came into law this week to protect the public from coronavirus – including shutting non-essential shops and retail outlets.

"The notice said the branch had continued to open to the public as a garden centre and must stop immediately.

"The notice was served after Exeter City Council received complaints from members of the public.

"The council said the store can continue to operate ‘via electronic means’ and function as a store for other permitted items."

Read the full report at https://eastdevonnews.co.uk/2020/03/28/exeter-plants-galore-garden-centre-is-one-of-first-businesses-in-uk-served-with-prohibition-notice-for-staying-open-during-coronavirus-lockdown/

Plants Galore owner Tony Joyner told GTN Xtra "I've had to cordon off all my plants.  Why then are Aldi, just 500m up the road still allowed to sell plants?"

The 14 strong Cherry Lane Garden Centres, part of the QD Stores Group, closed all of their centres at the end of the day on Monday.  GTN Xtra understands that police were asking customers in some centre car parks why they were out shopping for non essential items.

At The Barn Garden Centre in Peterborough on Sunday they were only allowing 15 people into the centre at any one time and customers were shopping for gardening supplies, pet supplies and food items.  All other product lines normally stocked by the garden centre were also available for sale.

After last nights statement from the Prime Minister Dobbies garden centres have decided to stay open, citing that 70% of their turnover represents essential goods according to government guidance.

So far GTN Xtra has not found any other garden centres that have opened for business today, apart from those only offering local delivery services from phoned in orders.

Following Dobbies posts on Facebook and Twitter this morning there have been thousands of comments from customers and other members of the industry.  You can read some of the comments by going to the Dobbies Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=dobbies%20garden%20centre&epa=SEARCH_BOX

Normally we would have popped out to Dobbies Peterborough to take some photos of how the Dobbies team are managing the social distancing etc, but as we are on lockdown too we decided that would count as non essential travel.

We've asked Dobbies for a comment but as we publish this update we've not heard back yet.  Watch this space.

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The Garden Centre Association says its e-learning Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW) modules on social distancing helped prepare member centres for re-opening after lockdown...

The Social Distancing and Social Distancing for Catering courses were launched in early May and July, in record time, immediately after the announcements permitting centres and then restaurants to reopen.

Antony Snow, Instructional Designer for GROW at the GCA, said: “Looking back on what has been a year full of uncertainty, we are incredibly proud of the hard work and long hours that were put into launching our Social Distancing and Social Distancing for Catering modules for staff at our member garden centres.

“The two e-learning courses focused on the considerations involved to ensure that social distancing was maintained and therefore a safe environment was created for employees and customers.

“When garden centres across the country closed, no-one imagined how different things would be when they re-opened, so to put together modules on something that was unprecedented was a huge feat, but one that allowed staff to train and prepare for social distancing before the reopening of centres and in the immediate weeks afterwards.

“Although we are now all familiar with social distancing and our member garden centres have done us extremely proud with all the measures they have put into place, the modules still serve as a useful refresher tool that staff can refer back to periodically, to eliminate ‘Covid fatigue’.

“The traditionally quieter period in January/February is an ideal time for garden centres, during the start of the year, to ensure staff are refreshed on these topics or new staff are given the training they need and that those away from the business on furlough can keep up-to-date too. We regularly update our modules to meet with new guidelines as needed as well.”

As well as being available exclusively to GCA member garden centres, the GROW facility is now also available to Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) garden centre members too.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “We launched the two modules in record time (with a lot of hard work, long hours and midnight oil!) before centres reopened for retail and catering, respectively, to allow staff to train/prepare for social distancing before reopening and in the immediate weeks afterwards.

“Of course, they serve as a useful tool to use periodically now, as a reminder (particularly if, as seen in the media, we (the nation) are seeing ‘Covid fatigue’ with following social distancing rules).”

What started as an initial idea, thought up during a strategy meeting of the GCA’s executive committee, to bring education and training to individuals employed in the garden centre industry, is now a self-funding facility with 98 modules and more than 13,000 users across the country.

The 98 modules include a wide range of topics that cover horticulture, customer service, health and safety, food safety and regulated sales.

The accredited health and safety and food safety topics are categorised as either level one or two.

The horticultural units available have been written by members of the GCA and other modules such as Health and Safety and Food Hygiene have been sourced from leading trainers in those subjects. The Customer Service modules were written by specialists and the content applied specifically to a garden centre environment.

“Thanks to using the GROW e-learning facility, garden centre staff can improve their knowledge, gain confidence and expertise and improve the quality of the customer’s experience at their garden centre.

“Users can be assured that they are always receiving the correct, practical and unbiased advice, solutions to problems and help with gardening projects.

“It is the most cost-effective way of delivering training to everyone employed within your garden centre.

“Following on from GROW’s success in 2020, we will be launching a variety of new modules in 2021. A major addition will be a series of modules on Environmental Issues/The Environment, of which greener gardening will be a part of. These are subjects we have always wanted to cover in more detail and after consideration, it was felt that we could do this via two or three separate courses, so users can look out for these next year. They will be a major addition to GROW in 2021 and beyond.

“Other new modules include poisonous plants, which provides learners with an overview of which commonly sold plants commonly, aren’t necessarily fatal, but pose a risk if ingested or if a person or pet comes into contact with them and a till security module will provide an overview of the best practises for checkout staff to follow to ensure that they don’t become the victim of fraud.

“We are also looking to improve our current manual handling training, which covers the basic principles, but we felt could be improved to be more relevant for lifting and handling tasks in a garden centre environment specifically. We also hope to explore topics including equality and diversity.”

If garden centres are interested in signing up to GROW they can enquire online at www.gca.org.uk or contact antony.snow@gca.org.uk or iain.wylie@gca.org.uk to arrange an on-site demonstration or guest access.

Landmann’s parent company in Germany has been bought from the appointed administrators by DS group. The purchase includes the assets of Landmann Ltd in the UK which will now continue to trade as a going concern for the foreseeable future with the support of DS Group. 

The staff and management at Landmann Ltd are delighted to be in a position where they will be able to continue supplying Barbecues, Firepits and Accessories to its customers. 

“We expect a short period of adjustment whilst we finalise our supply chains and introduce new efficiencies but we expect to be in a position to start supplying BBQ's again during 2021. 

“We would like to thank our customers who have shown us tremendous support and patience during this uncertain time as we look forward to a brighter 2021 and beyond.” 

For more than 45 years, the DS group has been driven by the search for new product ideas and solutions that are close to the lives of its customers. Specializing in the non-food sector, the internationally active trading house with various companies and brands has a range of more than 4,000 products and is one of the largest suppliers of non-food products for retail chains, retailers, food stores, discounters, as well as online and mail order companies in Europe. 

With over 400 employees, the group specializes in the import and distribution of innovative products and has an annual turnover of over 260 million euros.

Brookside Garden Centre in Kent has closed early for Christmas to keep their staff safe in light customers not following guidelines and being abusive.  "If I don’t feel safe in my own shop, then I cannot and will not expect my staff to put themselves in harms way," owner Simon Shead told GTN Xtra last night.

The full announcement posted on facebook and their website reads:

URGENT UPDATE: Over the last 2 days, we at Brookside have been keeping a careful eye on everything that has been happening since we entered Tier 4. What we have noticed is that many people who have visited appear to be doing so for none essential reasons. Some of these people have also not been following guidelines as set out by the government. Namely, the use of face masks, the size of groups and meeting other households.

While we are aware that these guidelines are restrictive, we also acknowledge that they are 100% necessary. Our staff have been doing their best to keep loyal and rule abiding customers as safe as possible as well as themselves. However many of those confronted about guideline breaches have reacted poorly. From near aggressive behaviour to merely ignoring directions to do as asked.

If I don’t feel safe in my own shop, then cannot and will not expect my staff to put themselves in harms way. They have worked tirelessly over the last 9-10 months and do not deserve to be treated poorly for their efforts. It is for this reason that we deeply regret to announce that effective immediately, Brookside Garden Centre will be closing until Tuesday 29th December so as to keep our staff safe.

To all those who have supported us through these testing times, we thank you and wish you a safe Christmas and we hope to see you soon.

Yours,
Simon Shead Owner

Simon suggested that other garden centres should follow his lead where customers are not following guidelines. "Money doesn't save lives, staff save companies," he added.

This morning Simon and his team have been busy sorting e-mails and phone calls.  "all saying good and positive views with lots of excellent comments and congtratulations to us for taking this action."

As we head towards the start of a new year it is a time for reflection and hope. In this article, in GTN's December issue, we have gathered thoughts and opinions of representatives from across the industry looking back over the strangest of years as well as looking forward with hopes and aspirations for 2021.

Additional feedback from Mark Osborne, Chairman of LOFA and Sales Director of Outback International (UK):  "WHAT A YEAR !

"One of the good things to come out of this year is the fact that everyone has gone gardening crazy. Not being able to travel or leave our homes for any length of time has meant that the garden has been the place to be.  

"The garden products category has performed well with retail expanding by 18.6% over the past 4 years to £6.32billion. 

"It seems our sector in particular has had one of the best trading years ever which is great news for LOFA and its members. 

"The Garden Leisure sector has been the least affected by the Covid-19 emergency.  This was because many adults were staying at home and using gardens/outdoor spaces during lockdown. While this will limit growth prospects during 2021 as the UK economy recovers, this sector will continue to be one of the most dynamic, reflecting the increased emphasis on garden and outdoor spaces within the home environment. Although the market is dominated by DIY and garden centres there is evidence that the role of the internet will and has increased.  

"Exposure to online sales has been boosted during lockdown and it is expected that many more retailers will increase their online presence to offer more garden products online for home delivery going forward.  The shift towards online means that we are opening up our industry to a whole new audience, in particular younger consumers. A younger audience means that there is a need for specialists to provide more information and interaction in the way they are most used to retrieving content and advice. 

"Online is crucial for this younger demographic and without dedicated services and resources store-based specialities face losing this consumer base to either non-specialists or online-only retailers. Specialist garden centre stores and suppliers should be helping this new demographic in their search for gardening products. 

"With 27% of more consumers buying and shopping locally there is a possibility that smaller more niche retailers in local areas will start to look at and home in on garden products. Meaning this is another route to market that needs to be tapped into. 

"Travel restrictions also had a major impact and working from home is now the new norm for some, being unable to leave home other than to exercise elevated the importance of personal outdoor space. Spending patterns on home and garden products rose 13% during lockdown, such a positive view towards expenditure suggests that investment both in the short and longer term on garden products is set to grow. Segments of the market such as garden leisure are best placed to benefit from this trend as consumers increasingly look at outdoor space for leisure and other activities. 

"Covid is a global crisis and has had a major impact on supply chains, it affected every stage including production, wholesale, trade, distribution channels and retail.  Major suppliers, such as China suffered as borders were closed with this impacting on delivery of products to the UK and across the world.  LOFA members were concerned about demurrage and detention costs in the early part of the year but there is still also some concern about the return to normality in 2021. Any loss of scaling back in production, or disruption to trade, may well impact on stock availability for distributors or retailers. We are seeing the effects of this now as the amount of goods being shipped are causing the opposite effect that was encountered at the beginning of the year, with shippers increasing their rates as well as the ports not being able to handle the influx of products. 

"Overall spending has fallen as a result of Covid due to the impact of the lockdown and the impact on household finances. 43% of consumers were cutting back on non-essential spending however, in terms of spending on the home and garden this is a category not as significantly impacted as others.  As lockdown eased there was a willingness to spend and knowing that restrictions may be in place for some time a growing number of consumers made the decision to invest in their home and garden where they have been spending a considerably amount of time. The warmer weather in April, May, June also played a huge part in the uplift of sales, coupled with the restrictions on travelling abroad. 

"Gardens and outdoor spaces are areas for relaxation and wellbeing and furniture and cooking products appear better placed to achieve this balance appealing to a much broader range of adults. Building on this upsurge in interest on the use of gardens for leisure garden furniture and bbqs performed exceptionally well. 

"This year also highlighted the importance of environmental matters for many adults and the visible impact of Covid on traffic and pollution, environmental issues are assuming greater priority especially among young adults. The important issues like reducing the use of plastic, or carbon footprints from manufacturer to customer is very important. 

"Environmental responsibility is important for many consumers when shopping from a garden product retailer. Adopting a commitment to the reduction of plastics is especially important overall, with 39% ranking this as a top three factor, while offering products made from sustainable materials is a top three ranking with 34%.

"A lot of manufacturers are addressing this issue but it will be a continual process and something that should be a priority for all manufacturers."

GTN's December issue is winging its way to readers in the post right now and includes the 2021 edition of GTN's Sustainability Directory.

Cherry Hill Garden Centre is facing the ‘crazy’ prospect of having to remove a miniature golf course and play area from its site near Middlesbrough after being served with an enforcement notice from the local council.

In a bid to save the popular family attractions the centre has now submitted a planning application to Hambleton District Council.

Cherry Hill director Peter Wilkinson said he accepted planning rules were necessary but had been dismayed by the decision to serve the centre with an enforcement notice.

He told the Yorkshire Post that the miniature golf course and play area had proved popular, encouraging a wider range of customers to shop at the centre.

“The only thing that required planning permission was that we used concrete tubes as vertical planters and some were touching just over the two-metre limit. It's very petty, but if it needs planning permission, it needs planning permission.”

In lieu of trade shows in the new year, Heaven Sends are pulling out all the stops to deliver an amazing Showroom preview of New Christmas 2021 early next year. 

Heaven Sends’ fabulous new Christmas 2021 collection will be available to preview & preorder from January 4th 2021. Their Showroom, based centrally in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands spans two floors of product ranges, full of inspiring displays. 

Despite the lack of trade shows in the coming year, Heaven Sends will be presenting their usual fantastic variety of new product, beautifully showcased alongside their bestselling everyday, home & gift ranges at their Showroom. Spanning two floors, the Showroom is even more expansive than their usual landmark stand at Harrogate Christmas & Gift and NEC Spring Fair. It houses the entire collection away from the busy shows, offering a relaxing atmosphere with refreshments, whilst still offering the convenient location of being 20 minutes away from the NEC. 

For those unable to travel there will be virtual showroom visits available, alongside the usual buying options of a visit from their wonderful on the road Angels. The Heaven Sends ‘Angels’ are on hand to do everything possible to welcome visitors in the way they feel most comfortable. 

To help us follow Government Covid Guidelines, spaces are limited, so reserve your appointment early to avoid disappointment. Spaces are already filling up fast for January so please be sure to get in touch with ‘The Angels’ to secure your preferred date as soon as possible. Appointments are available 7 days a week.

Email info@heavensends.com or call  +44 (0)121 351 7457. 

Address:  One Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, B76 1AL.

Heavensends.com

Tim Jeffries, Commercial Director at Mr Fothergills has decided to leave Mr Fothergill’s after 15 years of fun.

"I will go at the end of this month," he told GTN Xtra.

"I am not sure what the future holds after 30 years in the seed trade. I may crop up again or I may just stay on the allotment! It is just the right time for me to move on.

"Thanks for everyones support over the years both to me personally and to Mr Fothergill’s.

"May I wish you the happiest of Christmases and trust we can all get out to do a little more in 2021."

Completion of the 12,000 sqm garden centre for Plantorama is in sight. Smiemans Projecten started this spring with this project in the city of Tilst.

A new 9,000 sqm garden centre is also being built in Hørsholm for this successful garden centre chain. Despite the Corona virus, Smiemans has succeeded in realising both locations in eight months.

Durability

Being responsible for the environment plays a major role at both garden centres. In addition to the standard LED lighting, green roofs and PV panels, Smiemans has developed special wide rain gutters to collect as much rainwater as possible and prevent nuisance during heavy rainfall/ a rain storm. Plantorama uses this rainwater for the irrigation of their plants.

Experience centre

In addition to the extensive range of products, there is also a special animal department for visitors. And while children are playing in Playland, you drink or eat something in the extensive restaurant. "We think it is important that customers can enjoy themselves and relax with a cup of coffee while they are with us. It should be part of the experience. We are specialists in creating atmosphere and experience." says Peter Vang Christensen, owner of the Plantorama garden centre chain.

Final work

Everyone is now working hard to finalize the two projects. At this moment 3 different types of screening are being installed in Tilst; a Christmas cloth, bird netting and a roller  shading cloth. Plantorama's 13^th garden centre in Hørsholm is also nearing completion. Smiemans started construction there in July. Both locations will open their doors in the spring of 2021.

RETAIL SALES MANAGER  

The company 

Whistler Grills is a relatively new business selling premium stainless steel gas barbecues and outdoor kitchen units here in the UK. After a fantastic Summer Whistler Grills is now expanding their sales team to cover the Garden Centre channel and various other retailers. 

The role

We’re looking for an experienced sales person who has a proven track record in a sales environment. Someone who is active in the market place and preferably already has contacts in the retail arena, though this is not essential.  

You will be working within a small highly motivated team who are contributing to the exciting development of the Whistler brand. We operate remotely, so the role will be based at home though you will be expected to work predominantly out in the field.  

Package

An initial 3-month trial basis, £25k base salary with a negotiable commission rate on top. You will require your own telephone, laptop and vehicle, though company expenses can be claimed.  

Please email your CV, cover letter and contact details to our Marketing Manager at megan@whistlergrills.com. Deadline for Applications 24th December 2020.

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In advance of the launch of GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2020, GTN's Northern Correspondent, Steve Myatt, paid a visit to Barton Grange to bring you this first GTN Xtra Christmas photo tour.

To add your garden centre Christmas photo tour to GTN Xtra simply get snapping and enter The Greatest Christmas Awards.  See the categories here.  Send an e-mail to trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk for more details

Here's a sneak preview of the photo tour submitted by Squires at Badshot Lea as part of their entry in GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2020.

There's over £7,000 worth of prizes to be won in GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2020 so get snapping and enter your garden centre team today!

Full details are here.

Here's a sneak preview of Perrywoods photo tour entry in GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards for 2020, including the vital ingredient for all entries, team photos. See the gallery of photos below.  Apologies for the wrong photos being included in yesterdays edition.

There's over £7,000 worth of prizes to be won in GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards so get snapping and enter today.  Full details can be found here.

Charles Stubbs, Lewis Fox and Nemanja Tintor, along with the rest of the BGC team, were proud as punch yesterday as their 58th centre at Thatcham in Berkshire opened.

The centre had been handed back to the landlords during the Wyevale Garden Centres sale of the century in and closed in September 2019 as the owners looked for a new leaseholder.  British Garden Centres took on the site in September 2020 and since then have refreshed the centre, enclosing a walkway at the Restaurant end to allow for extra covers, extending the covered sales area out into the planteria and hard surfacing the overflow car parking area which was previously a field.

See GTN Xtra's exclusive photo tour of the new centre below:

Haskins Garden Centre in Snowhill, Crawley, has opened its doors to customers following a 12-month refurbishment costing £15m.

The new centre boasts a retail space of 11,813 sq.m., including an outdoor plant area and 440-seat restaurant complete with a newly installed pizza oven. Additional space has also been created to accommodate 170 restaurant guests on an outdoor patio.

Up to 70 new jobs have been created to accommodate the centre's expansion. Car parking has increased to 346 spaces.  See GTN Xtra's photo tour of the new centre below.

Chief executive Julian Winfield said the Snowhill team worked tirelessly to ensure the centre was able to remain open for the majority of the project, with minimal disruption.

“We can't wait to receive our customers' feedback on our new and improved facilities,” he added. “Over the years, we have built a loyal customer following and we are proud to be able to give back to them in this way with our new expanded centre.”

Haskins acquired the Snowhill site in 2003, inheriting a number of ageing buildings.

Haskins also has centres in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone in West Sussex. The family business recently acquired Forest Lodge Garden Centre, Bird World and Garden Style in Farnham.

Pictured (left to right): Julian Winfield, Jamie Haskins, Ally Haskins (married to Jamie) and Warren Haskins, the group's chairman. 

The opening event was attended by the current GCA Chairman Mike Burks and three past Chairs; Warren Haskins, Sue Allen and Julian Winfield.

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2018 as well as 2019 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £145.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 07973 504214, e-mail karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Garden Plants Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Wild Bird & Wildlife Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Christmas Products Bestsellers chart for last week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.

Get the GTN Bestsellers charts in full every week in the GTN Bestsellers newsletters for only £145.00.

GTN Bestsellers is the only industry source of weekly garden centre sales information, collating Epos data from centres with an aggregate turnover in excess of £100m.

Use the weekly Garden Products and Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes charts to plan your hotspot and other promotions and ensure you have the right products in stock to satisfy the needs of your customers.

For further information contact karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk or call 07973504214.

Buy your subscription today and start receiving the GTN Bestsellers charts this week.