Over 230 garden centres are already shouting about their Garden Re-Leaf Day activities!  Some of them start tonight and run on Garden Re-Leaf day tomorrow, through the weekend and into next week.

There's still time for the rest of the industry, be they supplier or retailer, to get involved, so come, let's shout about the start of the season and motivate your staff ahead of the expected sales bonanza, have some fun and raise money for Greenfingers. As an industry we can build even more wonderful gardens for children's hospices, thanks to activities on Garden Re-Leaf Day 2014

The easiest way to get involved is to take part on Garden Re-Leaf Day Celebrity Quiz. This year the quiz is presented by a host of big name celebrities. It is professionally produced and takes just about an hour to run through with a mix of gardening and gardening realeted general knowledge questions.

Garden centres are using it to create a customer event, Barton Grange in Preston currently has 35 teams signed up for their quiz night but suppliers can also use it as a Garden Re-Leaf Day staff event.

Lets see how many how many gardening related company staff rooms and canteens we can get taking part.

All you have to do is 'buy' - which is a donation to Garden ReLeaf day - your Garden Re-Leaf pack for £100 and then download the mp3 files and the instructions to play on itunes, windows media player or burn to a cd.

If you are able to raise any extra money for Garden Re-Leaf day that's great too but just buying your quiz you'll be doing your bit. All of your £100 goes to Garden Re-Leaf Day and Greenfingers.

To "buy" your quiz pack contact Pat Adams at the GCA offfices, who are generously handling the admin for the quiz:  pat@gca.org.uk, phone number: 0118 930 8918 .  The downlaod links will be sent from the Garden Radio team who have deited and produced the quiz CD's and files.  If you have any technical questions regarding downlaoding and playing the quiz, contact Trevor Pfeiffer on 07973 504214.

Well it seemed like a good idea at the time.... "Let's Run, Row or Ride between the garden centres on Garden Re-Leaf Day!! We can do it on the Kettler gym equipment we're selling at Studley. Should be fun!", I said!

Of course we only had 2 centres in the group when I said this so it was just a 50 mile adventure. Since then we've been busy and we now have 8 centres in the group so the distance has grown hugely and it's now a 240mile journey.

What will make it much easier (yes, really!) is knowing that you're with us in spirit.  Please support the team by donating through our Just Giving page. Run Row Ride 2014  http://www.justgiving.com/RunRowRide2014  and in a few minutes you will have done your bit.

Hopefully, by Friday afternoon we will have done our bit and travelled the 240 miles.

If we have raised £1,000 before we start the challenge at 9.30am on Friday then I promise that I will be on the machines for the full 6 hours.

As for Saturday... don't expect me to loading many bags of compost in to cars!!

Garden centres across the UK are putting the final preparations in place for their Garden Re-Leaf Day events on Friday, March 14.  The third, annual gardening industry initiative will see hundreds of garden retailers and suppliers working together towards a fun, fund-raising weekend that is also designed to pull in gardening customers after the wet winter months.

From celebrity gardener talks, quizzes and treasure hunts to competitions, planting lessons and sponsored challenges, Garden Re-Leaf Day will offer gardeners plenty to get involved in.  Many garden product and plant brands have also created special on-pack offers, promotions, displays and donation opportunities at garden centres nationwide to help raise further funds.  All proceeds will go to Greenfingers, Garden Re-Leaf Day’s nominated charity for 2014. 

The highlight at many garden centres will be a ‘star-studded’, fund-raising Garden Re-Leaf Day Gardening Quiz event for customers.  Featuring questions specially pre-recorded by celebrities including Hollywood star Jude Law, Dr Who actor David Tennant, Skyfall actress Naomie Harris, EastEnders stars Danny Dyer and Patsy Palmer, Ballykissangel star Dervla Kirwan, and impressionist Alistair McGowan, the proceeds of quiz ticket sales will go towards the cause. 

ITV gardener David Domoney and BBC science presenter and botanist James Wong will be making personal appearances at garden centres as part of the Garden Re-Leaf Day weekend. QVC viewers can also tune in to gardening guru Richard Jackson’s popular gardening product shows on March 15 and 16, to help raise money for the charity with every item sold.

Greenfingers is a small, nationwide charity dedicated to building gardens in children’s hospices around the UK.  It has created 42 magical hospice gardens since its inception and has more children’s hospices who need its help.  Since the first Garden Re-Leaf Day in March 2012, the volunteer-organised event has raised more than £116,000 for Greenfingers; enabling several life-enhancing hospice gardens to be created. 

In 2014 Garden Re-Leaf Day monies will go towards the Greenfingers ‘Rosy Cheeks’ appeal – which aims to raise £750,000 over two years to fund the creation of at least ten more children’s hospice gardens; giving children and families who use the hospices a chance to spend precious time together in a natural, beautiful environment.

Gardening broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh was one of the first to support Garden Re-Leaf Day before its launch in 2012.  “You've heard of Comic Relief and Sports Relief... now the garden industry has its own version, Garden Re-Leaf,” he said.  “It could become the biggest event in the gardening calendar."

Organisations such as The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), The Garden Industry Manufacturers Association (GIMA) and The Garden Centre Association (GCA) are also active supporters of the day. Sector suppliers including Scotts Miracle-Gro, Mr Fothergill’s, William Sinclair, Westland Horticulture, Kelkay, Solus, Smart Solar, Richard Jackson’s Flower Power, Pleydell Smithyman, Bon Bon’s, Neudorff, Gardman and Briers gave financial donations towards Garden Re-Leaf Day’s marketing ‘fighting fund’.

“We are thrilled that so many garden centres and suppliers will be making the most of Garden Re-Leaf Day 2014,” confirmed Garden Re-Leaf Day’s founder and Hillview Garden Centre CEO Boyd Douglas-Davies. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to get attract customers back in-store this spring, a great staff team-builder, and helps a really worthwhile cause along the way.”

Find out more:

• To register an event visit www.gardenreleaf.co.uk
• Find the latest Garden Re-Leaf updates at @GardenReLeaf on Twitter, on Facebook and Pinterest
• To find out more about Greenfingers visit www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk

Hollywood star Jude Law and Dr Who actor David Tennant have joined the growing list of household-name celebrities to support Garden Re-Leaf Day’s popular Gardening Quiz, by recording a round of questions.  The brain-teasing audio quiz is available as a customer event opportunity to any garden centre taking part in the annual fund-raising day in March.

The two stars join Skyfall’s ‘Miss Moneypenny’, actress Naomie Harris – currently on cinema screens as Winnie Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom – in presenting a section of the questions.  EastEnders cast members Danny Dyer (new Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter) and Patsy Palmer (fiery market trader Bianca Butcher) have also lent their familiar voices to the quiz, in addition to a round recorded by impressionist Alistair McGowan – in the vocal style of celebrities John Humphrys, David Mitchell, Matt Baker, Dara Ó Briain and Stephen Fry.

David Tennant, Naomie Harris and Alistair McGowan have agreed to support Garden Re-Leaf Day’s popular Gardening Quiz.

The quiz – which includes both general knowledge and gardening rounds – can be ordered by all retailers, suppliers and other organisations participating in Garden Re-Leaf Day; with funds raised going towards its chosen charity, Greenfingers. The production of the quiz and accompanying CDs are being provided by Garden Radio, as part of its support for Garden Re-Leaf Day.

The quiz is also a ready-made opportunity to boost customer footfall, as Garden Re-Leaf Day’s founder and Hillview Garden Centre CEO Boyd Douglas-Davies explains: “We’re enormously grateful that so many mainstream stars have supported this year’s Garden Re-Leaf Day quiz – it will be more popular than ever!  It’s a simple way for retailers both to take part in Garden Re-Leaf, and attract scores of customers in-store at the start of the spring gardening season.  You can make the event even more effective by running other sales promotions, refreshments and fund-raisers alongside. The organiser’s pack costs just £100 and is available by calling 0118 930 8918 or emailing pat@gca.org.uk”

Garden centres and suppliers across the UK are expected to take part in the third annual Garden Re-Leaf Day, held on Friday 14 March 2014 and across the weekend. Participants – who can run any number of nationally-coordinated or local fund-raising initiatives – are being urged to register their involvement as soon as possible by emailing the organising team at info@gardenreleaf.co.uk with an overview of your planned activities.  Your location and events will then be added to the Garden Re-Leaf Day website: www.gardenreleaf.co.uk.

As in its first two years, Garden Re-Leaf Day’s nominated charity in 2014 is Greenfingers; the nationwide charity dedicated to building gardens in children’s hospices around the UK. Since 2012 Garden Re-Leaf Day participants have raised more than £116,000 for the cause; enabling several life-enhancing hospice gardens to be created.

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 printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2012 as well as 2013 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 upto date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

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

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this 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.