As predicted the cold winds blew garden centre sales off course. Volume sales for the last week of April in the GTN Bestsellers charts ending the month up 9.5% on April last year but nowhere near the record high of 2011 or the recent high of 2015.

There were high spots for veg plant sales and growing media, both up year-on-year in the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales indices. With new records set for April, any notion of grow-your-own falling out of favour can surely be put to bed for another year.

The overall success of the gardening year now rests on May’s weather. If it warms back up sooner rather than later the indicators are that 2017 will be one of the best years for garden centres in recent memory.