Caulders Garden Centres today announced the addition of Loch Lomond Homes and Garden Centre to the group, making it now 8 centres in Central Scotland.

Loch Lomond Homes and Garden Centre, owned by the Shaw Family who own and operate a group of builders merchants in the West of Scotland, have sold the garden centre to focus on and expand their core business.  

Colin Barrie, Managing Director of Caulders, said: "We are delighted to have agreed to buy Loch Lomond Homes and Gardens Centre - it is a great business and a great location with a fantastic team of people who we are looking forward to welcoming into the Caulders Family."

In addition, Steven Shaw of Loch Lomond Homes and Gardens Centre, said: "The Shaw Family would like to thank all of our staff and loyal customers for the support shown over the last 13 years at Loch Lomond Homes and Gardens Centre – we have thoroughly enjoyed it.  We would like to wish Colin and Mandy at Caulders the very best of luck and we are sure that Loch Lomond will be a great addition to their portfolio of garden centres."

The sale is due to complete in early February 2020.

The wet winter weather doesn’t seem to have deterred people from making garden centre visits so far this January as the GTN Bestsellers All Products Sales Index reports volume sales are up by 13% on last year and up 21% on 2018.

Clearance sales post-Christmas and many great homewares offers are certainly driving overall volumes, and most encouragingly, sales of garden products, growing media and plants are up too. Wild Bird Care is the only sector measured by GTN Bestsellers that is down at the moment.

It would appear the desire to get gardening as soon as possible is definitely there so getting that turn around for Christmas into spring gardening and outdoor furniture is the key activity for the month

Another factor increasingly driving volume sales and more regular customer visits is the food hall of garden centres. Gates in Leicestershire have an organic milk vending machine in their new farm shop that is creating new regular traffic from customers looking for a sustainable shopping experience.  Read more about it in the GTN Sustainability Directory to be published later this month.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year (week 2)

• Garden Products - up 25%
• Growing Media - up 91%
• Wild Bird Care - down 8%
• Veg-2-Gro - up 15%
• All Plants Index - up 16%
• All Items Index - up 25%

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Hayes Garden World has announced the sad passing of Mrs Elizabeth Ann Hayes, who died on Sunday 5th January 2020. Elizabeth, the devoted wife of the late Thomas Leith, was mother to Richard and the late Monica and much-loved grandmother of Martin and Megan.

The funeral will be held at Mater Amabilis Catholic Church, Wansfell Road, Ambleside on Friday 24th January 2020 at 1pm. As a mark of respect Hayes Garden World will be closed on that day.

The garden centre has posted the following tribute to Elizabeth on its Facebook page:

Elizabeth, or Betty to those who knew her well, always had an active role in the Garden Centre. She started work in the shop, which was then located in Calluna House, now the garden centre
head-office building. With her colleague, Thelma Hayes, she worked alternate weekends selling plants grown in the nursery, allowing husband Leith and long-serving staff member Fred to work elsewhere on-site. In later years, as the garden centre business expanded, she continued to work alongside Thelma in the small café, comprising just 10 or 12 seats in those days! Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed her role which allowed her to spend time with the family, customers and staff alike. In later years she began to merchandise ranges of decorative giftware for sale in the café. During this time her young Grandson, Martin, would frequently offer his assistance in disposing of the empty cardboard boxes for his Grandmother, although he often became side-tracked and made dens out of them instead!

1987 – A Momentous Year

In 1987, the garden centre saw a major moment in its trading history and a momentous occasion for the Hayes family with the opening of the iconic “Crystal Palace” building. The unusual and unique architecture established the business as one of the key players in the developing garden centre sector and marked the start of the large and successful business we know today. The opening in 1987 was doubly-special as it was not only performed by botanist and broadcaster the late David Bellamy, but was also the date of the christening of Elizabeth’s grandson, Martin.

Stalwarts of the Industry

Elizabeth and husband Leith became very well known in the garden centre industry. They often travelled internationally to conferences and events, bringing back some fantastic and innovative ideas from around the world, including some rare plants and trees that continue to flourish at Hayes Garden World, today. Closer to home they also regularly attended shows in the UK, including Harrogate and Birmingham which they sometimes attended accompanied by staff members from the garden centre shop. On journeys to these events the team would often stop at “Etna”, their favourite Italian restaurant in Lancaster, where they always enjoyed a laugh and a joke with the Sicilian owner, Dominic. Elizabeth and Leith forged strong friendships over the years, too many to list here but those with Derek Bunker, Ron Bent and Beryl & Dave Stafford are worthy of a special mention. Elizabeth and Beryl were great friends and would continue to go on cruises together into their later years.

1992 – Garden Centre of the Year

Perhaps one of Elizabeth’s proudest moments occurred in 1992, when, as a result of all the years of hard work she and Leith had put into building the business, the garden centre was awarded the accolade of Garden Centre of the Year. A photograph marking this achievement still hangs in the Hayes’ company offices to this day. Sadly, a few months after this crowning event Elizabeth’s beloved husband, Leith, passed away. However, in the aftermath of this sad event, new doors were opened as the next generation of the Hayes family took the reins of the business. In October 1993, Elizabeth was delighted to see her son, Richard, take the helm and was proud to see how he and the management team continued to drive it forward over the coming decades.

A Life very well Lived

Although in recent years Elizabeth stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business, she remained a passionate champion of maintaining standards at the highest level, paying attention to detail and keeping management on their toes! She knew the staff members well and enjoyed seeing many of them flourish over the years as they gravitated from young junior assistants to senior managers, team leaders and buyers. Some long-standing staff members became good friends with whom Elizabeth enjoyed some wonderful holidays, revelling in the sights and always having plenty of fun!

Elizabeth Hayes personified everything that has made the Hayes Garden World business such a success: she will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

One of the great benefits of AMES UK acquisition of Kelkay has been investment to drive business expansion.The site near Snaith, from where Kelkay's aggregate and paving operations are run, has been expanded by over 20% in preparation for the forecasted increase in garden centre business.

AMES UK have demonstrated their confidence in the team and the future growth of the business by funding  a £1.5m investment in warehousing and logistics as well as new packaging machinery, all of which has been installed since August.

Richard Slade, General Manager, said: "It's been an exciting, if challenging, few months. We've undertaken a pretty major reorganisation of the site to double our internal pallet spaces and expand the external space to accommodate more than 12,000 pallets. And while we were making these changes, we've also expanded our operations in Cork to cope with the business growth in Ireland of more than 100%."

Richard, who has been responsible for Kelkay operations for several years is now running the business across all AMES UK sites, including La Hacienda and True Temper. This has also meant further investment in business infrastructure to improve communications through IT and the installation of new servers that allow the whole group to be operated effectively under the new centralised management team.

Kelkay base in Snaith WWII airfield.

West Berkshire Council have approved plans for a major extension at Hillier’s Newbury garden centre.

More than 2,500sq.m. of additional retail space is planned, almost trebling the existing area, housed in a new glass-fronted building with apex roofline that will also host concession businesses as well as a farm shop and coffee shop. The entrance and parking area will be improved and enlarged.

Work will begin in the summer  and completed in time for the peak spring season in 2021.

“We are delighted to have the green light for this extension project,” said Chris Francis, Hillier garden centre and wholesale nurseries director. “A few years ago, we undertook a shop refit at Newbury and introduced our popular Mulberry & Thyme Restaurant, which have contributed to the success of the garden centre. This extension project will take the location to a whole new level.”

DLF Seeds, the exclusive new distributor for Neudorff, is reporting strong pre-season orders for the German natural gardening pioneer’s product portfolio.

Since striking the agreement in September, DLF Seeds, owner of the leading Johnsons Lawn Seed brand, says the Neudorff range – which carries the company’s iconic sunflower branding – has been well received by retail stockists across the UK.

Johnsons Lawn Seed’s Consumer Manager, Guy Jenkins, said: “It has been fantastic to experience so much positivity from stockists since becoming the exclusive distributor for Neudorff. There is a natural synergy between Johnsons’ and Neudorff’s leading ranges of stand-out products, and combining both into DLF Seeds’ distribution system has resulted in an excellent sell-in to retail outlets across the UK, with the ranges well-received by stockists.

“The naturals category is a growth area within garden centres and Neudorff’s product line-up for eco-conscious gardeners really chimes with stockists who are experiencing increasing footfall in sales areas dedicated to green gardening solutions. Neudorff’s product range is right on-trend, with enquiries and orders coming in fast from garden centre groups as well as independent retailers. Neudorff’s glyphosate-free weedkillers, metaldehyde-free slug and snail bait, neonicotinoid-free bug and larvae killers and organic feeds have all performed strongly ahead of the 2020 season.” Guy added: “A clear sign to the customer: Neudorff has the widest range of products certified by the Organic Farmers & Growers Association.”

DLF Seeds’ distribution network has an exceptional level of UK coverage, and the market has responded positively to being able to obtain the Neudorff range – a proven seller – from the same distributor as Johnsons Lawn Seed products.

Crossover between Neudorff’s collection of products for natural gardening and Johnsons Lawn Seeds hits the current trend for chemical-free gardening.

Neudorff’s recently introduced off-the-shelf nematodes that control leatherjackets, lawn grubs and vine weevils are proving to be a game-changer for the sector, as the beneficial biological controls don’t have to be stored in fridges prior to use and offer retailers a long shelf life.

Neudorff has been a key player in the naturals sector since entering the UK market in 2012.

Tiptree-based Perrywood Garden Centre presented cheques for more than £21,000 raised in 2019 to its its chosen charities of the year last week.

The recipients were Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity, Kids Inspire and Greenfingers Charity.

Fund-raising activities included an afternoon tea party, quiz nights and raffles, a staff Christmas jumper day and creative challenge, as well as tours and talks to gardening groups.

A number of Perrywood's staff members also got involved. Team member Arif took on the ultimate challenge of a 100km trek across the Sahara Desert.

Others completed the Colchester Half Marathon (in March) and the Walk for Wards in Felixstowe (in July).

The centre has also been busy helping the local community. Instead of receiving tips, the coffee shop and restaurant team chose to give donations to Colchester Hospital. In March, the team donated £1,000 to purchase a year's supply of dominoes, playing cards, colouring pens, white boards and photo albums for dementia patients. In June, £1,500 was donated to the children's ward to purchase a games table and other activity equipment. In September, two children's cardiac recording machines costing £2,600 were purchased. Finally, over the festive season, the coffee shop & restaurant team raised a further £1,540 to purchase presents for patients at Colchester Hospital.

   On top of this, Perrywood donated more than £8,000 worth of plants, gardening equipment and gift vouchers to local schools and individuals, including sponsorship of the St Helena Hospice Gardening Group and the Growing Communities competition for schools.

Hannah Powell, communications and HR director at Perrywood, said the £21,050 raised easily exceeding their target. “We are extremely proud of all of our team's fundraising efforts and we couldn't thank our customers enough who have also played an important part of this achievement. We are delighted to be supporting Kids Inspire, Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity and Greenfingers Charity once again in 2020 and we look forward to making a difference to these organisations throughout the year. Our first fundraising event will be the Greenfingers charity quiz night on Thursday 12 March.”

Garden centre and horticultural industry staff can now (January, 2020) sign up for a fundraising event being held at the Garden Centre Association’s annual conference (January 26 – 29). Teams will compete for the Greenfingers Challenge Cup during an afternoon of ‘orse racin’ on January 26 at The Mercure Bristol, Grand Hotel to raise money for Greenfingers, which creates gardens at children’s hospices.

Ian Flounders from Woodlodge Products, who captains The Cabbages team, made up of garden centre suppliers, said: “In the spirit of recycling and reusing and in keeping with the theme of this year’s conference, we’ve decided to bring back our favourite event from conferences gone by.

“The Cabbages, headed up by myself, and The Pansies, made up of garden centre staff and headed up by Guy Topping, will compete in an afternoon of horse racing and take on the brand-new course ‘The Greenfingers Grand’.

“Last year we raised £6,500 for the charity and we’re hoping to beat this total this year, so we’re asking anyone who hasn’t yet signed up and would like to, to get in touch via captaincabbage@woodlodge.co.uk or call 07917 425966.

“The Pansies lifted the cup last year, but this year The Cabbages are coming for their crown. Guy and I have also arranged a special something to take place in the evening for GCA members.

“Ultimately, our main aim is to raise as much money as possible to help our fantastic charity and we hope lots of people get involved.”

If any companies would like to sponsor the event with an advertising space on the course, they can get in touch with Ian.

Established in 1999, Greenfingers Charity supports life-limited children who use hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating outdoor spaces for them to enjoy with family, friends and siblings, whether through play and fun or therapeutic rest and relaxation.

To date it has created 58 gardens and outdoor spaces in hospices around the country and has a waiting list of hospices that need their help now.

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

The Greenfingers Challenge Cup ‘Orse Racin’ will take place at The Mercure Bristol, Grand Hotel on Sunday, January 26 from 4pm.

The GCA’s annual conference takes place at the The Mercure Bristol, Grand Hotel from January 26 until 29, 2020.

The conference is open to GCA members only (garden centres and suppliers), and the full programme can be found in the members’ area of the GCA website along with the online booking facility. Bookings are ahead of last year but there are still places left.

For other information, please call 01244 952170, visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.

The Hub, a Yeovil-based service for vulnerable adults across Dorset and Somerset, has received high praise in the Royal Horticultural Society’s It’s Your Neighbourhood initiative, a non-competitive scheme run by the world’s leading gardening charity for community groups wanting to ‘green up’ their local area. With help from Brimsmore Gardens, which donated 150 plants, including bulbs, salad vegetables and herbs, as well as 50 bags of compost, The Hub was awarded an Outstanding certificate of achievement, the highest possible level to be awarded.

As part of the personal, social and employment skills support on offer to The Hub’s trainees, It’s Your Neighbourhood provided a platform for learning garden design, construction and engaging with the local community. Commended for its imaginatively constructed garden with containers made from recycled, repurposed and upcycled materials and filled with an array of colourful, tactile and edible plants from Brimsmore Gardens, The Hub’s wide variety of horticulture impressed the judges after only a year of moving to new premises.

Joe Knights, warehouse and site coach at The Hub, explains: “This is such a fantastic achievement for The Hub and we are so grateful to the team at Brimsmore Gardens for their continued support throughout this project. Receiving so many plants, as well as calling on their knowledge and expertise, really made a huge difference to our garden design, and as well as learning lots of new skills along the way, our trainees have loved picking the produce that was grown from the kind plant donations.”

Mike Burks, managing director of The Gardens Group, adds: “As well as providing an opportunity to engage with our natural environment, gardening has so many other benefits, including acting as a source of therapy and helping bring communities together, so we were delighted to support The Hub as it worked towards the It’s Your Neighbourhood certification. What is being achieved at The Hub is truly inspired, with every inch of the garden utilised to its full potential with old unused items, such as tyres and plastic bottles, being transformed into vibrant growing spaces. This accomplishment is a great example of how outdoor areas of all shapes and sizes can be transformed into thriving green spaces for all visitors to enjoy, so I hope this can inspire other groups and individuals in the region.”

• Survey to 2,000 respondents shows that 52 per cent of people in Britain have experienced feeling alone
• Younger Generations suffer most with 68 per cent of 18-24 year olds having felt lonely compared to 41 per cent of over 55s
• Four in 10 have taken up new hobby to combat feelings of loneliness
• Some 39 per cent of people said they garden or grow plants when they feel lonely
• More than half of adults ‘enjoy’ being surrounded by greenery and further 53 per cent said it boosts their mood

A study* commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has highlighted that more than half of adults consider themselves to be ‘lonely’ because they are too busy or shy to socialise with others**.

The news comes as the RHS is set to unveil a Garden for the 2020 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which will encourage the nation to make friends through gardening at a press conference today, Monday 20 January.

The RHS Garden for Friendship will celebrate how you can make great friends through gardening, from community gardening, to sharing plants with your neighbours, discussing top tips and spending time in the garden socially.

The study of 2,000 adults found 28 per cent are too short of time to spend time with others, a third struggle to find people with similar interests and more than 36 per cent simply feel shy.  A fifth believed social media has taken over communication and three in 10 put their loneliness down to lack of money.

But while 52 per cent of Brits have experienced feeling alone, the younger generations suffer most, with 68 per cent of 18-24 year olds having felt lonely compared to 41 per cent of the over 55s.

As a result of this epidemic, half have attempted to tackle their loneliness with almost a third joining a social group such as a gardening club.  Four in 10 have taken up a new hobby on their own to combat feelings of loneliness.  Some 39 per cent of people said they garden or grow plants when they feel lonely.

More than half of adults ‘enjoy’ being surrounded by greenery and a further 53 per cent said it boosts their mood.

The research was commissioned by the RHS in its third year collaborating with the NHS at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to promote gardening for good mental health.  A national competition with NHS Mental Health Trusts will once again see the RHS’ Feature Garden from RHS Chelsea be redesigned and created at an NHS Mental Health Trust.

Sue Biggs RHS Director General said: “It’s worrying to see that half of all adults suffer from loneliness and it really does affect all ages.

“Loneliness is a key issue that can impact mental health and that’s why personal wellbeing is a key theme of the RHS Garden for Friendship.

“It’s clear from the study that the younger generation are affected by the digital age which has resulted in lack of face to face communication, while older demographics are suffering in silence living alone.

“We passionately believe gardening is good for mental health and want to encourage people to join local social gardening groups, garden with neighbours or volunteer in gardens in order to boost their wellbeing and confidence.”

The research also found during the average week adults experience feelings of loneliness three times, but a tenth feel lonely every day.

Almost two thirds – 64 per cent – believe even with lots of friends it’s possible to still feel alone and more than half of adults find it worse today than five years ago.

Similarly, six in 10 worry about feeling even more secluded as they get older, due to friends or family passing away or moving cities and 44 per cent fear living on their own. 

As a result, 59 per cent agreed being a member of a community group would make them feel less lonely and a quarter said it would boost their confidence.

And more than a sixth of those polled via OnePoll wish there were more social groups in their community to join.

The average age when Brits have felt most alone was revealed as 37, although a fifth felt they suffered most in their twenties.

Focusing on the younger generation, more than half of 18-24 year olds said growing up in the digital age has had an effect on loneliness and more than a third of them communicate ‘most’ via social media.

In comparison, a third of the over 55 age group speak with others more often face to face.

RHS Director General Sue Biggs added: “Learning from others about gardening, sharing a passion for growing plants, texting or posting pictures of plants with friends and enjoying a cup of tea or glass of wine in a beautiful green space are just some of the ways that plants bring people together.  Joining an RHS Britain in Bloom community group is another way to meet people and garden and it doesn’t cost any money.

“We will be sharing ideas and ways to bring people of all generations together through gardening this year and are looking forward to working with the NHS again to create a beautiful relaxing, social garden at one of their NHS Mental Health Trusts.”

*Study by OnePoll to 2000 adults across the UK

**28% said lack of time to socialise was one of the top reasons they felt lonely. 

36% said that it was because they are shy and struggle to talk to new people.

If you have a team of willing participants and a weekend spare, then the Bust Rallies’ Monte Carlo or Bust banger rally could be the perfect adventure. Even better, the Greenfingers charity has been granted 10 places for this fabulous event, meaning even more FUNdraising opportunities for the UK’s leading children’s hospice garden charity.

‘Monte Carlo or Bust’ is Europe's ultimate banger rally event (Thursday 4 June to Sunday 7 June ) through six countries – Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy –  and culminating on the French Riviera in Monaco. Along the way, participants will take in the Black Forest, Lake Como and the ultimate driving road along the Gottard Pass, 2,000m up in the Swiss Alps.

To take part, participants need just a few things – a ‘banger’ that costs no more than £500, two drivers, appropriate insurance and a sense of direction. The rally isn’t about speed, but instead teams will be faced with daily challenges, prizes and fancy-dress competitions along the way, all with the aim of putting the FUN into FUNdraising. A handful of eager drivers have already signed up, so interested parties who would like to join the event under the Greenfingers banner are urged to sign up as soon as possible.

For those with vehicles that can’t make the journey back, there will be a special ‘scrapping’ service available where participants can wish their car a fond farewell before travelling back to the UK in a little more comfort than they arrived in! Those feeling brave enough can, of course, use their trusty stead to complete the journey home.

One company that has already signed up is STIHL. Simon Hewitt, the STIHL team spokesperson, said: “STIHL GB has been supporting Greenfingers for the last year and is very excited to be a part of this exciting fundraising mission. Four of the STIHL team will take part in the Greenfingers banger Rally and we’ll be inviting our dealers to sponsor our very orange car!”

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications, added: “The Monte Carlo or Bust Rally is designed to provide a fun teambuilding opportunity.  From choosing your ‘banger’, to completing the challenges along the way, I’ve no doubt that the rally will provide hilarious memories for years to come. But more than this, it’s a great way of raising funds, and helping us to build even more hospice gardens. We love our supporters so much, which is why we wanted to offer them another fantastic way to get involved. We can’t wait to see how the journey to Monte Carlo pans out for those taking part. I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant!”

To find out more about Greenfingers Charity, and how to get involved in the Monte Carlo or Bust Rally, please email Linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk. You can also find information about previous Bust Rallies events by clicking here. www.bustrallies.com

Garden centres will find plenty of inspiration at this year's IPM ESSEN (28 to 31 January 2020), including innovative and practical sales concepts and new presentation ideas.

More than 1,500 exhibitors from around 50 nations will show their products and services. The IPM Discovery Centre in Hall 7 will primarily focus on measures for increasing sales. Complete POS situations will be presented there, with recommended display solutions.

The meeting place for buyers will be the IPM Discovery Centre in Hall 7 under the management of creative director Romeo Sommers, who curates (Glee’s Retail Lab). POS concepts and bold ideas for measures to boost footfall and customer retention will be introduced there – a blernd of showroom, communication area, think tank and a Hall of Fame. Participating exhibitors and products will be staged as ‘heroes’ that can be used to tell exciting POS stories . The stand will feature professional shopfitting with a garden centre style.

The Innovation Showcase organized by the Central Horticultural Association (ZVG) will celebrate the best breeding in bedding and balcony plants, spring-flowering plants, flowering house plants, green house plants, woody plants, perennials and tub plants.

Picture: Guernsey Clematis Nursery

The Commercial Horticultural Association (CHA) is once again organising the British Group at IPM Essen, supported by the Department for International Trade and presenting a range of companies offering new varieties and innovative technologies in Halls 7 and 3. Find out more from the CHA team on the information stand 7-A24.e.

Exhibitors include:-

• Air-Pot® – stand no. 7–A24.c
• David Austin Roses – stand no. 7-A24.a
• Fairweather’s Nursery – stand no. 7-A24.f
• G Plants Ltd – stand no. 7-B24.b
• The Guernsey Clematis Nursery – stand no. 7-A24.b 
• INDO Lighting – stand no. 3-B37.a
• Must Have Perennials – stand no. 7-B24.d
• PPC Labels – stand no. 7-A24.d
• Tildenet Ltd – stand no. 7-A24.g
• Tyne Moulds & Machinery Co Ltd - stand no. 7-B24.a
• Whetman Plants International – stand no. 7-B24.c
• Wonderwall –stand no. 7-B24.d

Visitors to the CHA stand will be able to access a meeting area with refreshments and can take a copy of the CHA Buyers’ Guide a copy of the UK government-supported publication highlighting UK Capability in Commercial Horticulture.

A day ticket for IPM ESSEN costs €23 online, with the price at the door €35. Opening times:  9am- 6pm Tuesday to Thursday and from 9am- 5pm Friday.

Find out more here.

Squire’s Garden Centres has rewarded some of its employees for making a difference to the business.

Each month team members can be nominated by their peers, or by customers, and one person is selected for the “Made A Difference” award. It could be because they offered outstanding customer service, came up with a great idea, went over and above normal duties, or thought of an initiative that has grown or inspired the business.

The 2019 winners were recently thanked with a special lunch served by the management team at Squire’s in Badshot Lea, and the overall winner was also announced - Ben Woolhouse, garden furniture department head at Squire’s in West Horsley.

Ben won the award twice in 2019, and was chosen as the overall winner due to his outstanding “over and above” customer service.

The first time he won was in May last year, when he delivered an order directly to a customer late on a Sunday evening. The delivery driver had run out of time, the garden centre was closing, and everyone was going home. Without being asked, Ben took the delivery out to the customer, as he had promised that they would have their furniture that day.

Then, on Christmas Eve, a customer arrived at the centre with a letter for Santa from her son, who was too ill to come in and feared he wouldn’t get any presents if Santa didn’t have his letter. Unfortunately the grotto had closed at that time, but Ben stepped in, put the Santa outfit on, and had a picture taken as he held the letter. See picture, right.

A classic celebration of spring took place in Amsterdam on Saturday – National Tulip Day.

Dutch Tulip growers creates a gigantic pick-your-own tulip garden on Dam Square with some 200,000 tulips in various colours. The theme of National Tulip Day 2020 is 'A World of Colours', this year’s theme at  the Keukenhof display gardens showcase.

The garden was opened to the public at 1pm and was ‘picked clean’ by dusk.

Note: the picture shows the 2019 display, not this year's.

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David Anderson, who was a former Managing Director of BHS International and most recently the Operations Director at Wyevale Garden Centres where he played a pivotal role in the successful sale of the business at the end of last year, has joined JGOO, the next generation leader in digital commerce, as a non-executive director, to support the company’s strong growth in the UK retail sector.

David has worked in retail for over 30 years and has held several senior roles including Managing Director of BHS International (UK) Limited where he successfully relaunched the company after it was bought by the Almana Group following its fall into administration.  David left the company soon after the relaunch to join Wyevale Garden Centres.

He was also Director of Operations, Marketing and International for BHS Limited and prior to that, spent over 20 years working at M&S where he held several senior roles. 

Launched in London in 2017, JGOO is a leading next generation payments provider with forward thinking technology at its core. Through its official partnerships with WeChat Pay and Alipay, JGOO provides brands with direct trading access to the Chinese market, connecting UK and European companies to Chinese shoppers and tourists. It not only provides a payments gateway for them to pay for British goods when visiting the country or when buying online via WeChat Pay and Alipay, but it also has a team of Chinese nationals in the UK to help clients develop social media marketing campaigns via the WeChat platform – China’s most powerful marketing tool.

JGOO is part of UK FinTech group R8 Limited (R8), which aims to bring the full scope of banking and financial services to support the growing decentralised economy. Prominent entrepreneur Jonathan Rowland is the founder and chairman of R8, which has several prominent backers including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, who sits on the board as a non-executive director. 

Richard Morecroft, Director and Co-Founder of JGOO said: “We are delighted that David is joining us.  He has a wealth of experience in retail and will make a valuable contribution to help us communicate the many exciting benefits we offer to retailers looking to target the one billion potential customers in China.”

Jonathan Rowland, Chairman and founder of R8 said: “David is a very strong addition to our team.  As well as being a seasoned retailer, he has significant experience in promoting UK goods and services abroad. We are excited to have him on board.”

David Anderson said: “China is a huge opportunity for many UK retailers, but the road is littered with companies that have failed to break into this market.  JGOO is a tried and tested way to do this, allowing retailers to effectively market to China in a highly cost effective and successful way.  I believe it is an extremely powerful proposition for retailers looking to target the biggest market in the world, and I’m excited to be working with the JGOO team.” 

Early Bird offers and sale lines were being scooped up by customers big time last week as garden product sales for the second week of January reached a record high.

With a drier weather forecast for the weekend, garden centres who’ve got their gardening offering up and ready for business quickly after Christmas will be making hay while the sun shines.

Highlights of the week were:

• Three core gardening products re-enter the chart at the top this week: Evergreen Garden Care Levington Tomorite 1L + 30% Free is at No 1; Vitax Q4 Fertiliser 4.5kg is at No 2; and Vitax 6X Natural Fertiliser 8k is at No 3.
• Smart Solar’s Funky Fruit Green Apple Light is the highest chart climber, up to No 4.
• Briers Secateurs Black are the highest new chart entry, in at No 11.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Plant sales have got off to a supercharged start of the year. GTN Bestsellers Total Plant Sales index shows sales up by 13% on last year and 36% on 2018 early year levels.

Highlights of the week were:

• Primula sales almost doubled as they dominated at No 1.
• Coprosma were a high placed re-entry at No 7.
• Indigofera was a surprise new entry at No 10 with Indigofera himalayensis ‘Silk Road’ 3L the biggest contributor.
• All Plants volume sales change: Week on week UP 67.2%.  Year to date vs 2019 UP 13.1%, vs  2018 UP  35.7%.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

After a slow first week of January, early bird compost offers have really got growing media sales going in the second week. So much so that cumulative volumes for the month are 28% up on last year.  That’s a great sign for the year ahead if the weather stays on our side.

Highlights of the week were:

• Evergreen Garden Care Levington Essential Multi Purpose, 50 litres, tops the GTN Bestsellers Volume chart.
• Westland Composted Bark, 70 litres, was the highest re-entry of the week at No 18.
• Westland Arthur Bowers Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost the highest new entry at No 30.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Wild Bird Care has seen a slow start to the year. This is probably one area where a period of cold weather will stimulate sales.There’s been a major change at the top of the GTN Bestsellers Wild Bird care chart.

After weeks, if not years, when Gardman Fat Snax, tub of 50 was the No 1 Bestselling line, so far this year the crown has been stolen by Westland Peckish Natural Balance Energy Balls 50 +20% Free.

Highlights of the week were:

• Westland Peckish Extra Goodness Energy Balls 50 were also a new entry at No 18.
• Tom Chambers Mealworm Suet Treats were a re-entry at No 25.
• Honeyfields from Marriages make their debut in the GTN Chart with their Easy Fill & Clean Seed Feeder at No 48.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

The HTA believes a proposal to scrap the Uniform Business Rate in Scotland would be damaging to member businesses, creating an unnecessary burden and potential increased costs.

The Association is urging MSPs to vote against the move in the Scottish Parliament later this month.

In November 2019 Holyrood’s Local Government and Communities Committee backed a Green Party Amendment to the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill, at Stage 2, which ends the uniform business rate and instead hands over this £2.8 billion tax to the 32 local authorities enabling, them to set their own poundage rate, rates relief and any local rates supplements.

In a letter to both Derek Mackay MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, and Jackson Carlaw MSP, acting leader of the Scottish Conservatives, the HTA raises concerns, urging them to vote against the amendments.

After employee costs, taxes such as property rates are the next biggest expenditure for many HTA member businesses in Scotland. Thye association says that, whilst Uniform Business Rates are not perfect, they do provide businesses with consistency and predictability and allow those with multiple sites across different authorities in Scotland and across the whole of the UK to plan a financial year.

HTA chairman James Barnes said members wanted a fair and reasonable tax system that values and promotes business competitiveness and minimises complexity in Scotland. “Business rates have increased substantially over the last 10 years with significant disparities – garden centres in Scotland are paying a significantly higher rate per square foot, than those in England. We see no need for these further unpredictable and potentially higher tax-raising changes.”

The HTA is also asking its Scottish members to write to their local MSPs urgently, encouraging them to vote against the changes.

Dobbies have announced their 2019 Christmas trading update today which reveals a like for like 6% increase on 2018 and 9% higher than 2017.

For the 9 weeks leading up to 29th December 2019 Dobbies total sales were up by 44%, including all of the new centres purchased from Wyevale Garden Centres during the year.

Their update states that performance has been driven by increased transaction volumes & growth in basket size, in both retail and restaurant divisions.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO, has said: “Dobbies Christmas trading continues to reflect the positive momentum we have delivered this year.  Driving our like-for-like sales performance was double digit sales growth across many key categories including Christmas decorations (+16%), artificial trees (+29%), toys (+17%) and crackers (+16%).   We saw a similarly strong performance for our restaurants, with over 135,000 children visiting Santa at one of our Christmas events.”

Andrew Bracey, Chairman, added: “Dobbies Christmas performance with sales up 44% and like-for-like growth of 6% is very encouraging. This important trading period followed the acquisition and successful integration of 31 new garden centres last year, seeing Dobbies double in size. We are delighted with the performance from the team.”

Read GTN's pre Christmas interview with Graeme Jenkins in the current issue of GTN using this link

CJ Wilbird Foods has been fined £50,000 after an employee suffered life changing injuries when his hand was trapped in an unguarded rotary valve.

On 25 July 2017, a production operative had to have three fingers amputated after sustaining injuries while operating a mixing extraction unit at the company’s site in Upton Magna, Shrewsbury.

The employee had been levelling out the waste dust that collected in a large bag located underneath a rotary valve on the mixing plant. He lost his balance and began to fall backwards into the bag. As he tried to steady himself his right hand came into contact with the moving parts of the rotary valve.

An HSE investigation found that a guard preventing access to the dangerous parts of the rotary valve had fallen off over time but had not been replaced. Following the purchase of the second-hand mixing extraction unit, no suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks arising from its had ever been made so the company failed to identify the risks from the dangerous parts.

C J Wildbird Foods Ltd, of The Rea, Upton Magna, Shrewsbury pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision of Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. In addition toi the fine of £50,000, it was ordered to pay costs of £5,508.61.

HSE Inspector Andrew Johnson said after the hearing: “This was an easily preventable incident which has had life changing consequences. It reminds us why there are long established and straightforward regulations requiring dutyholders who procure and use their work equipment to assess the risks and identify and put in place effective measures to prevent access to any dangerous moving parts.”

While the rest of UK retail, via the BRC, was reporting the worst trading for November and December on record with total sales down 0.9% compared with the same period in 2018, garden centres were trading at all time highs, according to GTN Bestsellers Epos data analysis.

During November and December 2019 the GTN Bestsellers All Sales index grew by 9% on 2018 and was 10% ahead of 2017 levels.

That great end to the year meant whole year volume sales growth for 2019 of 4.2% over 2018, setting a new record as recorded by GTN Bestsellers over the past 10 years.

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive British Retail Consortium, said: “2019 was the worst year on record and the first year to show an overall decline in retail sales.” 

GTN Bestsellers says: “This just goes to show how in touch with their customers garden centres are and how well they are adapting to changing customer requirements.  More and more people are visiting garden centres and spending more while they are there. A record year for volume sales shows the real growth potential of our sector.”

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

The UK retail arm of Bord na Mona is to be re-named The Greener Gardening Company from 1 February.

The division comprises Bord na Mona Horticulture, Bord na Mona UK and White Moss Horticulture and will continue to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Bord na Mona Ireland.

Steve Harper, head of commercial and marketing, says the name change will make the brand easy to recognise for UK consumers.

The company’s new Happy Compost peat-free range has been well received by the trade and was given a ‘best in test’ performance rating in trials at University College of Dublin

The name change does not cover the current Bord Na Mona Horticulture business in Ireland or affect UK trade customers who trade directly with it.

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 2017 as well as 2018 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 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

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

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

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Wild Bird Care Products 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.

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 £120m.

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.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call 01733 775700.

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