Scotts Miracle-Gro has completed the integration of Scotts Solus Brands into the core business.

An extensive review of the business has shown us that the ChapelWood® brand has a significant future alongside the existing Scotts Miracle-Gro portfolio. We have already invested in the brand and this will culminate in a ChapelWood® relaunch later in the summer with a range of new products, packaging, branding and marketing support.

We will be looking to divest the remaining brands and products with a view to exiting from them at the earliest opportunity.

Sheila Hill, General Manager of The Scotts Company (UK), says: “We are extremely excited about ChapelWood® and what it can do for the bird care category and for the core Scotts Miracle-Gro business. It’s about driving category growth with our business partners. The remaining brands, while still strong, are not core to us right now and we will be looking at ways to smoothly exit those businesses.”

This change has no effect on the core business of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the UK. Scotts Miracle-Gro regards the UK as one of its major flagship international markets. There is continued strong investment here by Scotts Miracle-Gro in the USA, showing that the company is still extremely committed to the UK gardening market.

We are currently working on how to move forward and which decisions will be best for the business, our retail customers and our staff. We will communicate these decisions as soon as they are made.

We are working closely with our customers who stock these brands to ensure continuity of supply through the rest of the season and how we will support them through the transition process to minimise disruption to their business.

The specialist daffodil collection of Taylors Bulbs have worked their way through yet another nerve racking and tense build-up to strike gold again with a display of daffodil flowers at the Chelsea Flower Show.  The Lincolnshire daffodil man with the Midas touch puts together a display of daffodils later than nature would normally allow.

The display of 86 varieties and 2500 flowers covers 12 weeks of flowering and is the result of 15,000 flowers grown in controlled conditions every year especially for the show.  Varieties from February Gold which, as the name suggests, normally flowers in the garden in February, through to Pheasant’s Eye, the genuine old fashioned favourite that flowers in early May.

Sallyanne Foreman explains; “The bulbs are planted after Christmas and kept temperature controlled until they go into the greenhouse 4 weeks before Chelsea.  In the first week we see leaf growth develop and then flowers beginning to form.  This year, with high temperatures in the first week, buds were starting to develop far too early without the stems having chance to reach any length.  Thankfully the temperature dropped just in time giving the bulbs a chance to develop their stems before the buds burst into flower.”

The flowers are cropped fully open and kept in cold store for up to 10 days before the show but only have an average life of a few days in the floral pavilion so the display is re-staged twice to keep the standard high until the end of Saturday.

Johnny says “The weeks running up to the show are exhausting and stressful but we all support each other and hope nature allows us to put on a grand display.  I’m particularly proud to show such a spread of flowering time this year as visitors are always amazed when we explain the difference between the varieties.  Daffodils from February to May in one day!”

For any further information, please contact Walkers Bulbs on 01406 426216 or Johnny Walkers on 07718 625890.

This is a remarkable 50^th Chelsea Gold for 74-year old Ricky Dorlay, who has coaxed 4000 trees and plants to the point of perfection yet again. “I am absolutely thrilled – and a bit emotional!” says Ricky. “You never take anything for granted, so it is absolutely wonderful news.” 

And it’s a 25^th Chelsea Gold for Hillier Managing Director and Chelsea designer, Andy McIndoe. “We are absolutely delighted to have won our 70^th consecutive Gold. It’s a fantastic achievement!” says Andy. “I am delighted not only for the team from this year but also for everyone who has worked on Hillier stands over the years. It is a great thrill for both the regular crew and for the Chelsea newcomers.” 

HM The Queen visited the Hillier Exhibit during her visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show yesterday, where she met Ricky Dorlay, John Hillier, Andy McIndoe and Rosamond McIndoe. 

Staged in partnership with Beazley, specialist Lloyds insurers, the Hillier Chelsea Exhibit takes the theme of ‘Crossing Continents’, illustrating how plants from across the world have become classics of British gardens. Andy’s design created a series of beautiful interlinking gardens taking visitors around the world without leaving the showground! Press Day saw florists Okishima & Simmonds create a sensational floral dress to celebrate the ‘Crossing Continents’ theme. 

A Great Pavilion exhibit without a single decorative bloom on show has charmed judges into awarding a Chelsea Gold Medal to Scots potato aficionados Morrice and Ann Innes – the first gold to be awarded to a potato-only display in the show’s 150 year history.

The Potato Story, sponsored by Thompson & Morgan, acts as a simple showcase, highlighting more than 140 varieties, and traces the history and origins of the potato while drawing attention to its diversity and versatility in the garden and kitchen. Morrice of Old Town, Aberdeen, claims to have the largest private collection of potato varieties, built up over 20 years, and has long championed his favourite vegetable.

Many of the display’s varieties come from Morrice’s own collection of tubers, and include original South American species as well as historical European heritage varieties such as Karaparea, which was taken to New Zealand by Captain James Cook in the 1770s. The exhibit is completed with modern varieties grown from Thompson & Morgan seed potatoes, including blight resistant main crop Sarpo Axona and its latest introduction, high yielding salad potato Jazzy, currently the mail order supplier’s best seller.

The modest, yet impactful display offers information boards, telling the story of the potato and highlighting its global importance as a major food source and healthy eating option. Morrice said: “We’ve tried to tell the tale of the potato by highlighting a vast array of skin colours, shapes and sizes, while suggesting the best uses of each variety and the places where they come from. You won’t find many of the varieties for sale at the supermarket. Hopefully we’ll help inspire more people to grow potatoes and to try a some of the more unusual forms while they are at it.”

The exhibit’s sponsor has supported Morrice and Ann in the past, scooping silver and bronze medals at previous RHS shows, and is delighted to finally see a Gold Medal awarded to the nation’s favourite vegetable. Thompson & Morgan Vegetable Product Manager, Colin Randel, worked with Morrice to set a world record for the largest display of potato varieties at the 2004 Shrewsbury Flower Show. He said: “Amongst all the glitz and glamour of the world’s most prestigious flower show, it’s great to see a modest, uncomplicated homage to the humble potato stand out from the crowd to scoop a Gold Medal. Morrice and Ann have put on a fantastic display, there’s pretty much every colour under the sun on show, from very old varieties right up to our very latest introduction, Potato Jazzy.”

Allensmore Nurseries have developed a partnership with Blooms of Bressingham Plants to launch a superb range of high quality perennial plants to garden centres.

The carefully selected range from Blooms extensive list of plant varieties will be sold in exclusive 4.5 litre Blooms of Bressingham branded pots, with large branded care labels in each plant, developed by Allensmore Nurseries, which promotes a high quality image, excellent information to the end consumer and also highlights “British Grown”.

Each of the 44 Blooms varieties has been selected by Allensmore Nurseries to offer a wide choice of colour, functionality and excellent garden performance to the end consumer, together with high volume and value sales potential for Retailers.  To achieve a high impact display in store, the new range is supported by free, full colour Blooms of Bressingham “The Plants Your Garden Would Choose™” branded bench wrapping and correx display boards.

The new Allensmore/Blooms range is available now. For more information, please contact: George Price, Sales Development Manager, Allensmore Nurseries on 01981 500 946 or Email george@allensmore.co.uk

The new Allensmore/Blooms of Bressingham plant range will be featured at the HTA National Plant Show, at Stoneleigh on 23th & 24th June. Visit on stand No 172

The Royal Horticultural Society is calling on the nation to get Greening Grey Britain as it launched a new report at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show highlighting an alarming trend of the UK paving over its front gardens and not growing any plants in them.

The RHS 2015 Greening Grey Britain Report reveals that three times as many front gardens are paved over compared to ten years ago, a total increase of 15 square miles of ‘grey’, and that plant cover in front gardens has decreased by as much as 15%.  Over five million front gardens now have no plants growing in them, 7.24 million are nearly totally paved over and four and a half million front gardens are completely paved over.

Today one in four UK front gardens are completely paved over and nearly one in three front gardens has no plants.  The RHS believes it is vital to reverse this trend for the nation’s health, for wildlife, to mitigate against pollution and heat waves and to protect the UK’s homes from flooding. 

Sue Biggs, RHS Director General, explains:  “There is a recognised critical need to increase green in our towns and cities by 10% to help combat predicted rises in temperature.  The evidence in this report suggests we need to increase this target to deal with the 15% loss of greenery in front gardens. We need to urgently increase plants in urban environments, and better understand how to select and use ornamental plants, not reduce them, as this reports indicates we’re doing.  Whatever the pressures to pave, there is always room for plants.

“Gardens are good for our towns and cities. This reduction of plants in front gardens and increase in grey is harmful for wildlife reducing their homes and food sources.  It is also damaging for the nation’s health linked to increasing pollution and increasing temperatures during heat waves and puts our homes at more risk from flooding.”

The RHS is launching the Report at the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show as part of its campaign to get Greening Grey Britain.  The gardening charity is calling on people to pledge to green their own bit of grey and sharing updated advice and ideas to green up front gardens at www.rhs.org.uk/ggb. As part of the campaign, RHS Britain in Bloom is also transforming 6,000 community spaces from grey to green over the next three years.  Key to the campaign is sharing ideas for parking and plants in front gardens.

The RHS Great Chelsea Garden Challenge garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a front garden that demonstrates how you can have parking and plants. It highlights ideas and inspiration for people to take home and incorporate in their own front gardens.

Joe Swift, BBC presenter of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show who has pledged to get Greening Grey Britain at rhs.org.uk/ggb, says; “We can all make our streets greener and better places to live and take action against this growing concrete jungle. We’ve made this conversion to grey one garden at a time and now, today, there are 7.24 million front gardens that are mostly paved.  It’s time to get gardening; we can all make difference: from window boxes to tree planting, let’s join the RHS and get Greening Grey Britain.”

Sue finishes, “Our work to get Greening Grey Britain began in April with the 2015 launch of Europe’s biggest community gardening campaign, RHS Britain in Bloom with a three year target to transform 6,000 unloved grey spaces into thriving planted up places.

“Over the coming months we will continue to share and promote ideas for individuals and communities to go from grey to green, ranging from pulling up a paving stone and planting it up, to creating window box, planting up front gardens and transforming grey public spaces.  Greening Grey Britain can be as big or small as anyone likes, the critical point is that collectively we can all make a positive difference one plant at a time.”

The worst place in the country for paving over front gardens is London, with half of all front gardens paved over and a 36% increase over the last ten years.  London also had the biggest reduction of plant cover in front gardens in the UK, with five times as many front gardens with no plants compared to ten years ago. The North East is the only place in the UK that has reduced the number of completely paved gardens.   Front gardens in the North East with 50% plants or more also increased by almost 30%.

RHS 5 top tips for squeezing plants into the front garden

1. Fill up the corners: you usually can't park there so plant instead
2. Go up the wall: climbers and wall shrubs take up little space. And they don't only look great, they'll insulate your home too, saving on heating bills
3. Hedge your bets: Rather than walls or fences, grow a hedge to filter out particulate (dust) pollution to help you breath more easily. It will provide a home for wildlife too.
4. Growing up: With a slender trunk, a tree can take your greenery up and over the cars.
5. No soil? Plant in containers: Even 100% paved gardens can be made greener by using containers.

Leading garden center retailer Homebase and Harkness Roses were joined by Macmillan ambassador and classical crossover singer Camilla Kerslake, to launch a brand new variety of rose in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The ‘I Am Macmillan’ rose will be available to buy online from September 2015 and in Homebase stores from April 2016.  £1 from every sale will be donated towards funding hours of care from Macmillan nurses, to support people affected by cancer, and their families and loved ones too.

Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “It’s a great honour to have a completely new variety of rose dedicated to funding the wonderful support provided by Macmillan nurses. We are absolutely thrilled our partners Homebase and one of the UK’s leading rose growers are helping us in our mission to make sure no one faces cancer alone.”

This year, also in aid of the charity, Homebase has introduced the ‘Helping Hands’ Patio Rose to its 2015 Chelsea Collection; a selection of plants and flowers that allow customers to take home their own little bit of the Homebase Urban Retreat Garden.

Jane Templar, Buying Manager Garden Plants at Homebase, said: “The ‘Helping Hands’ Patio Rose is slightly scented with beautiful, small delicate creamy peach blooms which flower from early June to the first frosts. It was bred and grown in the UK, benefits from great disease resistance and is a hardy plant which flowers year after year.”

Healthy Living and the need for tasty vegetables, fruit and edible flowers in the diet of school children are this year’s themes for the Miracle-Gro’wers Learning Journey stand GPJ/9 at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

As part of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company’s outreach programme to the community, Scotts Miracle-Gro has this year encouraged more than ten thousand school pupils to embrace and enjoy gardening and horticulture for the first time.

More than 100 schools, including 20 secondary academies have grown edible plants and as a result discovered some of the secrets of healthy eating and living.  Plants grown by these 10,000 Miracle-Gro’wers will be exhibited in the Discovery area of the Great Pavilion together with some representative samples of broad beans and edible flower that were grown in scientific experiments by the schools.

As a back up to an attractive edible garden full of outstanding fruit, vegetables and edible flowers will be a detailed graphics depicting a Healthy Living Plan that promotes the need for everyone to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each and every day. At the moment research* shows that only 1 in 10 children eat FIVE-A-DAY, every day.

The stand is split into two areas. On the main gangway visitors will see a productive school food garden showing fruit, edible flowers and healthy vegetables. Among the vegetables will be new varieties from Thompson and Morgan including edible flowers including a winter-hardy Calendula ‘Banana Blizzard’, a climbing Fuchsia ‘Pink Fizz’ (yes the petals are edible and so are the seed pods) Runner beans ‘Firestorm’ and Snowstorm’, climbing courgette ‘Black Forest’, 2^nd early potato ‘Jazzy’, a decorative Kale ‘Scarlet’ and a garden pea for container growing called ‘Bingo’.

Behind the edible garden is the Kitchen/ Laboratory area where schoolchildren will meet visitors to the show each day of the week so they can explain the results of their growing trials and explain the results

Schoolchildren grew broad beans from seed in three different growing media to see if improving soil made a big difference. They used A) plain soil, B) a 50:50 mix of soil and compost bin material and C) a mixture of both those ingredients mixed with new Miracle-Gro Magic Start. Come and see the statistical results compiled from more than two hundred and fifty plants. A separate feeding trial was carried out by some schools using edible flowers of nasturtiums and pot marigolds. Plants grown in soil and fed at the roots with soluble Miracle-Gro were compared to unfed plants and those that were fed by spraying leaves (foliar feeding) to prove that fed plants grew bigger and stronger.

When you know Her Majesty plans to visit your show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the last thing you want is a gaping hole where your centre piece plants should be on display.

That was the situation faced by Fernando Gonzalez Garden Design, when UK stocks of Digitalis ‘Illumination Apricot’ failed to flower in time for display in the Pure Land Foundation Garden, already being flagged as the most prestigious show garden at this year’s event.

With just four days to finish before the Queen’s visit to the world’s most prominent gardening event, a nationwide hunt for flowering plants threw up no leads.

The plant’s creator, mail order seed and plant specialist Thompson & Morgan, stepped in to widen the search, calling on growers across Europe. Plants in perfect bloom were quickly tracked down at the Plantinova nursery outside Barcelona, Spain, more than 1,500km from its Ipswich HQ!

New Product Development Manager, Michael Perry said: “Knowing our ‘Illumination Apricot’ was playing a major part in this cutting-edge show garden, we just had to help out.”

At end of play Thursday it called on staff, seeking a volunteer to make the mad-dash 3,000km round trip to get the plants on UK soil in time for Saturday’s big garden build.

Up stepped marketing assistant Terri Overett, letting herself in for a 4am start and an 18hour journey to get the plants to the UK in time. First a plane ride to Barcelona El Prat, a taxi to the nursery an hour east of the city, then back to the airport to face the worry of getting them safely back to the UK in a cold cargo hold.

A very relieved chaperone found the plants in good condition once through customs, where colleagues were on hand to rush the plants into London in time to put finishing touches to the Pure Land Foundation Garden, stand FR25. At the eleventh hour, German grower Kientzler also stepped in to rush 10 plants by rail and overnight ferry, helping to plug the gaps just in the nick of time.

The design team’s Director, Thang Vota said: “Fernando and I are so grateful for all the effort put in by the team – they definitely thought outside the box to help get the plants in place on time.  It was the company’s  Chelsea Flower of the Year Award for Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’ in 2012, that inspired us to use the new sister line “Illumination Apricot” in our garden.

"We can’t wait for Her Royal Highness and the public to see the finished design in its full glory with stunning foxglove as a main focal point of the garden.”

Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre near Taunton has been named as the top selling site for Eden Halls’ Juliana branded greenhouses in the UK.

The garden centres was awarded a certificate from General Sales Manager of Eden Halls Greenhouses Ltd, David Boswell.

David said: “In September 2013 we launched our range of Juliana branded greenhouses and during the 2014 season Monkton Elm came out as the top selling site in the country.

“We’d like to say a huge congratulations to the team and thank them for their hard work in sales and dedication to us.”

Eden Halls is a British company that has existed since 1936 and it was the first in the world to mass-produce greenhouses. It is closely associated with English gardening traditions and provides quality greenhouses at reasonable prices.

Chris Hawkins, Patio and Landscape Manager at the garden centre, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been named as the top garden centre for sales of the Juliana greenhouses.

“It’s great to have received the certificate as recognition of our hard work. It will take pride of place in the greenhouse section of the garden centre.”

For more information visit www.monktonelmgardencentre.co.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/Monktonelm or follow the company on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/Monktonelm.

The May Day Bank Holiday proved to be a second bumper Bank Holiday Monday for 2015, according to EPoS data supplied by garden centres for GTN Bestsellers.  

Volume sales were up in all departments with garden lighting and veg plants for Grow Your Own the star performers.

With warmer temperatures forecast and all the media publicity surrounding Chelsea Flower Show on the horizon for next week, the omens are starting to point towards a bumper May for garden centre sales all around.

We continue to hear of huge increases in garden furniture sales too, resulting in big turnover increases year on year.  Why do you think customers are buying more garden furniture in centres this year? Has the garden furniture internet bubble burst? Why are sales so good despite the colder spring? Do you expect the same performance for BBQs?  If you can shed any light on these questions please email trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...

• Garden Products – down 7%
• Veg-2-Gro Products – up 43%
• Growing Media – up 6%
• All items index – up 1%

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

Plant Buyer (ref:BP7298)

Location: Romsey
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

MorePeople have been retained by Hilliers to help them find an outstanding Plant Buyer to join the team at their Head Office in Romsey.
 
As well as being one of the most renowned Garden Centre groups in the UK, Hilliers are also one of the country’s leading growers of hardy nursery stock and have been awarded a Gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the past 69 years! They are justifiably proud of their worldwide reputation for quality, plantsmanship and innovation and are keen that the business continues to expand and develop.
 
This role will have total responsibility for developing and sourcing the range of plants available at Hillier Garden Centres and will work with the garden retail team, and the Head of Purchasing, to create a robust and innovative selection for their customers.
 
The Right Person will……  

• Be an outstanding plant buyer with experience in the UK and international market.
• Have a strong horticultural pedigree and be passionate about plants.
• Be an experienced negotiator and knowledgeable in using market and statistical data to help deliver optimal performance.
• Have the relationship building skills to develop existing partnerships as well as develop new sources.
• Be a self-confident and assertive buyer, with the insight and creativity to help the business develop a unique offering.

 This recruitment assignment is being handled exclusively by MorePeople and any direct or third party applications will be forwarded directly to them.
 
Please apply by sending your cv to info@morepeople.co.uk or for more information please contact Guy Moreton on 01780 480530 or 07932 161444 for a confidential conversation.

Amenity Sales Person (ref:DS7328)

Location: Norfolk
Salary: 25K
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Our client is a leading amenity nursery who supply a wide range of stock to landscape contractors, local authorities & designers across the UK.

They are currently seeking an office based sales person with superb HNS knowledge to join their busy sales team. 

The role is to sell the company goods and services to existing and potential customers.

To be responsible for identifying and managing sales opportunities, building an understanding of client business's and manage the sales process to a successful conclusion.

For this role they are seeking someone with experience in the amenity sector with experience/knowledge of commercial soft landscaping - supplier or contractor.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further please call Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 07929013910

Amenity Sales Executive (ref:DS7330)

Location: Leicestershire
Salary: 20 to 30K per annum
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Our client is one of the UK's leading amenity nurseries who supply a wide range of stock to landscape contractors, local authorities & designers across the UK. They are currently seeking an office based sales person with superb HNS knowledge to join their busy sales team. 

The role is to sell the company goods and services to existing and potential customers. To be responsible for identifying and managing sales opportunities, building an understanding of client business's and manage the sales process to a successful conclusion. 

Job purpose:

-To communicate with customers on all pricing, availability and horticultural issues from the quotation stage to the dispatch of goods and beyond.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

As part of the Sales Management Team, responsible for:

-Conducting sales activity, and encouraging additional sales with customers.
-Making accurate, rapid cost calculations, and providing customers with price and availability.
-Being aware of goods in stock and growing on and as necessary assist in the process of purchasing stock for re-sale and liaising with suppliers.
-Maintaining and developing relationships with new and existing customers in person, and via telephone calls and emails to encourage new business.
-Monitoring any customer dissatisfaction or complaints and resolving these equitably and swiftly.
-Gathering market and customer information. Feeding future buying trends back to Senior Managers.
-Representing the company at trade exhibitions, events and demonstrations.
-Reviewing your own sales performance, aiming to meet and exceed targets.
-Gaining a clear understanding of customers' businesses and requirements, to be able to satisfy their needs and deadlines.
-Assisting in the process of credit control.
-Attending team meetings and sharing best practice with colleagues, working together to identify any improvements to processes, standards, efficiency and profitability.
-Assisting in the training and development of junior staff and listening and supporting colleagues, devoting time to impart expertise, instil confidence and expressing positive expectations regarding the team's and company's performances.
-Speaking positively and enthusiastically about the company and its products and services to ensure that a professional company and brand image is provided at all times to customers and colleagues.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further call Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 07929013910

Garden Retail Manager (ref:BP7312)

Location: East Midlands
Salary: 28-32K per annum
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

I am seeking an experienced garden retail manager to lead the team at a successful independent garden centre in the East Midlands.

-The garden centre is a plant focused site with a newly refurbished shop section.

-The centre also has a strong catering offering making it a destination in the local area.

-The site is family owned and there are plans to expand and continue to grow in there next phase of development.

-This recruitment will focus on finding a manager that is both flexible enough to devote the time into developing this business into a stronger all round retail environment as well as managing the team and driving them to succeed in the current format.

-I am looking for a hands on manager who is able to take ownership of the site and work with the management team to continually develop the skill level of the staff on site.

-I am looking for candidates with a good level of garden centre management experience, this could be from a site role or in a duty manager role in a large centre.

-The team is very strong in horticultural knowledge so plant knowledge isn't essential but a passion for the sector is.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530

Claire Austin has made a triumphant return to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, winning a coveted Chelsea Gold medal for her beautiful ‘Modern Iris Garden’ exhibit.

Her elegant courtyard design of four iris borders with a central olive tree features 40 different varieties of blousy bearded irises, each one in perfect bloom and many making their Chelsea debut.

“I am thrilled to have won Chelsea Gold,” says Claire “I have been away from Chelsea for four years, so to return after a tricky growing season with Gold is wonderful!” 

Five hundred new homes could be built in Horncastle in one of the biggest development projects in the town’s history, which would include the relocation of Crowders Garden Centre to a new site.

Owners of Crowders, a family owned garden business, have revealed details of the scheme which would cover a huge site off Lincoln Road, stretching all the way to Elmhirst Road.

In an interview with the Horncastle News, Robert Crowder said their ambitious project would help ease flooding issues in the town and create new jobs.

As part of the plans, the internationally renowned Crowders Garden Centre would re-locate to the eastern side of Lincoln Road and form phase two of the new development. Phase one would be the first 118 new homes.

The garden centre would increase in size, adding to the 85 jobs currently based at Crowders.

The new estate - 30 per cent of which would be affordable housing - would also include a care facility, adding to job opportunities.

Mr Crowder said: “We have been working on these plans for two years so this isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to anything else that is going on in the area.

Mr Crowder said no decision had been made on what would happen to the existing garden centre site but he ruled out suggestions it could become a major supermarket.

He admitted there would be opposition to the scheme but stressed Horncastle could not afford to stand-still.

Although Crowders will not actually be developing the site, he said Section 106 funding would be available to improve schools and health facilities.

“Our business and our family have been part of the local community for 217 years and for seven generations.

“There is still life left in us and we are not going anywhere fast.

“The future of the local community is really important to us. We’re not here today, gone tomorrow speculators.

“We are looking at the long term sustainable development of Horncastle.”

Mr Crowder confirmed the family owned company had already spent more than £100,000 on consultants’ fees - and an additional £36,000 submitting the planning application to East Lindsey District Council.

He stressed there was no time-scale on the development and that market conditions would dictate when - and if - it went ahead.

The scheme will also feature a roundabout on Lincoln Road to allow access and Mr Crowder said that would help alleviate concerns about the speed of traffic in the area.

He also stressed the proposed drainage system - which will feature catchment areas and landscaped holding lakes - would ease flooding problems for more established residential developments in the area.

He confirmed the development was driven by a need to expand the garden centre business.

He stressed the garden centre could not expand at its current site.

Mr Crowder said: “It will provide funding to take our business to the next stage. If you stand still in business, you will die.

“Whatever happens, Horncastle will develop in the future. No matter how much people don’t want it to change, change is inevitable.

“We’ve got to look at where and how we want Horncastle to grow, We want to it grow in the right places - and not on the top of a hill.

“To say we don’t want Horncastle to grow is a very parochial outlook in my opinion.”

The owner of a garden centre involved in a dispute with council planners says the business is in crisis.

Rob Scott claims a decision by Wokingham Borough Council to start enforcement action against Hare Hatch Sheeplands, near Wargrave, is “vindictive and draconian”.

He says it could result in the garden centre closing with the loss of 100 jobs.

Mr Scott was first served with an enforcement notice for unauthorised expansion in 2012 when the council said he was using green belt land to display and sell conservatories and greenhouses and had extended the café and children’s play area.

He started a campaign to keep the business open and Home Secretary and Maidenhead MP Theresa May offering to broker a deal between the two sides. In January, the council insisted it wanted the business to stay open, saying it played an “important role” in the community.

But last month planning officers said they were left with no choice but to refuse Mr Scott a certificate of lawful use for the extensions at the centre because he was unable to provide evidence that the developments were “established”, meaning they had been in use for 10 years or more.

Mr Scott said: “The enforcement notice the council has issued is vindictive and draconian. It will affect the entire local community, several charities, small local businesses and a number of young people who work for us and all existing staff.

“The council’s demands are so ludicrous that under the guise of protecting the green belt they intend to prevent us from selling even a packet of tomato seeds or a garden spade. I really wonder if the council planners have thought this through properly.”

Among the areas the garden centre will have to shut down are the children’s play area and a small farm. The business had to cancel its annual Santa’s grotto event last Christmas, which Mr Scott says would have raised thousands of pounds for charity.

He said: “If the council gets its way we will be left with the shell of a business that is simply not financially viable, with the loss of all jobs and the return of the site to dereliction.

“I am not exaggerating when I say we have reached a crisis point which could have damaging effects on the community at large, our staff, suppliers and small local business, not to mention depriving our customers of a much-loved facility.”

Mr Scott said that dozens of his customers had written to the council in support of the garden centre and he had submitted a petition signed by more than 2,000 people.

He is now urging locals to support him again by protesting to the council. Mr Scott said: “I am appalled that the council and councillors have completely disregarded the public support shown by thousands of local people. It is now essential that our supporters make their views known again. We still hope that the council will see sense and scale back some of the more extreme demands.”

Clare Lawrence, head of development management and regulatory services at the council, said: “Mr Scott has been aware of the unauthorised nature of the activities and development at the site.

“Even while local councillors were trying to reach an agreement with him for the future of the business, he continued to expand the unauthorised development into new areas of the site and to extend the unauthorised uses with no regard for planning rules.

“Local people and representatives have shown support for the council’s action. The council has a clear mandate from its residents to challenge breaches of planning control and to prevent individuals from disregarding the planning rules.”

Garden lighting sales have powered ahead of the rest of lines in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Product charts. With 10 lines in the Top 50 this week, lights make up 35% of the total chart volume as opposed to 29% in 2014.

• Smart Solar steal the No 1 spot with their Cornish Jar Lantern (pictured).
• Gardman Solar Stainless Steel Glass Marker Light moves up 13 places to No 5.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro Pour & Feed 1 litre is the highest re-entry this week.

Runner Bean White Emergo is top of the crop again for the second week running and for the second year in the first week of May.

Tomato plant sales continue to dominate with 20 lines in the Top 20, notably none of them are grafted plants this year. Grafted plants are selling through but not in volumes to make the Top 50 this year.

Star performers include:

• Quantil Sweet Pepper Snack Pepper 8.5cm is the highest climber, up 20 places.
• Quantil Sweet Pepper Green 8cm is the highest re-entry.
• Quantil Bean Runner Dwarf Patio Hestia in strips of 8 is the only new entry to the Top 50.

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

Veg planting is helping to drive up growing media sales with three very specific veg growing media products featuring in the Top 10.  Scotts Levington Gro-bags, the Levington Tomorite planter and Westland’s Gro-sure vegetable compost have all had good sales weeks.

Star performers this week include:

• Westland Gro-Sure Vegetable Compost 50 litres is the highest climber, up 17 places.
• Scotts Organic Choice Gro Sac is a re-entry at No 45 with a sales increase of over 100%.
• Westland Gro-Sure Ericaceous Compost, 25 litres, is the highest re-entry.

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 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 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.

A Norfolk garden centre has undergone a £500,000 expansion to complete its position as the hub of a local food chain – now incorporating the growing, selling and cooking of home-grown produce.

Green Pastures Plant Centre and Farm Shop at Bergh Apton, south of Norwich, is owned by James Debbage and his partner Michelle Evans.

The couple demolished their tiny 60sq ft shop in the autumn and replaced it with a 460sq ft timber-framed building.

And the latest phase of the redevelopment has opened this month in the shape of a new restaurant, aptly named The Gardener’s Kitchen, which builds on the close relationship between the garden centre, its farm shop and the Debbage family farm down the road at Alpington.

The chefs make homemade specials every day, championing Norfolk delicacies and accenting seasonal produce – and a mainstay of the menu will be the salads, with up to 40 varieties of leaves, herbs and edible flowers.

Many of the ingredients are either grown on site, or at the Debbages’ farm, or supplied by a network of Norfolk producers

Mr Debbage said the restaurant had created an extra 15 jobs, bringing a year-round commercial addition to the business, as well as giving customers the choice of growing their own food, buying local produce, or eating home-grown dishes – all with the purest of provenances.

“We clearly needed to make ourselves more of an all-year-round proposition, and an all-weather proposition,” he said. “With so much fresh, home-grown and locally-grown produce at our disposal it seemed obvious to create the new restaurant around this.

“We are coming at food from all these different angles now. We can get people to grow their own and we can teach them about the food they eat as well as where it comes from.

“People expect to be able to dine at a garden centre these days. It is seen as something of a leisure experience. There are now a lot of people who prefer the ambience of a garden centre rather than dining at a pub. We needed to introduce that to our garden centre, or we would have been at a disadvantage to everyone else.”

Mr Debbage’s family farm grows a varied range of salads, sprouts, broccoli, leeks, pumpkins, squashes, asparagus and rhubarb, but Green Pastures also buys from half a dozen other Norfolk growers including Paul Bloomfield, also at neighbouring Alpington, who supplies rhubarb, broccoli, cabbage, kale, parsley and coriander.

He said: “There used to be 10 growers in the village, and now there are just two. So this does make a difference. I am only half a mile down the road, so if James rings me up in the morning because he needs something, it can be here within half an hour.”

Garden Centre and Catering Consultant Doug Stewart argues that the phrase “locally produced food” is just plain boring.

Every time I go out to eat I read about how the restaurant or café is using locally produced food. Boring. The message, that is, not the food.

Supporting genuine artisan local producers who supply us with delicious ingredients that add magic and sparkle to your catering offer will never be boring.

So why not make your message personal?

“By eating here you are supporting over 20 artisan, local food producers.”

Doesn’t that sound a lot more amazing and exciting?

Doug can be contacted through his website www.waringstewartassociates.co.uk

Since 2012, the Food & Catering Zone at Glee, an i2i Event, has become a ‘must-see’ feature for those thinking of setting up a catering facility from scratch, or in need of ideas to reinvigorate an existing one.

This year, to drive further content and catering inspiration, Catering Design Group (CDG) has come on board as exclusive partners of the Glee Food & Catering Zone.

As an award-winning restaurant and commercial kitchen design company, offering a full design service for both front and back of house, CDG is well placed to deliver unrivalled support and educational content for this thriving section of Glee.

In its short existence so far, the Food & Catering Zone has become renowned as a central hub providing advice, information and inspiration for garden retailers to take their concept to the next level, as well as offering visitors an unrivalled selection of food and catering-related products to suit all budgets. 

Philip Howard, Managing Director of Catering Design Group, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to Glee as the exclusive sponsors of the Food & Catering Zone in 2015.

"We’ll be bringing along our great team of experts across design, kitchen planning and project management to give visitors advice and answer any questions on all aspects of restaurant design and build.

"We’ll also be sharing an abundance of hints, tips, trends and insights to enable visitors to create a destination catering space, so do pop by and say hello.” 

This year the Food & Catering Zone is set to be better than ever, and will be a rich resource for any retailer wanting to expand their catering facilities.  As always this dedicated area will address key issues via an unrivalled workshop programme, with details of the full schedule set to be announced shortly. 

Additionally there will be a wealth of big name brands and niche suppliers covering areas of expertise including catering services, confectionary, kitchen equipment, kitchenware and café/restaurant design consultancy.

Key names to look out for include Bon Bons Wholesale, Findlaters Fine Foods, BBQ Gourmet, Chaucer Foods, The Cutlery Polisher, and Tudor Coffee.

i2i’s Matthew Mein, Glee event director, said: “This year’s Food & Catering Zone is set to be the best yet! The area will not only be bigger and packed full of more exhibitors than ever before, but with the guidance of Catering Design Group as our exclusive partners we will be able to develop a programme that is as targeted and hard working as possible.”

To keep up-to-date on all the latest news log onto www.gleebirmingham.com.