Retail Lab @ Glee: Creative Director, Romeo Sommers

Romeo Sommers interview about his new your role as Creative Director of the Retail Lab @ Glee. Read more - open to all

Romeo Sommers

Bernard Tickner awarded MBE in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours

Bernard Tickner has been awarded an MBE in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The award has been given in recognition for services to wildlife conservation and horticulture, relating to his voluntary conservation work in Suffolk and for his work at Fullers Mill Garden in West Stow. Read more - open to all

Bernard Tickner (Photo: Gregg Brown)

Steve Pitcher joins Homebase / Bunnings

Steve Pitcher started work with Homebase / Bunnings last week, a year after leaving B&Q. Read more - open to all

Steve Pitcher

Maxwell Asare joins Evergreen Horticulture as National Account Manager

Evergreen Horticulture welcomes Maxwell Asare who joins this month as National Account Manager to the UK mainland. Read more - open to all

Maxwell Asare

Bransford Webbs Plant Company Managing Director Geoff Caesar is moving on!

After 25 years at the Bransford Webbs Plant Company Managing Director Geoff Caesar is moving on at the end of July to take up a role with Ball Colegrave as Director at their Bordon Hill Nursery in Stratford upon Avon. Read more - members only

Geoff Caesar

Grange strengthens marketing team with two new appointments

Leading garden structures company, Grange Fencing has boosted its marketing team with the appointment of two dedicated team members. Read more - open to all

Grange marketing team: Peter Holloway, Julie Hall, Mark Morris and Rob Giles.

GIMA praises Perennial’s ‘Play the Pitch’ football fundraiser

Last month’s Perennial ‘Play the Pitch’ charity football tournament was hailed a success by GIMA Director Vicky Nuttall, President Chris Ramsden (Hozelock), and council member Craig Hall from Deco-Pak. The event raised approximately £15,000 for Perennial from 16 teams and was hosted by Leicester City Football Club at the King Power stadium. Read more - open to all

The GIMA team reach the final

New finance director at Mr Fothergill's Seeds

Phil Hurst has joined Mr Fothergill’s as Finance Director. He comes to the Suffolk seedsman from the food group Hain Daniels where he was Financial Controller. This followed spells at Molton Brown and Activity Superstore. Read more - open to all

Phil Hurst has joined Mr Fothergill’s as Finance Director

Is this the most experienced sales team in the industry?

Richard Pyrah is celebrating almost 20 years in the industry and the last 10 of those as Sales Director at Kelkay but in terms of his length of service at the East Yorkshire company he is really still one of the rooky team! Read more - open to all

From top left : Richard Pyrah, Neil Willimason, Anthony Bradbeer, Spencer Goodall

Ivyline appoint James Brindle as UK sales manager

Ivyline are delighted to welcome James Brindle as UK sales manager into the team. James brings a wealth of experience, commercial acumen, is well respected within the industry and is a great culture fit for Ivyline. Read more - open to all

 James Brindle, UK sales manager

Stax bolsters buying team with two new additions

Leading wholesaler and trade supplier, Stax Trade Centres, has added two new members to its purchasing team, further strengthening the department. Read more - open to all

Simon Wright and Ian Evans

Green-tech welcomes its first two apprentices

Green-tech launched its Apprenticeship scheme in April with the appointment of two Apprentices. Green-tech operates its Apprentice Scheme through Tyro Training, the commercial training division of Craven College. Read more - open to all

Sam Styan and Kate Farrer

Trainees given a helping hand from The Rainy Day Trust

Two management trainees at one of the UK’s leading nurseries in Hereford have this month each been given a grant from a charity to help with their transport costs. Read more - open to all

Chris King and Kyle Ross

Sarah Downing joins Kelkay as head of marketing

Kelkay has announced that the former Gardman marketing director, Sarah Downing, has been appointed as head of marketing, a newly created role. Read more - open to all

Sarah Downing

New appointment a step up for Deco-Pak

Deco-Pak has appointed a new national sales and key account manager, with Rod Slater, previously the decorative aggregate specialist’s general manager, becoming company director. Read more - open to all

Rod Slater welcomes Bruce Atkinson to the company's base.

The Gardens Group founders receive Outstanding Contribution Award

On Thursday 15 June, Mike and Louise Burks, who founded The Gardens Group together in 1987, were presented with an Outstanding Contribution Award at the Western Gazette Business Awards, held at Westlands in Yeovil. Read more - open to all

Clive Wakely, Louise Burks and Mike Burks.

Steph McGovern to host HTA Garden Futures Conference 2017

Garden retail – the great escape – is the theme for this year’s HTA Garden Futures Conference and Dinner, which takes place on Wednesday 4 October at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire. This one day conference and dinner is aimed at all those from across the garden industry from business owners to directors and managers. Read more - open to all

Steph McGovern

Silver Merit medal for Thrive students at BBC Gardeners’ World Live!

Students attending Birmingham gardening therapy charity Thrive are celebrating winning a coveted Silver Merit Medal for their display at BBC Gardeners’ World Live. Read more - open to all

Business development appointment at Mr Fothergill's

Matt Jackson has joined Mr Fothergill’s as Business Development Manager. This is a new role and Matt will work with the key garden centre groups and collaborate closely with the field sales teams. He comes to the Suffolk seedsman after 12 years in the garden centre supply trade and brings great experience to the position. Read more - open to all

Dobbies to open at 7am for ‘Coffee to Go’

A highlight of the first day of the HTA Catering Conference was Costas Constantinou explaining to Matthew Appleby, how he would improve the Dobbies restaurants. Read more - members only

Costas Constantinou

Richard Lockwood joins Dobbies as senior plant buyer

Richard Lockwood has re-joined his former Country Gardens boss, Nicholas Marshall as senior plant buyer at Dobbies. Read more - open to all

Richard Lockwood

Conna Powles signs up to wing-walk challenge

Haskins Buying Director, Conna Powles, signs up to a life-long ambition to complete a wing walk and in doing so hopes to raise £1k for Greenfingers Charity. Read more - open to all

Kathryn completes her challenge for Thrive

Thrive’s Chief Executive Kathryn Rossiter swapped her wellies for trainers for five days in May when she took on a massive sporting challenge to raise £5,000 for the gardening therapy charity. Read more - open to all

Kathryn finishing

Peter Williamson Travel Award goes to Joshua

Joshua Stacey from Pershore College has recently (May, 2017) been presented with Wyevale Nurseries’ Peter Williamson Travel Award. Read more - open to all

Joshua Stacey being presented the award by Steve Ashworth, Director, Wyevale Nurseries.

Two 6 pack award winners for Bransford Webbs

Amelia Broome, Young Plant Grower, and Billy Wilce, Area Team Leader, both 20, have won the opportunity to attend the IPPS European Regional Annual Conference, after impressing the judging panel with their personal and employer statements. Read more - open to all

Amelia and Billy

The HTA names Alex Vick as senior executive director

The HTA has backed its management team by promoting finance director, Alex Vick, to senior executive director in charge of day to day operations and by giving each director greater responsibility. Read more - members only

Alex Vick

Apprentice of the Year 2017

Last week, thirteen students, who are currently part of the Midland Regional Growers Apprenticeship Scheme, visited the Malvern Spring Festival for the schemes Apprentice of the Year Award. Read more - open to all

Trans-Continental Group appoint a new sales director

Trans-Continental Group, the leading supplier of Christmas and outdoor leisure products, is pleased to announce the appointment of Adam Gregory to the position of sales director. Read more - open to all

Adam Gregory, Sales Director

Mark Wootton to leave Notcutts

Mark Wootton, Commercial Director, will be leaving Notcutts in May to pursue other opportunities. Mark has decided that the time has come for him to seek new challenges. Read more - open to all

Sally from Fleuroselect receives her own Pelargonium

Sally van der Horst, Secretary of Fleuroselect, baptised the brand new 'Pelargonium Toscana Sally' at Beach Club O in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. This additional colour in the Toscana series was dedicated to Sally in celebration of her 25 years of service with Fleuroselect Read more - open to all

Sally van der Horst, Secretary of Fleuroselect

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