New Ideas at SPOGA gafa
New Ideas on show at SPOGA gafa include indoor gardening, the first solar powered sun lounger and a powered patio brush system to replace sprayers. Read more
New Ideas at SPOGA gafa
New Ideas on show at SPOGA gafa include indoor gardening, the first solar powered sun lounger and a powered patio brush system to replace sprayers. Read more
Grange is to stop UK manufacture
Grange is to announce next week that it will close all production facilities at Telford. Read more
Andrew Bracey becomes chairman of Dobbies
Andrew Bracey, co-founder of Midlothian Capital that led the June buy-out of Dobbies, has become chairman of the garden centre group. Read more
Taylors’ £1m expansion was a ‘big pill to swallow’
Taylors Bulbs new warehouse increases loading capacity in their peak seasons and will improve efficiency. Read more
Mr Fothergill names new sweet pea for Chelsea Pensioners
Having raised over £50,000 for the Royal Hospital chelsea, Mr Fothergill has named two new sweet peas. One for the Chelsea Pensioners and a second for Greenfingers. Read more
All-In-One closes Knutsford Garden Centre
All-In-One has closed Knutsford, the garden centre it bought 5 years ago. It had become financially unviable due to a drop in footfall. Read more
Planteria manager at Highfield Garden World reveals how plant retailing has changed
Gone are the A-Z beds... Does anybody make their own hanging baskets these days? Where sales of shrubs, perennials and annuals may have shrunk, sales of plants like an £800 potted acer have soared. Read more
Scotts buys into Dutch maker of hydroponics gardening lights for $136m
Scotts continues to diversify into hydroponics and indoor gardening as sales in Europe fall. Read more
Sales and operating profits grow at Notcutts
Notcutts' results for the year ending February 2016 show how the company is transforming into a focussed garden retail group. It has been investing in garden centres and selling non-core assets Read more
Council offers talks to Hare Hatch Sheeplands
There may be progress in the long running battle over enforcement action taken by Wokingham Borough Council against Hare Hatch Sheeplands. Read more
Plant areas are scary places to visit
The HTA Plant Retail conference was held at the spectacular Ball Colegrave Grounds in Oxfordshire. Trends for the future included urban gardening and why the smart phone is at the heart of change. Read more
New chief executive for Dobbies UPDATED
Dobbies’ new owners have appointed a former commercial director of B&Q as its new chief executive. More recently John Cleland was CEO of Maplin. Read more
Domestic sales strong at Marshalls
Domestic order books remain strong and the public sector has picked up for Marshalls, which says despite Brexit underlying indicators are positive. Read more
Brexit pushes glyphosate decision off the agenda
The EU has until Thursday to decide whether or not to re-licence glyphosate. But discussions on Brexit has pushed it off the EU Commissioners’ agenda. Read more
Garden centres push ahead of last year after record May
Sales of plants and garden furniture soared as May sales made up for earlier months. Gift sales, however, fell. Read more
Eyles and Stevens leave Hillview as Boyd restructures - UPDATED
Marcus Eyles and Neil Stevens have left Hillview garden centres resulting in a restructuring by CEO Boyd Douglas-Davies. - NEW INFORMATION ADDED Louise Golden is also to leave. Read more
Bunnings to outline Homebase plans at BHETA
Bunnings UK and Ireland managing director PJ Davis will make the first public presentation of Bunnings’ strategy for Homebase, at BHETA in November. Read more
Highgrove to offer a new distribution service for garden centres
Highgrove is to offer garden suppliers and retailers a new distribution service based on a model that works in the grocery market. Read more
Wesfarmers’ CEO is really excited about Homebase
As sales lift 7.5% Wesfarmers, CEO, Richard Goyder says a pilot will start early in 2017 to rebrand some Homebase stores as Bunnings. Read more
Seasonal sales grow 10% at B&Q
Like-for-like sales at B&Q continue to grow, helped by the store closure programme. Parent company, Kingfisher, remains cautious but can detect no Brexit impact. Read more
Fishkeeper Scotland to open in 6 Dobbies stores
Fishkeeper Scotland is soon to open at Dobbies Edinburgh HQ at Melville as part of a major store roll-out plan. Read more
Next wins planning for new Plymouth store
Plans for a new Next Home and Garden store in Plymouth have been approved despite planning officers recommending rejection. Read more
Fire Brigade called to Wyevale’s Windlesham garden centre
The fire and rescue service was called to Wyevale’s Windlesham garden centre last week to rescue a man who was trapped upside down between two containers. Read more
Maryanne Stokes buys Luca’s Garden
Maryanne Stokes has bought Luca’s Garden that sells garden furniture and giftware online and at shows. Read more
Latest results include Klondyke, Westland, Vitax, Grange & Kelkay
2014/15 results published this month show profits fell at retailers such as Klondyke, Clifton Nurseries and Thompson Bros (Esher). Several suppliers, such as Kelkay, Keter (UK) MPB Garden Buildings and Vitax grew strongly. Read more
Wyevale shows 2016 Christmas range
Wyevale refused to be drawn on the launch date for its ‘Best in Class’ website at yesterday’s Christmas launch. Read more
Former Golden Acres boss starts a new chain
With the help of Tim Mason, Paul Richards opens Mappleborough Green Garden Centre, near Redditch and is keen to find more sites. Read more
2015 was a challenging year for Wyevale
Wyevale strengthened its balance sheet in 2015 with the sale and lease back of 8 garden centres as margins fell in a challenging year for profitability. Read more
Bybrook Barn owner answers local news reports
Owner, Terry Burch has squashed local news stories in Ashford which raised fears of closure at Bybrook Barn garden centre, but says he is in talks about its future. Read more
New Gardman CEO believes in getting the basics right
New Gardman CEO, Peter Utting, explains his vision for Gardman and how he will push turnover over £100m. Read more