Lettuce news from Cardwell goes viral

News from Cardwell garden centre that the supermarket shortage of lettuce and courgette has created a surge in demand for seed has gone viral. Read more - members only

Cardwell horticulturist, Brian Hawthorn

Dobbies had its most successful Christmas trading period in the last five years

CEO, John Cleland, said, “The solid start to 2017 is extremely encouraging and represents a strong foundation for our new 3 year strategy plan.” Read more - members only

Dobbies in Liverpool

Squire’s re-opens Chertsey GC after a complete rebuild

Chertsey, Squire’s boutique garden centre, has reopened after being closed for a year for a complete rebuild. It will be followed by Hersham. Read more - members only

Capi takes shares in Cadix

Capi Europe has bought shares and invested in Cadix UK to strengthen ties and grow its UK market share. Read more - members only

Kate Ebbens and Toine van de Ven, Capi managing director

Hillview buys Shipley Garden Centre

Hillview Garden Centres completed the acquisition of Shipley Garden Centre in Derbyshire on Thursday, bringing the number of outlets to 11. Read more - members only

Silver for Bransford Webb in international grower awards

The AIPH Awards at the Colosseum Theatre in Essen, Germany celebrated the world’s best in ornamental horticultural production. Bransford Webb was the sole UK winner taking Silver in its category. Read more - members only

Bransford Webb

Squire’s and Cowells take the top GCA plant awards

It’s three awards each for Squire’s, Cowell’s and Barton Grange at The Garden Centre Association conference. Squire’s and Cowell’s are the best GCA plant retailers.   Read more - members only

Colin & Sarah Squire,  Julian Winfield, Ian Hammond, Squire's plant manager& Roger Crookes

Wyevale’s new website is central to its multi-channel plans

Wyevale Garden Centres says its new website is a platform for e-commerce and a unique resource for Britain’s gardeners to derive consistently good quality and trusted advice. Read more - members only

H&E Knowles (Lye) is bought out of administration

Former owners of garden equipment maker H&E Knowles (Lye) have formed a new company to buy part of the assets from the administrators, so protecting 78 jobs. Read more - members only

Elho completes purchase of Ebertsankey

Elho’s Good(s)Factory has completed the purchase of Ebertsankey as Fiskars focuses on its core consumer business. Read more - members only

GC Christmas sales have ‘stalled a bit’ after a 7 – 10 year trend of huge increases

The majority of garden centres say Christmas sales were up but competition is increasing and December sales were disappointing for some. Read more - members only

New management structure as BGC develops

Phillippa Stubbs tells how British Garden Centres group in the North East is strengthening management and controls now that it is a £26m, 10 garden centre group. Read more - members only

British Garden Centres

Wilko want to create more of an open door policy

Wilko tells suppliers, “We’ve lost touch over recent years.” Now, “We want to create more of an open door policy.” Read more - members only

Blue Diamond takes on Polhill’s Cambridge garden centre

Blue Diamond has today taken over Coton Orchard garden centre in Cambridge from Sevenoaks based Polhill. Read more - members only

Blue Diamond's flagship store at Redfields

Hare Hatch Sheeplands looks set for a long fight with Wokingham

The enforcement dispute between Wokingham District Council and Hare Hatch Sheeplands seems set for the long run after a Council debate that was called a farce by owners of the garden centre. Read more - members only

Bunnings have done it says Insight DIY

Steve Collinge, MD of Insight DIY, has reviewed the first Bunnings conversion of a Homebase and says they have delivered a stunning version of Bunnings on UK soil. Read more - members only

Scotts hopes to sell its European business by spring

Scotts Miracle-Gro is cautiously optimistic that it will have a solution for its European business by the spring. Read more - members only

Bunnings opens St Albans with 10% price promise

Bunnings has opened its first concept store in the former Homebase in Griffiths Way, St Albans. Read more - members only

Blue Diamond wins planning permission for Newbridge

Blue Diamond is to capitalise on its high share price to issue new shares as news comes through of a successful planning consent for Newbridge. Read more - members only

Stihl to approach garden centres to sell battery cordless tools

Stihl warns its specialist dealers that it plans to extend its distribution of lithium-ion cordless garden tools to selected garden centres and hardware stores, next year. Read more - members only

Top GCA awards for Cowells, Barton Grange and Woodlodge

Barton Grange beat Bents and Stewarts by the narrowest of margins to make it six in a row as GCA large destination Garden Centre of the Year. Woodlodge lifted the prestigious Supplier of the Year cup. Read more - members only

Martin Stewart with Ian Flounders and Richard Newton of Woodlodge and Fred MacAulay

Wyevale’s Hillingdon garden centre is to close

The Wyevale garden centre at Hillingdon is to close at the end of January, it is reported.

Read more - members only

Notcutts celebrates 120 years

Notcutts will be marking its 120th anniversary this year as a family-owned garden centre business after opening as a nursery in 1897. Read more - members only

Notcutts garden centre in Woodbridge in the 1960’s

Bob Hewitt joins Kelkay board

Former chief executive, now non-executive chairman of Klondyke, Bob Hewitt has taken up an additional part-time role as non-executive director of Kelkay. Read more - members only

Anthony Harker and Bob Hewitt

Caulders buys Cupar garden centre

Caulders Garden Centres have started the year by buying a 5th site at Cupar. The owners will invest £250,000 on refurbishment before the season. Read more - members only

Mandy and Colin Barrie

2016 - a year of change

2016 saw second tier garden centre chains and independents invest as Wyevale consolidated. Homebase and Argos are sold. The HTA moved offices and moved to become the lead association for all gardening related businesses. Glyphosate, Xylella and the weather made frequent headlines. Scotts and Bayer looked for a way out of distributing consumer garden chemicals. Read our review – open to all. Read more - open to all

Bunnings buys Homebase

Lovania launches a mobile website to aid plant buyers

Lovania has teamed up with Floramedia to create a mobile website to aid plant buyers with information and images while shopping the plant area. Read more - members only

HTA embraces GCA and GIMA

Once estranged, The HTA and GCA plant a tree at the new HTA Hub to show that they are more together than for many years. While the GIMA president has joined the HTA board.  Read more - members only

L-R Adam Wigglesworth, Carol Paris of the HTA; Iain Wylie and Julian Winfield of the GCA

Stewarts buy Abbey Garden Centre

Stewarts Garden Centres have today bought Abbey Garden Centre in Titchfield, making it 3 in the group. Martin Stewart said he was thrilled. Read more - members only

Strong profit growth from T&M

T&M revealed a sharp improvement in performance in its latest accounts, crediting more efficient operations along with a shift away from traditional catalogues to the web. Read more - members only

Plant inspecting at T&M

To see earlier stories - Look in the News Archive