The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) Marketing Forum will take place on Wednesday 17 October 2018 at Horticulture House in Oxfordshire. HTA Marketing Forum has brought together speakers from inside and outside of the industry, aiming itself at all those involved in marketing and public relations in the garden industry. Read more

As activity ramps up for Glee 2018, GIMA (The Garden Industry Manufacturers’ Association) is encouraging new business and innovators to consider entering the 2018 GIMA Innovators Seed Corn Fund, with this year’s winner being unveiled at the annual exhibition for the garden and outdoor leisure industries (10th – 12th September, NEC Birmingham).  Read more

 “Don't panic!” said the old hands when sales were frozen in March and the daffodils had hardly broken ground, “It will even itself out by the end of June, it always does,” and they were right according to latest figures from the GCA. Read more

By the end of June most Garden Centres have clawed back the sales lost in March and April. There is praise for the great support from suppliers and fantastic effort by staff. Read more

The Beast from the East was forgotten as gardeners spent more in garden centres last month. Read more

By the end of May, many garden centres look set to make up what looked like an unbridgeable -10.5% shortfall in sales at the end of April. Read more

The GCA figures for March are dismal, but after a week of better weather the mood has changed as a message from Stewarts Garden Centres shows.  Figures from Dobbies and Wyevale have been added. Read more

Inflation is to fall, interest rates and wages are to rise. GIMA hears now is a good time for exporters, and how to reduce the currency risk with foreign exchange specialists.  Read more

Recently published figures show that the gender pay gap in garden retailers is generally smaller than the UK average. However, there are some interesting differences between the garden centre groups. Read more

Wyevale, the country’s largest specialist garden centre group with 147 stores, has published a report on the latest gardening trends revealed by a survey of 15,000 garden lovers. Read more

Bents has pipped Barton Grange and Webbs of Wychbold to be the GCA Destination Garden Centre of the Year. Smart Garden has regained the prestigious Supplier of the Year cup. Read more

Christmas buying is getting earlier and overall sales have dropped in many centres, not helped by snow on the peak live tree weekend, closing some centres. Despite this, overall garden centre sales are up for 2017. Read more

Bents have wrestled the GCA Christmas Display award back from Barton Grange, while Castle Gardens in Sherborne prove invincible yet again in the category for smaller garden centres. Read more

BHETA has created a new National Home Improvement Week for the home and garden industry on dates in the middle of March that clash with Garden Re-Leaf Day. Read more

Syngenta and their Calliope brand are to sponsor David Domoney’s community gardening campaign, Cultivation Street, which adds a mentor scheme in 2018. Read more

Island Horticulture - ‘Life after Brexit’ is this year’s Conference theme. The CIH are delighted to welcome distinguished speakers from both the UK and the Netherlands, discussing a range of topics pertinent to horticulturists in all sectors. Read more

Managing Director of the newly expanded Blue Diamond Group, Alan Roper, features on the programme for Cultivating Retail, the new industry conference and dinner, hosted by HTA and GIMA, taking place at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham on Tuesday 13 November. Read more

The Garden Centre Association has revealed the best garden centre members in each region following the 2018 inspections. Read more

Neudorff’s VineWeevilFree - Nematodes scoops the GIMA Sword of Excellence for best product, whilst Woodlodge has for the first time been name the GCA Supplier of the Year at the GIMA Awards. Read more

The aisles of a busy HTA National Plant Show hummed with discussions about Wyevale, Brexit, technology, early wastage and the shortage of hardy nursery stock. Read more

A court case in 2015 opened up a potential loophole in the law which would bring nurseries into line with paying business rates. The Government has decided this week that this will not happen. Read more

As sales take off at garden centres pressure falls on a supply chain already impacted by the fire at Gardman. Gardenforum checks stock availability. Read more

Former head of Scotts Miracle-Gro, Martin Breddy, tells how different it is to be a retailer now that he is MD of Squire’s Garden Centres. Read more

Perennial is reviving its traditional Festival Dinner, a fantastic evening of fundraising, with the help of partners and supporters from across the UK horticulture industry. Read more

Sales may be down +/- 15% on last year, but garden centres are confident they can catch up. 2013 was worse. But as one garden centre owner explained, “A season normally consists of 7 strong weeks, so we can still recover but we need those strong weeks to start!” Read more

Economist Roger Martin-Fagg forecast 2 interest rate rises and volatile exchange rates for 2018 as we head for a soft Brexit. The Government will have to consider a property tax. Read more

Veteran Sun columnist and broadcaster, Peter Seabrook has called on garden centres to back a National Rose Festival Week in the 3rd or 4th week of June. Read more

2017 started with a flourish but lost momentum and settled to be an OK year. Suppliers worried about Brexit, the living wage, higher costs and Wyevale. Retailers and growers worried about Xylella. Takeover activity reached new peaks among suppliers, but no major garden centres changed hands. The industry said goodbye to some old friends. Read our review – (open to non-subscribers). Read more

Lower plant and gardening sales means that October income was level with last year according to the latest figures from the GCA. Plus, we look at gardening totals for 2017. Read more

Last week’s 3 day conference and trade show, held by Choice Marketing, eclipsed the HTA Futures conference that it clashed with, by drawing 160 delegates. 90 suppliers exhibited at the trade show. Read more