A good June has helped GCA garden centres to a 6% sales increase for the half year on top of a 10% increase last year.  Plants and garden furniture were strong, gifts and garden sundries, less so. Read more - members only

Alton Garden Centre’s Andy Bunker is head of plant buying for Tillington. He tells nurseries, “Please don’t push plants out to us too early.” Read more - members only

Garden Centre sales are up 10.5% in May and 5% for the year so far according to the GCA.  It appears some garden centres are recovering their confidence with garden furniture, but not all.  Plants and garden sundries continue to lose share. Read more - members only

Any grower can nominate themselves for the International Grower of the Year Awards as they get a new look along with rebranding for the AIPH. Read more - members only

After a slow grey start to Easter, garden centres were buzzing by Monday.  But nursery stock is 3 weeks late and this could lead to shortages if sales continue to blossom in the warmer weather. Read more - members only

QVC raises £40,000 for garden relief, the Thames walk a further £7000. Tweets with “#Glovies” were seen 241,000 times in a day. See some of the images from the Greenfingers Garden ReLeaf day. Read more - members only

Never call a buyer on a Monday.  Never give surprises.  B&Q’s Tim Clapp explains how to become a successful supplier to the multiple retailers like B&Q or Wyevale.  Read more - members only

The latest figures from the GCA show 2014 was the best year for 4 years with December beating May as the biggest sales month of the year. Read more - members only

2014 has been dominated by the repositioning of the major gardening goods distributors following the demise of Solus.  The weather for once provided a good news story and towards the end of the year there was a flurry of activity from Wyevale as it picked up eight long established independent garden centres.  See the full review – which is open to all… Read more - open to all

Garden centre catering operations face new food labelling regulations which come into force on December 13. Read more - members only

GCA figures for September show that the gardener is back. Outdoor plants, garden sundries and landscape products showed double digit growth for the month. Read more - members only

Gardenforum believes the RHS, the HTA and other organisations behind Horticulture Matters need to re-think their strategy to solve the skills crisis in horticulture. Read more - members only

In 1994 garden centres were outmanoeuvred when it was generally accepted they should be exempt from new Sunday Trading restrictions. Now the HTA is calling for the government to think again. See more… Read more - members only

B&Q’s Sir Ian Cheshire stepped into the debate about Scottish independence, with several publications reporting his warning that investment would be put on pause if Scotland voted in favour of independence. See more... Read more - members only

Garden furniture, sundries and plants drive strong garden centre sales in April; and stock keeps flowing despite upheavals in the supply chain. There is a feeling that the gardening feel-good factor is back. See more... Read more - members only

It was revealed at the GIMA’s that Garden Re-Leaf Day raised £95,000 for Greenfingers, a massive increase thanks to contributions from QVC and Briers.  Read more - members only

More people attended the first day of the HTA National Plant Show than on both days last year. We bring you chat from the aisles and some interesting innovations. Read more - members only

180 people attended the HTA Catering Conference to hear about eating-out trends such as Kidult and Haute Casual. Read more - members only

Garden centre sales in March were lower than the same month in 2014, 2012 and 2011. However, for a rolling 12 months sales look to be up by 4%. Read more - members only

Cultivation Street is a campaign that rewards people who use plants to improve their neighbourhoods and bring pride back to their streets with £20,000 of National Garden Gift Vouchers donated by the HTA. Read more - members only

“The Sunday Trading Act is an anachronism in this day and age,”says the HTA when visitors finding their garden centre closed on Easter Sunday can return home and buy the same products online. Read more - members only

Sunshine Garden Centre and Van Hage are the best GCA outdoor living retailers.  Cowell’s and Bents are the best for plants. Read more - members only

The Government is proposing legislation that would force Britain’s biggest companies to reveal their payment terms and performance, quarterly.  GIMA welcomes greater transparency saying the garden industry is particularly bad when it comes to paying bills. Read more - members only

Manchester Evening News reports how a horrified mother found a razor blade in a present given to her daughter by a garden centre’s Santa.  Read more - members only

The Garden Media Guild Awards were held at The Savoy, London yesterday. Hosted by James Alexander Sinclair, the awards lunch drew many influential players in the gardening world. Read more - members only

Quotes from HTA Garden Futures: “I want to create an emotional connection between the consumer and a bag of compost.”   And “Gardening is about partying, entertainment and living outside. It is not about ‘Jobs for the month’.” Read more - members only

2013 turned out to be another disappointing year in all three key sectors of the garden retail market – garden plants, garden care and garden leisure – with all three sectors showing a steady decline in the five years to 2013 covered by the Analysis. Read more - members only

The garden retail industry was in a confident mood at the GIMA Awards where Burgon & Ball won the Sword of Honour for the best new product and Taylors were named supplier of the year. See more... Read more - members only

As PwC confirms that discussions with interested parties about buying Solus are still ongoing, Edward Conroy suggests this is an opportunity to reflect on our progress as an industry and to consider what still needs to be done. See more... Read more - members only

Garden centres are being invited to sign up this month (May, 2014) to help with an attempt to have the most teddies picnicking on the same day nationwide. See more... Read more - open to all