Staff at garden centres across the country are celebrating after receiving awards at the Garden Centre Association's (GCA) annual conference in Luton yesterday (Monday, January 21, 2019). Read more

After a turbulent year for garden centres and a Christmas that came good in the end Gardenforum hears the lessons they learned and the risks they face in 2019. Read more

October figures released by the GCA show that Christmas lines sold more slowly than last year as gardening ranges benefitted from the weather. Read more

Garden centre sales rise 8% in September on the back of gardening sales and a revival in the growth of catering. However over the year, the number of garden centre visitors has fallen according to the latest GCA figures. Read more

David Domoney congratulates this year’s Cultivation Street ambassador of the year, Dobbies’ Steven Purton, who regularly shares his expertise with a local charity, 4 schools, a college and a hospital to improve their communal spaces. Read more

Gardenex advises companies to visit them at either spoga + gafa or Glee to get advice on preparing for whatever the eventual outcome of the Brexit negotiations will be. 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

We may not know what type of Brexit we will have till late March.  The implications of a no-deal crash out on 29^th will be damaging at a time when plant and garden product imports are high. How do you prepare for a No Deal Brexit?  Read more

Here’s your chance to catch up with some of the events in the retail garden sector that you may have missed. It was a turbulent year with the collapse of Gardman; around 60 garden centres changing hands or closing, Wyevale, Bunnings, Snow and drought. This is open to all. Read more

HTA has released its November market update, which reveals sales are up but levels of consumer confidence are negative.  It also shows ground water levels and river flows are below normal in areas. Read more

The old ways of doing things won’t open new doors.  Cultivating Retail heard how Millennials’ different lifestyle and technology are disrupting shopping. Read more

At the Choice Marketing  Annual Conference and Dinner, Westland was named supplier of the year, Farplants was grower of the year and Widdop was awarded gift supplier of the year. Read more

Rolawn, a leading UK turf grower, has warned that prices are set to rise in the coming months, because of the extreme weather and rising costs. Read more

Garden centre sales wilted during the July heat wave, with outdoor living alone showing strong growth. Even restaurant sales fell according to figures from the GCA Barometer of Trade. 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