Review of 2014 in the Garden Industry

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

Willerby Landscapes receive the BALI Grand Award for a record fifth time

Willerby Landscapes took the Grand Award for a record fifth time today at the 38th BALI National Landscape Awards.  For all the winners - See more... Read more - members only

Glee gets new advisory board and changes 2015 dates

Glee is to be a Monday to Wednesday show in 2015.  Stand bookings are 3 months ahead of last year and a new Glee Advisory Board gets weighty backing from the industry. Read more - members only

No sign of a white Christmas

A new month brings with it something of a pattern change with much more seasonable, chillier weather seeming likely to develop.  Brief spells of high pressure interspersed with fronts moving SE seems to be the likely pattern for the month. Read more - members only

Solex moves to mid-week

LOFA has decided to adjust the dates of Solex 2015 so that it starts on Tuesday July 7th.  Read more - members only

Long range forecast for November

The new month brings something of a pattern change early in the month with much more seasonable, cooler weather likely to develop for most parts. Read more - members only

Knotty problems for homeowners could lead to £2500 fines

Homeowners and business could be hit with huge fines if they allow Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and other non-native invasive species to spread from their premises. Read more - members only

“As soon as your plants aren’t great, you’ve lost all credibility.”

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

Rebooking surge sees Glee 2015 already 56% full

First statistics emerge from Glee, but the most telling is the strong rebooking for 2015 with 56% of the floorplan already rebooked. Read more - members only

Hombase MD tells industry leaders 'We need to work together'

Paul Loft, MD of Homebase, appealed to industry leaders at Glee to work together to address the challenges of change, both in the digital world and in attracting young people to meet the changing needs of the consumer. Read more - members only

Notes from aisles of SPOGA Gafa

There were around 60 British exhibitors at this week’s SPOGA Gafa, some giving a preview of what can be expected at Glee later in the month. See more... Read more - members only

John Moseley and Jackie Eades

GIMB goes national in 2015 with ‘Love the Plot…’

The HTA’s Garden Industry Marketing Board has some weighty backers and is gaining momentum. Next years ‘Love the Plot You’ve Got’ campaign will show how effective this group could become. See more… Read more - members only

Modest to flat real sales growth in recent years

GCA and HTA figures agree that July was a flat month with sales increasing 1% on last year. Year to date their figures are quite different. And has there been any real growth in recent years? See more... Read more - members only

August 2014 long range forecast

A spell of wet weather at the beginning of week two is expected to separate two spells of high pressure. See more... Read more - members only

Pasco tells breeders - 'Consumers don't get your message'

Adam Pasco tells frustrated plant breeders at the Fleuroselect conference that their message is not getting to the consumer. Or is it even the right message? See more... Read more - members only

+36% by LOFA Members outperforms garden furniture market

LOFA research shows that garden furniture sales grew 18% this year, but online retailers take the biggest share, over double that of garden centres. Read more - members only

New food allergen labelling requirements coming into force

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

Contact 2015 looks at Growing Opportunities

Growers and nurserymen from across the horticulture industry are invited to the biennial Contact 2015 conference ‘Growing Opportunities’ which takes place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 January 2015 at JCB Global Headquarters in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. Read more - members only

Choice looking to add more garden centres

The new chairman of Choice Marketing told members that recent supply chain changes had provided an opportunity in what was an extremely challenging year, as a result the independent garden centre group is stronger. Read more - members only

Tony Blake presents gift to Sam Bosworth outgoing Chairman

HTA launches mentoring service for garden centres

The HTA has teamed up with Garden Retail Success and a former GCA chairman to provide a mentoring and benchmarking service to help garden centres improve performance. Read more - members only

Gardeners boost September sales

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

1st Automated Garden Centre Drive In collection service launches in Bagshot

Longacres have become the UK’s first garden centre to offer an automated “Drive In” Click & Collect service. Read more - members only

New month brings a change to wetter weather

A new month brings with it a pattern change with much more unsettled weather likely for most parts as a reinvigorated jet stream runs close to the UK, something we haven’t seen for a while. Read more - members only

2014 Glee will be hailed as a success

2014 Glee will be hailed as a success. The new venue received universal approval. Monday and Tuesday were busy. But should it open on Sunday? See Gardenforum's comments on Glee... Read more - members only

Looking ahead - It's not all doom and gloom

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

High pressure looks likely to dominate September

Wiseweather predicts that high pressure will predominate during the next two weeks. Following a brief interruption it will return for a further few days. See more... Read more - members only

Branding crosswords could be the way to reach keen gardeners

The HTA says suppliers should look at teleshopping, crosswords and non-gardening media as a way of reaching keen gardeners having researched the interests they share outside gardening. See more… Read more - members only

Will there be a new garden trade show in 2015?

Garden product suppliers are being canvassed about their appetite for new garden trade show next year, either in the spring or in November. Organisers say the prospects look good. See more… Read more - members only

Gardenex to bring their expertise to Glee 2014

Two new features from Gardenex at Glee this year will be “Meet the international buyer” speed-dating meetings for exhibitors and presentations with UKTI on boosting exports without huge investment and other such topics. See more... Read more - members only

How can science and industry work together better?

Growers often complain about a disconnect between scientists and the horticulture industry. This is the topic for an international workshop chaired by Tim Briercliffe. He’s asking Gardenforum readers to send your opinions to be included in the debate. See more… Read more - members only

To see earlier stories - Look in the News Archive