Victorian love values for Mothering Sunday This Mothering Sunday (March 30, 2025) children will be able to REALLY say it with flowers. Flowers have been given meanings for centuries. The Romantic poets such as Keats and Wordsworth were responsible for promoting them, but it wasn’t until the Victorian era that a social code for flowers…
Bringing possibility to life As part of our ongoing series of ‘takeaway’ blogs from speakers who presented at our 2025 conference in Reading in January, today we’re sharing some top tips from collective imagination champion Rob Hopkins. Power of imagination Rob is the co-founder of Transition Network and Transition Town Totnes and author of several books…
Top tips on orchid care Orchids are easy to look after according to our CEO and horticultural expert, Peter Burks. If you are giving one to your Mum this Mothering Sunday, or receive one yourself, then just print off Peter’s easy-care guide to help you keep your orchid looking good. Don’t over water. More orchids…
How to recruit and retain talent – from Baby boomers to Gen Z After our popular conference in January (2025), we asked our keynote speakers to send us some ‘takeaway’ hints and tips to create blogs that would benefit our garden centre members. We launched our series recently with creator and author of ‘Celebrity Service’…
Good news! We’ve reduced our fees to join GROW. To continue to provide our full members with the best value for money, we’ve reduced the fees to join GROW. All you’ll pay is: £500 + VAT for your primary centre (paid in year 1 only), plus £100 + VAT per additional centre (paid in year 1 only),…
Ben Clarke from Knights Nags Hall Garden Centre was named as the winner of our 2024 Westland Horticulture sponsored Rising Stars programme at our 2025 Conference (January 27, 2025). The application process is now open for 2025 nominations. If garden centre managers or owners have an outstanding staff member who would thrive with some personal…
How to grow your own potatoes – your questions answered Do I need a large garden, veg plot/beds or allotment to grow them? No, you don’t need a huge garden to try a few potato varieties, just space for a pot or two. What potato is best for me? A great way to discover varieties…
How to deliver a ‘Celebrity Service’ at your garden centre Following our highly successful members’ conference in Reading in January (2025), we’re uploading a series of guest speaker ‘takeaway’ blogs. We’re kicking off with creator and author of ‘Celebrity Service’ and ‘Celebrity Service Superstars’ Geoff Ramm. Named by Forbes as a ‘Game Changer’, Geoff, who…
Our Barometer of Trade for January shows ‘a steady start to the year’ January’s Barometer of Trade (BoT) figures released by us today (January 24, 2025) reveal members recorded ‘a steady start to the year’ with the year-to-date variance up +3.82%. When likened to January 2024, the results from garden centres for the month showed…
Chester unveiled as our 2026 conference location We’ve revealed the location and dates for our 2026 conference! Our prestigious annual event, organised by Chairman Elect, Ben Harrison Operations Director for Haskins Garden Centres, will be held at Carden Park Chester from January 25 until 28, 2026. Carden Park Chester Ben, who is helping organise the…