Mark joins as inspector as applicants soar Horticultural Business Consultant Mark Pitman was selected from a record‑breaking number of applicants to secure the role as our new Garden Centre Inspector this month (March 2026). Mark, an accomplished leader from horticulture and wildlife sectors, brings more than four decades of experience from his operational management, retail…
What to prune now March officially marks the real start of our gardening year. As temperatures rise and plants wake up, it’s the ideal moment to tackle key pruning tasks that will set your garden up for a strong growing season. Many plants are still dormant or just beginning to show new shoots, making this…
Garden centres are the retail genre of the moment Mary Portas OBE, business strategist, broadcaster, author, and activist, brought her retail insight to the 2026 Garden Centre Association (GCA) annual conference, says Petra Hoyer Millar in The Dirt. Credited with transforming Harvey Nichols into a leading fashion destination, Mary Portas is a recognised authority on retail and…
Free member webinar on garden centre events featuring celebrity gardener Lee Connelly We’re inviting members to a free webinar entitled ‘Engaging Events for Your Garden Centre’ next Tuesday, March 10 at 3pm. The session will be hosted by our CEO, Peter, and will showcase a trio of inspiring speakers who will share practical and creative…
Member garden centres report a ‘very good’ start to the year Our Barometer of Trade (BoT) figures for January are out today and they reveal a ‘very good’ start to the year despite the wet weather (February 26, 2026). From the 13 categories member garden centres record, 10 were up when compared to January 2025…
Gardening jobs to tackle in March March marks the true beginning of the gardening year in the UK. As daylight stretches and temperatures rise, the garden begins to wake from its winter rest. It’s the perfect time to get ahead with key tasks that set the tone for a successful growing season. Prepare beds and…
Gardening jobs to tackle in February February might be feeling soggy under foot, but it’s an exciting month in the gardening calendar if you’re able to get outside and do a few jobs, between the wind and rain that is. It’s usually a month full of gardening hope as the days slowly begin to lengthen…
Our Rising Star Academy for hospitality staff relaunched Following the on-going success of our innovative Westland Horticulture-sponsored Rising Stars initiative, we’ve relaunched our hospitality section (February 2026). Coordinated by Costas Constantinou of Kosko, it has been created to highlight and develop talented individuals in garden centre restaurants and cafés and to recognise the important industry…
Garden centres – get in nominations new-look Rising Stars Academy We’re urging members to get nominations in for our new-style 2026 Rising Stars Academy – designed to help develop the industry’s most talented individuals – by February 28. The revised Westland Horticulture-sponsored Academy offers those participants the chance to be mentored by experts from the…
Applications open for 2026 GCA Trust Dick Allen Scholarship & three not two could go this year Our member garden centres are invited to put team members forward for the GCA Trust Dick Allen Scholarship Award Scheme with the chance of three people benefiting this year (February 2026). The scheme is open to GCA garden…