September’s BoT figures are out now! September’s Barometer of Trade (BoT) shows a ‘strong start to Christmas sales’ and some ‘encouraging’ figures. From the 13 categories logged by member garden centres, 10 were positive, when compared to 2024, with clothing in the top spot at +12.89%. Encouraging figures Our Chief Executive, Peter Burks explains: “Members…
Creating a winter window box wow Window boxes are wonderful for relieving townscape drabness and will add charm to any home in an urban or country setting. To add a striking note to winter containers use ornamental cabbages. Their swirls of crinkly-edged leaves add welcome textural impact to a mixed planting arrangement and their rose,…
Greenfingers’ Charity Shield returns to our 2026 Conference GARDEN centre and horticultural industry staff are invited to sign-up for a fundraising event being held at our annual conference at Carden Park Chester in January (2026). Teams will compete for the Greenfingers’ Charity Shield on January 25 to help raise money for Greenfingers, which is dedicated…
New GROW food safety course released We’ve launched a new Food Safety Level 3 course on our award-winning e-learning platform today (October 6, 2025). It’s the 98th course to be added to our Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW) and it’s available to both our members and those of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). Legal requirement…
‘National treasure’ at our 2026 Conference We’re delighted to reveal that writer, broadcaster, former MP and Government Whip Gyles Brandreth will be a keynote speaker at our Annual Conference at Carden Park Chester next year (January 25-28, 2026). Gyles, who is now a Chancellor of the University of Chester, is well-known for sporting jolly jumpers,…
First headline sponsor for 2026 conference We’ve secured Evergreen Garden Care as our first headline sponsor for our 60th anniversary year annual conference taking place in January (January 25-28, 2026). Evergreen Garden Care has also pledged to sponsor one of the main keynote speakers for the event – retail guru, businesswoman, broadcaster, author and activist…
A few jobs for the weekend Now is a great time to do a few essential jobs while things are a little quieter generally in the garden. Pruning Tall deciduous shrubs like roses, tree mallow (lavatera) and butterfly bush (buddleia) that will be pruned in early spring are best cut back by about a third…
How to plant bareroot hedging Our Associate Member Wyevale Nurseries has put together a step-by-step guide on how to plant bareroot hedging. The leading commercial grower has been growing trees, hedging, forestry and other hardy plants utilising innovative approaches to production and sustainability for 95 years. Its bareroot lifting season starts at the beginning of…
Our August BoT figures are out! August’s Barometer of Trade (BoT) is out today (September 22, 2025) and it reveals nearly all our categories performed well – with bulb sales getting off to a strong start as we head towards the autumn season. Gifts leading the way Eleven of the 13 categories recorded by our…
Season-by-season guide to sustainability With climate change raising environmental consciousness, little changes could collectively add up and make a positive impact on the environment. This guide provides over 45 actionable tips to help readers incorporate sustainable practices for every season. Some highlights featured: 10,000+ clothes are binned every 5 minutes Palm oil is a major…