Our 60th anniversary plans & special logo We will be celebrating our 60th anniversary in 2026 and have a special commemorative logo for members to use from now onwards (September 2025). We will mark our birthday at our annual conference in January 2026. Our Chief Executive, Peter says: “We’re launching a special 2026 60th anniversary…
Retail guru Mary Portas to speak at our 2026 GCA Conference Businesswoman, broadcaster, author and activist Mary Portas OBE will be speaking about retail at our annual conference at Carden Park Chester on Monday, January 26. Mary made her name creating change and in 2024 she was awarded an OBE for her services to business,…
BoT reveals sales in July ‘bounced back’ after June’s hot weather Our July 2025 Barometer of Trade (BoT) is out today (August 20) and it shows ‘a good mid-summer performance’. Member garden centres reported that eight of the 13 categories recorded did well, when compared to 2024, with furniture and BBQs, up at +16.72%, crowned…
Unlocking the potential of your allotment The National Allotment Society* estimates that there are currently around 330,000 allotments in the UK and last week’s National Allotment Week (11th – 17th August 2025) aimed to raise awareness of how key these outdoor spaces are for a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Haskins Garden Centres’ employee and allotment enthusiast, Hannah Cumber said: “Allotment…
Something for all those GYO-ers out there The harvesting season is now in full swing so make sure you pick crops when they are ready. Leave them too long and they’ll lose flavour and tenderness. Sow for next year Now is also a good time to sow endive, radish and spring cabbage for next year,…
Some jobs for the weekend… Many summer-flowering plants that have finished flowering can be cut back now and may produce further flushes of flowers. Feed After pruning give the plants a quick pick-me-up by watering on a high potash liquid feed such as Tomato fertiliser. Deadhead As well as doing a spot of deadheading, remember…
Get out there and go al fresco! There’s still plenty of time to really enjoy your garden this summer. Gardens are for enjoying and the summer is the best time to do it. So, make some time to sit back, relax and enjoy your garden this month from the comfort of your garden furniture. Or…
Things to be getting on with the garden this week… August is the best time to take cuttings from half-hardy bedding plants such as fuchsias, pelargoniums, marguerites and trailing petunias. Propagation Once done, cover the pots with a polythene bag or with a propagator lid and place somewhere warm and sheltered but out of strong,…
We’ve released our 97th new GROW course – it’s on herbaceous plants Our members and Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) ones can now access our latest Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW) course and this time it’s designed to help plant area teams (August 2025). The Herbaceous Plants course is the 97th workshop to be added to…
Garden Centre Secrets With The Evergreen Agency GCA Member, The Evergreen Agency, recently invited Peter Burks, Chief Executive of the Garden Centre Association, onto their podcast to discuss how garden centres can maximise their marketing efforts by focusing online. You can watch the full episode on their website, on YouTube or listen back on Spotify…