Over the last 30 years the Trust has been delighted to help many students of horticulture with the costs of their courses and research, whether full or part-time and within all the recognised horticultural colleges of the U.K. Increasingly the Trust has encouraged applications particularly relevant to the Garden Centre Industry and the furtherance of…
We’re postponing our 56th annual conference due to take place at the end of this month as a result of the ongoing spread of Omicron (January 2022). Our executive committee has taken the decision to defer the event based on safety concerns and made the announcement to members this morning (January 10). Tammy Woodhouse, our…
Outdoor living items continued to come out top in our Barometer of Trade (BoT) for November (2021) – beating Christmas for poll position (December 2021). It revealed furniture and barbecues were up 59.97%, boosted by the ongoing trend for alfresco entertainment, which has become an all-year-round event. Our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie explains: “Although during…
Bee ecologist and founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust Dave Goulson will share his expertise on sustainability at our annual conference in Blackburn in January (January 23 until 26, 2022). The Professor of Biology at University of Sussex will speak about the importance of ecology and the impact insects and bees have on the environment…
Consultant, public speaker and author Linbert Spencer OBE will be presenting at our annual conference in Blackburn in January (January 23 until 26, 2022). Garden centre owners, managers and their teams will hear from Linbert on Monday, January 24 and discover how to leverage diversity to enhance their organisation’s corporate culture and business outcomes. Iain…
We’re excited to announce that leading economist Roger Martin-Fagg will be speaking at our 56th annual conference in Blackburn this January (January 23 until 26, 2022). Roger, who specialises in making economics accessible for everyone, will be presenting to our members on Tuesday, January 25 to help delegates think through their strategy with his expertise.…
THE UK’s current love affair with alfresco entertaining shows no sign of diminishing our October Barometer of Trade (BoT) report has revealed (2021). Prolonged mild weather kept sales of outdoor furniture and barbecues up 57.98%, topping our BoT figures for the fifth month running. Our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie explains: “The UK’s current love affair…
Barton Grange Garden Centre and Castle Gardens have recently (December 2021) been announced as the national winners of our 2021 annual Christmas competition. The garden centres were judged to have the best festive displays in the country and will receive their awards at our annual conference in January 2022. Iain Wylie, our GCA Chief Executive,…
Booking has now opened (November 2021) for our annual conference in January (January 23-26, 2022). The conference, which will include talks, industry updates and opportunities to socialise, takes place at the Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa in Lancashire from January 23 until 26. Our GCA Chief Executive, Iain Wylie, said: “As this is the…
Our Barometer of Trade (BoT) reveals furniture and BBQ sales continued to remain strong and were up by 58.27% year-to-date according to our recently released figures for September (2021). Proving demand didn’t slow during the month, our report shows a year-to-date increase in 12 out of 13 categories. Our GCA Chief Executive, Iain Wylie explains:…