After calling-off our inspections for the first time in 50 years, we have also cancelled our Christmas competition and Annual Conference due to COVID-19. Despite these cancellations we have seen growth in our GROW e-learning initiative and have moved to having virtual meetings for our members. We recently wrote to our members to confirm that…
Got some spare time this weekend? Get out in the garden and get these quick, gardening tasks completed. Cut back tall deciduous shrubs like roses, tree mallow (lavatera) and butterfly bush (buddleia) by about a third now to prevent wind-rocking. Herbs growing outside will mostly die back during the winter, but with a bit of…
October is the perfect month for planting bare-rooted apple trees. You should choose an open, sunny, but sheltered site and make sure the ground is not prone to water logging. Fork in some well-rotted manure or compost at the rate of a good bucketful to one square metre, then apply a general fertiliser at around…
There’s a number of jobs you can be getting on with in the garden this month. These include planting trees, shrubs, roses and fruit bushes from the middle of the month onwards. You should prepare the ground in advance by digging it over and mixing in lots of compost or well-rotted manure. Add some more…
Our members got together recently at a virtual forum to discuss their plans and share their concerns for the festive period. Matthew Bent from Bents Garden and Home, Louise Burks from The Gardens Group, Guy Topping from Barton Grange Garden Centre and Justin Williams from Fron Goch Garden Centre were panellists for the forum. It…
GCA and The Garden Industry Manufacturer’s Association (GIMA) members concluded during a recent webinar that garden centres will need to work in partnership with suppliers to minimise future supply chain disruption. During the joint virtual forum, members of both associations discussed measures put in place to ensure a smooth continuity of stock availability during the…
Once the first frosts have come, many gardeners will empty their tubs, baskets and containers and store them in a shed or garage over the winter months. This is a tremendous waste of valuable gardening resources. With just a little forethought, these containers can be replanted to provide interest through the long, potential dull winter…
It’s officially autumn now, so you might have noticed your garden is already beginning to change. Mornings have become dewier and crisper, and you might have even noticed the days beginning to get shorter too. As summer comes to a close, now is the time to start thinking about what you should be planting for…
As we approach autumn, now is the perfect time for a clean-up and clear out. It’s time to chop back and deadhead, as the work done now will pay off in the spring when oodles of lush, new growth appears. Follow this handy three step programme for jobs to do in your garden now: Cut…
Sales of houseplants at garden centres across the country bloomed in July (2020) according to our Barometer of Trade report. Compared with the same month in 2019, sales were up 81.82%. After the blistering heatwave in June, July was a much cooler month, with more rainfall, which goes some way to explain the increase in…