Garden centre staff from across the country who attend our annual conference (January 20 until 23, 2019) can learn how they can become a game changer from guest speaker John Stanley. Our conference will take place at Luton Hoo Hotel, Luton and attendees will hear from John, who has been a garden centre consultant for…
DetailsAttendees to our conference, which takes place at Luton Hoo Hotel, Luton, next year (January 20 until 23, 2019) will be able to hear from former England cricketer and superb orator Kevin Pietersen. Kevin will be one of our guest speakers in the afternoon on Tuesday, January 22. Using a new format, Kevin will…
DetailsBarton Grange Garden Centre and Castle Gardens have recently (November, 2018) been announced as the national winners of our 2018 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, 2019. This year’s displays were extremely impressive,…
DetailsFormer English rugby player and coach unveiled for 2019 conference Former English rugby player and coach Sir Clive Woodward OBE has been announced (November, 2018) as the first speaker booked for our annual conference in Luton in January (January 20 until 23, 2019). Garden centre owners, managers and their teams can now book their places…
DetailsHouseplant sales still going strong in September Sales in houseplants departments at garden centres across the country remained strong during September (2018) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) report. Compared to last year (2017) sales in houseplants were up 16.49%. Outdoor plants followed close behind at 15.75% up. It looks like there is no…
DetailsOur final regional awards presentation evening was a huge success and it was wonderful to hear from Inspector Alyson Haywood, who presented her findings from her inspections, which took place earlier in the year.
DetailsWe held a successful Plant Area Forum at Ball Colegrave this summer (July, 2018). The event was our third and was attended by more than 50 delegates, including plant area managers, buyers and supervisors and was facilitated by GCA inspector, Roger Crookes with assistance from Michael Cole. Our third annual Plant Area Forum was a…
DetailsOur GCA Trust delegates return from ‘inspirational’ IGCA Congress Squires Garden Centres’ Matt Tanner and Klondyke Group’s Jayne Scott who were sponsored by our GCA Trust to attend the International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) Congress are back from their trip. The young duo were picked for the Trust’s Dick Allen Scholarship Award Scheme and joined…
DetailsWe have recently (August, 2018) announced the finalists in our annual Ruxley Rose competition. Twenty centres all received top scores in the spring bedding and hardy nursery stock categories from our spring inspections and have now been put forwards for autumn judging. Throughout the spring our member garden centres received visits from our inspectors and…
DetailsSales at garden centres across the country continued to soar in June (2018) thanks to the sunny weather according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) report.
Outdoor plant sales were up 26.94% compared to the same month last year (2017) and sales in houseplants were close behind at 24.1% up.
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