Blogs

Bonnetts Garden Village is to open its main store on Saturday 11th November,
having traded since late May in plants, the ‘Garden Village’ is now
really taking shape!

 

Phase 2 of the main store, that will open its doors this Saturday will
feature the most extensive Christmas display in the area, with several themes
from Scandinavian, through traditional Red and Gold to Woodland, and more. A
full range of indoor and outdoor lighting, as well as artificial trees are
included within the department, with fresh potted Christmas trees…

A historic Christmas tradition is returning to Burford House Garden Store as they welcome back the UK’s largest and most popular Holly and Mistletoe Auctions for the third year. 

The Tenbury Wells store, part of Hillview Garden Centres, will host the world-famous auctions which are held annually on the last Tuesday of November and the first two Tuesdays of December (28th November, 5th and 12th December).

Dating back to the Victorian times, the mistletoe plant is very important to the people of Tenbury for many centuries. Mistletoe is abundant on the many…

A MEMBER of staff at one of the UK’s leading nurseries is this month (November, 2017) growing a moustache in aid of a hospice in Hereford.
 
Geoff Godsall, who has worked at Wyevale Nurseries for 30 years and is currently a Trading Foreman, will be growing a moustache for the second year running to fundraise for St Michael’s Hospice.
 
Geoff, who is 64-years-old and lives in Hereford, said: “I chose to support St Michael’s Hospice again this year as it’s such a vital local charity. It offers a fantastic service to the community during particularly hard times. Both…

Haskins has launched its largest Christmas department to date in its West End centre, Southampton.

The popular garden centre group anticipates welcoming 1 million visitors to its four centres across a three month lead up to Christmas. The West End centre is already experiencing a higher number of visitors drawn to its extended Christmas department in comparison to previous years’ figures.

The West End centre has improved its Christmas offering by making it more spacious and extending it to span both sides of the centre’s entrance. The centre uses visual…

Bonfire night is fast approaching and whilst it can be one of the most fun nights of the year it can
also be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are plenty of flammable items found
in your garden that you may not have even considered. So, here are some top tips to prepare your
garden for a fun and safe fireworks night with all your friends and family.

If you’re planning on hosting your own fireworks party, then the first thing to do is ensure you have
enough space in your garden. Read instructions carefully, and ensure you…

PKL gave a helping hand to Petersham Nurseries on October 25th to help them put on a remarkable charity event in aid of the #CookForSyria campaign.
 
The supper club, for national press and digital influencers, took place in Petersham Nurseries’ new Covent Garden interiors store and delicatessen. Featuring inspiring recipes from the #CookForSyria cookbook, the evening was a fantastic success for the campaign and for Petersham Nurseries including their team of chefs led by Executive Chef Damian Clisby and Syrian restaurateur Imad Alarnab .
 
The success was even more…

In October 2017, due to the continued growth of their rapidly expanding Export business, Smart Garden Products welcomed two new employees to their award-winning team based in Abingdon.

Following her recent promotion, Elvire Beugin was delighted to recruit Silvia Staudenmaier and Sabrina Laloui.  Coming from a diverse range of backgrounds, they will be able to utilise their valuable experience to help promote and support the Smart business in continental Europe.

Jonathan Stobart, Managing Director of Smart Garden Products says of the recent recruitment…

Employees from Zest 4 Leisure, a leading trade supplier of quality timber furniture, have covered over 3,400 miles this year, raising in excess of £15,000 for Cancer Research UK, its chosen charity for 2017.

Running, swimming and cycling, employees have taken part in a variety of challenges, the latest of which saw 45 people complete the Flintshire 10k Run.

In addition to this, 23 people successfully completed the Chester Marathon and 25 employees did the Manchester Marathon.  Not to be outdone, Managing Director Steve Morgan and John Vaughan, Fencing & Timber…

THE GARDEN Centre Association (GCA) has launched its Worrall Cup competition this month (November, 2017) that is designed to find the member garden centre with the best marketing expertise.
 
The garden centre with the best marketing campaign or initiative will be awarded the prestigious cup during the GCA’s annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avon from January 21 until 24, 2018.
 
Chief Executive of the GCA, Iain Wylie, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for members to win a prestigious award, where both flair and commercial success are rewarded.
 …

Following strong growth this year for the nursery co-operative Farplants, Andy Merrick has been promoted to Head of Sales.

Andy Merrick, previously the Garden Centre Sales Manager for the West Sussex based plant wholesaler, has been appointed to Head of Sales to continue the company’s growth plans. Since joining in 1999, he has progressed within sales and account management to manage the sales team and provide support to Farplants’ garden retailing customers.

Merrick has been an integral part of the Farplants product development team who have made over 1000…

Not long now! The weekends over and the neighbourhood kids are planning their costumes at this moment to surprise you at your door. Is your house Halloween ready? If you’re not sure, then read on for a quick step guide through prepping your front garden for the arrival of trick or treaters.

Preparing the doorway

The first point of call for little Halloween goers is the door. Decorating your door is the first step in preparing your home for Halloween. The spookier the better! You can use anything from fake spiders and cobwebs to ghost doorway hangers and posters, to create…

Following the recent release of the film It starring everyone’s favourite clown Pennywise – it’s clear we’re a nation that loves to be scared.

And as we head towards Halloween, houses will be adorned with scary spooks and costumes will be donned as people hide behind masks in order to shock their friends and neighbours.

Whilst this is a bit of fun for many people, our pet dogs can sometimes find this distressing – especially if they are part of the outfit! If your dog is nervous around strangers imagine opening the door to a masked ghoul or being around groups of excited…

Smart Garden Products is delighted to announce that Caroline Holford has joined Smart Garden Products on 9th October as Trade Marketing Manager.

Caroline beings a wealth of trade marketing experience having spent several years working with Dexam, Canon, HoMedics and Bic, among others. On joining a new industry, Caroline says “I am looking forward to transferring my extensive marketing experience in housewares, licensing and FMCG to the gardening sector.  I feel very fortunate to be joining the Smart Garden team at a time of such growth for both the company and the industry.  I am…

Mobile app development company Apps4U invites small businesses across the country to enter their free app development competition, with a prize worth nearly £2000.

Mobile apps are a major component in modern living. 85% of people say they prefer using apps over mobile websites, mainly because they streamline the user experience and make the business/service more accessible and easier to engage with. Given the popularity of apps, their benefits for a small business are almost immeasurable. Apps can help draw in new customers, inspire repeat business, establish…

Haskins is encouraging gardeners to make the most of their home-grown pumpkins with a delicious soup recipe for Halloween.

Alasdair Urquhart, plant advisor at Haskins Garden Centres, commented: “Making your own pumpkin soup is simple and rewarding. Even if you haven’t had time to grow your own this year, you can still follow our step-by-step recipe.

“We recommend saving the seeds once you’ve scooped them out, so you can roast them and sprinkle on top of the soup, to bring extra flavour. For a novelty twist, you could try serving the soup using the…