Blogs

The original in-store media company “Neat Ideas” offer a range of inspirational kitchen, garden, housewares & DIY products.

 

Everything we do, from selecting innovative quality products, to our packaging design and smart in-store media, is designed to ensure maximised sales.

With our in-store media and promotional approach, we ensure that our products offer more profit per square foot.

We offer Sale or Return (so retailers never have to reduce prices to clear stock) No quibble returns policy Targeted promotional periods – (8-12 weeks) Regular changeover…

Following the success of BEES™ Seeds and Gifts over the last couple of years, G Plants have developed a collection of new wooden display units with vintage BEES branding, which will be available for delivery from December.

 

The products in these ranges have been designed to be suitable for year round sales, with attractive packaging, which makes them ideal for gardening gift lines to drive sales, even in quieter months.

Display stands are available when ordering a selection of BEES™ Seeds and Growing Gift lines, which can be stocked up with follow up orders…

The industry was saddened at GLEE 2017 to hear that the range of DaVinci Home and garden products were no longer available to garden centres as the business had ceased trading due to personal reasons.

The good news is that Melmar Stone, one of the leading stoneware and garden ornament suppliers in the UK have formed an exclusive strategic partnership with the manufacturer of the range and are pleased to announce that the products are NOW available for ordering in time for the 2018 season.

This is important news because the products have been hugely successful in the UK and…

With margins of +140% on high ticket items that cost the retailer virtually nothing to stock, this was something we really wanted to find more out about. So to find out how they do this Garden Trade Specialist interviewed WhatShed.co.uk, the UKs most authoritative website on garden buildings.

The Cottage Playhouse

Q: So WhatShed, how did you find out that this was such an important profit center for the retailers?

A: From an online perspective WhatShed is one of the largest traffic drivers for some of these retailers. Over the last few years, they have opened up to us and…

Hillmount Ards has opened its doors following a £1 million investment in transforming the site of the original Thriving Life Church at the junction of Movilla Road and Ballyreagh Road into a 10,000sq ft lifestyle garden centre with the creation of 25 jobs for Newtownards.

 
Robin Mercer, Hillmount Ards, said:  “I always promised my wife Edith that I’d open a garden centre in her home shopping town of Ards and after we opened Hillmount Bangor we began to search for a site.  Developing Hillmount Ards has been a real labour of love for Edith, our son Alan and I, and we…

Staff working at Haskins Garden Centre in Roundstone are supporting a local project to build a sensory room at St Andrew's High School C.E. for boys.

The garden centre has donated a £100 gift card to a group of degree students at the University of Chichester who are behind the project. The students are in their third year of a primary teaching degree and as part of their training, they aim to raise £2,500 within the local community in order to create the new sensory room.

The sensory room project will help students who require different types of support throughout the…

It was my first time but definitely not the last one! Two weeks ago I came back from the International Garden Centre Association trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. With a group of over 200 people from all over the world, we enjoyed the trip through the garden industry in this part of Ontario.

Since I was travelling around in a bus with a group of about 20 youngsters from the industry it was very relaxed and entertaining, and we even learned something while having fun! Here are 3 online marketing tips that I learned about in Canada. You can apply these yourself into your own centre. And…

AXA investigates the health and wellbeing benefits of gardening

Fifty per cent of people who have done gardening report an improvement in their happiness, 43 per cent say it’s relaxing and reduces anxiety and 42 per cent report an improvement in their mental health Meanwhile 45 per cent reported an improvement in their appreciation of nature and 18 per cent say gardening helped them sleep better 57 per cent of those surveyed said they were emotionally attached to their garden and would be upset if something happened to it

 

A spot of gardening not only gives you a good…

THE TWO young delegates sponsored by the Garden Centre Association (GCA) Trust to attend the 58th International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) Congress near Niagara Falls in Canada have reported back this month (October, 2017).

 

Zoe Willis from Perrywood Garden Centre and Liz Dowling from Millbrook Garden Company were both selected by the GCA Trust for the Dick Allen Scholarship Award Scheme. 

 

Zoe explained: “The week had a packed-full itinerary including many visits to Canadian garden centres, a visit to Toronto botanical gardens and a night hosted by…

Justine Newman, Horticultural Sector Manager of IML Labels, looks at the shortage of workers in the horticultural industry, identifies why this is the case, and suggests how we can help to inspire the next generation of gardeners.

 

The UK’s horticultural industry is worth £9 billion and employs almost 200,000 people. Yet, a survey of 18 year olds showed that 70% thought a career in horticulture was for people who had “failed academically”. Furthermore, almost 50% of under 25s saw horticulture as an “unskilled career”.

 

During the UK recession, despite high…

Choice Marketing held their Annual Conference & Trade Show over 3 days in early October at Jurys Hinckley Island Hotel. A total of 160 delegates representing members, suppliers and the Greenfingers charity came together in an atmosphere of friendship and co-operation.

The Trade Show hosted 90 suppliers covering core gardening, plants, gifts, Christmas and catering. Key industry personalities from all sectors of the industry were in attendance. Choice announced the winners of their supplier of the year awards with Whartons scooping the Plant supplier accolade and Woodlodge…

Smart Garden were honoured with the Greatest Garden Products Supplier of the Year Award at the HTA Garden Futures Conference and dinner on Wednesday 4th October at Heythrop Park, Enstone, Oxfordshire– marking the second year in a row that the company has walked away with the accolade.

 

The award was presented to Smart Garden’s Managing Director Jonathan Stobart and Sales Director Paul Knott, by BBC rural affairs correspondent and Countryfile presenter Tom Heap, and awards host and founder Trevor Pfeiffer from Garden Trade News and GTNXtra.

Sponsored by …

The Flopro philosophy has always been to ensure that gardeners select the right product for the right job, but equally important is the right quality for the right consumer. Entry level products are vitally important to encourage new consumers and fringe gardeners to take a first step on the gardening journey. With this in mind, Flopro have upgraded their introductory range which provides high quality, no leaks products that fit all brands, while still retaining ‘value’ price points.

However, Glee marked a turning point in moving the watering market forward as M.D. Nick Davies…

Launching eight new ranges at this year’s Glee exhibition, leading garden lifestyle brand, Briers, was keen to display its commitment to higher standards for quality and how that has stepped up even further in the last 12 months.

 

Briers kicked off their time at Glee 2017 with the help of designer Julie Dodsworth, as well as showcasing an expanded kids range, together with a new licensed range, Pantone.  

Briers is unique within its sector, as the only garden clothing manufacturer that employs a dedicated compliance director.  At key points of the sourcing and…

This Christmas Burgon & Ball has lots of great gifting ideas to help retailers put together a tempting array of must-have gifts for the Christmas season ahead. The Sheffield-based designer and manufacturer has launched more than 70 new products this autumn – and the fresh ideas include plenty of gorgeous gifts for gardeners and plant lovers.

 

Taking centre stage is the new Garden Supplies collection. The next generation of beautiful, stylish and practical gifts and sundries for gardeners, Garden Supplies is the successor to Burgon & Ball’s hugely popular…

Companion planting has been around for centuries. This tried and tested method for maximising your crops by growing certain types side by side has been proven to boost their growth and protect them from disease.

But many gardeners remain hesitant to give companion planting a go. This is because planting the right seeds side by side can yield an amazing harvest —choose the wrong combination though, and the results can be equally disastrous.

The catch is knowing which fruit and vegetables benefit each other. To help, Suttons Seeds— gardening experts and retailers of vegetable…