The Solar Centre

C h r i s t m as ge t s o f f t o a f l y i n g s t ar t

It may be due to Christmas opening earlier in centres than last year, but as this issue of GTN goes to press the sales volumes of the Top 50 Christmas products in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Centre Epos data during the last week of September were up 75% on the same week last year and 48% up on 2019.

We’ve been out and about seeing some of the first Christmas displays in advance of the launch of GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards for 2022 and we’ve seen for ourselves how avariciously the early displayed Christmas lines are being shopped. Hopefully that is a good omen for the rest of the season.

Details of our Greatest Christmas Awards 2022 can be found on pages 16 & 17. As usual we have a team of judges, with their sleighs, on standby ready to come out and meet the nominated teams so please make your nominations by the end of October.

Next month we’ll be revealing the winners of the GIMA Awards in our GIMA Roll of Honour special issue and then in December we’ll be bringing you the fourth edition of GTN’s Sustainability Directory.

In the meantime, we look forward to meeting as many GTN readers as possible over the coming weeks at awards events and on our Christmas judging visits. We can’t wait!

In this issue...

4 An understanding of stone – GTN Interviews the Meadow View Stone

team

8 Crystal ball gazing for 2030 – HTA Conference 2022

11 Camden Garden Centre Photo Tour

12 Tales from the shop floor – Mark Portman at Camden Garden Centre 16 GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards 2022 – Nominate you teams now 18 Serious about selling plants at Four Oaks 20 Glee New Product Directory, Part 2 26 Solex New Product Directory 29 Change brings opportunity – GIMA Column

30 Horticulture and government –ORHG column 7 Evergreen Garden Care 22 Apsley Farms 22 Meadow View Stone

22 Sipcam 23 Mr Fothergill’s 23 The Real Soil Company 23 Vitax 24 Fandango Fire Tools 24 Pot Mate 32 Solex 2023

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING

Garden Trade News Potting Shed Press Ltd Dairy Drove Thorney Peterborough PE6 0TX Tel 01733 775700 www.gardentradenews.co.uk

THE GTN TEAM

Editor Trevor Pfeiffer trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk Advertising Sales Alan Burdon Alan@pottingshedpress.co.uk Features Editor Anisa Gress anisa@pottinghsedpress.co.uk Associate Editor Mike Wyatt mike@pottingshedpress.co.uk Digital Editor Neil Pope neil@pottingshedpress.co.uk Subscriptions Karen Pfeiffer karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk

Design & Production

AT Graphics Ltd www.atgraphicsuk.com Kirsty Craner – Design Alun Jones – Production Manager Robert Tipping – Managing Director James Tipping – Technical Director Printing CG Print Ltd

Do you qualify for a copy of GTN?

If you’d like to be added to the GTN distribution list, please send your details to Karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk to see if you qualify to be included. Alternatively, if you prefer your Garden Trade News digitally, sign up for GTN Xtra, our weekly e-mail newsetter at www.gardentradenews.co.uk And, if you want the fastest garden centre sales analysis, take out a subscription to GTN Bestsellers our printed weekly sales data newsletter. For just £145.00 per year you get Top 50 sales charts created from weekly garden centre epos data. Contact trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk for more details and to subscribe.

Potting Shed Press Ltd

Garden Trade News is published by Potting Shed Press Ltd who also publish: GTN Bestsellers, GTN Xtra, Glee Daily News and the Glee Catalogue, and the Solex Sun. Potting Shed Press also supply Garden Radio to over 100 garden centres across the country.

Director Trevor Pfeiffer

SMALL PRINT: All material © Potting Shed Press Ltd 2022. No part of this publication may e reproduced in any form whatsoever, either for sale or not, without the express permission of the publishers. The information supplied in this publication is published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. Potting Shed Press Ltd cannot accept responsibility for any error or misrepresentation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by reliance on information contained in this publication or in the vent of any bankruptcy or liquidation or cassation of the trade of any company, individual or firm mentioned, is hereby excluded.