“Alexa, start the lawnmower”. “Alexa, water the borders and vegetable patch”. “Alexa, order me a pack of Miracle-Gro”. Turn back the clock by a decade and such voice commands would have been dismissed as the plot of a sci-fi movie. Now, AI and smart technology that has revolutionised our homes is set to transform the way the nation tends its flowers, fruit, lawns and vegetables. High-tech app-controlled kit and robotic gadgets that promise to make gardening easier are taking the garden retail market by storm. Continue reading
Tag: Gardening
Introducing the Taste Village at Glee 2019
With catering and food sales continuing to offer major add-on profit opportunities for garden centres, leading garden trade show Glee (10th – 12th September, NEC Birmingham), will be offering retailers extensive inspiration at the newly introduced Taste Village. Continue reading
ecofective® highlights its bee-friendly plant protection range, ahead of World Bee Day’s focus on helping pollinators
As conservationists prepare to mark World Bee Day on 20th May, an initiative designed to highlight the global decline of vital pollinators, the ecofective® brand of natural plant protection products is revealing how its innovative range can help gardeners to tackle troublesome pests on flowers, fruit and vegetables without posing a risk to bees. Continue reading
LifestyleGarden® invests in new showroom & distribution centre to facilitate UK growth
Having enjoyed a phenomenal start to 2019, which saw sales targets smashed, unprecedented demand from retailers for additional stock due to much higher than expected sales, and all future ordered stock already pre-sold before arrival, LifestyleGarden® is celebrating further growth with the opening of its new showroom and distribution centre. Continue reading
The Great British Growing Awards to return to Glee 2019
In an exciting move to help build Glee’s ongoing relationships with consumer media and their readers, it has been confirmed that Grow Your Own magazine will once again be bringing its annual Great British Growing Awards to Glee 2019. Continue reading
Final reminder – Entry to GIMA Awards 2019 to close soon. Don’t miss out!
Suppliers wanting to gain unrivalled market-wide recognition for their latest product innovation, marketing support or overall business acumen will want to take centre stage at the forthcoming GIMA Awards (4th July, Celtic Manor). However, time is running out, as the deadline for entering the 39th annual GIMA Awards – Friday May 17th – is now just days away. Continue reading
DLF’s Tasha Redman swaps lawn seed for lycra as athletic champion triumphs in Aquabike challenge
Move over Bradley Wiggins, step aside Tom Daley: the UK gardening industry has a new athletic champion. Tasha Redman, consumer customer service representative at DLF, the company behind Johnsons Lawn Seed, was crowned 14th in the world at Aquabike at the ITU Multisport World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Continue reading
GIMA members smash records as bumper spring sees consumers flock to garden centres
Members of the Garden Industry Manufacturers’ Association (GIMA) are celebrating a spring sales bonanza, with suppliers fighting against the clock to meet demand from retailers. With garden centre sales up by 37% year-on-year in March alone, according to the Garden Centre Association’s Barometer of Trade, GIMA members have smashed targets as Easter’s heatwave and strong spring trading saw sales go through the roof. Continue reading
Recreate Greenfingers Charity’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden
As the garden retail industry’s most beloved charity, Greenfingers’ inaugural presence at the forthcoming RHS Chelsea Flower Show is something we can all take great pride in. Here the charity reveals further details about its proposed planting scheme, something the charity is encouraging retailers to offer in-store to help consumers recreate the ‘Chelsea look’ within their own garden spaces. Continue reading
The market is abuzz: garden retailers respond positively to LifestyleGarden®’s new Eden Project & DuraOcean® ranges
LifestyleGarden® is not a brand to do things by halves, which is why the company has kicked started the 2020 pre-season in style with not one, but two, true industry firsts. Here the company explains how the market has responded, and what it means for garden retailing in the coming seasons. Continue reading
