Blogs

Often described as the world's most scented shrub, Daphne Perfume Princess™ is recognised for its superior characteristics and performance. This plant was awarded Plant of the Year at the 2016 Nursery & Garden Industry awards in Australia, after its launch by Anthony Tesselaar Plants at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show in 2015.

 

Daphne Perfume Princess™ has taken more than 10 years to develop and was raised by New Zealand based plant breeder, Mark Jury.

 

True Breeding Success

'Perfume Princess' became a true…

A gardener’s shed can often get very cluttered with tools, plant posts and other gardening essentials. Filplastic have teamed up with Two Thirsty Gardeners to collate the best storage tips for every gardener. 

 

Creative use of jam jars to store your seeds

 

Do you ever find that your seeds have been nibbled on by those pesky mice? Rich, from Two Thirsty Gardeners, has the perfect solution! “Screwing the lid of a jam jar to the underside of a shelf before screwing the jar back on, will provide a handy, mouse-proof receptacle for storing your precious plant…

THE GARDEN Centre Association (GCA) has announced on August 11, 2017 the names of the finalist garden centres in its Ruxley Rose competition.

 

The 20 centres all received top scores in the spring bedding and hardy nursery stock categories from the GCA’s spring inspections and have now been put through for autumn judging. 

 

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “Our member garden centres received visits from our inspectors throughout the spring and their findings have determined 10 finalists in the Garden Centre (GC) category and 10 finalists in the…

The green-fingered team at Haskins presented Greenfingers charity with a cheque to mark their most recent donation of £12,002.37.

The fundraising total includes money raised from Haskins’ buying director’s Wing Walk last month, as well as money raised throughout the year from the sale of carrier bags in all centres.

Conna Powles, group buying director at Haskins successfully completed a sponsored Wing Walk on Sunday July 2. The garden centre’s target of raising £1,000 from the Wing Walk was quickly smashed, raising a total of almost £7,000 by the end of the challenge.…

Providing thermal accessories which can be used for a multitude of different occasions, Heat Holders are widely regarded as the ‘world’s warmest thermal socks’. 

With a tog rating of 2.34, Heat Holders socks are hugely popular around the world, especiallywith those in regular contact with outdoor pursuits and in need of keeping their feet, heads, hands and bodies as warm as possible. 

Perfect for those that spend a lot of time outdoors, just some of the suitable products for outdoor enthusiasts include…

Boot Socks 

Perfectly designed to fit inside walking…

Create your own tomato salsa recipe with Haskins Garden Centres

 

Haskins is encouraging gardeners to make the most of their home-grown tomatoes with a delicious salsa recipe for summer.

 

Alasdair Urquhart, plant advisor at Haskins Garden Centres, commented: “Growing your own tomatoes is simple and rewarding. Most tomato plants will begin to ripen in August, providing plenty of delicious tomatoes for late summer.

 

“Start picking your tomatoes when the fruit is ripe and fully coloured. If cropping slows in early autumn, we suggest gathering…

Brambles Pet and Wildlife Limited have launched a brand new wildlife range under the ‘Brambles’ brand name, exclusive to the pet & garden trade. At Brambles Pet and Wildlife we are passionate about wildlife. Our vast experience enables us to produce a range of quality foods that keep wild animals in tip top condition in today’s challenging times.

The company is keen to promote feeding the right food for wildlife as there are so many people feeding inappropriate foods that can be very harmful.

 

All Brambles foods are made in Great Britain, have no artificial…

Britain’s largest grower of fruit and ornamental trees for garden centres, Frank P. Matthews Limited of Worcestershire, is set to take a very special collection of apples on a mini tour of the county this autumn. Starting at the 2017 Malvern Autumn Show, the company will be displaying more than 300 different varieties, together with crab apples and the pears that this area is also famous for.

 

Included in the collection will be the newly bred ‘Apple Paradise Gold™’, as chosen by the London Paralympic Legacy for planting in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; to recognise the…

Finalists named for fifth edition of highly acclaimed PetQuip Awards

 

PATS New Product Awards to be presented at event for first time 

 

The prestigious PetQuip Awards and gala presentation evening is to celebrate its fifth year on the first evening of PATS Telford.  The awards are acclaimed across the pet industry and attract a wide range of suppliers, retailers and press to the presentation dinner and party and the organisers are excited to have the opportunity to present the exhibition’s own new product awards at this vibrant and popular evening.

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For those of us who aren’t lucky enough to be born with green fingers, the garden can be an intimidating prospect. It requires knowledge, creativity and patience to truly take advantage of the space. We caught up with the lovely people at GBC Group, the UK's premier retailer of quality garden and leisure buildings, who gave us their advice on how to make the most out of your garden space.

Patio

Whilst placing a patio in your garden may feel like you are unnecessarily using up space that could be used to grow beautiful flowers, a patio actual transforms your garden into a dual-…

IQ Outdoor Living can provide garden elements including outdoor furniture and patio roofing systems to create the perfect external living space that can be used all-year round. Patio roofs are gaining popularity as they allow homeowners to use their external spaces through all weather, not just in the summer. With the ability to shade, shelter and allow natural sunlight to pass through into each space or home, patio roofs are ideal for maximising the use of the patio at any time of the year.

IQ’s Pratic patio roofs have a retractable roof, allowing homeowners to open and close the…

Pet food company Soopa are celebrating the recent successful launch of their healthy dental stick range in the UK and Ireland. The new range of dental sticks which sold out in their first 2 months are stocked in Pet’s Corner, Scampers, Chessington Garden Centre and in independents pet stores across the UK.

Having spoken with their customers Soopa found many were feeding healthy food and treats but still feeding junk-filled dental sticks. “We saw a huge need for a natural healthier dental stick for dog owners” Founder Barbara Hanly says “our version provides a healthy alternative…

Burgon & Ball, the UK’s longest-established designer and manufacturer of garden tools and accessories, will be at this year’s GLEE exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC to launch its biggest-ever collection of new products.

 

With a reputation for innovation and new product development, Burgon & Ball’s stand (19C26-E27) is a must for all show visitors, with more than 70 innovative new products being unveiled at the show – and if past performance is anything to go by, there’ll be future best-sellers on show!

 

In the spotlight will be a stunning new range of…

Plants have been used for food and medication by humans for themselves and their pets for centuries and the refinement of their use into the conventional medicines that we know today is relatively recent.  Many commonly used drugs have evolved from plant-derived compounds however the pharmaceutical industry, keen to promote the use of its products, is less keen to acknowledge their humble origins!

 

There is widespread scepticism regarding herbal medicine amongst the medical community with proof of effectiveness deemed to be anecdotal rather than evidence-based using a…

With the summer weather approaching, many of us decide to test out our green fingers and become more self-sufficient by creating our own kitchen garden. Whether this is a selection of indoor herbs, or a vegetable patch in the garden, often lack of expertise can end up killing off any sign of life.

Luckily LECHUZA, creators of self-watering planters, have created plant pots with a sub-irrigation watering system which means your home grown herbs and vegetables will stand the test of time. The integrated water reservoir supplies the plant with the right amount of water for optimal…

DuPont™ Plantex® GroundGrid® ensures the stability of an elegant new gravel driveway design

 

When Outerspace undertook a project to completely strip out a large residential front garden, removing a traditional linear block-paved drive and side lawn, the landscaping experts knew they needed a high-performance solution to give structural stability to their elegant new design. Plantex® GroundGrid® proved to be the answer to ensuring both the integrity and minimal maintenance of the gravel-laid renovation.

 

The previous narrow approach and parking space had become a…