Features


Solex Sold Out
We are very pleased to announce that after a two-year covid induced absence SOLEX (The Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition) space has sold out, and there is already an exhibitor waiting list for 2023!  This is great news for the exhibition and the industry, as we will once again be bringing together all the top outdoor leisure brands from across the UK, Ireland, and Europe under one roof.   For a list of all our 2022 exhibitors take a look at  Who’s Exhibiting  This year the exhibition is in halls 17/18/19 from 12-14 July 2022 NEC, Birmingham and we just can’t wait to see everyone again.  As…

Glee Magazine - British Made, organic fertilisers for quality organic growers
Have you been looking for organic nutrients? for growing your flowers, fruit, vegetables & house plants? Then you’ve hit the jackpot! We are British Organic Bio. The British made nutrient line for quality organic growing. British Organic Bio was created to provide the highest quality organic products, perfect for growing great produce. Our mission is to supply as many growers as we can with organic nutrients, furthermore, help spread the message of the importance of using natural, organic products to keep our plants and planet healthy.  Everything by British Organic Bio is British Made…

Garden Image
Supporters of Greenfingers will be pleased to learn that there is an additional way to support the charity – unlocking your garden!  Unlocking your garden couldn’t be easier. Simply put, it’s a way of opening your garden to friends, family and the local community to enjoy and revel in the fruits of your labour. Whether your garden is a rose lover’s dream, a wonder for nature or big enough and manicured enough to give Capability Brown a run for his money, then why not consider showing off your efforts all in the name of charity. One couple who ‘unlocked’ their garden in 2021 for Greenfingers…

Garden Re-Leaf Day FUNdraiser for the Greenfingers Charity
Garden Re-Leaf Day is fast approaching – March 18th - and brands and individuals from across the garden retail sector are getting ready to FUNdraise for the Greenfingers charity. The Garden Re-Leaf Sponsored Walk & Cycle Challenge Whether its walking 10 miles or cycling 75 miles, the Sponsored Walk and Cycle challenge remains one of the best attended events in the Garden Re-Leaf roster. This year the event will see representatives from Glee, Evergreen Garden Care, Mr Fothergill’s Seeds (Team ‘The Lightening Seeds’), Capi Europe, DLF, Hornby Whitefoot PR, Hozelock, Woodmansterne and…

Carol Symons
When Bentley Motor Cars recognised Parks as one of 100 great British manufacturers in 2019, buyers were surprised at what the home fragrance industry had known for years. What began in 1989 as a small London boutique selling a few hand-poured candles had quietly become one of the world's leading home fragrance manufacturers. It’s only recently that garden centres have caught up. “It was such a surprise”, says founder Carol Symons, “we’ve always let the product do the talking and to be recognised by a company like Bentley was such an honour. We see ourselves as a family business that just…

Borderfield Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oils
The Borderfields story began in Northumberland in 2005, when local farmers from either side of the Scottish Border came together to create a premium cold pressed rapeseed oil from their crops. Production of a high quality, simple, tasty product was their collective aim and with this, Borderfields was born. Rapeseed oil is produced from the black seeds of the rapeseed plant, also known as Brassica napus. It comes from the same family of plants such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Visually, the rapeseed plant makes for a lovely landscape surface during the spring when it sprouts vibrant…

Stewarts from Outside by Ebtech Glasshouse Systems
In 2020 under extremally difficult Covid restrictions, Ebtech Glasshouse Systems Ltd, based in East Yorkshire built a new turnkey glasshouse facility at the site of Stewarts Garden Centre, near Wimborne in Dorset. The used glasshouse is 6,732m² overall, consisting of four separate areas plus a plant room. The first area is clad in sandwich panels c/w roof light panels and side wall windows, this area will have a separately internally clad small education classroom with the remaining area used for potting and machinery equipment, which has a clear span of 12.80m x 64.0m long. The growing…

Bosh garden tool
Two of the world’s biggest power tool firms have launched new garden tool products in time for the spring gardening season. Bosch has introduced two new lightweight power gardening hand tools to join its Power For All Range, which includes last year’s award winning Universal GrassCut18v-26. The range offers more than 70 products allowing customers to use just one portable battery for their entire home and garden tool system.  A selection of the products can be seen below. Keo (NEW) Pruning with the cordless Keo garden saw makes the process effortless, offering the ability to cut branches…

Urban barbecues by Cadac
With home entertaining and urban living on the rise, Cadac continues to invest in its premium range of barbecues to suit all sizes of outdoor space, with new additions to its award-winning range.  The new Citi Chef 40 FS barbecue from Cadac is the latest addition to its growing Urban Range (SRP £280). The compact shape and light weight are designed to take up less space on the patio, balcony or garden, without compromising on style and performance. All the features you’d expect from a Cadac BBQ are included; Thermogrill technology, easy clean GreenGrill ceramic and easy assembly. The single…

Kate Gould’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show Sanctuary Garden, ‘Out of the Shadows’
Our post-pandemic gardens are being asked to work harder for us than ever. They are being tasked to not only grow plants, but also to provide an outdoor extension to our homes where we can relax, exercise, entertain and eat. Kate Gould’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show Sanctuary Garden, ‘Out of the Shadows’ is a lesson in how the pandemic has changed the concept of the garden, with even the smallest now being tasked to serve multiple functions and incorporate modern lifestyle needs. ‘Out of the Shadows’ is one of the RHS’ ‘Sanctuary Gardens’ and is a small, contemporary garden which packs a huge…

Tenebrous Oak
About Littlefair’s Based in Blackburn, Lancashire, Littlefair’s are multi-awarding-winning manufacturers of water-based wood dyes, varnishes, finishing oils, wax polishes and flooring products. Littlefair’s supply a growing number of trusted stockists across the UK and different market sectors, which has been vital in spreading brand awareness for customers to try Littlefair’s products over larger, established brands.  Founded in 2001 by Les Littlefair, Les began stocking wood dye products in his bric-a-brac shop. He soon noticed how well the product sold and, as a joiner with an eye for…

GIMA Logo
 Taking place next week (February 17th, Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire), GIMA’s first Day Conference of 2022, focused on the forthcoming changes to the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations (EPR), has just a few places remaining. Interested parties who want to learn more about the EPR regulation changes that are set to come into effect in 2023, are being urged to secure one of the remaining places for this special one-day event. The forthcoming EPR changes will see any businesses that turns over more than £1million, or handles more than 25 tonnes of packaging annually, become…

Four Oaks Trade Show 2022
Excitement is building for a spectacular return for the 50th anniversary Four Oaks Trade Show in 2022, set for 6 & 7 September at our Cheshire nursery site.  Exhibiting offers the opportunity to meet with buyers, from across the horticultural trade sector, who come to look for new plants, products, technology, services and to connect with suppliers, colleagues, friends old and new. After a two-year gap and with new features including a comprehensive conference program, there is much to attract visitors who are expressing great anticipation at returning to Four Oaks once more.  Hundreds…

Kimberley and Matt 120 milers - Garden Re Leaf Day
The much-loved Garden Re-Leaf Day Sponsored Walk and Cycle Challenge is making its return this March 18th. Having last taken place in 2020 just before the pandemic took hold, the return of the ever-popular challenge will be music to the ears of those Garden Re-Leaf supporters that have made the event an essential part of their annual FUNdraising plans.  This year’s Garden Re-Leaf Day Sponsored Walk and Cycle Challenge will start and end at Dobbies World’s End store, near Aylesbury, with teams and individuals invited to join in the fun. The route will take participants on a stunning tour of…

Glee Stand
Echoing the incredible growth that is shaping the garden retail sector, Glee 2022 – taking part in late June (28th – 30th, NEC Birmingham) - is enjoying pre-pandemic levels of activity, helping the exhibition to fill 80% of its exhibition space with just five months to go until the doors open on this year’s edition of the leading garden retail event. With four halls of the NEC fit to bursting (that’s one more hall than in 2021!), Glee 2022 – the very first to take place in late June, helping the show to better align with the renewed buying cycle – will be a hotbed of leading brands and…

GIMA logo
Ahead of its first Day Conference of 2022, GIMA has revealed more details about what attendees can expect to learn during the one-day event focused on Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations (EPR). Taking place on February 17th at Wyboston Lakes in Bedfordshire, the packed agenda will look at the EPR regulation changes that are set to come into effect in 2023. These changes will see any businesses that turn over more than £1million, or handle more than 25 tonnes of packaging annually, become responsible for the full cost of managing all packaging they place into the market. …