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If you would like to reproduce anything from HTA news please contact the HTA News team for permission. While every care is taken that all information inside the magazine is correct, prices and details may be subject to change. The HTA reserves the right to shorten or modify material submitted for publication. The HTA takes no responsibility for claims made in advertisements or advertisement features in the magazine.

Comment

November/ December 2019 issue

HTA PRESIDENT

James Barnes

Meet the teamHTA Editorial Team: Gill Ormrod, Angela Bean, Amanda Wallace, Amy Winder & Jazmin Lyel

Design: Yellowball Printed by: Buxton Press

Advertising : Redactive T: 0207 880 7632 E: [email protected]

Welcome to the November/December issue of HTA News.Cultivating Retail – for a sustainable future takes place on 19

November at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham and I do encourage you and your colleagues to attend. This

pivotal event, which we are hosting in collaboration with GIMA, sets out the threats and opportunities we will face as an industry in the coming years. With a focus on sustainability in the widest sense the event is of real significance for the whole supply chain. With a great line up of top-class speakers including former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy, Just Eat Chief Operating O�icer Graham Corfield it is not to be missed. Alongside the high-quality programme, which will deliver key take away outputs for individual businesses, one of the most significant benefits of attending is the ability to hear from, meet and chat with your peer group. This is particularly significant at this point in time with so many di�erent pressures facing our sector.

Sustainability is such a key issue for us all and it is imperative that we get our own house in order as an industry. Counter to that sustainability brings so many positive aspects through the fact that our products – plants, trees and shrubs – add so much value to our e�orts as a country to mitigate the impact of climate change. We have a responsibility, as the leading trade body, to help the industry capitalise on this and will prioritise and resource this area of work as you will hear at Cultivating Retail.

Another challenge facing the industry as we approach the end of the year is the introduction of the new plant passporting regulations that come into force on 14 December. These regulations bring changes for all those involved in selling plants – from growers and retailers to landscapers and online suppliers. We are working hard to ensure that you are kept up to date with information as we receive it and I urge you to regularly check the HTA website and sign up for our sector specific information.




TA KE ACTION

4 November/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

Five most Frequently Asked Questions

PLANT PASSPORTS

At this moment in time, there is no di�erence. The phrase ‘Professional Operator’ is new to industry and was first seen in the legislation that is due to come in on 14 December 2019 in all EU member states. However, it still means you are authorised to issue plant passports and the process is the same.

A Professional Operator (PO) is defined as “any person, governed by public or private law, involved professionally in, or legally responsible for, one or more of the following activities concerning plants, plant products; -

• Planting• Breeding• Production (including growing, multiplying and

maintaining)• Introduction into, and movement within and out of,

the Union territory• Making available on the market (i.e. retailing, selling

or trading)• Storage, collection, dispatching or processing”Basically, this covers every horticultural business, whether

sole trader or large business. So, everyone must register with APHA for the purposes of

being a registered PO.Being authorised to issue Plant Passports (PPs) is part of

being a PO, however not every PO will need to issue PPs. Being a PO means that as a business – whether large or

small – sole trader or with multiple sites - you must comply with certain plant health criteria. At this moment in time, until further information is released, the criteria needed to register as a PO is the same as it always has been to register for issuing PPs.

The implementing legislation was actually passed in 2016, and all the relevant legal parts freely available for all to read. The design for the new PPs was published in December 2017. However, both industry and the Government have taken time to realise the true extent of the practical implications for plant passporting.

HTA have been highlighting for a while now that the new regulations are coming in at the end of this year, but the matter of physical attachment of all PPs was not fully appreciated until the middle of this year. Engagement with Defra on ironing out the grey areas and presenting di�erent scenarios and questions for clarification became of paramount importance by August 2019.

The principles that the legislation requires are:• Full traceability for all plants in trade (something that

industry has yet to fully appreciate)• The registration of all Professional Operators These are huge step changes for all businesses connected

professionally with the plant trade.Moving forward, it is hoped the Government will take a

pragmatic view on compliance. The HTA has requested that businesses (POs) showing intent to comply will receive no penalties for 12 months. We will keep you up to date with progress as this is yet to be confirmed.

In addition, the HTA is working hard with the Defra Plant Passporting teams to clarify any existing grey areas and ensuring that the right message is made available to the industry.

1. 2.What’s the di�erence between a professional operator and an authorised operator / business?

Why is there such a short time frame for implementation of the new passports?


TA KE ACTION


For the purpose of this document, it is assumed we will Exit the EU with a deal or there will be an extension period in place as of 14 December 2019.

In the event of a no deal, the principles of these regulations will still be adopted although a review will be conducted accordingly. This information is correct as of 5 November 2019.

Please sign up on the HTA website for updates and subscribe to HTA e-news for the latest updates.

No, you do not need to issue your own passport if you are not changing the plant material in any way, splitting up the trade unit or selling to an end user / consumer.

However, traceability must be maintained by recording the information on the PP and passing it on to the next business in the supply chain.

You may replace a PP if you wish as long as traceability requirements are fulfilled and the plants or plant products continue to comply with the regulations, even if the characteristics of the plants have not changed.

Remember, if you are an online retailer or distance seller then you must PP right down to the consumer.

You only need to include a traceability code on the actual plant passport when the plants you are despatching are due to go through another stage of preparation, so are not prepared for final use.

You must, however, no matter at what stage in the supply chain you are involved in, ensure you have full traceability for every plant that comes in and goes out of your business and be able to provide that information to a Plant Health Inspector when asked.

The regulations state that PPs must be physically attached to the trade unit.

Sending the PP with supplier documentation (delivery note, packing note, invoice etc) is no longer acceptable as the only method of supplying a PP, although you can add them onto the accompanying paperwork if you and/or your customer wish in order to provide a record for your customer to keep, but the PP MUST be physically attached to the plants (trade unit).

A trade unit is defined as a plant or a number of plants which are homogenous – i.e. they are of the same Genus and Species, from the same source, same batch, grown in the same format and going to the same place.

However, if at any stage you have a mixed tray, shelf, trolley or pallet, then you would need to passport down to the smallest unit. The only exceptions would be for a mixed planted basket/container when multiple species can be included on the same passport.

5.3.

4.

If a product comes into my company and then I sell it onto another user (either a PO or a final user), do I need to issue my own passport even if it is not split down or altered?

When do I need a traceability code – I’m confused!?

What do I have to attach a plant passport to?


NEWS

UK garden market sizing report published

Did you know that ornamental horticulture and landscaping in the UK made an estimated £24.2billion contribution to national GDP in 2017? In addition, around 568,700 jobs were

supported – which is the equivalent to 1 in every 62 jobs.The latest HTA Market Update Insight Edition focuses on the size

of the UK ornamental horticulture industry. This edition looks at this spend in depth, breaking it down across categories, sales channels and demographics of those active in the market.

The report also summarises the recent Oxford Economics industry sizing report, showing that proximity and access to green space and natural features adds an estimated £131 billion to the value of UK houses. It’s estimated that UK households spent around £7.5billion on garden goods in 2017. Spend on garden goods is equivalent to £1 in every £100 of household spending. Meanwhile, UK households spent around £2.4billion on the services of gardeners and landscapers in 2017.

Life stage, a�luence and house type heavily influence the

amount and mix of spending on gardens. The HTA has developed a consumer segmentation model which categorises the di�erent wants, needs and spending levels of di�erent consumers. Some consumer segments spend more than double the national average per household, meaning ranges and promotions can be targeted.

Martin Simmons, HTA Director of membership comments “The UK garden retail market has experienced steady growth over the last 8 years. Spend on seeds, bulbs, plants and trees has grown, and new technology has helped to drive spend on tools. Younger consumers are more likely to be influenced by family and friends or take inspiration from social media and other online sources. Meanwhile older consumers tend to go to the ‘expert’, watching gardening TV programmes and talking to sta� or observing displays in garden centres or parks.”

Ornamental Management Committee talks water, Brexit and growing media

The Ornamental Management Committee (OMC) met in September at Horticulture House with members reporting a very positive year’s trading. This is despite the ongoing

concerns surrounding plant passporting, peat, labour and biosecurity.

Demand on water continues to be a major issue for businesses like nurseries in the UK. In September, OMC members attended a meeting co-hosted by the NFU and the Environment Agency on the matter. In 2018, regional bodies were set up, under a strategic arrangement, to compel water authorities to work together. The HTA is to consider how it can input into these bodies to represent ornamental horticulture, considering the increased demand on water the industry will face in the future.

On the Brexit front, Kevin Kitching, Defra’s EU Exit team leader, gave a presentation on importing and exporting plants and plant products in the event of a No Deal - this raised several queries that the HTA Policy team have taken for consideration. He re-iterated that despite the continuing political uncertainly, all work being undertaken by Government is focusing on 3 key issues for business - maintaining the current levels of biosecurity, minimizing the impact on businesses and keeping trade moving.

Additionally, the committee was updated on the activity of the Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media. There is now an audit scheme in place which ‘scores’ the components of growing

The report is available free for members to download from the HTA website hta.org.uk

The next OMC meeting will be February 2020.

media to give a measure of its environmental impact. Discussions are underway as to how to communicate this information with consumers, trade and retailers.

Geo¦ Caesar is stepping down as the Chair of the OMC with Martin Emmett taking on the position. On behalf of the committee, Martin thanked Geo¦ for his invaluable contribution over 6 years. His expertise and experience will stay with the OMC as Geo¦ will remain a committee member.




In 2011 the government enshrined in primary legislation target dates for the removal of peat use in growing media in England. The dates were 2015 for all public sector scheme using container

grown plants, 2020 for the removal of peat in retail/hobby market products and finally 2030 the removal of peat use for commercial growing media. Interestingly now other government around Europe are also looking at replacement of peat use, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Ireland.

In the case of the latter (ROI) new legislation was bought out at the beginning of 2019 which made it mandatory that all extraction sites in excess of 30ha had to have full planning permission and there was a period of 18 months for Companies to comply. This legislation was challenged by various Irish conservation groups and as a result of a judicial review a stop on all extraction of peat(s) in Ireland came into force at the beginning of September 2019. The ruling is now being challenged by the members of the Irish commercial peat producers.

For the season 2020 there should be little if any impact as stock of peat are already gathered, but obviously if the ban on extraction continued then the supplies of peat(s) from Ireland for the 2021 season would be di¦icult.

CHAIR OF THE GMA

Neil Bragg

We already have good information on the use of other materials which can be used to dilute and or replace the peat we use in growing media, so the immediate need for the horticultural industry is to now fully implement the use of peat reduced and peat free mixes on a much wider scale than ever before. The supply companies have all done their R&D and understand the requirements of new multicomponent mixes, but such mixes do actually perform and test protocols to ensure fitness for purpose have been developed and are used.

Going forwards, we all need across the supply chain to work together to ensure our end customers do have a fruitful result from the use of the new and continually developing mixes we can o¦er.

Thoughts on reduced peat use in HorticultureSince the early 1990’s we have all been aware that successive governments have encouraged the Horticultural industry as a whole to look at peat reduction and replacement in growing media. Countless hours of product development type R&D have gone into the issues of identifying and developing the use of alternative materials, but while peat(s) have been readily available they have remained the backbone of substrate mixes.

7 | www.hta.org.uk | November/December 2019Find us on Facebook

NE WS


8 Follow us on Twitter @HTAnewsFollow us on Twitter @HTAnews8 November/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

OV E R THE GARDEN FENCE

Gardening IS GOOD FOR YOU

OUT and aboutTweet us at @HTAnews

It’s not just hyacinth #bulbs that you grow in pots. I’ve just potted 10 #Narcissus Thalia into this old pot. It’s a short growing multi-headed white #da�odil #gardentips #GIGFY

Enjoying a little woodland/river side walk earlier #getkidsoutdoors #autumnwalks

Canela estriada (Lampides boeticus) #butterfly #butterflies #nature

Alan E Down@AlanEDown

@MumSonAdventureMumandSon_Adventures

Fran @Franjamaso

Is there a local roundabout with your name on it?

Roundabout sponsorship is a great way to bring passing tra�ic to you. When planted, these green hubs brighten up towns and demonstrate what can be achieved in a small space. Perfect for advertising a garden business. #GIGFY

Credit: Taken at Millets Farm

Have you got the space and facilities to be able to hold a Pick Your Own? Maybe something to consider for next year!


OV ER THE GARDEN FENCE

IN THE PRESSOur media team regularly receive enquiries from newspapers, magazines, TV shows, radio and the like about all aspects of horticulture and gardening. Here is a snap shot of our latest cuttings to give you a flavour of the topics that are currently in the news.

Greenfingers ‘Nest & Rest’ garden opens at Grace House,

Sunderland

Pippa Greenwood joins the HTA as Horticulture Manager

Sue Allen, founder of Millbrook Garden Centres,

has joined the Greenfingers Charity Board of Trustees

12% British adults say they gave a gi� they had made themselves for Christmas 2016. Give our Christmas quiz a go on page 21 and see how well you know your Christmas customers!

The David Colegrave Foundation was picked up by DIYWeek.net as they are celebrating that they have awarded almost £100,000

through scholarships, trip bursaries and other educational initiatives to horticulture students

over the last 10 years.

Gardening is Good for You reached nearly 20,000 people a�er being mentioned in the Sunday Independent in Cornwall. The

campaigns tips were shared on how to make a wildlife garden.

PEOPLE & PRIZES

(Source: Foresight Factory)

10 Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

A DV ERTORIAL

November/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

Are you looking for quality plant labels with beautiful images and informative text that allow you

to add a unified look to your plants without the associated costs of agency and design fees? Then our ready printed stock range is for you.

Can’t find the variety you are looking for? Use our ‘Print to Order’ service - just contact one of the team who will be pleased to help.

We also stock a wide range of Point of Sale, including bedcards, benchstrips, bench wraps and posters, colourful banners, trolley toppers and more. With plenty of designs to choose from you can find a style to suit your needs.

Need your order fast? Our products are available with next day delivery, just order before 12noon. We replenish our stock before levels run too low on the shelves, ensuring good availability all year round.

Explore our extensive range on our easy to use webshop, designed to make ordering simpler and quicker so you can get on with your busy day.

Are you looking for quality plant labels with beautiful images and informative text that allow you to add a unified

look to your plants without the associated costs of agency and design fees? Then our ready printed stock range is for you.

Can’t find the variety you are looking for? Use our ‘Print to Order’ service - just contact one of the team who will be pleased to help.

We also stock a wide range of Point of Sale, including bedcards, benchstrips, bench wraps and posters, colourful banners, trolley toppers and more. With plenty of designs to choose from you can find a style to suit your needs.

Need your order fast? Our products are

available with next day delivery, just order before 12noon. We replenish our stock before levels run too low on the shelves, ensuring good availability all year round.

Explore our extensive range on our easy to use webshop, designed to make ordering simpler and quicker so you can get on with your busy day.

17| www.hta.org.uk | October 2018Find us on Facebook

ADVERTORI AL

Get in touchT +44 (0) 1206 771040F +44 (0) 1206 771050E [email protected] floramedia.co.uk

Your brand in our hands It is no easy task to stand out in a highly competitive market. At Floramedia we have the marketing and industry insight, backed by a team of people with the skills and experience necessary to help your brand stand out from the crowd.

Creative design

The UK creative team, based here at our o�ice in Colchester, are a talented group of graphic designers headed up by Victoria Zambelli. With years of industry experience between them and having worked with top brands such as Ralph Lauren, Harrods, BMW, British Airways and Motorola your brand is in safe hands. A close working relationship with designers from across our European o�ices helps in the development of creative concepts and allows for consultation on how an idea could work across Europe.

Every single project is di�erent with its own needs and requirements, that’s why we have an experienced team of coordinators who will look a�er your project from start to finish. Combined with the industry knowledge of our Account Managers, who will remain your contact throughout, we not only deliver creative concepts but a great service too.

Floramedia is a communication, marketing and print production company for plant and garden retailers. Best known for our reliability in producing quality plant labels, giving you the choice you need from either our huge range of pre-printed stock or bespoke design service.

Growing your business Proven success

Rollins Pedigree A�er successfully refreshing their Bulldog brand, Rollins approached Floramedia to develop a new brand identity for their Pedigree range of light-weight tools, aimed at the amateur gardener. With this target market in mind our creative team developed Hugo (a French Bulldog) that would appeal to the target audience, incorporating colour and pattern, thereby opening up the gi� market. As well as the commercial success of the Pedigree range the re-brand has leveraged additional benefits for Rollins and its established Bulldog tools brand, with both being connected, yet immediately recognisable in their own right.

Willow WandTo create a concept for a distinctive brand identity a clear brief is needed. When Willow Wand asked Floramedia to develop a brand to reflect their innovative product we took the time to get to know both the company and the product. Every Willow Wand is an elegant hand-cra�ed piece of living art and the creative team took inspiration from the weaving of the willow stems, before working in other requirements from the clients brief, leading to a strong brand that communicates everything it needs to do.

Stay ahead

The ‘Green Trend Journal 2019’ is a follow-up to the Green Trend Report 2017/2018 released by Floramedia last year and provides an update on macro and micro trends and how these can be applied to the green sector.

Both the Green Trend Report and the Journal contain important information that can help you gain an idea about your product’s position in the market and inspire your vision for the future, which in turn guides us in creating new labelling, packaging and brand concepts to help you successfully reach the right audience.


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Find us on Facebook

Calathea is characterised by the fabulous markings on its leaves and the rich choice of leaf shapes, from round and oval to spear-shaped. The leaves not only have air-purifying

properties, but also have a day and night rhythm. When it gets dark the leaves close, and if it’s quiet enough you can hear the rustling of the closing leaves. When it gets light the leaves unfold again.

SALES AND DISPLAY TIPSCalathea’s air-purifying e¦ect makes it a great plant for both the o¦ice and the home now that the central heating is on again. Do not place the plants too close together, so that the attractive foliage is displayed clearly. The styling can be trendy and sleek - that shows o¦ the leaves particularly well.

N O V E M B E RHouseplant of the month

Calathea

D E C E M B E RHouseplant of the month

PoinsettiaThe first thing you notice about poinsettia are its beautifully

coloured leaves. They’re o�en thought to be the flowers but are actually bracts that form a star shape around the true

flowers, which are small and yellow in the heart. The classic red poinsettia is familiar, but trending for December 2019 are modern pastel colours such as salmon, pink, lemon and apricot. It’s an instant mood maker for the holidays and therea�er, as this winter bloomer provides a colourful start to 2020.

SALES AND DISPLAY TIPS The trend for December 2019 is a cheerful Christmas in pastel colours. The poinsettia can be pitched nicely together with Christmas decorations in various festive styles, from classic red and white to trendy candy colours. The emphasis this year is on the pink, green and apricot shades. Display the modern colours in matching festive pots; during this busy month it’s important to help customers save time as much as possible. One original idea is to display the plants in a Christmas tree shape or to decorate a Christmas tree with mini poinsettia for a spectacular display. Wrap the roots in sphagnum in order to prevent them from drying out, or hang from the tree in miniature buckets. Alternatively decorate a large poinsettia with fairy lights as an alternative Christmas tree.

HO US EPLANT OF THE MONTH

12 Follow us on Twitter @HTAnewsNovember/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

Kyle joins the PlantHealth Professional Register

Kyle Ross from Wyevale Nurseries has joined the register organised by the Royal Society of Biology, which aims

to develop plant health skills and create a community for plant health professionals.

The 25-year-old explained: “I am delighted to have been accepted as a registered Plant Health Professional. I submitted a competency exam of some 10,000 words, which covered a wide range of topics on the biosecurity spectrum.

“I hope that this achievement will show our customers and other horticultural business’ that, at Wyevale Nurseries, we are 100% dedicated to plant health.

“I will use this platform to enhance our already robust biosecurity protocols even further and develop the plant health skills of our on-site sta�. I would highly recommend other growers in the UK to have a representative on the Plant Health

Major expansion work at Bransford Webbs

Following months of detailed planning, work is now underway on a major expansion at The Bransford Webbs Plant Company.

Building has begun on a new production area, which covers 18, 000m2 and will consist of 49 low polytunnels. This new development will increase our production capacity by 20%, enabling us to further meet our customers’ requirements. The new tunnels will allow production sta� the increased ability to control individual growing environments of specific crops leading to further increases in the high-quality standards of our plants. The aim is to begin potting into the area once partially completed in March 2020, with a final completion date planned for autumn 2020.

This is the largest single expansion we have undertaken here at Bransford Webbs”, commented Adrian Marskell, Managing Director. “It will enable us to cope with the increasing demands from our customers for quality UK grown stock”.

Professional Register if possible.” The Plant Health Professional Register

was established in 2016 in response to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural A�airs (Defra) and Government O�ice of Science reports recommending development of plant health skills and creating opportunities for a wider community of trained plant health professionals.

The Plant Health Professional Register demonstrates skills against the GB Strategy for Plant Health and Biosecurity and encourages continued professional development in plant health. There are three levels of the register – Associate, Registered and Senior.

The register acknowledges an individual’s competencies and helps signpost training and career development opportunities. It provides the Chief Plant Health O�icers with information on plant health expertise in the UK, for speedy responses to disease outbreaks. Together this helps protect the UK and businesses from the harm that pests and disease can cause to plants.


G R OW ER NEWS

13 | www.hta.org.uk | November/December 2019

Five Gardens Win AIPH Grand Awards at Expo 2019 Beijing

The award ceremony of the International Competition at Expo 2019 Beijing took place in October,

after the closing of the six-month-long AIPH approved A1 World Horticultural Exhibition. At the ceremony, the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) awarded five gardens an AIPH Grand Award.

The Beijing Indoor Area won the AIPH Grand Award for Chinese Provinces, Regions and Municipalities; the UK and Qatar gardens each won an AIPH Grand Award for International Outdoor Gardens and the Shanghai and Beijing Outdoor Gardens both won an AIPH Grand Award for Chinese Outdoor Gardens. Other high-level prize winners in the International Competition included Japan, Germany and the

Ornamental Plant Production sub sector report results published

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) for International Outdoor Gardens, and Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces which received grand awards for Chinese Outdoor Gardens.

Mr Tim Briercliffe, AIPH Secretary General and Chairman of the AIPH International Honorary Jury said:

These wonderful gardens have been created by amazing people who truly care about ensuring a great

visitor experience and want to make a difference to the world. Cities in China, and around the world, are realising the value of landscapes and living green infrastructure. Greening cities matters more than ever before, and the creators of these gardens are the custodians of the secrets of how to do it. As the largest world horticultural expo ever held, Expo 2019 Beijing has shared these secrets across the globe.”

The findings from a survey commissioned by the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group

(OHRG) Employment & Skills sub group, conducted by Pye Tait in June 2019, found that environmental issues are the main driver for change in the future of the UK ornamentals sector, which will now need to develop relevant skills and expertise.

The survey findings analyse more than 1,100 businesses’ responses to determine skills shortages and understand future needs of the horticulture industry that contributes more than £24 billion to the country’s economy.

A shortage of skills and access to labour followed environmental issues as other top drivers for change.

As our sector is facing critical labour shortages, the survey highlights the potential for the HTA to get involved with shaping future policy, focusing on skills funding and improving training. The call now is for the industry to digest, discuss and develop strategy together.

Businesses noted significant barriers in apprentice recruitment, including a lack of candidate interest in the sector and perceived deficiencies in apprentice behaviours.

AHDB Horticulture, Royal Horticultural Society, Arboricultural Association, British Association of Landscape Industries, Chartered institute of Horticulture and Landex co-funded the activity. This was in association with the Horticultural Trades Association and National Farmers’ Union.

The full report on the survey and the additional five sub-sectors surveyed, comprising Arboriculture, Landscaping, Ornamental Plant Production, Public Gardens and Garden Retail is available online at ahdb.org.uk/ornamentals-skill-survey-2019.

We have also submitted evidence to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) into salary thresholds for workers immigrating into the UK and the proposed points-based immigration system. The Ornamental Plant Production sub sector skill survey report was used as evidence for this.


Follow us on Twitter @HTAnewsNovember/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | 14

GA R D ENING IS GOOD FOR YOU

GARDENING IS GOOD FOR YOU!N O V E M B E R - D E C E M B E R

Our ‘Gardening is Good for You’ campaign reveals just how good gardening is for everyone with monthly themed articles, written by gardening consultant and journalist Adam Pasco.



GA R D ENING IS GOOD FOR YOU

NOVEMBER

It’s all change in the garden this month as autumn colour and falling foliage transforms trees, shrubs and borders. It’s

a wonderful sight. Keep gardeners outside with the

‘Gardening is Good for You!’ campaign, supported by National Garden Gift Vouchers.

Gardening throughout the year brings with it many benefits, like keeping us active in the fresh air, while direct contact with soil has been shown to be valuable to our mental health and wellbeing. Research has demonstrated the value of ‘earthing’ or ‘grounding’ in the alleviation of health problems, relieving stress, and improving our mood and restful sleep.

Did you know?Some friendly bacteria found in the soil may act on our brain like antidepressants. Research on mice by University College London and Bristol University found that a common soil bacteria acts on brain cells to stimulate production of the ‘happy chemical’ serotonin, altering mood in a similar way to antidepressants.

PLANTS OF THE MOMENT: AUTUMN PLANTING

Seasonal favourites include:

Skimmia varieties eg Skimmia ‘Magic Marlot’

Gaultheria mucronata

Cyclamen hederifolium AGM

Mahonia ‘Charity’ and ‘Winter Sun’ AGM

Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ and ‘Charles Lamont’ AGM

Autumn Flowering Camellia eg C. sasanqua ‘Narumigata’ AGM

Callicarpa ‘Profusion’ AGM

Dogwood varieties (Cornus)

Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ AGM

Heathers

DECEMBER

Plant away the winter blues

Encourage gardeners to wrap-up warm and get outside this month to enjoy the winter garden.

Hardy plants can naturally withstand a touch of frost without being harmed, so choose a few to add winter interest to your displays.

Remind customers of winter jobs to tempt them outside, including clearing away the remains of last summer’s bedding and crops, sweeping-up the final fallen leaves of autumn, and improving soil by forking in generous quantities of compost. Don’t forget the birds either, regularly cleaning and topping-up feeders and birdbaths.

Put on gardening events and get people out to enjoy inspiring talks, meet other gardeners, and exchange ideas for the new

gardening season ahead.

Did you know?Activities like raking, clearing, digging and planting provide physical exercise that maintains your body’s mobility, flexibility and strength. They also keep your mind active, which is good for mental health, and just the sights and sounds of the garden can reduce stress and relieve depression.

PLANTS OF THE MOMENT: WINTER COLOUR

Hardy shrubs for winter flower include:Wintersweet – Chimonanthus praecox

Winter Honeysuckle Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’ AGM

Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’

Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ AGM

Viburnum tinus ‘Eve Price’

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis)

Sweet Box (Sarcococca)

Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum AGM)

Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ AGM

Winter Heathers (Erica carnea varieties)

Trees and shrubs for fruits and berries include:

Holly (Ilex varieties)

Firethorn (Pyracantha varieties)

Rowan (Sorbus)

Beauty Berry (Callicarpa ‘Profusion’ AGM)

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos)

Prickly Heath (Gaultheria mucronata)

IMAGE CREDIT

November - Planting a winter pot - skimmia heather gaultheria December - Conifer touched by frost © Adam Pasco

Media

Create your own campaign and promotion for Gardening is Good for You! Monthly content, including articles and images, is available for use. Visithta.org.uk/gardeningisgoodforyou

Follow the campaign #GIGFYFor further information contact [email protected]

D O W N L O A D T H E G I G F Y M E D I A P A C K



Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

APL APPRENTICESHIPS

As we enter the next round of APL apprentices we look forward to even more training being delivered by industry leaders in this best in class, bespoke apprenticeship scheme.

This block release apprenticeship o�ers the trainee landscapers the opportunity to seven week long bootcamps spread over the 18 month scheme at Myerscough College in Preston. The bootcamps are delivered by current landscape professionals and other industry contributors like Makita, Marshalls, Landscape Plus, Tilers Tools and Easigrass. The apprentices are trained in every aspect of the modern landscape industry and of course the basics. The apprenticeship also gives the trainees a taster in procurement, pricing and design. It truly is a great course for young professionals, delivered by professionals. The landscaping contributors include Jamie Butterworth, Rupert Keys, Steve Smith, Mark Gregory and Mark Youde. If you would like to find out more about the APL Apprenticeship or be involved as a contributor the please contact [email protected].

APL HARD LANDSCAPING COURSES

In their infancy a�er some early trials, the APL are proud to have teamed up and accredited a bespoke Hard landscape course with Cheshire based “The Landscape Academy.” The landscape academy has been formed by APL committee members Mark and Holly Youde of Urban Landscape and Design ltd and is a fantastic facility for training the current and next generation of landscapers. The first course will be an Introduction to Sandstone Paving (Riven and Sawn). The 2 day course will cover H&S - CDM, tidy site, cutting rules (HSE), types of sandstone, paving designs and layouts, setting out, time and working space awareness and management, sub-bases, fall rates, mortar, primers and adhesives. All rolled in with actual practical hands on training. If you would like to find out more about APL Hard

Landscaping courses please contact [email protected].

APL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

We are just finishing o� the current group of cohorts on this bespoke Business development course for landscape and design companies. Taking place over five days, this exclusive training course is limited to 10 attendees ensuring dedicated one-to-one guidance, and will cover all you need to further develop your business. The course covers areas such as business planning process, business SWOT analysis, marketing your business, who to target and how, sales leads and creating a pipeline of potential customers and refining business processes and increasing e�iciency of operation.

There is also the inclusion of financial planning and management which uses business simulation working in teams to plan the development of a business and review financial impact of decisions made at each team meeting and full scope of financial management. The final day is the presentation of your business plan to a team of hand selected industry leaders for mentoring and feedback. The course then places you in a closed group where mentoring and peer to peer discussions can continue as your plans develop. If you would like to find out more about APL Hard Landscaping courses please contact [email protected].

These are just a few of the training items the APL have in development at the moment with a great deal more to follow.

TRAINING is at the heart of APL

16 November/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |





PLANT PASSPORTS FOR LANDSCAPERS

In the run up to 14 December we will be sending information aimed directly at landscapers and designers to help you understand the actions you and your business need to be taking and implementing.

The first of these is a shortened guidance document including information relevant to landscapers and designers. It can be found on the landscaper and designer information page of

the HTA website along with the key action points below.

LA NDSCAPER NEWS

• Register to be authorised to issue plant passports, if you haven’t done so already.

• Ensure you have full traceability systems in place for every plant that enters and leaves your business.

• Ensure you have plant health policies in place (perhaps take the Plant Healthy self-assessment online - planthealthy.org.uk)

• Contact your suppliers and ensure they have procedures in place for giving you the plant passport information on the plants you buy for your records.

• Ensure your customers are aware of the new regulations.

• Decide how to furnish your customers with a record of the PP, if required.

• Check the HTA Plant Passporting pages regularly for updates.

If you have any further questions or queries, please email them to [email protected]

KEY ACTION POINTS FOR LANDSCAPERS & DESIGNERS

17



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NATIONAL GARDEN GIFT VOUCHERS AT CHRISTMAS

This month we take a look at the National Garden Gi� Voucher scheme how it can help your business this Christmas. The scheme’s aim is to promote gardening and garden retailers to the public, so make sure you don’t miss out on what you’re entitled to this

Christmas.

SALES PATTERNS AT CHRISTMAS

Unsurprisingly Christmas sales of National Garden Gi� Vouchers peak in the last week before Christmas; by the last weekend in December sales are over three times greater than the first weekend. So it’s important that you order enough in to meet shoppers’ demand. For our gi� cards stock can be ordered in free of charge, and for our paper vouchers we’re o�ering 60 day payment terms so you won’t have to pay until a�er you’ve realised the cash flow from the Christmas season. We’ve also launched a new online store (hta.org.uk/store) which makes it quicker and easier to order the vouchers,

cards, wallets and POS that you want.

ADVERTISING YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM

From October we’ve been advertising National Garden Gi� Vouchers on social and digital media. The adverts have been highlighting the good causes the scheme is used to support (for example National Children’s Gardening Week and Greenfingers charity), and encouraging consumers to visit a garden centre near them. To make sure you’re tapping into this demand, just follow the National Garden Gi� Voucher Facebook page and share any adverts you see on your own Facebook page. The adverts are styled similarly to the free point of sale we provide for the National Garden Gi� Voucher scheme. To make shoppers associate you with the advertising, please do order and put up the pavement signs, outdoor banners and other POS; it’s

a great way of triggering extra sales.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN 2019

We’d like to end the year by thanking you and your colleagues for your support for the National Garden Gi� Voucher scheme this year. In 2020 we’re going to have a big focus on improving the ‘back o�ice’ processes such as invoicing and ordering which we realise are extremely important to get right. We’ll also be developing an exciting set of garden promotions and support materials for garden centres such as our photography competition and National Children’s Gardening Week. Please keep your eyes peeled for details of these, and best wishes for a successful Christmas season.

A maximum of £250 can be loaded onto this card

Christmas season.

Visit our website to find your nearest stockist

The National Garden Gift Voucher Scheme is operated by the Horticultural Trades Association

Printed on card using wood fibre from sustainable forests.Greenfingers is a registered charity number: 1076640

plant a smile

www.thevouchergarden.co.uk

Supporting

NGG-XMASVWAL02 Sep 19

plant a smile

Gifting

G IFTING

http://www.thevouchergarden.co.uk


Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews20

A DV ERTORIAL

November/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

Trade brochure:0333 400 1777Trade enquiries:[email protected]

• Site visits• Bespoke structures• Trade discount & pricing• Professional CAD/ technical drawings

2018

Arches • Pergolas • Obelisks • Fruit Cages • Raised BedsBespoke Planters • Fencing • Garden Furniture

New Traditional Acid-EtchedSteel Furniture Range

Bespoke planters now available

Harrod to launch the Southwold garden furniture collection

Harrod Horticultural are excited to launch the hand-cra�ed traditional Southwold Garden Furniture Collection - distinctive for comfort, style and quality. UK Designed and

Manufactured, the timeless range feature 3 shapes of dining table, as well as bistro and co�ee table designs, plus benches and chairs too. In particular, careful consideration for comfort has been at the cornerstone of the design process, making these the choice for outdoor dining and relaxation.

HIGH SKILLED PRODUCTION

Before final finishing all of the products are dipped in a bath of molten zinc which envelops the steel in a blanket of sacrificial rust protection. Each furniture piece is therefore extremely tough and durable, and with a substantial weight, so will withstand the most extreme British weather.

DURABLE FINISHESThe furniture collection is guaranteed against rust for 10 years and structurally for 15 years, but testing suggests that the furniture can genuinely be considered as heirloom pieces that will last for generations if looked a�er. The product is chemically ‘etched’ by hand a�er the zinc coating is applied leaving an antiqued appearance which improves as the product weathers. The magic of this finish, is that the character of each piece only improves with age, the more seasons pass the more the

appearance is enhanced.

ENDURING COMFORTWhere the Harrod designs di�er from tradition however, is the depth of study and care taken to ensure the furniture is as comfortable as it is beautiful. Acrylic canvas seat cushions (PU coated and rain resistant) are also available in a stylish grey colour.

For all enquiries please contact the Harrod Horticultural Trade Department on 0333 400 1777 or email [email protected]




http://www.harrodhorticultural.com

M A RK E T I NFORMATION

Using HTA’s market information and a variety of sources,

we’ve put together a fun, short, Christmas quiz! Give it a

go, challenge your colleagues and see how well you know

Christmas in the UK…

1. How much did the average UK consumer say they intended to spend on Christmas gi�s in 2018?

A. £220 B. £320 C. £420 D. £520

3. In 2019, what % of British consumers claimed they stick to a budget when buying Christmas gi�s for friends and family?

A. 38% B. 45% C. 57% D. 71%

2. What % of all UK retail sales during December 2018 were made online? (i.e. all retail sales, not just garden retail)

A. 20% B. 25% C. 30% D. 35%

4. What % of British adults say they sometimes buy Christmas gi�s a�er 25th December to take advantage of the sales?

A. 12% B. 20% C. 27% D. 34%

14% Garden section of a DIY store

37% Supermarket

11% Garden Centre/retail nursery

8. 15% British people said that they or someone in their household bought a real Christmas tree in 2016, but where were they purchased from? Match up the percentages with the retailer.

5. In 2019, what % of British people said they try to minimise packaging waste when buying and giving Christmas gi�s?

A. 20% B. 33% C. 47% D. 60%

6. What % of British adults agree they usually tell people what they'd like as a gi� for Christmas?

A. 11% B. 21% C. 31% D. 41%

7. How much does the average dog owner spend on Christmas gi�s and treats for their pet? (i.e. per individual dog)

A. £6 B. £10 C. £18 D. £25

10. A ‘White Christmas’ is defined by the Met O�ice as a single snowflake falling in the 24 hours of 25th December. How many years has snow fallen on Christmas Day, anywhere in the UK, in the last 52 years?

A. 10% B. 18% C. 33% D. 50%

9. How many Christmas cards are sent in the UK each year?

A. 200m B. 600m C. 1b D. 2.5b

Sources: FF Online, Foresight Factory; YouGov for HTA; Retail Week; American Express; The Greetings Card Association; The Met O�ice.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS


Answers

1. c) £420 2. a) 20% - £1.9bn was spent online weekly in December 2018 3. c) 57% - make sure pricing is clear to shoppers and the o�er is attractive and portraying value for money 4. d) 34% - up from 28% in 2014, Christmas is no longer a single day for celebration, with many consumers choosing to extend the festive season and reap financial benefits 5. c) 47% - help consumers shop and gi� with a clear conscience by stressing the eco-friendly credentials of products and exploring options for zero-waste packaging 6. d) 41% - help consumers to pick the item they’d like to receive for in your store and encourage ‘wishlisting’ for customers to pass on their ideal presents to friends and family 7. c) £18 - around £160m is spent on British pets at Christmas each year, and 1 in 4 dogs even have a stocking! 8. 37% bought their real Christmas tree from a Garden Centre or Retail Nursery, 14% from a supermarket, 11% from the garden section of a DIY store – as the leading sales channel, how can these customer be encouraged around the rest of the garden centre and throughout the rest of the year? 9. c) 1billion – the average person sends 16 Christmas cards each year, with the UK purchasing 900million cards in boxes and packs, along with 100million single cards 10. d) 38 times! However, there has been ‘widespread’ covering of snow (defined as over 40% weather stations reporting snow), only 4 times in the last 52 years, with 2010 the most recent.

M A RKET INFORMATION



E V ENT

The importance of storytelling and the need to be authentic in your social conversations were just two of the key points made at the HTA Marketing Forum which took place at Horticulture House, Chilton, on 16 October.

With social media and digital technology becoming such an integral part of consumers’ lives, the need to be active in the ‘social’ arena is more relevant than ever. David Denny, HTA

Futures & Sustainability Manager spoke about new online tools which provide us with extra targeting capabilities enabling us to gain deep insights into customers on a scale never seen before. Julie Hall from The School of Marketing highlighted the fact that social media is about building communities and engaging with your customers. ‘It is a relationship tool, not a sales tool – it is about relevance, context and connection’, she said. Simone Bonnett, from The Social Managers, spoke about the importance of treating social media as your shop window as first impressions count. She emphasised the need to get all the basics right on your profile and include important information such as contact details, opening hours and including an image.

Across all the di�erent platforms storytelling was a key theme. People relate to people and so on podcasts and video people want to know about you and your business. ‘Keep your videos personal, in the moment and authentic’ said Huw Richards from Huws Nursery with Skinny Jean Gardener, Lee Connelly encouraging all to ‘do something di�erent to stand out and don’t be afraid to share your opinions’. When it comes to writing online Alan Down shared his experiences from writing his Down to Earth blog. ‘Keep it light and chatty but authoritative and make sure you use bright relevant images and keep your content topical for maximum impact.’

Summing up the day HTA Council Representative Neil Grant from Ferndale Garden Centre, who chaired the day, comments, “It is clear from this insightful day that digital marketing plays such a key role within an overall marketing strategy and we all need to embrace it within our businesses. As an industry we have such great stories to tell – about our plants, our people. We all need to make time within our businesses to ensure we are maximising the opportunity the power of social – in all its forms.”

Many thanks to event partners Alpha Packaging, Eight Days a Week, Garden Connect and Swan Retail and to Frobishers for providing refreshments.

HARNESSING THE POWER OF SOCIAL AT: The HTA Marketing Forum



KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE DAY INCLUDE:

David Denny, HTA Futures & Sustainability Manager demonstrated how social media and digital technology have enmeshed marketing into the lives of consumers, making it more relevant than ever. New online tools though social channels provide extra targeting capabilities which enable deep insights into your customers on a scale never seen before. However, with this comes new issues around privacy and ethics and we need to be respectful and responsible of that. GDPR compliance and PECR guidelines enable you to stay the right side of

this ethical social debate.

Julie Hall, The School of Marketing emphasised that social media is a relationship tool, not a sales tool. It should be about building community and engaging with your customers rather than selling to them. Show your personality rather than being corporate. Get your customers involved and interacting with them online – get them to share their gardens, showcase them and run competitions. If people have a good experience with you on social media they are more

likely to recommend you to friends and family.

Jade Lamb, Zazzle Media said that tone of voice is important. Think about who you are writing for. Which generation are you marketing to? Keep your online content concise and boost it with visuals or

video content.

Treat social media as your shop window – first impressions count. When it comes to Facebook and Instagram it is important to get the basics right. Include your profile, website, contact details, opening hours. Tell your story – people want to know about you as a business. Simone Bonnett, The Social Managers

Uploading video content is a powerful way of engaging with your audience. Remember

that people relate to people. Keep your videos personal, in the moment and authentic. Re-purpose your content – a YouTube video can be split

into Instagrammable clips. Huw Richards, Huws Nursery

Remember that brand is about what customers tell each other about you rather than what you as a company tell customers. Customers join brands rather than buy them. They are interested in the meaning behind them and so tell your story. Jessica Waller, Frobishers

Tips on gaining media coverage include: take time to get to know the right people, be able to provide answers and react quickly, have relevant images ready, know your audience, make your story relevant to the publication you are pitching to. A thank you for coverage received always goes along way! Tamsin Westhorpe, Joint Chair of the Garden Media Guild

Audio is listened to 1.5 times more than video is watched and so podcasts can be powerful in terms of reach. Content is king – don’t get caught up in the numbers. Do something di�erent to stand out. Tell your own story - remember everyone is di�erent and original. People want to listen to opinions. Lee Connelly, Skinny Jean Gardner

When writing a blog keep it light and chatty but authoritative. Use bright images, be topical, seasonal and entertaining and be subtle when mentioning products. Alan Down, Down to Earth

Think about what your business is famous for. What would you like it to be famous for? Use customer insight to ensure you are delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. Dan Barber, Swan Retail

Improve your ranking by improving content and including popular search terms used in google. Ideally Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) needs to be built into a website from the outset. Marketing is repetition – it works and so make sure you maximise the opportunity by using Facebook remarketing. Edwin Meijer, Garden Connect

Initiatives such as National Children’s Gardening Week help to raise the profile of gardening with the public and increase participation in gardening as an activity. The sharing of good content makes it easier for people to engage and enables you to reach di�erent audiences. Josie McGhee, HTA Marketing Team

E V ENT

USEFUL RESOURCES:

Google Trends - A useful tool to target and time your Facebook campaigns. It's free market research which can show how o�en a search term is used.

www.facebook.com/business/learn - Build your business with free online training in digital marketing.

Skillshop – Google’s one stop shop to learn how to use its business tools.

Make use of free image sites like Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash or Rawpixel

Canva - a great free design tool to use in your social media posts.

http://www.facebook.com/business/learn



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[email protected]

According to research, two out of three UK workers have changed jobs because of a lack of training and development. In fact, out of 2,500 people surveyed by website TotalJobs,

two thirds say training is more important today than it was two years ago. With unemployment rates at an all-time low, employers are facing a significant challenge to retain their workforce. Not only can learning and development help you retain your workforce, it can help you make them more profitable.

At the HTA we look at areas in the industry where we can help support you with your learning and development needs. We o�er sta� training, both practical and online; compliance training, networking and business improvement schemes. We run industry expert-led seminars and events, in house training and national surveys. We also have a library of useful content, including tips, training materials and market research to download.

We look at market trends, industry developments, and liaise with authorities in horticulture and business to develop our programmes and content.

E-LEARNING

Revenue generated per employee is 26% higher for companies that o�er training using technology, including eLearning, given that it enables companies to train more frequently.

One major change in 2019 has been the introduction of our new E-learning platform. The new system is easier to use, cleaner, and supports bulk purchasing. The HTA platform has 12 HTA created courses and another 21 compliance courses available to users.

The horticulture industry continues to voice concerns about skill shortages, lack of training and how we can encourage newcomers into our industry. This year has seen positive interest in the environment and sustainability which encompasses gardening and grow your own, so how can our industry use this opportunity?

In 2019, the education and employment subgroup of the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group (OHRG) was formed. Aims identified are working together across the industry to develop and deliver better careers promotion advice and opportunities. To investigate the future skills needs of the ornamental horticulture sector and identify skills gaps and any potential workforce challenges facing our sector, now and in the future. Also to collectively recognise that more needs to be done to support businesses in their

understanding of the skills sector and what options are available to them. The array of Apprenticeship Initiatives and the impending T-levels will no doubt be causing confusion.

The group commissioned Pye Tait Consulting to carry out research through the Ornamental Horticulture Sector Skills Survey. The survey will act as a data point to investigate the future skills needs of the ornamental horticulture sector and identify skills gaps and any potential workforce challenges facing our sector, now and in the future.

APPRENTICESHIPS

It has been reported that there are a shortage of apprentices and few young people seem to be interested in apprenticeships in either horticulture or retail.

Ros Burnley chairs the Trailblazers management committee, a group consisting of employers, trade associations including the HTA, training providers and assessment providers. The group are responsible for developing relevant apprenticeships within our industry.

In 2019, the following apprenticeships were approved

• Arborist• Forest Operative• Horticulture / Landscape Operative• Landscape / Horticulture Supervisor

The HTA Learning Hub will be the place for our members to find information and links to relevant resource to help inform and support members about opportunities to upskill, recruit and develop their sta�.their sta�.


A Focus on Learning & Development

F EATU RE


A DV E RT

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A DV E RTORIAL


HAVE YOU GOT VISION?

VISION COMMERCIAL KITCHENS - AWARD WINNING SPECIALISTS IN THE DESIGN, SUPPLY & INSTALLATION OF COMMERCIAL KITCHENS & SERVERY DESIGN

COMMERCIAL KITCHENS | DESIGN | PROJECT MANAGEMENT | SERVICE & MAINTENANCE

WWW.VISIONCK.CO.UK | 0844 811 7210

HTA October 2019.indd 1 14/10/2019 20:25:12

Why use a Commercial Kitchen Design Company?

When planning a redesign or updating your garden centre restaurant, you may be tempted to plan and source equipment independently. However, there are many

reasons why choosing a specialist commercial company like Vision Commercial Kitchens could be the best choice and help you save in the long run.

EXPERTISE

Specialist companies are extremely knowledgeable – they know the process inside out and therefore will be invaluable in understanding your procedures, layout and menu. With back of house, e�icient use of space is key both in terms of equipment that is multifunctional and where this equipment will reside in comparison to other areas. E�icient use of sta� is also important as they are expensive commodities. Such considerations are where a specialist company will be invaluable in assisting you with the planning of your redesign.

IMPARTIAL

Using a specialist kitchen and servery design company means that you can get unbiased advice and valuable knowledge in terms of catering equipment which is not constricted to one specific manufacturer. Therefore, they can consider all requirements to ensure they design the best possible catering environment based on the equipment which will be most beneficial to your establishment specifically, and at the optimum cost.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Specialist kitchen and servery design companies also manage the whole design and fit out process and o�er support along the way to ensure that your redesign exactly meets your requirements. Vision Commercial Kitchens even o�er 3D visuals on every one of their projects, meaning you can fully visualise what your finished kitchen and servery will look like. They can also o�er training and a maintenance service for your equipment a�er the initial fit out. If appliances are used improperly or are not serviced regularly enough, you will find yourselves having to replace heavier duty items more o�en than necessary, costing you more in the long run. Using the services of a specialist company will provide peace of mind that all aspects of your redesign are covered and managed e�ectively.

EXPERIENCE

Kitchen and servery design companies will have vast experience in a variety of projects of di�erent scales and therefore will have an intuitive knowledge on what works and doesn’t work in varying spaces. Don’t be afraid to seek references and examples of previous schemes – not only will this provide you with peace of mind in terms of the company’s workmanship, but it may also give you ideas for your kitchen designs, extensions and future proofing. Although it is always best to begin the planning process as early as possible, if this is not feasible then choosing a reliable catering design and supply company with a proven track record is highly recommended.

Overall, commercial kitchen design companies like Vision Commercial Kitchens can o�er experienced, impartial advice and knowledge, as well as providing you with the peace of mind that your project is e�iciently managed from the initial design all the way through to completion.


HAVE YOU GOT VISION?

VISION COMMERCIAL KITCHENS - AWARD WINNING SPECIALISTS IN THE DESIGN, SUPPLY & INSTALLATION OF COMMERCIAL KITCHENS & SERVERY DESIGN

COMMERCIAL KITCHENS | DESIGN | PROJECT MANAGEMENT | SERVICE & MAINTENANCE

WWW.VISIONCK.CO.UK | 0844 811 7210

HTA October 2019.indd 1 14/10/2019 20:25:12

http://www.visionck.co.uk

28Miracle-Gro® is a trademark of OMS Investments, Inc. and is used under licence from OMS Investments, Inc.

To meet the growing consumer demandfor environmentally friendly options, Miracle-Gro® has extended its full range, covering all growing categories,compost, plant food and lawns into the organics category.

Performance Organics from Miracle-Gro®is the new breakthrough range of 100% natural and organic gardening productsthat still grows twice as big and is guaranteed to inject excitement into the gardening category.Gardeners can, for the first time, use organic products without having to compromiseon results, meaning they can be proud ofnot only what they grow but also how they grow it.

Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics

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EGC64091 Garden Centre Retail Ad.pdf 1 13/08/2019 14:12


Cultivating Retail: for a sustainable futureTUESDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2019, EAST MIDLANDS CONFERENCE CENTRE, NOTTINGHAM

Shoppers, government, media and employees are demanding more from businesses on sustainability. No business in horticulture can a�ord to be caught behind the curve. Cultivating Retail sets out the threats and opportunities we’ll face in the coming years; it also provides answers and examples you can apply.

E V ENTS

Miracle-Gro® is a trademark of OMS Investments, Inc. and is used under licence from OMS Investments, Inc.

To meet the growing consumer demandfor environmentally friendly options, Miracle-Gro® has extended its full range, covering all growing categories,compost, plant food and lawns into the organics category.

Performance Organics from Miracle-Gro®is the new breakthrough range of 100% natural and organic gardening productsthat still grows twice as big and is guaranteed to inject excitement into the gardening category.Gardeners can, for the first time, use organic products without having to compromiseon results, meaning they can be proud ofnot only what they grow but also how they grow it.

Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics

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EGC64091 Garden Centre Retail Ad.pdf 1 13/08/2019 14:12

Highlighted speakers

Sir Terry Leahy, former Tesco’s CEO, has a lifetime of experience of retail. He was at the helm when Tesco acquired Dobbies, which gives him a unique perspective on garden retailing. Sir Terry joins us to share his perspectives and experience on horti-culture, retail, and how environmental and sustainability trends are set a�ect consumers and the demands they make of retailers and brands. He has received many nominations and awards throughout his career, as well as a Knighthood for services to food retailing in the 2002 New Year Honours.

We are delighted to announce our host for the day is Daisy McAndrew. Daisy was the Special Correspondent for ITV News, hav-ing previously served as Economics Editor and Chief Political Correspondent. For-merly Andrew Neil’s co-host on The Daily

Politics, Daisy has also presented Heaven & Earth and reported on Westminster for BBC

Breakfast. She now co-hosts the mid-morning

show on Talkradio discussing the latest headlines and opinions.

As Chief Operating O�icer at Just Eat, Graham Corfield is responsible for the commercial performance of Just Eat markets, overseeing and coordinating trading and new business globally. Graham will be talking about the challenges involved in operating Just Eat - the leading global brand hybrid marketplace for online food delivery. This will

include how they are working to eliminate single use plastic, running a larger operation with many di�erent ‘suppliers’ and the sustainability of a business both economically and environmentally.

Our a�er-dinner speaker has been confirmed as Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards. With little skill for his sport, Olympic skier Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards won the hearts and minds of the public with his heroic failures, and he remains one of the best-loved athletes today; in fact, his life has been depicted in the biographical film Eddie the Eagle (2016), and he has also appeared as the coach on Channel 4 programme ‘The Jump’. In the words of the president of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics: “some competitors have won gold; some have broken records and one has even flown like an eagle”.

Planet, People, Profit. These are the ‘Three Ps’ of sustainability in business that Dr. David Bek

from Coventry University will discuss. He’ll look at how balancing these ‘Ps’ can create a business model that provides value to all stakeholders in a modern enterprise. As one of the UK’s leading

researchers, David’s got huge insight into how horticulture across the world is

responding to the sustainability challenge.

“This year’s conference focuses on

the sustainability of the industry in the widest sense. By bringing together the supply chain this event gives us a fantastic opportunity to look at what we need to be doing now to ensure that we have a robust, viable and relevant industry fit for the future. You really can’t a�ord to miss this one!"

Boyd Douglas-Davies • CEO Hillview Garden Centres & HTA President


The programme will include the latest consumer attitudes and thoughts on what sustainability means for the garden industry.

For a sustainable future

Sp

eake

rs

Full Conference

GIMA/HTA Members £299 + VAT

Non-Member £499 + VAT

Tuesday 19th November 2019

East Midlands Conference Centre,

Nottingham

Setting the scene

The power hour

Inspiration ‘inside and out’

The way forward

Daisy McAndrewTV and radio broadcaster Daisy McAndrew will be hosting this year’s event.

Guy ToppingGuy, from the Barton Grange Group, will be telling the Flower Bowl Story. From the birth of a brand-new concept, to the challenges of delivery and what they have learnt since the inception of the project.

Eddie ‘The Eagle’ EdwardsOur after dinner speaker Olympic skier Eddie, with little skill for his sport, won the hearts and minds of the public with his heroic failures, and he remains one of the best loved athletes today.

Gold partner

A joint event brought to you by GIMA & HTA

Includes conference, networking dinner and accommodation.

Representing Garden Industry Suppliers

HTA 17102 Cultivating Retail Advert A4 2 - PRINT.indd 1 21/06/2019 12:22

http://www.gima.org.uk



The programme will include the latest consumer attitudes and thoughts on what sustainability means for the garden industry.

For a sustainable future

Sp

eake

rs

Full Conference

GIMA/HTA Members £299 + VAT

Non-Member £499 + VAT

Tuesday 19th November 2019

East Midlands Conference Centre,

Nottingham

Setting the scene

The power hour

Inspiration ‘inside and out’

The way forward

Daisy McAndrewTV and radio broadcaster Daisy McAndrew will be hosting this year’s event.

Guy ToppingGuy, from the Barton Grange Group, will be telling the Flower Bowl Story. From the birth of a brand-new concept, to the challenges of delivery and what they have learnt since the inception of the project.

Eddie ‘The Eagle’ EdwardsOur after dinner speaker Olympic skier Eddie, with little skill for his sport, won the hearts and minds of the public with his heroic failures, and he remains one of the best loved athletes today.

Gold partner

A joint event brought to you by GIMA & HTA

Includes conference, networking dinner and accommodation.

Representing Garden Industry Suppliers

HTA 17102 Cultivating Retail Advert A4 2 - PRINT.indd 1 21/06/2019 12:22


Specialist card processing rates for HTA members

There has never been a better time to consider switching to Lloyds Bank Cardnet, with December seeing a significant increase in debit and credit card transactions. Many HTA

members are reporting that December is now the highest turnover month of the year. If you haven’t got time to switch before Christmas, get ahead so that you can take advantage of your significant cost-saving early in 2020*.

“I have to say that the Lloyds Cardnet scheme has been one of my better decisions. I was not too happy with my

previous supplier as there seemed to be more and more additional charges appearing year on year, and to be perfectly honest any time I sat down to try and understand it the more muddled it seemed to be. Certainly no problems on the changeover and the savings are quite considerable. I’m not one for working out percentages, but the bottom line (which is the one I look at) is showing excellent savings.”

- George McKinlay | BRIDGEND GARDEN CENTRE

“We’ve been very pleased with our move to the Lloyds Cardnet/ HTA merchant services deal, we’ve saved

money verses our previous deal and the switch over was straight forward with the support of a dedicated person at Lloyds Cardnet that we could pick up the phone to if we had any questions. Their app has made it straight forward to instantly see card sales by day, and we’re also really pleased with the card machines themselves which are appropriate for our needs and enabled us to o�er card payments in our various sales channels which has made our customers’ lives easier and grown our sales.”

- Rob Honeysett | CADE STREET NURSERY

“We had a very easy transition to Lloyds Cardnet. The savings have been good, but above all, I like the

transparent and easy invoicing that is sent to us monthly. The support is also excellent, and we have been very happy with our move.”

- Claire Muckleston | BOURNE GARDEN CENTRE

You can enquire about switching over to the HTA rates with Lloyds Cardnet using any of the methods below:

T: 0333 234 1961 W: hta.org.uk/Lloyds E: [email protected]

A DV E RTORIAL

* Savings seen based on a subset of HTA merchants.


http://www.hta.org.uk/lloyds

The Hortipix Pro is the newest addition to Dura-ID’s exclusive labelling solutions for the horticultural industry.

This printer handles media that is 36% thicker than standard and is ideal for full colour picture label printing.

Single Pass Duplex PrintingPhotograph Quality Images

Takes all types of mediaContracts Help Manage Cost

Edge-To-Edge PrintingConveyor System Available

Label Templates use your Data as Standard

100% recyclable material

Get in Touch to Attend an Open Day at our She�eld Site or contact the

hort team for samples

+44 (0) 1480 274 [email protected]

www.dura-id.com

System Features

Are you Plant Passport Ready?

As of the 14th of December, plant passporting regulations will be changing – regardless of a deal or no-deal Brexit. Working in partnership with the HTA, Dura-ID are o�ering from stock

self-adhesive labels to assist you with ensuring you are compliant with these new regulations.

Firstly, what you need to do is register for a license that enables you to produce plant passports for your business from the APHA here (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plant-passports-application), secondly you’ll need labels and so�ware to design them on. To assist our customers with plant passport regulations, we can support you on setting up templates on your HLS so�ware.

The label itself needs to be attached to each unit where all the plants in one unit are: the same genus, species, origin, batch, are being despatched to the same place and are in the same size containers.

The plant passport information that needs to be shown is as follows:

• Botanical Name

• Authorised License Number

• Traceability Code/Batch Number

• Two Letter Country Code

Get in touch with our dedicated horticultural team at Dura-ID for our pre-printed colour stocked self-adhesives. If you have any questions regarding plant passporting of the process behind it – don’t hesitate to get in touch on 01480 274 230 or email [email protected]

A DV ERTORIAL

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plant-passports-application

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plant-passports-application


http://www.dura-id.com


State of the Horticulture Nation at Contact 2020

With 2020 being declared as the International Year of Plant Health it is no surprise that this is one of the key topics on the agenda at Contact Conference 2020, which takes place on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16

January 2020. The event, aimed at all those working in the nursery industry, will focus on the

‘State of the Horticulture Nation’ with the programme including updates on plant health, sustainability, best practices and technologies and the grower/retailer relationship.

A biennial event, HTA Contact Conference combines a day and a half conference programme with a networking dinner and overnight stay. The conference will be hosted at HTA’s Horticulture House in Oxfordshire, with accommodation and dinner at the nearby Milton Hill Hotel.

UK Chief Plant Health O�icer, Professor Nicola Spence, will be speaking on day one of the conference providing the latest update on plant health along with news from DEFRA on the International Year of Plant Health. This will be followed by insight into the BRIGIT Project from Dr Gerard Clover. This project takes a multi-disciplinary approach to building UK capability to reduce the chance of Xylella being introduced and becoming established in the UK.

Other topics over the two days include horticultural quality standards, pesticides, Nursery Working Group case studies, and adding value to the grower/retailer relationship with further details on speakers being announced soon!

HTA President Boyd Douglas-Davies comments, “Now, more than ever before, is the time for the UK nursery industry to be sharing its immense knowledge base and discussing best practice. Contact provides an invaluable opportunity to bring together the nursery stock sector to do exactly this and to look at the key topics impacting horticultural businesses. With high profile speakers, an agenda tackling the key topics and plenty of time for networking, there really is no better way to kick o� the 2020 season.”

Get in front of the media at the Garden Press Event 2020

Businesses across the garden industry are gearing up for the Garden Press Event (GPE) by securing prime slots for this key event. Jointly owned by the HTA and Garden Manufacturers Association (GIMA), the event signals the start of the spring season and

provides as unrivalled opportunity to get in front of key gardening media.Taking place on Wednesday 4 March 2020 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London,

the GPE is perfectly timed to launch the industry into the gardening season. It is the place to showcase new products, new gardening businesses and new campaigns to 300+ of the garden media. Its New Product Awards, voted for by the media attending, are also a great launch pad.

2020 marks the GPE’s 15th anniversary and we welcome back Agralan, Bulldog Tools, Suttons and Vitax who have exhibited every year. They join 60+ exhibitors signed up so far including new faces: Barcham Trees PLC, Kabloom, Malvern Garden Buildings, Plaswood, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and The Lawn Company.

If you’re a garden business, make sure you book a stand. Journalists, broadcasters, freelance writers, bloggers, Vloggers and influencers await your news.

For more information visit www.hta.org.uk/contactconference or email [email protected]

To book your place email [email protected] or visit www.gardenpressevent.co.uk The media can register to attend in advance at www.gardenpressevent.co.uk


http://www.hta.org.uk/contactconference



http://www.gardenpressevent.co.uk

http://www.gardenpressevent.co.uk



F EATU RE

As part of our ongoing series of features exploring the stories behind HTA member businesses, HTA Communications Manager Gill Ormrod visits Mires Beck Nursery in Yorkshire to discover how wildflower production goes hand in hand with therapeutic gardening.

Situated near the village of North Cave in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Mires Beck Nursery was established in 1985 by Richard and Irene Tinklin. Drawing inspiration from a project

they saw following a trip to the States they set up Mires Beck with a dual purpose – conservation and therapy. As an applied biology lecturer and horticulture consultant respectively, the couple’s vision was to produce wildflowers for conservation projects. As parents to a child with learning di�iculties they also wanted to create a place where people could come and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of gardening and horticulture. These two aims go hand in hand at Mires Beck.

2019 marks the 25th anniversary of Mires Beck Nursery becoming a registered charity. In that time the nursery has come a long way from its humble beginnings centred around an old railway wagon and a single glasshouse. It now supplies wildflowers, herbaceous perennials, trees, herbs and phragmites to garden centres, wildlife organisations, community initiatives, regional councils and government departments on a commercial basis. Direct sales are made to the public and landscapers from the on-site plant centre.

Over 100 service users (known as trainees) with learning di�iculties and disabilities attend the 14-acre site, coming in for between one and five days a week. Divided into work teams, trainees are involved in a wide range of tasks including sowing seeds, potting on, taking cuttings, despatching plants for retail, labelling, planting trees, establishing hedges, and developing flower borders. The conservation value of the site has been significantly improved with the estate team having planted over 6,000 trees, creating a large pond and planting wildflowers and hedges.

GROWING SUCCESS

At Mires Beck over 300 varieties of herbaceous perennials, 50 varieties of herbs, 100 varieties of wildflowers of Yorkshire provenance are grown. Over 35,000 common reeds (Phragmites) are grown on an annual basis and supplied to wildlife organisations and groups for conservation projects.

Young plants are bought in and grown on to help meet the required volumes for production with the range of herbs grown increased in recent years to meet demand from garden centres and farm shops. Tree production has been another area of growth with 28 varieties of tree grown from seed in root trainers, as opposed to being sold as bare root specimens. Local firm Jackson Food Group is celebrating 200 years in Hull in 2051 and in the run up to that date they are planting 200,000 trees in and around the city. Mires Beck have been tasked with supplying the trees and so are growing around 7,000 a year to fulfil this.

Mires Beck Nursery supplies garden centres and farm shops across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire but are looking to expand this area of work. They are especially interested in increasing their supply of wildflowers of Yorkshire provenance –an area that they have real specialism in.

Mires Beck NURSERYA Place to Grow



F E ATU RE

ENHANCING THE CONSERVATION VALUE

Staying true to the original vision of Richard and Irene Tinklin plans are in place to improve the conservation value of the site itself for the benefit of wildlife and to enhance the experience of the trainees working onsite.

The wildflower production side of the nursery is really what makes it unique. Growing only wildflowers of Yorkshire provenance the nursery works closely with organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts, National Trust, Environment Agency and Natural England to supply plants for habitat creation as well as supplying garden centres. It is a long process from the gathering of seed through to the selling of a plant – bluebells, for instance, take five years to grow from seed!

Sustainability is a key area of interest for the nursery. They are moving away from using black pots (after using up the ones they have in stock) and are also using POSIpots on-site where they can. Their onsite borehole makes them self-sufficient in water requirements and all their plants are grown in peat-free compost. Only biological controls are used in the glasshouses, which are not heated.

RAISING PROFILE LOCALLY

Their plant retail area attracts loyal customers from the surrounding area but as they are a little off the beaten track, they are looking to raise their profile to attract more customers in the future. As part of this strategy they run courses and events through the year from willow weaving, wood carving and wreath making to pond dipping and crafts for kids' days. Attending local shows and plant fairs also helps to spread the word about their work. There is a separate ‘Friends of Mires Beck’ group who help support activities and raise valuable funds.

WHAT NEXT FOR MIRES BECK?

With the strapline of ‘A Place to Grow’ Mires Beck Nursery moves into the next 25 years with ambitious plans for its future. They are looking to secure funding to build a new anniversary building to provide bespoke facilities for the trainees that require one to one care. This larger building will also accommodate the needs of trainees as they get older. This will also free up the existing building for use as a small visitor café – helping to attract more visitors to the plant centre.

This first phase of development includes a greater emphasis on their conservation plan. An anniversary wood is to be planted to mark their 25th year with plans to use the land for community events and education purposes. They want it to be a place where children and people can come for health and wellbeing, in a way that expands what they are doing without losing the charm of the site. Phase two includes the development of a rural crafts centre, which would also provide a great teaching resource.

Such an inspiring place to visit Mires Beck Nursery delivers on so many levels – as a workplace, as a production nursery and as a place for wildlife and people to flourish and grow.

If you are interested in finding out more about the work of Mires Beck Nursery and the plants that they supply please contact: Graham Elliott, Marketing Officer on 01430 421543, email [email protected] or visit www.miresbeck.co.uk #GIGFY



http://www.miresbeck.co.uk

36

LOYALTY APP

The latest development for Swan Retail is a retailer’s loyalty app. “Customer loyalty is a key area for garden centres,” explains Chris Marsden-Jones Business Development Director for Swan Retail.

“Garden centres are very good at having a loyal customer base that keep going back to them. And so this innovative app is designed to drive footfall back to the store. It ties in with our EPoS system and o�ers detailed insights into customer data. It handles real-life postings that might include voucher promotions, informative or event posts. So if the garden centre is running a special lawn day they can promote it to their customers via the app, who are then able to indicate if they are interested or planning on attending. You

can o�er loyalty points incentives and monitor customer’s spend. Points can be redeemed at the till.”

Instead of exporting data to a third party for processing, this new app will do it all for you, saving money.

“We have customers who are spending several thousand pounds a year on postage just for sending out vouchers twice a year. This system negates that and is far more eco friendly,” says Rob Gentles Chief Commercial O�er for Swan Retail.

EyesEyesEyesonSwan Retail is an Epos retail systems and solution provider specialising in the garden centre, furniture and department sectors. Seven years ago Swan Retail comprised of nine sta� working remotely. Today the company has five o�ices in the UK, an o�ice in San Diego and around 95 full time sta�. The company works at the cutting edge of the garden retail sector.

EyesEyes

November/December 2019


ANALYSING DATA

With savvy in-house marketing, the garden centre can use the drop-down reporting tools to analyse the data. “So you can discover customers that have travelled more than five miles. Or who has bought shrubs from you and then you can choose to send them a voucher for planting compost or fertiliser. One of our garden centres found that a customer was continually spending £200 a month with them, but only in the co�ee shop, so they could incentivise that valuable customer to buy something in store on their next visit,” explains Chris.

This app allows them to delve deep into data to really try and get the best out of it,” says Rob.

“Historically garden centres were family run businesses, that have either stayed small, or expanded and o�en don’t have an IT department. Our solutions really help them to harvest data and do something with it. They don’t have to fork out for marketing people. So it’s aimed at helping the smaller businesses”.

NEW EPOS SYSTEM

Alongside the loyalty app, Swan Retail has launched a new modern EPoS system designed to reflect the interface that smart phone and tablet users are familiar with.

“It’s got a nice feel to it and it’s really easy and intuitive to use. We’ve added a very intelligent search facility on it. So rather than having to type in the whole description of maybe a plant, you just type in a part of it and it will go through the database and find it and the user will be able to put it through to the till.“

VERSATILE SHOPPING

The system operates on mobile devices too so it doesn’t have to run from a fixed service point. “That means you can do one to one selling. You can take a customer around and you can ask them about their garden and then advise the best plants.

Or it will facilitate a pop-up Christmas tree department that’s just there for six weeks. It’s probably in a field, but that’s OK because you can actually have your mobile payment device linked in to your mobile EPoS system."

IN HOUSE SUPPORT

Swan Retail delivers these systems as cloud based hosted solutions in a pay-as-you-go style model so there’s no big cash outlay up front. There are two versions available.

“For smaller garden centres we can provide them with a system that’s very cost e�ective, but also very easy to implement and update and keep running. It will give them the data that they haven’t got at the moment. But they will then be able to use and understand how to get better financial awareness of their business. And as they grow, then we have another solution that they can then upgrade to.

There’s a seven day support desk. At peak time there are 12 people on the help desk. We o�er three levels of customer service. First the front line support deal with issues that can be resolved immediately. The second line support team

can go into a bit more in depth. The third level are the chasers who make sure all the service level agreements are met. So we’re o�ering resolution within a set amount of time for our priority one calls and the chasers keep the customer informed about what’s happening. This extra attention to customer service keeps our clients happy.

All of our applications are developed in-house, so if there is an issue we can fix it and if a customer wants an enhancement to the solution, then we can develop it and put it in."

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

The industry is waking up to some new changes coming in regarding payments, compliance and customer authentication. It’s something Swan Retail has been helping its customers understand.

“A lot of their non-Swan retail hardware will be coming to the end of its life. The garden centres need to know what that means to them and whether they are compliant. Part of what we try to do is to inform them of where they need to be and what they need to be doing,” explains Chris.

“It’s future proofing, we are continually keeping abreast of changes in the marketplace, we don’t sunset any of our products, what we provide is a rolling upgrade for our customers. So we can grow with them. They can change bits of the applications at the site and keep their back o�ice system and replace the new EPoS system. They can add on a website. Whatever their needs we have the tried and tested solutions that fit their business.”

E Y E S ON

For more information contact Rob Gentles at Swan Retail

Phone: 02393 873170

or visit www.swanretail.co.uk

http://www.swanretail.co.uk



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HTA Savings and Loans has an exciting new partnership with Ford Motor Company that can help you make significant savings on your next vehicle.

We are pleased to announce our new partnership with Ford Motor Company, one of the largest global vehicle manufacturers. Whether you are interested in purchasing a Ford car, van, SUV or require a whole commercial fleet upgrade, we can now o�er HTA members a wide range of new Ford vehicles with huge discounts that can save you a significant amount of money.

If you are looking for a used vehicle due to the price range of new vehicles, don’t let this stop you from making an enquiry. Our discounts make purchasing a new vehicle a great deal more attractive, with prices that are comparable with used vehicles and with the bonus of new car benefits such as: warranties, free premium body colours and free speed limiters on selected vehicles. We can also arrange test drives over a period of two days to make sure that you are happy with the vehicle (subject to availability).

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A DV ERTORIAL




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E Y E S ONT IPS FOR SMALLER RETAILERS

Tips for smaller retailers: Each issue we provide a collection of handy tips for smaller retailers, based on other retailers' experiences. They cover a variety of topics including creating e�ective displays, increasing average transaction values and resources to help new customers find your business.

More advice can also be found on our website by searching for Small Retailer Tips on hta.org.uk

UNDER COVER

A light and airy covered area o�ers a lot of advantages in the retail arena. The most obvious is to provide all-weather shopping for customers. There’s no doubt people don’t like shopping in extreme temperatures, wet conditions or ice and snow, and sales opportunities are lost if we can’t provide comfortable shopping conditions. Think of the alternative shopping environments your customers have to choose from – comfortable, clean, well decorated, light, dry shopping centres and precincts.

Anything we can do to provide the same protection and comfort must work in our favour. Essentially it’s the convenience of a pleasant, ambient, shopping environment all year round, whatever the outside conditions may be.

Exterior cover provides flexibility and versatility in how we use the space year round. It allows for a diverse o�er and the ability to maximise sales and profit by using it e�iciently. No longer are we confined to hardy outdoor green life. Now we can tempt customers with tender plants, conservatory plants, colour plants and seedlings, edibles, dry goods, “add-ons”, pots and containers

SMART THINKING

• Allow customers to enter the threshold or ‘decompression zone’. It’s the entry space to allow them to pause or slow to make the transition from the outside world into your store and first experience what you have to o�er.

• Ensure there are clear lines of sight around the store so shoppers can find their way around. A clear path and sight line can help to draw people into under-shopped areas of the store.

• Create displays of the season. If they tie in with why customers are visiting they will gain attention.

• Make sure any information for shoppers to use to help them make a decision to buy is visible without bending, stretching, or 20:20 vision.

• Consider o�ering something near the start of the walk through your store – a free gi�, sample, multibuy or buy one get one free – that helps set the right emotional tone for further purchasing.

• Avoid over-whelming shoppers with choice. You can lose or reduce sales with too much choice. Sometimes less is more.

• Use colour contrast and colour blocking for merchandising and on point of sales material and product displays to demand attention from shoppers.



40 November/December 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnewsFollow us on Twitter @HTAnews

NU RS ERY NOTES

TOP TIPS FOR THE MONTH FIELD AND CONTAINER GROWN CROPS

Pruning Register and use Waste Exemption D7 and burn all trimmings from living windbreaks to disrupt pest and disease lifecycles.

Replant disease Ensure Replant disease is not an issue when planning where to put stock in fields that are used as part of your crop rotation.

Soil sampling Test for plant parasitic nematodes (including Potato Cyst) and the presence of Verticillium wilt (a six week test) before taking on new land. Check for nutrient levels too, to help produce an accurate nutrient management plan for NVZs and Catchment Sensitive Farming areas.

Weed control Once Piceas are dormant, consider applying Roundup over crops to control perennial weeds growing around them. Around other field-grown crops for bittercress, willowherb, pearlwort and mouse-ear chickweed control, use Chikara, Sumimax (EAMU 2008-2881) or Venzar 500SC. Chikara, Goltix 70 SC (EAMU 2015-1175), products containing glufosinate-ammonium (end-use 31/01/2020) and Springbok (EAMUs required) will also control pearlwort around crops. Chikara, Sencorex Flow (EAMUs required), Sumimax (EAMU 2008-2881) and Venzar 500SC all work well on groundsel around dormant crops. Check label, EAMU and AHDB information for crop tolerances.

Botrytis Check protected crops regularly focusing on crops that are pot-thick and evergreens. Keep disease at bay using cultural controls including good airflow in protected structures by opening tunnel and glasshouse doors and vents as o�en as possible. Where appropriate, reduce the water volume per hectare for pesticide applications. Water crops in the morning so foliage has time to dry o� during the day. Apply compost tea monthly through the winter.

Bacteria Prevent overwintering bacterial infections on outdoor Prunus spp. by applying Captan 80WDG (EAMUs required). This fungicide has handling restrictions listed on its EAMUs.

Heaters If you use diesel oil (35 second) for winter heaters make sure you have winter grade oil in the tank for the winter or you could get fuel gelling in the tank during the prolonged cold periods. For para�in heaters (28 second), obtain premium grade para�in to

• Check through the current 2020 end-use dates to make sure you buy what you can this year (where possible) for legitimate use next year.

• While we wait for new ornamentals EAMUs for Movento, use Batavia (EAMUs required) instead.

• Download technical information on Amylo X WG, AQ10, Botanigard WP, DiPel DF, Fytosave, Naturalis-L, Prestop, Serenade ASO and T34 Biocontrol from approval holder websites to fully understand their humidity and temperature requirements for use in your spray programmes next year.

• Calibrate and service spray equipment including pressure gauges, measuring scales, jugs and syringes. Check for worn parts, leaky hoses and blocked nozzles and replace kit where measurement graduations are no longer legible.

• Spray once more for needle cast in November using Bravo 500 (EAMU 2011-1130), Signum (EAMU 2012-2141) or Switch on Abies, Picea and pines.

• Do not use systemic products at this time of year. Many products have restricted numbers of applications either per crop or per year for ornamentals, so it is important to keep those products just for the growing season.

• Weed control is important now: persistent, residual herbicides can be applied during the dormant months. Include Mypex, sand beds, gravel and soils in your control programme.

• Check compost and water conductivity now and then again in February/March for accurate spring feeding. Depending on pot size and crop location, options available include top dressing, liquid feeding or inserting CRF plugs. Avoid high nitrogen products where there is risk of frost damage on so¬ growth.



NU RSERY NOTES

prevent leaf scorch from combustion if you have direct-fired heaters.

Hot water treatment Treat stock plant material during the winter to try and control leaf and stem eelworm, Pythium, Phytophthora and rusts on a�ected ornamental crops. Use AHDB factsheet 1013 as a guide.

IPM-friendly clean-up Where pests remain, apply Eradicoat, FLiPPER (EAMUs required), Majestik, Pyrethrum 5EC, Spruzit or SB Plant Invigorator on protected, dormant plants a�ected by mites, scale insects and mealybugs, avoiding frost before, during and a�er applications. Synthetic pyrethroids (e.g. Decis, Hallmark WZT) applied a�er December may a�ect early predator introductions.

Root rots Choisya and other crops, particularly those with fleshy roots, will be vulnerable to Pythium and Phytophthora spp. infections, especially if composts sit wet. Remove dead and dying plants before drenching the rest of the crop (within their irrigation regime) with Amylo X WG (EAMU 2019-0428), Previcur Energy (EAMU 2011-1557) or Subdue. Water dry crops sparingly at the beginning of the day to allow composts to dry back before nightfall.

Vine weevil larvae Keep checking for larvae in pots of susceptible plants. Low-temperature nematodes will only work in compost and soil temperatures of >5°C.

Weeds Butisan S, Flexidor, Sencorex Flow (EAMUs required), Sumimax (EAMU 2008-2881), Springbok (EAMUs required), Wing-P (EAMU 2013-0253) and Venzar 500SC can be applied now to control weed infestations on compost surfaces. Check label, EAMU and AHDB information for crop tolerances.

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GARDEN CENTRE NOTESPromote soil improvers such as green compost (composted to PAS 100), farmyard manures, bark or leaf mould to improve drainage, organic matter levels and encourage a slow-release of nutrients next spring.

Customers will need to sweep up fallen leaves from under peaches and cherries and burn rather than compost them to reduce disease pressure in the garden. Do the same with Buxus and any plants that have su¦ered from fungal leaf spots, rust and scab.

Customers with frost-free structures and conservatories can still maintain a tick-over level of pest control using Amblyseius cucumeris and others over the winter months. Short-term sprays such as Bug Free (fatty acids) will help to keep persistent pests at bay.

Top-dress shrub borders with either a ready-made product or customers can mix equal quantities of bone meal and hoof and horn and add this mix to an equal quantity of sulphate of potash (so the mix is 25% bone meal, 25% hoof and horn, 50% sulphate of potash). Apply at the rate of 125gm/mt2.

Spray over dormant herbaceous perennials in the retail area (no green stems or leaves should be showing) with a tank mix of Shark (EAMUs required) and Sumimax (EAMU 2008-2881) to gain control over weeds that have grown in the compost. Hand-weed plants that have been really infested, let compost settle and then apply herbicides.

Maintain winter pansy quality by picking them over regularly and applying a high potash (K) feed.

Clean glasshouses now to gain as much light as possible over the winter months.



Email us at [email protected] or call 01708 765 555

We all want to live and work in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way, so with that in mind we have developed a greener Utilities Scheme focused on two key areas – Energy and Water and we have done all the work for you so you can focus on what you do best.

This new scheme will help you be more energy efficient andmembers will enjoy many new benefits. With HTA boardsupport, this has seen us partnering with Good Energy Ltdfor Electricity and Gas supply and Water Plus for water supply Our scheme offers:• Excellent value• Superb customer service• Market leading rates• 100% Renewable Energy

• Energy and Water Audits• Carbon Neutral• Billing Services• EV Charging Point advice• Benchmarking

Gardening is Good for You!

#GIGFYhta.org.uk/gardeningisgoodforyou

A fresh approach to gardening through health and wellbeing.



http://www.hta.org.uk/gardeningisgoodforyou


TA KING STOCK

Each month an HTA member o�ers an insider’s view of the world of horticulture. We catch up with Tony and Barabara Cartwright of Ashwood Nurseries.

WWW.ASHWOODNURSERIES.COM

stockABOUTTaking

Tony and Barbara

Cartwrightwith

Ashwood Nurseries is an award-winning retail nursery and garden centre in the West Midlands. Owned by the respected plantsman, John Massey VMH, the nursery is renowned for its specialist crops, notably hellebores, hepaticas, hardy cyclamen, lewisias, snowdrops, salvias and hydrangeas. It’s also home to ‘John’s Garden’, regarded as one of the finest private gardens in the UK.

N U R S E R Y M A N A G E R A N D W E B S I T E E D I T O R A T A S H W O O D N U R S E R I E S

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FEAT UR E IN A FUTU RE TAKIN G STOCK PL EASE CON TACT HTAN EW [email protected] RG .UK

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE A CAREER IN HORTICULTURE?In many ways, horticulture chose us! We both started work at Ashwood while we were still at school, both with a love of gardening and a desire to work outdoors in our school holidays.Nursery owner John Massey was only 18 but he was passionate about turning what was a run-down smallholding into a thriving nursery. His enthusiasm rubbed o� and we just wanted to be part of this great

exciting venture.

WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED MOST ABOUT YOUR LONG CAREER?We’re celebrating over 100 years of combined service at Ashwood and we’re so proud to have been awarded Long Service medals from the RHS. It’s been the best learning experience for anyone who loves plants, we’ve worked with a great team and we’ve been fortunate to make some long-lasting friendships with our lovely customers. John is still the driving force behind Ashwood and we feel very privileged to have had such a long and

happy association with him.

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE INDUSTRY CHANGE?It has changed in so many ways.In the 1960s greater prosperity, more leisure time, together with a rapid expansion in

building, resulted in a gardening boom, the like of which we will probably never see again. There were so many new gardens to be planted, plots were large and a new TV series BBC’s Gardeners’ World presented by Percy Thrower was educating and inspiring the public to get out and garden. When we started work, container-growing of plants was just in its infancy. Hado polythene pots were a recent innovation, but we also used whalehide pots and hessian sacking. Many plants were still sold ‘bare-root’ and were seasonal: roses, hedging and trees in particular. Terracotta pots were still widely used, especially for alpines. Rigid plastic pots were coming onto the market, although they were not a�ordable for commercial use for some years to come. Equally, the use of chemicals was widespread and accepted as normal gardening practice. No one then had any thought of the environment and the impact of plastic or chemicals on the natural world.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGY?There’s no doubt that exhibiting our specialist crops at RHS shows brought the nursery huge publicity and put Ashwood Nurseries firmly on the horticultural map. John, together with plant breeders Philip Baulk and Kevin Belcher, masterminded the various exhibits, resulting in a tally of

53 RHS Gold medals to date, including 4 Chelsea Golds. Our medal success brought increased demand but our old-fashioned mail order service was desperately in need of a fresh approach. The decision, six years ago, to create a dynamic website with online shop, has transformed our retail business. The website has become an invaluable platform for promoting Ashwood Nurseries and John’s Garden as a visitor destination while, at the same time, allowing us to sell plants

all over the UK and Europe.

HOW ARE YOU RESPONDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES?At Ashwood, we are striving to be ‘envronmentally friendly’ but it’s not something that can happen overnight. We are re-using black pots so they don’t end up in landfill and moving over to recyclable taupe pots, but it’s frustrating that many local authorities still don’t take these. Our spraying programme has been reviewed and we’re now using a variety of predators together with soaps, fatty acids, neem oil and potassium bicarbonate. A wildlife meadow and regular wildlife events are recent developments, demonstrating our commitment to the environment.



http://www.ashwoodnurserries.com


PAG E NAME

During the course of 2019, I took the decision to review the employee benefits we o�er and introduced two new benefits. Firstly, a virtual GP service – Havensrock Med24 - which gives

of a garden centre managerSecret diary

With Christmas just around the corner, myself and the team are preparing ourselves for one of our busiest times of year. As a garden centre manager, my priorities are to ensure that we deliver excellent service to our customers but also to look a½er my employees’ health and wellbeing. Many of us will work long hours during this period and it can be stressful.

employees access to speak to a doctor over the phone or via a webcam, 24/7, 365 days a year. This means that they can get quick access to the medical advice and treatment they need, when they need it. This reduces the worry of having to wait to see a doctor and can reduce the amount of time people are absent from work.

Secondly, a mental health app - Havensrock Thrive – which includes a range of clinically-proven techniques to help users to proactively look a�er their mental wellbeing. They can be safe in the knowledge that they can speak to a dedicated mental health nurse if they need to. Combining technology with the human touch.

Both are proving popular with the team. They like the convenience of being able to access these benefits at a time and place that suits them. As an employer, they provide a simple and cost-e�ective way for our sta� to manage their health and wellbeing needs.

There’s a growing focus on supporting wellbeing in the workplace, whatever the size of your organisation. Employee benefits are increasingly playing an important role in recruiting and retaining good sta�, something I’ve learned this year when a candidate perfect for a role we were hiring for chose another business over ours, due to the package on o�er. My advice to all other garden centre managers is to check whether your benefits package continues to meet the evolving needs of your workforce. If you’re not sure, then it’s probably time to review what you o�er. Looking a�er your employees’ wellbeing makes good sense as happy and healthy sta� tend to be more productive. A win-win for all!




A DV E RTORIAL

Why is now the perfect time to get better broadband?

With the surge in new technologies and changes in the ways of working reliable high-speed internet has never been more critical in keeping your business competitive, and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune.

THE GOOD NEWS Is unlike almost everything else in life, the price of guaranteed connectivity has fallen dramatically in the past two years. You could be getting far better broadband for even less than you are currently paying! With new and disruptive network providers entering the market, even gigabit connectivity can now cost you as little as the price of a daily co�ee.

GET HELP FROM THE GOVERNMENT! Did you know that the Government is currently giving businesses up to £3,500 towards improving their broadband? As a supplier on the scheme, we can help you take advantage of this funding but act quickly as the previous project closed six months early when funds ran out.

STAY AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION And encourage your customers to stay longer with excellent Wi-Fi. Perfect for Garden Centres, Meraki Go o�ers both indoor and outdoor Wireless Access Points so you can have fast and reliable Wi-Fi, across your entire site, all controlled by you using the state-of-the-art app.

2 Circles works with all the major suppliers to ensure that you get the right technology for your business. With our remarkable UK-based customer service, we deal with the networks on your behalf, taking the stress out of telecoms and providing you with a solution tailored exactly to your business needs.

Garden Centre InsuranceNo two garden centres are the same. From small retail outlets to large wholesale operations, every business is unique so it’s important your insurance policy provides the right cover for you. Our flexible business insurance package provides standard property and liability covers and some additional protection including:

• 24-month indemnity period for business interruption• Wide cover for stock in the open - including theft• Glass cover - including weight of snow on glasshouses

• Automatic seasonal stock increase of 25%• Automatic seasonal money increase of 25%• Cover for target stock with the first £7,500 per site included free of charge

• Environmental liability cover (clean-up costs)• Computer coverPlus, we offer payment via 12 months interest free instalments, subject to status.

HTA Insurance Services is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered in England with company number 4043759. Registered Address: Towergate House, Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne Rd, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3EN. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Get in TouchDiscuss your insurance requirements with the friendly experts at HTA Insurance Services:Tel: 0344 892 6271 Email: [email protected] Web: www.htainsurance.co.uk

Talk to us about how you can improve your Garden Centre or Nursery’s connectivity, call 03456 200 200 or email [email protected]



http://www.htainsurance.co.uk


Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews46 September 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

A DV ICE LINES & PREFERRED PARTNERS

LLOYDS BANK CARDNETCardnet o�er specialist card processing rates for HTA members. All their costs are clear, and there are no hidden fees. You’ll have access to expert technical support from a UK-based helpdesk, and a dedicated implementation team to make switching easy. You’ll also have free online ClientLine access, giving you a 24/7 online summary of card payments. Contact us to find out more about the competitive rates available.T: 0333 234 1961 E: [email protected] W: www.hta.org.uk/cardprocessing

HTA SAVINGS & LOANS (by Bira Bank) Bira bank o�er a range of business and personal financial products to all HTA members, their sta� and families with many advantages o�en associated with traditional banking. Their loans range from business loans for equipment, vehicles and working capital to personal loans and ISA/savings accounts.T: 0121 446 6688 E: [email protected] W: www. bira.co.uk

Financial

HTA Preferred Partners advice: T 0333 234 1961

E [email protected]

Utilities, lighting, and fuel

IDEAL LIGHTSIdeal lights provide energy e�icient LED lighting, which can help reduce your costs. By upgrading to LED lighting you could save up to 70%. Ideal Lights will guide you through the process and apply for any applicable grants.T: 01633 508 037 E: [email protected] W: www.ideallights.co.uk

2 CIRCLES 2 Circles have many years experience working with HTA members providing a range of telecoms and connectivity services. Services include landline, mobile, and broadband solutions at special member rates.T: 03456 200 200 E: [email protected] W: www.2circles.com

HTA UTILITIESEnergy Centric are a leading energy consultancy and brokerage company in the UK. Members can benefit from free reviews of their current water and energy, and save time as Energy centric will choose the best provider to help you save money on gas, electric and water. T: 01708 765 555 E: [email protected] W: www.htautilities.co.uk

ECOGEN RECYCLINGA multi-disciplined cardboard, paper & plastic recycling company dedicated to sustainable waste management solutions. One of our areas of special interest is the recycling of plant pots/trays from garden centres and nurseries. A special recycling scheme has been set-up in conjunction with HTA for this material so please contact us for more information. T: 01962 732296 E: [email protected] W: www.ecogenrecycling.com

ADVICE LINES

Accessing quality advice is even cheaper nowHTA HelplineT 0333 005 0160

HR, Health & Safety and PensionsBrighton Williams & Partners T 0333 005 0169 E [email protected]

Citation T 0333 005 0164 E HRandH [email protected]

Business Operations AdviceBlueberry Consulting T 0333 005 0161 E [email protected]

GJD Consultants Ltd T 0333 005 0162 E [email protected]

Pleydell Smithyman T 0333 005 0173 E [email protected]

GCS (GB) Ltd T 0333 005 0174 E [email protected]

Finance & LegalLaw Express T 0333 005 0166

The VAT Consultancy T 0333 005 0176 E [email protected]

ecoVeritas T 0333 005 0177 E [email protected]

Horticultural AdviceDove AssociatesT 0333 005 0167 E [email protected]

Newleaf Sustainability PracticeT 0333 005 0175 E [email protected]

Property Consultancy Gilbert EvansT 0333 005 0163 E [email protected]

Quinton EdwardsT 0333 005 0165 E [email protected]

Alexander Mackie Associates T 01732 522222 E [email protected]

Planning and Rates adviceTurner Morum LLPT 0333 005 0171 E [email protected]

Allan McLaren Chartered SurveyorsT 0333 005 0172 E [email protected]

Malcolm Scott ConsultantsT 0333 005 0170 E [email protected]

Trust, assurance and value

All HTA Preferred Partners are handpicked due to their relevance to HTA members, and because they o�er members great value for quality services. When using a Preferred Partner members have the support and assistance of the HTA, making them an ideal choice.


http://www.ideallights.co.uk


http://www.2circles.com


http://www.htautilities.co.uk


http://www.ecogenrecycling.com



http://www.hta.org.uk/cardprocessing


http://www.bira.co.uk


















P R EFERRED PARTNERS

USEFUL HTA CONTACTS

Business insuranceHR, Health & Safety and Employee Benefits

Packaging

Security

HTA INSURANCE Towergate insurance have worked with the HTA to design insurance for the horticultural industry. Their schemes are designed for garden centres, commercial growers, landscapers, manufacturers, suppliers and other associated businesses such as concessions in garden centres. The specialist insurance policies and products take account of the unique needs of horticultural businesses. T: 0344 8926271 E: [email protected] W: www.towergaterisksolutions.co.uk/hta/

CITATIONCitation’s mission is to support you to keep every single area of your business safe and legally sound. They can help with HR, Employment Law and Health & Safety, including a 24/7 advice line, dedicated local consultant and, model documentation, plus fire and electrical safety services, ISO certification, and more.T: 0345 844 1111 E: [email protected] W: www.citation.co.uk/horticulture

HEALTHCARE SERVICESHTA Healthcare Services are brought to you by award-winning consultants, Punter Southall Health & Protection. They specialise in creating bespoke health and wellbeing plans to suit you, your business and your employees. Take advantage of their expertise and advice when you’re looking to make this important investment, and get something that’s right for your business.T: 01274 588 862 E: [email protected] W: www.htahealthcareservices.co.uk

ALPHA PACKAGINGAlpha Packaging provide a wide range of bespoke and stock packaging solutions specifically designed for garden retail, at a special member discount. Products include; carrier bags, plant sleeves, car boot liners and the ‘Plant Carrier Bag’ especially for bedding trays. They have an experienced design team so all products can be customised to reflect your brand. To use the HTA member discount online, enter voucher code ALPHA_HTA T: 01235 511 500 E: [email protected] W: www.alphapackaging.co.uk

CARDWAY CARTONSCardway Cartons are a specialist manufacturer of cardboard packaging products. They produce strong, recycled board carry home trays, the perfect way for your customers to get their plants home safely.T: 0333 003 3550 E: [email protected] W: www.cardway.co.uk

B2B LINKS B to B Links Ltd (B2B) has provided innovative Security Tagging, Product Protection, CCTV and Labelling solutions to HTA Members for nearly 10 years. Since the company was founded in 2000, its key strengths have been excellent levels of customer service, its diverse product range and continued innovative product development to stay ahead of customer needs. B2B’s friendly team will work alongside you to help improve your security and can supply all the equipment you need to keep your sta�, property and stock safe. B2B also o�ers Smart Footfall counting systems which can measure customer dwell times and return visits. T: 0118 932 8088 E: [email protected] W: www.btoblinks.net

HTA SERVICES / NATIONAL GARDEN GIFT VOUCHER / GARDEN GIFT CARD T 0333 003 3550

E [email protected]

HTA BENEVOLENT FUNDT 0333 003 3550

E [email protected]

W hta.org.uk/htabenevolentfund

Marketing & promotion

HORTIPAKWhether you require a new brand, label range, POS, website or a whole host of other garden retail products Hortipak can help. Hortipak is the exclusive UK and Ireland NOVA license partner. Hortipak have access to the highest standard of images for using on printed products such as labels, POS and packaging as well as multimedia projects such as websites, apps and webshops.T: 0115 937 6355 E: [email protected] W: www.hortipak.co.uk

FLORAMEDIAWhatever your print and marketing needs Floramedia delivers quality and creativity with a reliable service. With the UK’s largest range of pre-printed stock labels, a team of in-house graphic designers and horticultural content writers, plus our very own world class botanical image library we have the solution to grow your business. T: 01206 771 040 E: [email protected] W: floramedia.co.uk

PASKETT PRPaskett PR is one of the UK’s leading specialist gardening and lifestyle public relations agencies. The agency, which o�ers full public relations and social media services, helps to connect leading gardening brands with its customers, whilst attracting new audiences, through traditional media relationships, strategic campaigns, event support, social media and everything in between!T: 01332 258 335 E:[email protected] W: www.paskettpr.co.uk

GARDEN RADIOGarden Radio provides quality background music, with bespoke licence-exempt services at favourable rates to HTA members. It’s something to consider seriously when planning your overall store experience and ambience.T: 01733 775 700 E:[email protected]

TECHNICAL GARDEN GIFT CARD ENQUIRIEST 0121 268 3210


http://www.hortipak.co.uk



http://www.paskettpr.co.uk



http://www.citation.co.uk/horticulture


http://www.htahealthcareservices.co.uk


http://www.alphapackaging.co.uk


http://www.cardway.co.uk


http://www.btoblinks.net


http://www.towergaterisksolutions.co.uk/hta/




http://www.hta.org.uk/htabenevolentfund


PAG E NAME

Media partner

15/16 January 2020Horticulture House, Chilton Oxfordshire hta.org.uk/[email protected]#HTAContact

A one-and-a-half-day event focusing on plant health, sustainability, best practice and technologies and the grower/retailer relationship.

State of the Horticulture Nation

HTA Member rate

£299* + VAT

Non HTA Member rate

£499* + VAT

Speakers

Professor Nicola SpenceChief Plant Health Officer

for DEFRA

Dr Gerard CloverImpact and Engagement

Manager for BRIGIT*includes full conference, dinner

and accommodation



http://www.hta.org.uk/contactconference

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