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Pesticides and Brexit

APL Awards Shortlist announced

On trend colours for 2019

8 1713

www.hta.org.uk

January 2019 Issue£4.50

P A G E 1 4

IS GARDENING

GOOD FOR YOU!

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Welcome to

Get in touch

Featured

Gardening is good for you!

On trend colours for 2019

Pesticides and Brexit

APL Awards Shortlist announced

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HTA News, Horticultural Trades Association Horticulture House, Chilton Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RN

T: 0333 003 3550 E: htanews@hta.org.uk

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.

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January 2019 issue

HTA PRESIDENT

Adam Taylor

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

Design: Yellowball Printed by: Buxton Press

Advertising : Tim Bell T: 07808 775 177 E: tim.bell@hta.org.uk

REGISTER TODAY FOR YOUR EXCLUSIVE VIP INVITATION

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MARCH 6TH & 7TH - 10AM-6PM

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Welcome to the January issue of HTA News. I would like to have been commenting on the impact of the Brexit decision but, at time of going to press we await the timetable from government for the new parliamentary vote and news of potential renegotiations. Wouldn’t we all like

to see how each sales season in front of us may pan out? But the impact of the vote on the movement of goods is what we all need to know with utmost urgency. The HTA will continue to issue bulletins and further information & advice can be found on the HTA website at hta.org.uk/government/brexit-implications-for-the-hta.html

Plant health continues to be an extremely important topic on the HTA agenda, and Brexit may yet see an immediate impact on import standards. At the end of January we will be hosting “Healthy Plants, Healthy Business” at Horticulture House. (see page 25). This one-day event is aimed at all those involved in the production, trading and retailing of plants in the UK. We are delighted that Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity and Nicola Spence, Defra’s Chief Plant Health Officer will be joining us for the event outlining the latest information on plant health and biosecurity.

The event will also see the launch of the HTA’s Plant Healthy – a new self-assessment web resource for growers, retailers and landscapers. The website will be free for any grower, retailer or landscaper and is intended to help businesses understand the principles of plant health and their responsibilities for biosecurity management (see more on page 9) ahead of the launch of a full Plant Health Assurance Scheme in Spring 2019. By welcoming non-members to take part, we are seeking to confirm our position as the lead organisation for government to work with on such matters.

This month sees the start of our ‘Gardening is Good For You’ media promotion. We have been working with gardening journalist Adam Pasco who has written a series of monthly articles themed around the health and wellbeing benefits of gardening. We will be issuing these to the media every month but the copy and images are also available for you to use in your own communications and activities. Read more about how to get involved on page 14.

A final reminder that 2019 has been declared as the Year of Green Action. As part of the 25 year environment plan, government has launched a year-long promotional campaign to engage people with environmental issues. So why not look at ways in which your business can join in? Wishing you all the best for a prosperous year ahead.

Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

NEWS

Stronger HTA Executive Team to drive member value

F ollowing a review carried out by the Board of the HTA, the association’s Executive Team will be strengthened in line with anticipated member needs.

Adam Taylor, President, said: -“The Board has decided to implement a number of improvements,

including enhanced communication with membership and the increased ability to influence government at a time of significant change. The Board is confident that this structure will drive HTA member value. I have no doubt that the HTA is in a position of great strength and that the Executive Team, headed by Alex Vick, will drive the association forwards.”

Martin Simmons, taking on the new role of Director of Membership, will promote member engagement and satisfaction. Martin’s industry knowledge and his horticultural background will provide continuity and an experienced voice when working with the key sector Committees. Martin will be the main point of contact for all membership and will ensure the members’ voice is communicated

HTA Pearson Medal awarded to Baroness Fookes

T his year we awarded The Pearson Memorial Medal to Baroness Fookes, the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group (APPGHG) recognising her

outstanding services to horticulture.HTA President Adam Taylor made the award at the annual APPGHG

reception event held at the Palace of Westminster on 29 October 2018.Commenting on the award Adam Taylor said, “It gives me great

through to the HTA Board to influence the association’s activities to meet members’ needs. His team includes Horticulture Manager, Alistair Yeomans.

The remits of Alex Vick, Senior Executive Director and Finance Director, and Anne Clark, Director of HR & Learning, are widened to maximise member value across areas including improved learning and development and gifting.

To further strengthen the Executive Team, the HTA will recruit a Director of Policy and Communication to effectively lobby government on members’ behalves and implement an improved communication strategy.

The Executive Team at the HTA comprises:

• Alex Vick, Senior Executive Director & Finance Director

• Martin Simmons, Director of Membership

• Anne Clark, Director of HR & Learning

• Director of Policy & Communication

pleasure to award Baroness Fookes with the Pearson Memorial Medal for her outstanding contribution to horticulture. Through her commitment to the APPGHG Baroness Fookes has tirelessly worked on behalf of the sector to help raise its profile and promote its cause in Parliament for which her efforts should be applauded.”

Baroness Fookes has contributed to a multitude of organisations, being involved with at least 16 or so organisations currently at a national and local level. For example, she is the the vice-president nationally of the RSPCA and SSAFA Forces Help but also President of her local branch for both organisations.

Having started her illustrious career as a teacher Baroness Fookes continues to hold an interest in education. Indeed, one her most recent written questions to the House of Lords were around the focus on, or lack of, horticulture as a viable career and the quality of horticulturally related content in the National Curriculum.

A keen gardener Baroness Fookes was raised to the peerage in 1997 and has been Deputy Speaker to the House of Lords since 2010, holding several positions on various committees and groups politically, not least of which is the Joint Chair of the APPGHG, a position she has held since 2010.

Every year we honour individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to horticulture. The Pearson Memorial Medal was instigated in 1930 in memory of the HTA’s first General Secretary, Charles Pearson.

NATIONAL GARDEN GIFT VOUCHER EXPIRY DATES

For vouchers that expire on December 31 2018, please be reminded that we allow a 30 day period when vouchers can be returned to the HTA for redemption. We are unable to redeem any expired vouchers that are received at the HTA after this 30 day period.

NGGV stockists can find further information on the HTA website hta.org.uk

4 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

NE WS

Lord Gardiner meets with young environment advocates as part of the #iwill campaign.

O ver 50 young people from around the UK have been announced as environment ambassadors as part of the government’s 2019 ‘Year of Green Action’.

The inspiring group, which includes two teenage sisters who founded Kids Against Plastic to cut the single-use packaging, will encourage more young people to get involved in green projects through their school, youth group or local community.

The #iwill4nature initiative, part of the #iwill campaign which aims to embed social action into the lives of 10-18 year olds, was formally launched at a celebratory event at Kew Gardens. It comes as the government prepares for its 2019 Year of Green Action, a year-long drive to see more people from all backgrounds involved in projects to improve the natural world.

Congratulating the new ambassadors, Defra Minister Lord Gardiner said:

Is one of your staff in crisis? Do they know that they can turn to the HTA Benevolent Fund?

A s an HTA member, all your staff are eligible for help.  We care for the welfare of our members and their employees through the

HTA Benevolent Fund - the charity for members of the HTA.

We help members including retailers, growers and landscapers who are facing hardship by providing confidential grants and financial assistance. Past members of staff, who no longer work for you, are also eligible for support if they were employed by you during a time that you were a member. As well as helping the individual we can also help their direct family.

To apply for help, applicants can write to the board of Trustees at: HTA Benevolent Fund, Horticulture House, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RN or email htabenevolentfund@hta.org.uk. For more information on our service please visit www.hta.org.uk/htabenevolentfund

Deans Garden Centre celebrates 50th anniversary

O n 7 December 1968, Ken and Margaret Dean first opened the doors to Dean’s Garden Centre in York, followed by a second Garden Centre in Scarborough in 1986

and over the last 50 years this family run

Please make sure all your staff know about this trusted benefit and support network, so we can help as many people as possible. Share the poster enclosed on your staff notice board and the leaflets in your staff room.

If you would like more leaflets or want to discuss further how we can help, please get in touch.

“Our children and young people have a huge role to play in ensuring the next generation is motivated and equipped to protect the precious natural world.

It was inspiring to meet this group of young ambassadors who are so passionate about environmental protection and I look forward to seeing all they achieve over the coming year.”

business has gone from strength to strength.Dean’s has remained a family enterprise and when Ken and

Margaret took well-earned retirement in 1993, the business was taken over by their three children Richard, Helen and Sarah who still run the business today.Deans Garden Centre have celebrated their 50th anniversary in many ways throughout the last few months. Special offers, competitions and activities were available, which included a children’s colouring competition, a golden anniversary quiz and a golden treasure hunt.

A charity day took place on 6 December to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support. There was something for everyone to enjoy including a raffle, tombola, second hand book stall and a cake stall, which proved to be a great success raising £1253.75.

On 7 December they held a celebration Day at both York & Scarborough where a golden envelope was given to each customer as they entered the Garden Centre. The golden envelope contained a 50-50 chance of winning a prize worth from 50p to £50.

5| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019

6 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

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Gardeners like wildlife… and wildlife lovers like gardeningIt will come as no surprise to hear that gardeners and wildlife lovers go hand in hand. The latest HTA Market Information special feature on wildlife looks at the crossover in demographics and interests between keen gardeners and those who love wildlife. It also looks at how the industry can tap into this and highlights some garden businesses who are already working with their local Wildlife Trust.

P eople who regularly do gardening as a hobby or get a good deal of pleasure from their gardens, are more likely to like learning about nature and wildlife than the

general population.

• 24% of keen gardeners usually watch environmental/ wildlife programmes on TV

• 47% of keen gardeners bought wild bird food in the last year (versus 24% of the general population)

• Gardeners are twice as likely to be a member of a wildlife or animal trust

• 46% of garden lovers agree they would never buy toiletries or cosmetics that were tested on animals

• The hedgehog National Garden Gift Card design continues to sell more than all the other designs put together!

People with an interest in wildlife are more likely than average to get a good deal of pleasure from their gardens or regularly do gardening as a hobby. The average British adult spends £87 per year on their garden, but the average garden spend amongst Wildlife Trust members is over twice as high.

Some HTA members are currently working with their local Wildlife Trust (17%) or are interested in doing so (55%), and their collaboration provides mutual benefit.

Download the full report from hta.org.uk

Final call for student horticulturists to apply for a David Colegrave Foundation (DCF) scholarship

T his year has seen launch of three new scholarships providing even more fantastic opportunities to students who have a passion for trees, sustainability or research.

NEW - The Majestic Trees Sponsored Travel Scholarship is offering up to £3,000 to fund a placement abroad at a tree nursery. This also includes the opportunity for a work placement at Majestic Trees, which could become a permanent position.

NEW - The John Gibson Environmental Scholarship will award £1,500 to a student with a keen interest in environmental solutions and sustainable applications as applied to commercial horticulture. John Gibson worked at Colegrave Seeds with the late David Colegrave and was at the forefront of the development of the market for hybrid seeds and seedlings. This scholarship recognises John’s keen interest in environmental solutions that can advance commercial horticulture in a sustainable manner.

NEW - The Horticultural Research Scholarship will award £2,500 to support applied research within the horticulture industry. Students who are keen to pursue a research career in the horticultural industry should apply. This includes undergraduates, postgraduates and those studying for doctoral degrees.

South West Growers Show Sponsored Regional scholarship awards £1,500 to support a student studying any aspect of commercial or production horticulture. Preference will be given to those studying/working in the South West of England.

The British Protected Ornamentals Association – Peter Seabrook Bursary offers £1,000 to support one or more students studying commercial horticulture. The scholarship is also available to schools and horticultural colleges to finance trips for students over 16 years of age to leading commercial horticultural establishments.

The Ball Colegrave Sponsored Travel Scholarship awards up to £1,500 to fund travel to Europe in order to develop knowledge and experience in bedding plant production and marketing. An employee in the early stages of their career at a commercial bedding plant nursery, or a student studying horticulture with an interest in commercial bedding plants should apply.

The Student Scholarship awards £1,000 to each of up to 5 students to support their studies in horticulture. Preference is given to candidates who have an interest in ornamental commercial horticulture, especially with an emphasis on the bedding, container, pot plant and cut flower sectors.

Jeff Colegrave, DCF Chairman, says: “We are excited to introduce such fantastic new opportunities to students this season. Our scholarships cover different areas of interest such as bedding plants, trees, research and sustainability to enable DCF to have a positive influence across the commercial horticultural industry. We hope that many students with a passion for horticulture will apply.”

Scholarship Season runs until 31 January 2019 and to enter applicants simply need to complete an application form which they can do online.

More information on DCF and its scholarships can be found at  www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk

7| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019Find us on Facebook

Spring fair: Five key trends you need to know for Christmas 2019

W hilst consumers are still remembering Christmas 2018, for our community 2019 is the focus.

The five trends listed below will help you plan for this year’s festive period:

1. Inspired by natureChristmas 2019 incorporates nature into its design palette. There’s still a place for tinsel and baubles, but intersperse these with pine cones, twigs and bark-like textures for a contemporary and welcoming look. Natural ornaments to hang on the tree as well as wooden candle-holders and lanterns complete the look.

2. Blue ChristmasGreen, red and gold may be the traditional festive colours, and will always be evident, but for 2019 blue has joined the party. Think deep midnight blues, aquamarine hues and ceruleans as both main and accent colours. The result brings a touch of whimsy and glamour to the festive scenes you, and you customers,

can create.

The magic of Christmas & Gift

I n retail, Christmas is the key commercial season of the year and successful sales during

November and December will oil the wheels and keep them turning for the next 12 months. Harrogate Christmas & Gift is on 13 -16 January at Harrogate Convention centre. The show is a key trade show for Christmas retailers and everyone involved in any type of giftware from independent retailers and department stores, garden centres to tourist attraction outlets and florists. Attendance is free for all trade visitors.

Visit www.harrogatefair.com/

NE WS

3. Patterns add interestDots and lines make a big splash for Christmas 2019. Herringbone is by far the front runner but polka dots (of any size) and other line patterns help add to the vibe you want to create. This trend can be incorporated in a minor way (e.g. table runners, greeting cards) or a major way (e.g. large table centrepiece, blankets). Either method will create maximum impact.

4. Lights everywhere Candles and Christmas tree lights are a big part of the festive season every year, but in 2019 light gets a makeover. Lighting displays will be a huge draw for customers and Christmas ornaments lit up from within stand to become 2019 favourites.

The emergence of warm golden light that we’ve seen in the recent past continues to grow. Cold white light is very much on the decline.

5. Treat all the sensesChristmas 2019 is a smorgasbord for every one of the senses. Creating a visual buffet is as much a part of the preparations as the Christmas Day lunch. Play with textures to draw interest and convey this special time of year. Sound, smell, touch and taste can all be engaged by using the trends listed above to craft a holiday wonderland in your store or stall.

Register now and visit the Christmas Gifts, Floral & Seasonal Decoration sector at Spring Fair from 3-7 February 2019 to see all of these trends on the show floor.www.springfair.com

8 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

M ost of our pesticide legislation is EU derived so the UK government has laid out how they intend to

manage procedures, post March 2019.

Before 29 March 2019Plant Protection products (PPPs) are subject to EU regulations. The EU regime relies on centralised EU processes, EU institutions and the sharing of responsibilities between all EU countries.

It comprises three main pieces of legislation.

1. Regulating the introduction of PPPs, including active substances approval, product authorisations and risk management.

2. Regulating Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) on edible foods.

3. The sustainable use of pesticides.

After March 2019 It is expected that there will be an implementation period until the end of 2020 and the current EU system will remain in place during that period.

In the event of a “no deal” then the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 legislation would secure our pesticide regulations as they stand now. The government will establish a UK national regime with as smooth transition as possible. The devolved governments are expected to follow the same framework as England.

Regardless the deal, the UK will have its own standalone PPP regime which will have the same technical requirements as the EU regime.

In both professional and retail markets we will see little immediate change in the pesticide regime. When the EU change the

status of a pesticide approval, we may see a different time scale on revocations or approval. The UK will probably follow an EU revocation quickly, but a new approval would need to pass through the UK system and may take longer.

Currently the UK relies on the EAMU programme of the AHDB and this will continue to be so in the ornamentals industry. We may see UK measures brought in, where EU implementation laws are not agreed by the UK authorities, but for the next two years it is business as usual:

• All existing product approvals and authorisations will remain valid and the HSE will remain the national regulator.

• There will be the drawing up of a new UK register of active substances and MRLs. Future applications will be determined under a streamlined national regime.

• The format of applications and basic data requirements will remain the same.

• CRD will take account of relevant evaluations by other regulators which would include other EU member States.

• DEFRA and HSE will work closely together in a common UK framework.

• CRD will progress existing applications to completion where possible.

• For extensions to active substance approvals due to expire shortly after the UK leaves the EU, are expected to have a three-year lead-in time.

• CRD will establish a national renewals programme for pesticides after EU exit.

• There will be a transitional period for seeds treated with PPPs, to allow them to be marketed in the UK post-EU exit for a period of three years.

• There will be a transitional period of two years for parallel trade permits which will come into force at the point of exit.

• The regulations on pesticide application remain unchanged as NPTC certificates of competence are UK based. Sprayer testing, Grandfather Rights, the National Action Plan and aerial spraying regulations also remain as present for the transition period. The categorisation & UK Code of Practice for spraying by Drone could be drawn up in the future.

• The HSE Codes of Practice (Green, Orange and Blue Codes), FEPA and COSHH are all UK based and unaffected by the Brexit scenario. Safety Data sheets will still be needed for products used.

• Retailer training and advice arrangements will remain in place under adoption of the EU Sustainable Uses Directive.

Glossary of InitialisationsAHDB – Agriculture & Horticulture Development BoardCOSHH – Control of Substances Hazardous to HealthCRD – Chemicals Regulation DivisionDEFRA – Department for Environment, Food & Rural AffairsEAMU – Extension of Authorisation for Minor UseEFSA – European Food Safety AuthorityEU – European UnionFEPA – Food and Environment Protection ActPPP – Plant Protection ProductHSE – Health & Safety ExecutiveNPTC – National Proficiency Tests Council (Now City & Guilds Land Based Services)MRL – Maximum Residue Level

Brexit and pesticides

PO LICY

For the latest policy updates please see hta.org.uk/government/policy-news-updates.html

9| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019Find us on Facebook

PO LICY

A s part of the Plant Healthy campaign, we are developing a website to enable horticultural businesses such as growers, retailers and landscapers to assess how their current

operations compare to the plant health management standard. The website is due to be launched later this month, Healthy Plants, Healthy Business one-day conference which is being held at Horticulture House on Tuesday 29 January.

The website will be simple to use and will enable users to complete a set of approximately 20 questions that cover plant health management and biosecurity control practices and how they relate to their business. Topics covered include:

General plant health management – covers areas such as a businesses plant health policy and risk analysis procedures for the range of plants that a horticultural enterprise handles.

Plant health controls – reviews a business’s checking and monitoring systems for plant material that they grow and trade.

Training – looks to ensure that a business has trained personnel in place to identify plant health related issues and that they are addressed in a timely manner.

Hygiene and housekeeping - assesses the business’s production and / or operating practices for the growing, pruning and general handling of plants as part of their business activities.

For each question guidance will be provided to help users understand how they can meet the requirements of the plant health management standard. In spring 2019 a full plant health assurance scheme will be launched and this self-assessment tool is intended to help people prepare for an independent audit should they wish to join the full assurance scheme.

The website will be free to use and is intended to help businesses understand the principles of plant health and biosecurity management. Importantly it highlights the crucial role that every horticultural business plays in ensuring our industry grows and sells healthy plants that will thrive in UK gardens and help protect the UK’s natural environment. For further information about Healthy Plants, Healthy Business see page 25.

Plant Healthy Self-assessment web resource for growers, retailers and landscapers – to launch in early 2019.

For the latest policy updates please see hta.org.uk/government/policy-news-updates.html

Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews10 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

NEWS in brief

Greenfingers Charity announce Big Gardening Raffle with National Garden Gift VouchersAs part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Greenfingers Charity is delighted to announce an exciting, fundraising raffle, and is looking for FUNdraising heroes in the industry to help. The raffle will give ticket buyers the chance to win either £1,000, £500 or £250 in National Garden Gift Voucher gift cards. The grand draw of the Big Greenfingers Gardening Raffle will take place in May when the winners will be notified and encouraged to spend their prize in participating garden centres in time for the summer.

#StressAwarenessDay Having a strong social support network is vital for getting through testing times, so why not join a local gardening group as a stress relieving outlet and to creative a positive impact with gardening at the same time? #gardening #community #plants

All cosy ready for winter #treefern #winter #cold #straw #winterprotection #wintercoat #gardening #cheshirelife #gardenlife #autumn #grass

Jparkers.co.uk @Jparkersbulbs

Stephen Gore @StephenGardens

Tweet us at @HTAnews

Smart invests in new product development and supply chainSmart are delighted to announce further investment in their New Product Development and Supply Chain teams, with the appointment of Michelle Lee as Category Management Co-Ordinator and Darren Bailey as Supply Analyst & Planner.

The new recruits will provide much needed support as the company ramps up its programme of range and category extensions.

David Domoney gives veterans allotment the seal of approvalDavid Domoney from the hit ITV show “Love Your Garden” visited the charity Shoulder to Soldiers community allotment last week. The allotment provided by Bents Garden & Home Centre has been transformed by the hard work and dedication of around 40 veterans. Cultivation Street presented the charity with a cheque for £1000 and 100 geraniums as Regional Winners of the Community Garden 2018 category.

OV E R THE GARDEN FENCE

This month it’s... Fun at work dayIt is important for your employees to feel happy at work, How will you make sure they have a great #Funatworkday on the 25 January? Get involved over on twitter @htanews.

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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.

PEOPLE & prizes

DID YOU KNOW?

The FreeFrom Eating Out awards recognise the best ‘free from’ eateries in the UK. Totties Garden Centre were

runners up in the ‘Overall winner’ category and a Gold award was won by Perrywood

Tiptree in the ‘Newbies’ category.

Joining the team will be Siobhan Smith. Her role will focus on bringing more leading UK and international pet brands to the September exhibition.

Chairman of Hillier, Robert Hillier, said: “We are delighted to welcome George and Martin to the board. We are extremely proud to be a family business that looks to the future, so it is wonderful to have the fifth generation of the Hillier family involved at board level”

HTA members success in the FreeFrom

Eating Out Awards

Tong Garden Centre was voted Elite Business of the year at the Yorkshire Business Awards

UK households spent £1.1billion on garden plants & trees in 2017.Find out more about the size of the horticultural industry on page 20.

Pets at Glee welcomes new team member

5th generation joins the Hillier board

OV ER THE GARDEN FENCE

11| www.hta.org.uk | July / August 2018Find us on Facebook

The keyword Xylella Fastidiosa gained a circulation of 11.4 million throughout November. It was picked up by various

news outlets including The Daily Telegraph, gov.uk

and uk.yahoo.com.

The HTA has gained nearly 11.5 million circulation throughout October and November due to the The Economic Impact of Ornamental Horticulture in the UK report. The circulation has come from regional,

national and local outlets, including BT.com and the daily mail. Find the full write up on page 20 and 21.

The APL has been gained coverage through local

news, regional news and industry news outlets such as Landscapeandamenity.com and gazetteandherald.co.uk.

G R OW ER NEWS

Johnsons trials taupe plant pots aimed at reducing landfill

J ohnsons of Whixley, is trialling taupe plant pots this year to fight the industry battle against plastic waste.

Johnsons’ new taupe-coloured plant pots, in collaboration with pot manufacturer Aeroplas UK, are made from 98 per cent of recycled plastic and are detectable by domestic waste separation systems which means they can be put back into the recycling stream.

They are distinct from standard pots, which feature a carbon pigment that compromises recognition, and results in millions of pots ending up in landfill every year.

Johnsons’ new product is set to be tested throughout 2019 to identify any impact on growing performance. If no issues are found, the new pots will be available to the company’s garden centre

customers across 2020.Mark Reynard, Johnsons of

Whixley’s Garden Centre sales manager, said: “As an industry we need to work together on ways to reduce landfill to keep our environment thriving.

Reflections of a six packer at the IPPS European Conference

T homas Everard, 19, an apprentice at The Bransford Webbs Plant Company, who has ownership of his own area of the nursery, recently attended the

IPPS European Regional Annual Conference in The Zundert Region of the Netherlands.

Thomas was one of 6 successful applicants of the 6 pack awards, which is available every year to young horticulturists or those new to the industry, working in or studying commercial horticulture, offering them the chance to attend the conference.

The three-day long conference offered a range of lectures and visits, as well as the opportunity to meet other growers from across Europe.

Various talks were given by prominent members of the horticultural industry, and Thomas highlighted both the talk on ‘New Perennials in the Market’ by Arno Rijnbeek, as they supply Bransford Webbs and he could see new possible marketing ideas, as well as a talk on the Breadfruit project which is enabling poorer people in certain areas of the world to be taught how to grow these plants, and therefore providing their own family with food.

For Thomas, his preferred visits were those he could relate back to Bransford Webbs. At Florensis, who

supply plugs to Bransford Webbs, he was able to see state of the art robotic machinery, as well as on a visit to Special Plant Zundert, he commented on the ebb and flow beds which could be used back at work.

From speaking to a wide range of professionals, Thomas was able to gain ideas on many areas from

nursery working practices to irrigations systems, and new products both for the nursery such as the shading

company (Redusol) and developments in plant breeding, such as Arie Blom and Echinacea. The opportunity to build a network of contacts across the industry is invaluable.

“The other delegates were all very friendly and welcoming, and I would recommend it to anyone who is offered the chance to attend”, commented Thomas. “I would like to thank everyone at the IPPS as I couldn’t have had a better experience, but also thank you to Bransford Webbs for encouraging me and supporting me in this opportunity”.

“This innovative way is a small part of a much wider issue so we are really keen to find out how the tests go and

hopefully this can be the beginning of various ways we, as a business and industry, continue to keep taking care of our surroundings.”

12 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

T he International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) Awards 2019 take place this month

on 22 January at the IPM Fairground, Essen, Germany.The awards recognise best practice in horticultural

production by the top ornamental production nurseries from around the globe. At the gala

ceremony, winners of four separate categories will be announced; finished plants and trees, cut flowers,

young plants and sustainability. From amongst the winners of all categories, an overall champion will be

crowned the ‘Gold Rose Winner’, to receive the most coveted and prestigious award of the night.

The finalists are: 1. Clematis Źródło Dobrych Pnączy Spółka, z ograniczoną

odpowiedzialnością Spółka komandytowa, Poland2. Fujian Hongzhan Landscape Engineering Co., Limited, China3. Gartneriet Tvillingegaarden, Denmark4. Gediflora, Belgium5. Inner Mongolia M•Grass Ecological Environment (Group) Co.,

Ltd, China6. Jiangsu Zhonghe Flowers Co. Limited, China7. OK Plant, the Netherlands8. Oserian Development Company Limited, Kenya9. Sichuan Colorful Forestry Development Co.Limited, China.

To book tickets for the IGOTY 2019 Awards visit www.aiph.org/groweroftheyear

Finalists announced for AIPH IGOTY 2019 AWARDS

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Rich, dark colour, delicate texture and natural pattern. The abundant wealth of colours and structures found on a country walk, provides the inspiration for the Nature trend.

Sit the bold damson tones of Viola Vibrante F1 Ruby & Gold or a fiery autumnal red, like Celosia Dragon’s Breath, alongside

muted greeny browns of coloured foliage such as Ajuga Mahogany. 

Gold-coloured yellows such as award-winning Pansy Freefall®F1 XL Bright Yellow add a hint of

contrasting colour against spikier, more dramatic plants like Dianella caerulea Cassa Blue or those that introduce texture such as Salvia Victoria Blue. This theme also welcomes plants that

bring pattern to displays such as Alstroemeria Inca Sundance.

G R OW ER NEWS

ON TREND

for 2019Colours

Earley Ornamentals have released their colour and plant trends forecast for 2019. The plant experts at Earley Ornamentals have identified four key trends. Shown here are the core colours, the inspiration driving the trend, and a selection of suitable plants.

Nature – bringing colour, texture and pattern to planting 

Lifestyle – a gentle out of this world haven

Traditional – familiar formality with an optimistic twist

Contemporary – for bold, statement garden design 

Take a Country Walk

Lift your Spirits

Find a Relaxing Space

Add a Twist to Home Comforts

Creating a safe, relaxed, almost out of this world, planting space is the focus for this trend. 

Soft pastel shades using plants like Primrose Provence F1 Mix, the lavender colours of Scabiosa japonica Ritz Rose or the delicate pattern of Myosotis Savoie combine with stronger more jewel-coloured options like Phlox Popstars F1 Mix or Pansy Premier F1 Blue with Blotch. Gently contrast these with neutral tones of Senator IQ F1 White to satisfy the forthcoming begonia resurgence or introduce more structured options in the form of Digitalis parviflora Milk Chocolate. In terms of foliage the feathery blue texture of Festuca glauca Elijah Blue adds further interesting contrast as does the dominant sage-grey colour of Brachyglottis Walberton’s Silver Dormouse.

Classic blends with contemporary here. Traditional colours combine with more modern blush neutrals to give that fresh edge of optimism.

Forming the foundation of this colour theme are gallant blues and strong pinks. Plants like Corydalis Blue Heron sit aside the bold berry colours of Dahlia Labella® Medio Fun Scarlet Bicolour. Peachy neutrals such as Erysimum Artist Gogh’s Gold lift this trend’s style and pop against the stronger colours, pulling this colour theme together.

Attention seeking garden design that’s not for the faint hearted. This theme makes a statement.  

Bright rich reds of a mass planting option like new SunPatiens® Vigorous Red, the fun, flashy Labella® Grande Red stand off against the coppery-brown colour of Rodgersia Bronze Peacock or sculptural shapes of stunning perennial, Sempervivum Ruby Hearts.Alternatively, the tropical burnt orange hues of trailing Begonia Illumination F1 Golden Picotee work confidently with berry shades like Alyssum Easter Bonnet Violet. This bold colour effect could also be achieved using a mix option like Gazania Kiss F1 Mix. These plants lift the spirits considerably.

14 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

PAG E NAME

Grow yourself

healthy

14 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk |

GARDENING IS GOOD FOR YOU!JANUARY

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.

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GA R D ENING IS GOOD FOR YOU!

R esearch from around the world has confirmed something many gardeners already know – gardening

really is good for you!Both gardens and gardening bring

benefits to our physical and mental health, from providing exercise and keeping us active and fit, to getting us outside and connecting with plants, soil, and the natural world around us.

Gardens are great places to relax, and just being in or looking out onto gardens and green spaces has been shown to relieve stress, improving wellbeing and creativity. By creating a beautiful garden outside your own back door you’ll have a personal sanctuary to step out into, and somewhere to grow healthy food, welcome in wildlife, and spend time with family and friends.

Gardening is a creative, rewarding and productive pastime, with opportunities to learn new skills, find out about exciting new plants, share ideas and make new friends. All these have a positive and restorative effect on mental and physical health, keeping mind and body active, whatever your age.

In fact, gardening could be described as the Natural Health Service, as doctors recognise the numerous benefits gardening brings without the need for costly therapies and drugs, with their unwelcome side effects.

For instance, eating well can start by growing your own organic homegrown crops – all part of the ‘5 a day’ we all need to provide nutrients, health-boosting vitamins and minerals, and essential phytochemicals that help protect our bodies against disease. Herbs not only add wonderful flavours to our home cooking and teas, but bring many health benefits too.

Crops can be grown in even the smallest of spaces, providing the reward of picking fresh produce you’ve raised yourself. Combine these with colourful plants and fragrant flowers and any outdoor space will be transformed, giving you somewhere relaxing to sit or a vibrant space to socialise and entertain with family and friends.Month-by-month the HTA’s ‘Gardening Is Good For You’ campaign will explore many of the benefits of gardens and gardening to our health and wellbeing. They’ll also feature topical gardening activities and ‘Plants of the Moment’ to help create rewarding gardens for work, rest and play.

DID YOU KNOW?By choosing the right plants we can design gardens that encourage birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife to drop in for food, water and shelter, or even take up residence. Developing an all-year-round wildlife-friendly garden satisfies our own creativity and feeling of achievement, bringing us outside and closer to nature to reduce stress and improve our wellbeing. Contact with plants and the soil also enhances our health and boosts the immune system, too.

PLANTS OF THE MOMENT: YEAR-ROUND COLOUR & INTERESTBy creating a garden that looks great all-year-round you’ll not only have a beautiful outlook but more opportunities to be tempted outside throughout the year to stay active and grow yourself healthy.

To give your garden structure and form choose plants that offer more than one season of interest. In particular, pick evergreen plants and architectural shrubs with green, coloured or variegated foliage that also produce seasonal flowers, and perhaps fruits or berries too.

Plant these to form the backbone to your garden, giving it structure, and adding height at the back of borders. Use their bold shapes and sizes to obscure eyesores and cover boring fences, cut down noise from roads and neighbours, and create a sense of privacy and seclusion.

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 at #GIGFYFor further information contact media.office@hta.org.uk

DOWNLOAD THE GIGFY MEDIA

15| www.hta.org.uk | July / August 2018

PLANT SUGGESTIONS:Any plants that provide year-round colour and interest eg

Choisya eg ‘Sundance’ AGM, ‘Aztec Pearl’ AGM

Hebe ‘Red Edge’ AGM

Skimmia x confusa ‘Kew Green’ AGM

Skimmia japonica ‘Fragrans’ AGM

Photinia eg ‘Red Robin’ AGM

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ AGM

Japanese spotted laurel - Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’ AGM

Osmanthus x burkwoodii AGM

Elaeagnus x submacrophylla ‘Limelight’

Euonymus, Pieris, etc, etc.

16 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

L A ND SCAPER NEWS

T he APL Annual Review Meeting took place on Tuesday 20 November at FutureScapes, Sandown Racecourse, Escher. Chairing the meeting was Rod Winrow, who was officially sworn in as APL Chairman, and who thanked the committee for all their hard work

over the year. Rod commented on how it has been a fantastic year for the APL, which has improved in many ways. Membership continues to grow, whilst the committee have also made a conscious decision to focus on the quality of members rather than quantity.

The APL will be reviewing the inspection process next year. The new John Lewis partnership means that the quality of the vetting process needs to be consistent across the membership.

The APL Apprenticeship scheme continues to develop, and more industry companies and professionals engaged with the scheme than ever. Students now have the opportunity to develop with many different skills throughout the scheme, away from the traditional apprenticeship schemes offered for landscaping.

Initiatives such as APL WorldSkills UK, APL Avenue and the Young Landscaper of the Year competition at BBC Gardeners’ World Live have continued to flourish in 2018, and APL Members have also had huge medal success throughout the year at RHS and many other shows. The BBC Gardeners’ World Live Young Landscaper of the Year competition gained a lot of publicity in particular, catching the attention of Adam Frost and getting coverage on the BBC.

The APL Business Development programme has had two successful rounds of cohorts who have found the programme extremely beneficial in developing their business. Due to this success there will be a third round of the programme held at the beginning of 2019. There will also be a new Business Café, which will allow participants to meet with a range of experts and discuss business issues in an informal round table environment. APL Cluster Meetings also continue to take place around the country, and in 2019 the APL hopes to have quarterly schedules in place of where these will be happening.

The John Lewis Home Solutions team were also at the Annual Review Meeting to discuss the scheme in more detail. The scheme has been live for 18 months after first launching with a trial in Milton Keynes, after which conversations started with Phil regarding the partnership. As John Lewis is known for quality, the partnership with an association such as the APL and its vetting for membership, was the perfect vehicle for them to be able to ensure high quality work and support growth. 2019 will see further development of the Home Solutions scheme and the trade platform, with the scheme launching in Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Essex and Surrey. For more information on the scheme, visit https://homesolutions.johnlewis.com/trades/

APL Annual Review 2018Phil Tremayne then lead the proceedings for new members joining the APL Committee. With several new members joining the committee, and more joining as a non-executive role, the committee members are now:

Committee:Rod Winrow - Chairman – Garden House Design

David Sewell – Vice-Chairman – The Gardenmakers

Paul Baker – Holland Landscapes

Andrew Ball – Big Fish Landscapes

Ross Conquest – CONQUEST Creative Spaces

Karl Harrison – Exterior Solutions Ltd

Ramon Lawal - Outdoor Creations

Steve Moody – Frogheath Landscapes

Hilary Oakley – Oakley Landscapes Ltd

David Strows – Artform Landscapes

Holly Youde – Urban Landscape Design

Non-Exec Roles:Noel Brock – Frognal Gardens

Claudia De Yong - Claudia De Yong Designs

Roger Gladwell – R G Landscape & Construction Ltd

Mike Long - J Winter Landscapes Ltd

Craig McGibbon - Craig McGibbon Ltd

Paul Newman - Paul Newman Landscapes

James Steele-Sergeant – Arun Landscapes

Mark Youde - Urban Landscape Design

17| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019Find us on Facebook

L A ND SCAPER NEWS

T he shortlist for the APL Awards 2019 has been announced! With the standard of entries always

improving year on year, choosing the shortlist was harder than ever for our judging panel.

On the judging panel were industry experts: Richard Barnard as chief judge, Bob Sweet, Steve Smith, Robin Templar-Williams, Rupert Keys and APL General Manager, Phil Tremayne.

The annual awards ceremony, sponsored by Bradstone, takes place on Friday 15 March 2019 at The Brewery, London, to celebrate and recognise the outstanding landscaping carried out by members of the APL. Book your place at www.aplawards.co.uk/book-your-seat

The finalists are:PROJECT VALUE UNDER £20,000 Brockstone Landscape Construction, CastlefieldsCONQUEST Creative Spaces, The Boundary's GardenFrogheath Landscapes, New Build, BurwashHabitat Landscapes Ltd, Hot tub room Habitat Landscapes Ltd, The Pocket CourtyardThe Garden Builders, Vauxhall garden - Ravensdon road

PROJECT VALUE £20,000 - £35,000Sponsored by CitationBushy Business Ltd, The Cutting GardenCONQUEST Creative Spaces, The VikingHabitat Landscapes Ltd, Gabion GardenHolland Landscapes, Roman RoadLimebok Landscaping Ltd, Chaucer CloseOakley Landscapes, Paradise in Ealing

PROJECT VALUE £35,000 - £60,000 Sponsored by Home Solutions from John LewisBrockstone Construction, Urban OasisBushy Business Ltd, The Kitchen GardenCONQUEST Creative Spaces, The RidingsEaglestone Landscape Design, ApplethatchFrogheath Landscapes, Courtyard Garden, MayfieldGreenBird Gardening Ltd, Contemporary Somerset Coastal RetreatHabitat Landscapes Ltd, Urban FlowSimply Green Landscapes, MorrowSimply Green Landscapes, Waylands HouseStewart Landscape Construction Limited, Wivenhoe GardenThe Garden Builders, Clancarty Road

PROJECT VALUE £60,000 - £100,000Artisan Landscapes, College Fields

APL Awards 2018 – The shortlist…DBM Landscapes Ltd, Royal Oak CornerDesigns by Sussex Landscape, HeathersFrogheath Landscapes, Spiritual retreat, LewesHabitat Landscapes Ltd, Hill Farm HouseHolland Landscapes, Hyde CottageLandscapes 4 Living Ltd, SkyfallStone and Leaf, Bridge the terraceStone and Leaf, Crouch End GardenThe Garden Builders, Bermondsey Roof TerraceThe Garden Builders, Penthouse Roof Terrace in Imperial CourtThe Landscape Company (UK) Ltd, Modern Living in Mere

PROJECT VALUE £100,000 - £200,000Artisan Landscapes, RidgeviewThe Garden Builders, Surbiton Garden

HARD LANDSCAPINGSponsored by BradstoneAura Landscapes Ltd, Tarrant Keyneston HouseBrockstone Landscape Construction, SunnygateCONQUEST Creative Spaces, The RidingsOakley Landscapes, Paradise in EalingStone and Leaf, Granite terraces

SOFT LANDSCAPINGSponsored by Classiflora ZelariEaglestone Landscape Design, ApplethatchHabitat Landscapes Ltd, Hill farm houseKingston Landscape Group Ltd, Colindale GardensKingston Landscape Group Ltd, Streatham HillStewart Landscape Construction Limited, Buddhist Centre

OVERALL DESIGN AND BUILDSponsored by Green-techBrockstone Landscape Construction, Urban OasisEaglestone Landscape Design, ApplethatchPapillon Designs and Landscaping Ltd, Working with Nature in BallaterThe Garden Builders, Roof terrace on the river

GARDEN FEATUREEarth Designs, Modern Garden Design in Walthamstow

Frogheath Landscapes, Perch HillHabitat Landscapes Ltd, Urban FlowInsideOut Home and Garden Improvements Ltd, The Cabin

COMMERCIAL GARDENSponsored by Boughton LoamKingston Landscape Group Ltd, Colindale Gardens Kingston Landscape Group Ltd, Streatham HillStewart Landscape Construction Limited, Global Growth Vegetable GardenThe Garden Builders, Roof terrace on the river

COMMUNITY GARDENKingston Landscape Group Ltd, Abraham Cowley Unit (ACU) Therapy Garden, St Peter's ChertseyRG Landscape Design and Construction Ltd, Aldeburgh Hospital

APL DESIGNER OF THE YEARSponsored by ecodekAralia Gardens Limited, Viburnum GateArbour Landscape Solutions, Oakridge Avenue, RadlettParme Garden Design, Daisy BarnSue Gilbert Gardens by Design, Urban FlowSilver Flowe Design, Contemporary Garden Edinburgh

Additional awards on the day will include the APL Rising Star, sponsored by Fresh Horticultural Careers, Newcomer of the Year sponsored by Makita, and APL Supplier of the Year.

To book and for more information about the finalists visit www.aplawards.co.uk

The APL Awards are sponsored by: Bradstone, Boughton Loam, Citation, Classiflora Zelari, Easigrass, ecodek, Fresh Horticultural Careers, Global Stone and Kebur Garden Materials, Green-Tech, Home Solutions from John Lewis, Kebur Garden Materials and Makita

If you would like to discuss any additional opportunities to be involved in the event you can contact Tim Bell in our commercial team - 07808 775 177 or email tim.bell@hta.org.uk

18 July / August 2018 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

L A ND SCAPER NEWS

Matthew Wood is named APL WorldSkills UK Champion

M atthew Wood, Apprentice at Myerscough College, took home the Gold at the APL WorldSkills final!

Sam Gordon, The Gardenmakers and APL Apprentice, took home the Silver, with Reece McKay from CAFRE taking the Bronze.

The APL WorldSkills final took place from 15-17 November at WorldSkills UK LIVE held at the Birmingham NEC in front of over 100,000 visitors over the three days. The first of four days was a training and familiarisation day, then the competitors had 16 hours to individually build a garden from scratch designed by head judge and APL General Manager, Phil Tremayne.

This year’s competitors were Brian Hughes, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Reece McKay, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Matthew Wood, Myerscough College, Sam Gordon, The Gardenmakers, Connor Pegler, Warwickshire College and Douglas Beck, Wiltshire College.

During the final competitors were marked on elements such as paving including recessed drain cover detail and block paving provided by Marshalls, decking and fencing using EcoDek composite decking, planting with plants provided by J A Jones, lighting provided by Landscapeplus, health

and safety and the overall appearance of the garden. The final also included a plant ident created by North West based nurseries J A Jones, designed to test the competitors plant knowledge.

Judges for the competition included Head Judge Phil Tremayne, APL General Manager, Steve Smith of Shore Landscapes, and 2011 WorldSkills UK Silver medal winner and International training manager, Simon Abbott.

The APL also hosted the Horticulture Inclusive Skills competition on the Saturday of the show. Inclusive Skills Competitions enable young people with learning difficulties and disabilities to showcase their work skills and growing independence. The competitors were tasked with planting houseplant baskets, which they designed and planted themselves. The competition was once again a great success, and as of next year the Inclusive Skills competitions are being fully integrated into the show. Many thanks to Flowervision Birmingham for the plants supplied.

The APL would like to thank sponsors EcoDek, J A Jones, Landscapeplus, Makita and Marshalls for their support of the competition, without whom this would not be possible.

APL WorldSkills UK 2019 opens for entries in March, but you can register your interest now at www.worldskillsuk.org/champions/national-skills-competitions/express-your-interest-in-worldskills-uk-competitions-2019

For more information about the WorldSkills UK and what they do, visit www.worldskillsuk.org/

19| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019Find us on Facebook

A DV E RTORIAL

R unning a business has many challenges. There’s just so much to keep on top of. If only you had to focus on just one thing. There’s the sales hat, the finance hat, the smile and be polite

hat; even the tea making hat. Let’s not even mention the tax hat. Oops, we did. Sorry. As you will no doubt know, it’s a lot of pressure to put on your head.

At HTA Savings & Loans by Bira bank we are all about supporting members to run their business as efficiently and profitably as possible, and this is what guides our products and service. Our new

New year new growth

equipment loans follow these basic principles, aiming to relieve much of the finance pressure. To help support our members, we’ve moved our lending rates down, to give members an even more competitive rate. So, right now, it’s more cost-effective than ever to take advantage of our loans. Interest rates for equipment loans for between 1 and 3 years are just 3.3% (6.4% APR), and for anything above this and up to 5 years just 3.7% (7.2% APR).Equipment loans are also a great way for businesses to manage their cash flow. Just think about it. Your equipment is going to last you for years, but that doesn’t mean you want to pay for all those years up front. You want the advantage that new equipment brings in helping your business to grow, without the disadvantage of seeing lots of your hard-earned money fly out the door all at once.

So, whether you’re planning an entire refit, developing a demo area, investing in a new piece of equipment, or simply want to update some of your other equipment, a HTA Savings & Loans equipment loan by Bira bank could help you get the most from your plans. And, as with every single one of our loans, there are no admin or arrangements fees and you can even pay the loan off early without penalty.

19| www.hta.org.uk | July / August 2018

20 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

M A R KET INFORMATION

The importance of ornamental horticulture in the UKOrnamental horticulture and landscaping in the UK made an estimated £24.2billion contribution to national GDP in 2017. Meanwhile, it supported around 568,700 jobs across the country. This is equivalent to 1 in every 62 jobs! Aside from economics, gardening and green spaces have also been shown to be remarkably beneficial to individual health and wellbeing.

As an industry we’re aware of the immense benefits that horticulture delivers to people and the economy alike. But until recently, the industry has struggled to attach figures to this, with horticulture making up a small part of retail, a small part of agriculture, a small part of tourism, etc.

What’s been happening?The HTA, as part of the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group, has been working with industry partners and Oxford Economics to produce the first ever report providing a comprehensive assessment of the many ways that horticulture boosts the UK’s economy.

Here we discuss some of the report’s key findings.

UK ornamental horticulture and landscaping contributed £24.2billion to national GDP in 2017

Around 568,700 jobs across the country were supported by ornamental horticulture in 2017 – this is equivalent to 1 in every 62 jobs in the UK!

£5.4billion in tax revenues were attributed to ornamental horticulture in 2017

Garden tourism accounted for £2.9billion of the sector’s GDP contribution

An estimated £131billion is added to the value of the UK’s housing stock by the presence and proximity of natural features

‘Consequential’ impacts of horticultureThe report also extends to describe the wealth of benefits provided for physical and mental health, social and environmental issues, and the economic value as a result.

▶ 25million people in England make weekly leisure visits to natural environments (such as parks, gardens etc.), driving tourism spend and physical health benefits

▶ Half of UK adults take part in gardening, an accessible pastime for all income groups. This proportion and value rises with age, as gardens provide a focus in later life as well as opportunities to learn and ease social isolation

▶ Gardening in schools helps to enhance numeracy and literacy, develop fine motor skills and encourage healthy food choices

▶ Weekly use of domestic gardens is suggested to facilitate between £4.1billion and £13.8billion worth in national health and wellbeing benefits

▶ In 2016, urban green spaces reduced average temperatures in the UK’s major cities by 0.63-0.88⁰C

▶ The UK’s vegetation removed 25.5million tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere in 2015, a service worth more than £1.5billion

This article covers just a snippet of the fantastic insights generated by the report, which aims to gain the attention of government and media, and ensure that government and policy-makers take account of the needs of UK horticulture when forming and implementing policy.

To view the full report go to: hta.org.uk/marketinformation

Source: The Economic Impact of Ornamental Horticulture and Landscaping in the UK: An independent report by Oxford Economics for the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group, 2018

21| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019Find us on Facebook

G IFTING

New year new cheerGetting the most out of garden gifting

T he HTA’s National Garden Gift Voucher scheme is the UK’s longest running garden promotion. It drives around two million visits to garden centres every year to either buy or

spend the vouchers and gift cards. 2018 was a busy year for the scheme with improvements such

as the new rebranding. All of this is only possible based on your feedback, for which we thank you. As ever we’re committed to make the schemes work even harder for you in 2019. Read on to find out what’s in store for this year…

New look for VouchersAs part of lifting the visual appeal of the National Garden Gift Voucher scheme, the vouchers have had a facelift. You will notice these coming into circulation over the coming months. They work in exactly the same way as the previous vouchers and you don’t need to do anything differently when selling or redeeming.

National Children’s Gardening Week 2019This year’s National Children’s Gardening week will take place between 25 May and 2 June. As before, we’re using the National Garden Gift Voucher scheme to support the initiative and promote gardening to the public. The week is all about having fun in the garden and promoting gardening to young families and schools. There will be many ways you can get involved, whether through tapping into the media and social media activity or running your own events in store. Expect to hear from us in the coming weeks with more information on how to promote your business through the campaign.

From March there will be kids gardening projects to share on Facebook leading up to the National Children’s Gardening Week itself; sharing the projects is a great way to inspire your customers and raise your business’ profile on social media; what’s more it’s all free. More information will follow but for now please put the date in your diaries. For more information, details and resources visit: hta.org.uk/ncgw

The Gardening Hero schemeWe’d like to do more to recognise the good work that

goes on in the garden trade to support gardening and gardening good causes in the community. The new Gardening Hero initiative recognises employees

within horticulture for all the hard work they do in this respect. Perhaps you have colleagues who volunteer in

community or school gardening projects, or maybe they fundraise or support a gardening charity. It’s people like these who go above and beyond in supporting gardening or gardening good causes that we want to recognise.

Each gardening hero is awarded with £50 of National Garden Gift vouchers as well as receiving a Gardening Hero badge to wear. If you’d like to nominate your Gardening Hero you can do so by visiting hta.org.uk/gardening-hero

Winners announced: National Garden Gift Voucher Photography competitionThe National Garden Gift Voucher photography competition 2018 has concluded and the winners have been chosen – thanks very much to those of you who voted.

With huge support from garden retailers across the country, there were over 1,600 entries, proving a challenge for the judges to pick from the many spectacular, bright and fun photos. A selection of the images will feature on the front of the National Garden Gift Voucher wallets and gift cards in 2019. With the images all having been taken by the public and voted for by the trade, they are sure to appeal. All winners and highly commended entries can be viewed at: hta.org.uk/photo2018

Support Your Gardening Community

Overall winner (chosen by you)Overall Winner: Louise Russell

Bampton Garden Plants

Winner: Chris Mills

Hodge Hill Nurseries

Winner: Chris Mills

Hodge Hill Nurseries

Winner: Chris Mills

Hodge Hill Nurseries

Winner: Chris Mills

Hodge Hill Nurseries

Winner: Stuart Griffin

Glendoick Garden Centre

Winner: Julianne Robertson

Glendoick Garden Centre

Winner: Haley Redshaw

Lintzford Garden Centre

Winner: Haley Redshaw

Lintzford Garden Centre

Winner: Louise Russell

Bampton Garden Plants

= Favourite Garden Centre

E V E NT REPORT

HTA Marketing & Market Insights manager, Dave Denny, opened the day by giving an overview of how 2018 has played out so far within the industry, with the freezing start to the year and then moving onto a baking hot summer. He discussed how Brexit poses uncertainty in consumer confidence, and the near certain disparing tone in the media will only increase this.

Xylella could be hugely disruptive if it comes into the country. Ferndale Garden Centre have been proactive in educating their customers about the risks of Xylella and not bringing plants back from holidays. 

Ken Hughes, consumer shopper behaviouralist, then joined us to discuss ‘Is your Supply Chain Millennial ready?’. He posed the question of ‘What lies ahead?’ The pace of change at the moment is so disruptive that this is always a hard question to answer. There are six generations of consumers walking through the doors at any one time. Ken defined for the audience the difference in Babyboomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z, and gave the example of how the music industry has changed for each of these generations. The way that this has changed should be no different to how you should approach your retail strategies.

Personalisation is more important than ever, and consumers want content that is personalised exclusively to them. Never treat your customer like a transaction. Make them feel like what you are offering them is made exclusively for them.

Global consumer culture and futures analyser, Will Seymour, He covered ‘How is technology in the home, in the retail environment, and in the consumer’s hand changing expectations of shopping?’. A lot of the things that retailers are doing don’t expect a ROI, but instead are marketing and PR strategies. Engaging with latest haptic technology can take AR campaigns to the next level of interactivity.

The path to purchase is different for everyone now. People want to spend more time on this to make sure they make the right purchase. Visual searches are also becoming more important.

Trewin Restorick¸ founder of Global Action Plan and founding CEO of Hubbub, a charity that makes environmental issues fun, talked about sustainability and business inspiration in a new era of sustainability. As part of the garden industry, although it means there will be more scrutiny about what businesses do, it does also mean that you are at the forefront of what can be done in the world of sustainability. Hubbub

focuses on Food, Fashion, Homes and Neighbourhoods and making the

public interested in the environment through these key four topics. There was then a ‘Plastics in Horticulture Panel’ session, with panellists including David Chilvers (The Bransford Webbs Plant Company), Andy

Merrick (Farplants), Adam Wigglesworth (Aylett

Nurseries), Mark Portman (Evergreen Gardencare) and Nick

Mathias (Floramedia). Discussing their thoughts on the issue of plastics, Adam Wigglesworth said that the biggest

Cultivating Retail, a joint conference held by GIMA and the HTA, took place on 13 November at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham. The day was hosted by Channel 4’s Cathy Newman, and gave retailers and suppliers of all sizes a great insight into upcoming trends, how to target millennials and Generation Z, and also how to improve the retail supply chain.

22 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

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E V ENT REPORT

challenge that they face is the fact that the issue is so much bigger than they are. Nick said he believes that collaboration will be key to tackling the issues and the label and pot producers can help find the answer by talking to each other. Mark believes it is about finding the best alternatives available, especially when it comes to growing media packaging. Andy has said that they have already started on the journey but disposing and recycling is most important to highlight where this can be done.

Paul Pegg, Supply chain expert and Operations Director for Reynolds CS, then continued the afternoon discussing optimising the retailer/supplier relationship. The points he covered were:

• Some of the challenges in the supplier and retailer relationship include seasonality, transport costs & driver availability.

• Some of the challenges in the food service industry include food safety, traceability and security, shelf life, nutritional information.

• Trends in food service - customers – de-skilling, customer time, sustainability and localising.

• Assisting in store

• Logistics efficiencies

• Sustainability

• Technology

• And in the future… - connectivity, robotics & autonomous.

 There was then another head to head panel session including retailers and suppliers discussing the supply-chain issues. This included panellists  Adrian Davey (Hozelock),  Keith Nicholson (Westland Horticulture), Caroline Owen (Scotsdales), David Hibbert (Stax Trade Centres) and Boyd Douglas-Davies (Hillview Garden Centres). Caroline says that sharing in data and data management is vital in keeping the supply chain running smoothly, and David agrees with this. Emailing invoices is also important so that they can be received in real time and there is no chance of them being lost in the post. David also mentioned how there are still issues within the industry regarding how the orders are received. Keith however backed the industry to argue that an order is an order, no matter how it is received, and the way that the customer wants to handle theirs orders should be respected.

Claire Harper, leading business figure, then ran the promoting your business session on how to surprise and delighting customers.The three points she wanted the audience to take away were:

• Knowing your customer, Research the market, Go above and beyond

• Your colleagues are the heartbeat of your business and make your business a success

• Your brand – you must be passionate, protect, and have a clear mission, vision and values of your brand

Listen to your colleagues and make sure they are feeling valued, empowered, and a vital part of your business.

You have the great opportunity that a family can come into your destination store, instead of a shopping centre, and have a day out as a family.

Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond Group, closed the day covering ‘Style, Emotion and Innovation for the Home and Garden’. He covered the traits that are needed for success which included:

• Have a winning mentality – be demanding, relentless and challenging. This doesn’t have to be in a negative or a bad way, but you need to have the drive to succeed.

• Strategic nous – common sense. Understand retail is a challenging environment and its evolution is faced paced.

• Low ego. Ego is made up of the following traits. Self-esteem - good. Self-importance – bad.

• High EQ (emotional intelligence) – Develop a relationship with your team and your customer. A strong customer connection is vital.

The day was then topped off with a fantastic dinner where Adam Taylor, HTA President, discussed the presentation of the Pearson Memorial Medal to Baroness Fookes. Greenfingers Ambassador, John Ashley, then discussed the current and upcoming projects for Greenfingers, also thanking the industry for their ongoing support. Rounding up the evening, GIMA President Richard Pyrah, then introduced James Golding, who gave a compelling, honest and uplifting talk of this life experiences and motivations. He finished his speech declaring how he was going to win the Race Across America; we wish him the very best of luck!

Many thanks to the Cultivating Retail sponsors, Evergreen Garden Care, Glee, Dura-ID Horticulture, Hozelock,  MorePeople, Stihl, Swan, Corby & Fellas, Smart Garden Products and Lechuza.

24 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

A DV ERTORIAL

E stablished in 1649 as an ironworks in a small Finnish village, Fiskars has grown to be a leading consumer goods company with globally recognised brands such as Fiskars, Gerber, Iittala,

Wedgwood and Waterford, as well as the ever-popular Kitchen Devils brand here in the UK. Selling products in over 100 countries, the company employs around 8,600 people in more than 30 countries. With iconic products, strong brands and global ambitions, Fiskars’ mission is to enrich people’s lives in the home, garden and outdoors, making the everyday extraordinary.

The New Year will see Fiskars launching new products and executing attractive sell-out activities. Spring 2019 sees the launch of their latest campaign “0% Stress, 100% Happiness” where Fiskars will guarantee the end user 100% happiness with their Fiskars purchase from participating retailers, or their money back.

Fiskars strength lies in the ability to communicate the value and premium quality of its products through brand building activities that focus on innovation and functional design at an attractive price point for the consumer. Fiskars invented the first ever plastic handled scissors back in 1967, the iconic orange handles have since become synonymous with the brand and have sold more than 1 billion pairs, making them the world’s best-selling scissors.

With over 365 years of experience in the development of cutting tools and products that are ergonomically designed to make the everyday extraordinary, be it gardening, cooking, creating or enjoying the great outdoors, Fiskars ambition in the UK is to expand its presence with intelligent in-store concepts, attractive promotions for consumers, innovative new products and excellent customer services, sales and marketing support.

25Find us on Facebook www.hta.org.uk | January 2019

E V ENTS

Healthy plants, Healthy business

I n association with APHA, this month we are hosting an essential one-day conference, ‘Healthy Plants, Healthy Business’, for anyone involved in the production, trading and retailing of plants.

The event takes place on Tuesday 29 January 2019 at Horticulture House in Oxfordshire and is aimed at growers and their customers (retailers, landscapers and garden designers, architects and public procurement) and key stakeholders.

Speakers include:

Lord Gardiner, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity

Professor Nicola Spence, Defra’s Chief Plant Health Officer

Derek Grove, APHA Plant & Bee Health EU exit manager

Alistair Yeomans, HTA Horticulture Manager.

Nursery Supply Show finds a new home at Stoneleigh Park

T he HTA Nursery Supply Show, sponsored by ICL, is moving to a bigger and more easily accessible home at Stoneleigh Park in Hall 1, directly connected to the HTA National Plant Show.

After listening to members and requirements from the industry, the show has moved halls to give more space for development, and ease access and flow of visitors between the National Plant Show and the Nursery Supply Show. The shows take place on 18 and 19 June 2019.

The HTA National Plant Show will also be celebrating its 10th year in 2019, so keep an eye out for the announcement of many exciting things to take place throughout the show.

If you would like to book a stand or register for free as a visitor, please visit – www.nationalplantshow.co.uk or www.nurserysupplyshow.co.uk Or contact the events team for more information events@hta.org.uk

The event will provide a great opportunity to ensure that your business is equipped with the latest information on plant health matters. The agenda includes information on cross-sector initiatives aimed at protecting UK biosecurity and the launch of ‘Plant Healthy’, a new self-assessment tool for any business to calculate how biosecure its production and sourcing systems are.

Key topics to be covered include:

• Current plant health situation• Plant Health Biosecurity Alliance• Plant Health Management Standard• Plant Healthy self-assessment• Plant importing post-Brexit

To book your place visit www.hta.org.uk/planthealth

nationalplantshow.co.uk | nurserysupplyshow.co.uk

I nterest in gardening, lifestyle, health and wellbeing is increasing and as a result these are popular topics for the media as consumers

strive to create their own ‘Healthy Habitats’ in the home and garden.

Make sure you are part of the 2019 garden industry story by booking your stand at the Garden Press Event 2019. Returning to the Business Design Centre in London on Wednesday 27 February 2019 this unique event brings together the garden media, suppliers and organisations from across the garden industry.

Organised by the HTA and GIMA, the Garden Press Event provides the opportunity for businesses to showcase their new products, themes and innovations to the media ahead of the 2019 gardening season.

For further information about booking a stand and/or sponsorship opportunities please email events@gardenpressevent.co.uk or visit www.gardenpressevent.co.uk Members of the media can register to attend in advance at www.gardenpressevent.co.uk On Twitter follow us @grdenpressevent

Play your part in the 2019 garden industry story Book now for the Garden Press Event 2019

26 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

FO CUS ON

Using events to drive footfallWith online shopping becoming ever more dominant in the retail world, garden centres are having to work harder to make themselves a shopping destination of choice and bring customers into their centres. One way many garden centres do this is through events. Here we look at two Scottish centres and how they take different approaches to hosting their own events and maximising on events in their local area.

Ashbrook Nursery

I n this ever-changing world no business can afford to stand still: the difficult bit is deciding in which direction to move.

Ashbrook Nursery & Garden Centre has evolved from a wholesale nursery growing cut flowers and bedding plants for local shops and garden centres. After relocating to the current site in 2000, the opportunity arose to develop their own retail outlet and Ashbrook now offers for sale a huge variety of bedding and patio plants, alpines and herbaceous perennials, most of which are grown onsite.

Nurseries offering just plants for sale are hugely dependent upon the weather. To ‘weather proof’ the business and to expand their customer base, Ashbrook Nursery has decided to evolve further by developing a catering offering. To help fund this expansion, they applied for a LEADER grant (a programme which supports Scottish Rural development). The LEADER requirement for Community engagement is

something that fits well with operations at Ashbrook Nursery. The nursery is currently involved with many local community groups, helping them with planted displays, sourcing plants for renovation projects, and fundraising. Educational visits by schools and the local college are also encouraged and the staff are often ‘out and about’ giving talks to local W.I.’s and other societies.

The Ashbrook team enjoy putting on plant displays, using the great variety of plant material grown at the nursery to good effect. The Dundee Flower and Food Festival is a particular highlight. Displays depicting Narnia, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and a Funfair with a working Ferris wheel have attracted great interest. Such publicity is good for business, but one of the reasons for taking part is how much the team enjoys them. It is a great way for all to work together, each member of staff contributing in a unique way, and together

producing something that they can all be proud of!

Events on site also involve a lot of teamwork. Ashbrook has been involved with the Scottish Garden Scheme organising nursery tours. A Family Fun Day is generally held in August to kick off the summer sale, and at Christmas Santa comes in a pony and cart. These are charitable events raising funds for various local community groups and are a great way to get extra folk involved - helping with the ‘Pop-Up café’ and manning stalls. Live music is an integral part of all these events and gives youngsters an opportunity to showcase their talents and to get experience performing.

It is hoped that the café development will allow diversification of such events to include, for example, evening workshops and nursery visits by gardening groups, the aim being to extend the season and to broaden the customer base.

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FO CUS ON

Brechin Castle CentreBrechin Castle Centre is part of Dalhousie Estates. The business was originally established as part of the Estate diversification. The Centre lies within a 70 acre country park.

O riginally, the park was developed as a working farm park, with various rare breeds, and educational

interpretation boards. School visits were very popular, however after the outbreak of foot and mouth, and bird flu, and various safety changes, the school visits diminished.

In order to keep the park a popular destination for customers and visitors, the Centre installed jumping pillows, and various

outdoor play elements, including a courtyard housing pedal tractors, a sand pit and go karts.

A variety of events are held throughout the year, family fun days, birds of prey demonstrations, chainsaw carving, dog agility shows and various seasonal events.

Brechin Castle Centre are further developing the park in 2019, by installing a Fairy/ environmental Trail, a wooden maze, a catering facility, and various other additions to the already popular park.

The hope is that by having more of a play offer in the park, the need will be less for big one off events, and a more manageable constant flow of visitors, instead of dealing with the unexpected numbers on event days.

The Centre has also recently implemented LED lighting, with solar panel installation taking place in January 2019, as well as electric car charging points

Sharing is caring!We are always on the lookout for great stories about what our members are up to – especially the smaller and more remote businesses that we often don’t hear about. So, if you have an interesting tale about your approach to driving footfall, unusual event to attract new audiences or overcoming a business challenge please contact us at media.office@hta.org.uk

28 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

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30 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

For over 20 years Aeroplas has been at the forefront of the thermoplastic

injection moulding industry. Trading since 1978 the company has a turnover in excess of £10 million, employing 70 plus full time staff at its 7.5-acre site in the West Midlands.

Thrust into the limelight on a Gardener’s World episode back in September 2018, Aeroplas is now firmly on the industry radar as the origin and inventor of the new, recyclable, taupe flowerpot. But there’s much more to this innovative business than meets the eye.“We are specialists of thin wall fast cycle time polypropylene injection moulding,” explains Alex Everett – Sales & New Product Development Manager. “That lends itself perfectly to the production of plastic pots.”

EYES

Closed loop recycling

P lastic plant pots aren’t actually the problem. You might be surprised to learn that Aeroplas has always manufactured its pots from end of life products and that they are already manufactured from 98% recycled material. “We have never really shouted

about this, but our pots are made from car trim, dashboards and bumpers and our polystyrene bedding packs and carry trays have historically come from a mix of post industrial and post consumer products. What’s happening now is that the industry is pushing for primarily post consumer waste but it must be kerbside recyclable.” That means that it has to be carbon black pigment free for the NIR (near infra-red) sorting systems at the recycling centres.

“A black product is full of carbon black pigment and so it doesn’t reflect light and instead it absorbs any infrared light, so it doesn’t issue a signal back to the sorting system and effectively it falls off the end of the line and isn’t recycled. With our taupe pot there is no carbon black pigment so it will reflect the light, it basically notifies the system that it is a polypropylene product and it will be sorted and stands every chance of then being recycled. That means the consumer can put it into their kerb side recycling.”

But it’s the fate of the black plastic pots that needs highlighting. Just because they are not carbon black pigment free does not mean they can’t be recycled. “What’s been missed is that all of that is perfectly recyclable too, but it just can’t go through the kerb side collection system.”

Instead Aeroplas has an alternative recycling scheme that can take back all the used old plant pots and recycle them into new product. In essence any garden centre buying from growers using Aeroplas pots can have their plastic planters collected when their plants are delivered. These are then returned to Aeroplas for recycling and have another life as a product made from recycled plastic.

“The onus is on the growers and nurseries to make that small change, it can save a lot of plastic going into landfill. It’s exciting times. We are a UK manufacturer, using a UK waste stream and making kerb side recyclable product and if it’s not kerbside recyclable we offer a system that can recycle the black plastic product. We offer a full closed loop system that’s in big demand. Plastic in general is not the enemy. If you had a fully closed recycling loop you just wouldn’t get that kind of issues that we saw on BBC Blue Planet.”

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E Y E S ON

For more information contact Alex Everett AEverett@aeroplas.net 0121 522 3000.

Not just TaupeThe taupe pot project started in 2014. “We’ve used various organisations to help us on our journey, one of the key players has been a non-profit charitable organisation called RECOUP, whose expertise is recycling.

We trialled many different types of recycled polymer and during that period we got to learn how unique the UK recycling system is and the limitations of what it can and can’t do, which is how we have ended up with the carbon black pigment free product. RECOUP has done various tests and has independently verified that our product is NIR detectable and therefore will be recycled if collected kerbside.”

Aeroplas produces pots from 9cm up to 20-litre containers in the UK and every one of those products can potentially be manufactured as a taupe recyclable pot. “Lots of people are asking us, why taupe? We wanted a colour that was sympathetic to the many different plants that are grown but also that stands out and hasn’t been used before.

Taupe isn’t for everybody; we can offer virtually every other colour and we can even print on them.”

The taupe pots are made from 98% post consumer, UK sourced waste, which could be any polypropylene type product like yoghurt or margarine pots. “At the moment all the key growers around the country are looking at taupe, and many have already made the pledge to change.”

The Gardener’s World programme brought it to the attention of consumers. “It was watched by millions and the general public are now firmly aware of the taupe pot. The pots are in production now and will be available this coming spring.”

Free of charge recyclingBlack flowerpots can be recycled, just not through the council recycling schemes. But this message hasn’t been getting through. “There’s no reason why garden centres can’t put up signs that say that black pots are recyclable but that they have got to come back to store. Once the taupe starts coming through it’s then down to the consumer to get it recycled,” says Alex. “We offer a free of charge recycling scheme to all of our commercial growers. Effectively any grower that is dealing with us has the option of recycling waste product back with us. It’s a free service and we collect the old pots when we deliver the new. There are massive opportunities for the retailers to have conversations with their key suppliers. There may be ways that they can help garden centres to get back the product from the consumer and eventually back to the nurseries we deal with. Hillier Nurseries was the first UK nursery to fully switch to the taupe pots. Not every nursery necessarily wants to get involved in that, but there are mechanisms in place to get this material back to us for recycling. We embrace as much waste as we can get and it doesn’t all have to be Aeroplas pots.”

Aeroplas Eco Pot Range are suitable for kerbside recyclingAeroplas has long believed that their plant pot range should be included with kerbside collections. While 76% of Local Authorities collect pots, tubs and trays, * there are only a handful who collect plant pots.

To help move this forward, Aeroplas has worked with numerous raw material suppliers, to provide a range of colours which are Carbon free.

“Carbon absorbs Infra-Red from detection systems, hindering recycling”.

As a long-standing member of RECOUP, RECOUP were provided with samples of plant pots manufactured from 100% reprocessed carbon free PP for testing on NIR detection systems.

Tests were arranged at the high tech TOMRA testing centre in December 2017. The samples comprised of 8 different colours, including a carbon free black.  The samples were 100% correctly identified as Polypropylene.

RECOUP CEO Stuart Foster stated, “Tests show that this product, when empty, could successfully go into a kerb side collection, be sorted and recycled”.

Aeroplas Sales Manager Alex Everett stated “We have been working very hard to find materials which will allow us to offer packaging in a closed loop system of recycling, pots which would normally end up in landfill can now be successfully sorted and recycled”.

WRAP’s Plastic Specialist Bernard Chase said -“Creating a closed loop system for plastics is a great step forward for the horticultural industry and a huge opportunity for the recycling industry as well as a benefit for the environment. We are delighted to work with RECOUP and Aeroplas in collaboration here in the UK.

Aeroplas will continue to develop the Eco Range of pots over the coming months and are delighted that they can prove that not all plastic packaging should be seen in a negative light, developing closed loop recycling schemes enable us to utilise this great product over and over again.

32 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

TOP TIPS FOR THE MONTH

NU RS ERY NOTES

NURSERYnotes

• Get up-to-date with the latest EAMUs for the products you use by checking and downloading them from the CRD website at secure.pesticides.gov.uk/offlabels/search.asp.

• Stock up now on products containing diquat which have an end-sales date during May 2019. Use-up dates are longer and extend into 2020 but it would be worthwhile getting enough stock in for your requirements.

• Glufosinate-ammonium-based herbicides are now longer available to purchase. Use up by January 2020.

• Make sure spray equipment is re-calibrated and serviced now to include 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.

• Start putting together your 2019 Integrated Pest Management Plan. With many pesticide withdrawals on the cards, make sure you produce a focused programme with bio-pesticides and biological controls leading the control.

• Apply residual and contact herbicides now to dormant, tolerant stock to reduce weed emergence this spring. The number of suitable herbicides available in the growing season is quite restrictive in terms of crop tolerance and weed spectrum so the aim is to control as many weeds as possible now.

• A Withdrawal Notice has been issued for Chess WG (pymetrozine) with an end-sales date of 30 April 2019 and an end-use date of 30 January 2020. Get stocks while you can. This product works well on a range of sucking insects and has shown good results in a rotation for the control of vine weevil adults.

Field and Container Grown Crops

Azalea gall Check pot-thick plants with tight foliage. Cool, damp conditions can encourage gall production. Improve air flow and apply Signum (EAMU 2012-2141) at the first signs of this disease.

Biological controls Stop applying synthetic pyrethroids and other persistent pesticides (which includes some fungicides) if predators are to be applied from March onwards. These active ingredients will have a long, damaging effect on many biological control agents.

Botrytis Maintain ventilation in tunnels and glasshouses. Control infections using Captan 80WDG (EAMU 2015-1919). Serenade ASO (EAMUs required) is active down to 5ºC air temperature.

Drought Apply anti-transpirants to outdoor evergreen crops when clear, sunny days are forecast. This is especially important when compost is frozen and will prevent unnecessary moisture loss. Check evergreen crops under protection too.

Frost prevention Apply Compo Frost Protect or Cropaid to reduce the effects of very cold conditions on vulnerable growth. These are preventative products so need to be applied before heavy frosts are forecast for maximum effect.

Fogging Cold-fog in protected structures to keep water sitting on foliage and bare stems to a minimum. Apply in the morning to allow foliage time to dry off during the day. Do not spray frozen plants. Where necessary, use contact-acting products at this time of year for more effective control.

Green compost Applying PAS100 green compost as a mulch or incorporating it into soils will provide disease suppression, slow release of nutrients and moisture retention. Avoid applications to frozen or snow-covered land.

Heat treatments Using a hot water plant helps with re-using pots and trays. AHDB members can download factsheet 20/08 for construction details.

Herbicide applications Apply contact-acting herbicides such as Finalsan Plus, products containing diquat or glufosinate-ammonium or Shark (EAMUs required) over dormant field-grown herbaceous perennials to control annual (and some perennial) weeds. Residual herbicides including Artist, Chikara, Flexidor, Kerb Flo, Springbok (EAMUs required), Stomp 400SC (EAMU 2008-2923), Sumimax (EAMU 2008-2881), (Sunfire (EAMU 2017-1065), Sultan 50SC or Venzar 500 SC can be applied to established, woody crops in mild weather avoiding frost and applying before heavy rainfall to prevent herbicide washing into the root zone.

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notesWater houseplants in the morning to allow foliage to dry out during the day. Soft foliage along with cool, humid conditions can encourage Botrytis infections. Remove and dead or dying leaves too.

Avoid leaf damage and Botrytis in greenhouses by opening vents and doors at least once a day to change the air and reduce gas build-up especially in heated houses.

Promote horticultural fleece to help keep customers’ plants safe from sudden drops in overnight temperatures.

Bark and selected composts can act as a useful mulch over bulbs to stop them emerging too early.

Protect peaches, nectarines and apricots against peach leaf curl by constructing a shelter to cover vulnerable plants but also allowing air flow around the stems. There are no retail fungicides available to control this disease.

Get secateurs, gloves and other related pruning equipment on display for the fruit pruning season. Where appropriate, use a wound healing sealant such as Arbrex Seal n’ Heal which can be painted onto wounds at risk of disease attack. Grease bands can be applied to fruit tree trunks to prevent wingless female winter moths crawling up and laying their eggs on stems and around buds.

Use a leaf shine product on house plants this winter.

Bare-root trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials can still be planted if the ground is not frozen.

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33| www.hta.org.uk | July / August 2018

Goltix 70SC (EAMU 2015-1175) or glufosinate-ammonium will control pearlwort. Chikara and Sumimax work well on groundsel.

Pesticide review Check to make sure labels, MSDSs and EISs are relevant and include all the products bought this year. Use this information to produce realistic risk assessments. Go through your latest chemical store stock list and check on the CRD website www.secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pestreg/ProdSearch.asp to see whether products need off-label approvals (EAMUs), whether they are still approved and whether they are subject to LERAP restrictions. Print off and read EAMUs carefully prior to use at your risk – some have additional restrictions not listed on the product label. Products offered as substitutes or alternatives to your usual products should be approved for use in ornamental plant production on- or off-label. This is particularly important for those of you in quality assurance schemes. Some products are still approved for use under the Long-Term Arrangements scheme but this is rapidly coming to an end.

Slug pellets Applications should be maintained on Choisya to prevent small snail damage to the foliage. Check through www.getpelletwise.co.uk.

Water sensitive paper Use this specialist paper to check that pesticide applications are getting to the right target, especially lower foliage for leaf spots and spider mites. Attach pieces of water sensitive paper to the underside of leaves through a crop to see just how well the spray has reached the target.

34 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

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Taking stock with

Graha m R ic ha rd son GROUP MA N AG I NG DIRECTOR of Johns ons of Wh ixl e y

Each month an HTA member offers an insider’s view of the world of horticulture. We catch up with Graham Richardson, Group Managing Director of Johnsons of Whixley to get his expert industry opinion

If you would like to feature in a future Taking Stock please contact htanews@hta.org.uk

Johnsons of Whixley is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of landscape and garden trees and shrubs. We are a family-owned business which is now approaching its centenary year (in 2021).

www.nurserymen.co.uk

What made you choose a career in horticulture?

Osmosis! As a family member of a family business being around our horticulture business was ‘just life’. We would open the back door and tumble out into a working nursery and apparently endless garden. This progressed into lending a pair of hands and I vividly remember manning the hardwood cuttings planter at the age of nine as we attempted to catch up the spring planting programme following a period of intense despatch. In the late 1970s and early 80s, academia and heading off to university wasn’t the norm and a practical career, doing what I already knew, seemed natural.

How have you seen the industry change?

Yes, of course. I see it as being far more business-orientated now and ever-increasingly at the behest of imposed rules and regulations which has been

challenging for small businesses in particular. But saying that, change (enforced or not) usually ensures progress. In 1980, it was commonplace that we lifted crops for dispatch during daylight hours and then collated and loaded once dark. This would often mean only beginning the loading process after 5pm and not finishing until after 9pm, all without the aid of a forklift. We now have 12 forklifts and 10 dumpers and aim to finish as darkness descends.

The traditional nurseryman would grow the plants they loved assuming sales would follow. This would be done year in, year out because it always had been. Today’s production schedule is sales and margin-led and is aided by specialist computer manufacturing software that analyses historical sales and trends and helps you build a reasoned production plan, thus reducing the potential for waste and exposure.

What do you think the future may hold and how are you rising to the challenge?

I think we need to be through the other side of Brexit before I answer this question! Labour is and will be, an issue. Our almost ‘full employment’ economy is reducing our potential pool of available staff. People have a choice and our industry struggles to sell itself as an obvious or attractive career.

Our costs will increase inexorably (labour in particular) and so investment in automation is fundamental for survival.

What has been your most memorable promotional event?

There have been so many. The vote to leave Europe was a salutary moment in June 2016 – I recognised the new ‘norm’

would be uncertainty and it could have the potential to change our business forever.

We also took the decision in late 2015 to engage marketing and PR consultants and, alongside a small internal team, our external profile and command of e-marketing and social media have increased beyond all recognition.

How are you responding to environmental issues?

We have an immediate advantage in that we add to the environment at source and via sales of 6m trees and shrubs annually, we are truly net contributors to the environment. We are also accredited to the environmental standard ISO14001 and, at the moment, are a leading contributor to an initiative to replace black plant pots with other colours that can be more easily recycled.

In an ideal world, how would you like to see the gardening sector develop?

Commercially I would like specifiers and developers to accept the value that our product brings. Our products are unusual in that they create an aesthetically-pleasing and inspirational result, have the capacity to bring pleasure for generations and benefit the environment to boot. They are usually your first impression and set the ambience for your visit. Why is it then that the planting budget is an afterthought, an annoyance and often the subject for an initial cull?

36 January 2019 | www.hta.org.uk | Follow us on Twitter @HTAnews

A DV E RTORIAL

Y ou may not be aware, but in UK garden centres 55% of the total value of transactions are now made on cards not cash. With increasing consumer acceptance of technologies such as

contactless payment, the proportion looks set to swing even further away from cash in 2019. Of course, this is simply reflecting the trend in payments that’s playing out across the UK. According to BIS the total value of cashless payments in the UK rose from £630 billion in 2013 to £848 billion in 2017 – a 35% increase.

This can mean a slow but material increase in a business’ cost base as the proportion of payments accounted for by cards rises. A set of costs that might have been minor some years ago may now have a much bigger impact on the bottom line.

To address this we’ve negotiated a deal for HTA members on fees for card payment processing. It’s a deal with Lloyds Cardnet, and over £100 million of annual card payments turnover from HTA members now goes through the deal. You’ve got a chance now to be a part of this collective ‘buying power’ before the season starts. Lloyds Cardnet is happy to provide a comparison of your current costs and see whether you could save through the HTA deal in 2019.

Here’s what a selection of HTA members have said about the scheme in their own words:

“The switch was very easy to integrate their payment gateway into our website. We had a very helpful support team that replied to any problems very quickly.

The saving on my previous merchant has been just as expected and the invoices (although a little long winded) are pretty easy to follow. I am very happy with the switch and would have no hesitation to recommend Lloyds Cardnet.”

– Jon Munday | BLACKMOOR N U RSERIES

“The switch wasn’t all that smooth but it was no worse than expected. The help and service to accomplish the switch was fine. The savings continue to exceed

expectations. The hardware and technology are good and the bills easy to understand and straightforward. In summary – worth doing and going along fine.”

– Matthew Hubbard | HIL L HOUSE N U RSE RY

“I was very wary of changing from [previous supplier] as the paperwork was very confusing and I did not really know what all the charges were, I initially enquired with

Lloyds Cardnet but as the statements from [previous supplier] were so complex I decided not to go ahead with the change-over. Then Neil asked for the statements and calculated I was on an old tariff and the saving would be extensive. The change-over was simple and faultless and I am delighted with the savings, costs have been reduced by about 70% from what I was paying so thank you to Neil and Lloyds Cardnet”

– Donald MacIntosh | LOCH DU ICH PLAN TS

Payment technology and garden centre shopping

37| www.hta.org.uk | January 2019Find us on Facebook

A DV E RTORIAL

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

E: lloyds@hta.org.ukT: 0333 234 1961W: hta.org.uk/lloyds

HTA Preferred Partners advice: T 0333 234 1961

E preferredpartners@hta.org.uk

Utilities, lighting, and fuel

HR, HEALTH & SA FETY A ND P ENS IONS

BUSINESS OPERATIONS ADVICE

FINANCE & LEGAL

P ROPERTY CONSULTANCY

HORTICULTURAL ADVICE

PLANNING AND RATES ADVICE

IDEAL LIGHTSIdeal lights provide energy efficient 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: glyn.blakemore@idealights.co.uk 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: hta@2circles.com 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: info@energycentric.co.uk W: www.htahealthcareservices.co.uk

THE FUEL CARD PEOPLEFuelcards can help you save money on your fuel costs by offering fixed weekly prices across thousands of sites nationwide. usually saving you 5p per litre. Fuelcards improve your security as they remove any cash handling and can only be used for specfic transactions. They also reduce admin with just one weekly invoice covering all your vehicles, and access to your online account. T: 0844 870 8537 E: apply@thefuelcardpeople.co.uk W: www.thefuelcardpeople.co.uk

ECOVISIONEcoVision have years of expertise, specialising in the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers. Installing a renewable energy system with Ecovision can reduce your annual energy spend by up to 50% and entitle you to valuable government incentives.T: 01666 501 580 E: jeorjie.monk@ecovisionsystems.co.uk W: www.ecovisionsystems.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: info@ecogenrecycling.com W: www.ecogenrecycling.com

ADVICE LINES

Accessing quality advice is even cheaper now

HTA Helpline

T 0333 005 0160

Brighton Williams & Partners T 0333 005 0169 E pensions@hta.org.uk

Citation T 0333 005 0164 E HRandH S@hta.org.uk

Blueberry Consulting T 0333 005 0161 E catering@hta.org.uk

GJD Consultants Ltd T 0333 005 0162 E epos@hta.org.uk

Pleydell Smithyman T 0333 005 0173 E retaildesign@hta.org.uk

GCS (GB) Ltd T 0333 005 0174 E security@hta.org.uk

Law Express T 0333 005 0166

The VAT Consultancy T 0333 005 0176 E vat@hta.org.uk

ecoVeritas T 0333 005 0177 E wasteregs@hta.org.uk

Dove AssociatesT 0333 005 0167 E nurseryproduction@hta.org.uk

Newleaf Sustainability PracticeT 0333 005 0175 E sustainability@hta.org.uk

Gilbert EvansT 0333 005 0163 E gcproperty@hta.org.uk

Quinton EdwardsT 0333 005 0165 E lproperty@hta.org.uk

Alexander Mackie Associates T 01732 522222 E info@alexandermackie.co.uk

Turner Morum LLPT 0333 005 0171 E ratingEW@hta.org.uk

Allan McLaren Chartered SurveyorsT 0333 005 0172 E ratingSNI@hta.org.uk

Malcolm Scott ConsultantsT 0333 005 0170 E planning@hta.org.uk

Trust, assurance and valueAll HTA Preferred Partners are handpicked due to their relevance to HTA members, and because they offer 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.

A DV ICE LINES & PREFERRED PARTNERS

LLOYDS BANK Cardnet offer 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: lloyds@hta.org.uk W: www.hta.org.uk/cardprocessing

BIRA BANK Bira bank offer a range of business and personal financial products to all HTA members, their staff and families with many advantages often 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: info@birabank.co.uk W: www. bira.co.uk

USEFUL HTA CONTACTS

Financial

Business insurance

HR, Health & Safety and Employee Benefits

PackagingMarketing & promotion

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: james.bleazard@towergate.co.uk W: www.towergaterisksolutions.co.uk/hta/

CITATIONCitation can help you stay protected. As Health & Safety, HR and Employment Law experts, they provide advice and support that’s tailored to you.They can help with general queries or advice on specific issues, and provide necessary legal documentation; including a detailed Health & Safety policy, Staff Handbooks and Contracts of employment. T: 0345 844 1111 E: hta@citation.co.uk W: www.citation.co.uk

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: htahealthcare@pshp.co.uk 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: info@alphapackaging.co.uk 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: services@hta.org.uk W: www.alphapackaging.co.uk

PASKETT PRPaskett PR is one of the UK’s leading specialist gardening and lifestyle public relations agencies. The agency, which offers 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: hollydaulby@paskett.co.uk 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: gardenradio@tgcmc.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 staff, property and stock safe. B2B also offers Smart Footfall counting systems which can measure customer dwell times and return visits. T: 0118 932 8088 E: customer.service@btoblinks.net W: www.btoblinks.net

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

E services@hta.org.uk

TECHNICAL GARDEN GIFT CARD ENQUIRIEST 0121 268 3210

HTA BENEVOLENT FUNDT 0333 003 3550

E htabenevolent@hta.org.uk

W hta.org.uk/htabenevolentfund

P R EFERRED PARTNERS

Healthy plants, healthy businessAn essential one-day conference for anyone involved in the production, trading and retailing of plants in the UK.

Tuesday 29 January 2019Horticulture House, ChiltonOxfordshire, OX11 0RNhta.org.uk/planthealth

SAVE THE

DATE!

Run in association with

Speakers include:Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity

Professor Nicola Spence, Defra’s Chief Plant Health Officer

Key topics to be covered include:• Current plant health situation

• Plant Health Biosecurity Alliance

• Plant Health Management Standard

• Plant Healthy self-assessment

• Plant importing post-Brexit

For more information and to book your place:

T 01235 776173E events@hta.org.ukW www.hta.org.uk/planthealth

HTA MEMBER RATE: NON HTA MEMBER RATE:

£35.00 + VAT £55.00 + VAT

This must attend event is aimed at growers and their customers (retailers, landscapers and garden designers, architects and public procurement) and key stakeholders. It provides a great opportunity to ensure that your business is equipped with the latest information on plant health matters. The agenda includes information on cross-sector initiatives aimed at protecting UK biosecurity and the launch of ‘Plant Healthy’, a new self-assessment tool for any business to calculate how biosecure its production and sourcing systems are.