Happy New Year to all our readers. We have come to the end of another challenging year in the garden centre industry and the world beyond. Climate change, credit crunch - all these negatives have impacted upon us in one way or another in the past twelve months. I wish I could predict better times for 2009 but I doubt whether you would believe me. But as it is my job to remain positive, I will point out some of the ways in which I think we can all hold our heads above water in the coming months.

The TV star has teamed up with Garden Centre Update, and Dunweedin' - the recycling company that makes attractive landscape chippings for gardens - to give her expert advice on the latest issues facing the modern gardener.

WITH the state of the environment becoming an ever increasing issue, gardeners are finding more and more ways to work with eco-friendly products.  There is now a huge range of products that can help gardeners looking for ‘green' solutions. 

GIY, GYO, even Home Allotmenting are all terms used for the phenomenon sweeping the counties garden product retailers for the past 2 years. As an industry we need to look at this sector like the supermarkets looked at wine 15 years ago. No longer is the choice between - sweet, medium or dry, red, white or pink, 75cl or 1 litre - enough, customers are more discerning.

Grange Fencing is delighted to announce that it has agreed to acquire the business and assets of Weston Fencing at Crediton, for an undisclosed sum. 

Classic Teak supplies Teak and other hard wood garden furniture to local authorities, hotels, heritage homes, public houses and private garden owners and has done so for many years.  Now this is available to garden centres. Strength, durability, comfort and reliability have always been essential to our brand and since the rise of illegally sourced timber from various countries we have been working towards and using fsc certified timber and a variety of woods with fully trackable sources.

Finnforest, one of the leading manufacturers of timber garden structures and outdoor living solutions, has supplied one of its Finnlife log cabins for a new BBC garden makeover show presented by DIY expert and TV personality, Nick Knowles.

Vital Earth, the manufacturer of the Vital Earth brand of peat-free growing media and plant feeds, both made from recycled garden waste, has appointed Michael Treasure as Area Sales Manager for the east of England yet again extending its national distribution coverage.  Michael's territory runs through Buckinghamshire through north London to Essex, Sussex, Suffolk and then north as far as Lincolnshire.

Peat-free, organic composts, growing media and feeds manufacturer Vital Earth has launched a Bulb Compost.   This brings the total range to over 30 products, making it the only one stop shop for 100% natural, 100% sustainable and 100% UK-sourced green growing media.

Ian Blinco from CASCO made a memorable trip to CWA Pet Supplies in Ludlow, Shropshire to finalize preparations for fitting £20,000 worth of new shop fittings completely free of charge. Ian presented a smiling Alison Adams with a celebratory bottle of Champagne before getting down to business and showing her what the store makeover will actually look like.

Spear & Jackson - one of the UK's leading suppliers of garden tools - has launched an innovative block paving cleaner. Essentially a dedicated specialist hoe, the cleaner is designed to remove moss, lichens, grass, weeds and other debris from block paving joints quickly and easily; and without the risk of damage to paving.

In these difficult times wild bird lovers will want to economise wherever possible. The only substantial weekly expenditure is wild bird food which has risen in price. Unwanted intruders - squirrels, pigeons, seagulls - can devour large quantities of bird food. Therefore an obvious economy, which pays for itself speedily, is to restrict their access.

Leading wild bird care company Gardman has designed and introduced a new range of  four ‘entry level' bird feeders to its extensive range for the 2008/9 season.  The ingenious Flip Top Nut and Seed Feeders can easily be opened and filled one-handed, have a fresh, new design and are finished in eye-catching bright green.

Gardman took as its inspiration a light from an old fashioned fishing boat when it designed its new Lantern Peanut and Seed Feeders.  The result is two stylish products of all-metal construction with a pewter-effect finish.  Both feeders  have a recommended retail price of £14.99 and would make excellent yet inexpensive Christmas gifts for those who enjoy feeding wild birds at home.  Retailers who wish to take advantage of the company's attractive sales booster promotion can offer them for just £9.99.

A new 50ml size is now available from the best selling water conditioner, AquaSafe. Tetra, the leading supplier of fish foods, treatments and equipment, replaces the 30ml with the new 50ml which is available immediately.

DRAPER TOOLS has launched the first in its NEW series of tools and products for the household. These new tools and their packaging are manufactured in an attractive softer looking cornflower blue colour - ideal for the gift market.

Don't miss out on a visit to Stand E11 where DRAPER TOOLS will be exhibiting a comprehensive range of hand & power tools for the home and garden.

DRAPER TOOLS has been supplying tools to the industry since 1919 and, to celebrate this milestone, the Company is launching its 90 Year Anniversary Tool Offers promotion.

Marks and Spencer's recent predictions of tough times ahead for retailing not only sent a shiver down their own share value but may prompt some concern amongst other retailers too, though the pet trade seems slightly less susceptible to difficult economic times .  Despite the cost of living increasing, consumers are still spending and, it seems, so far unwilling to give up all of their luxuries. 

CELEBRITY horticulturalist and singer Kim Wilde has been helping celebrate the launch of a new Dunweedin' production plant, in Cheshire. The new facility marks a major boost for Dunweedin' - the company behind a range of revolutionary recycled garden landscaping and playground products.

Nest boxes are an excellent way of creating space for birds to nest, whose natural habitats are disappearing. Help promote the importance of providing homes for our garden birds, by stocking high quality CJ Wildlife nest boxes well in advance of National Nest Box Week (15th -22nd February 2009).

Liberon will be launching a new, exciting range of products for timber decking at the forthcoming Totally DIY Show 2009.

New for the 2009 season, Sinclair is helping retailers increase sales with a brand new product to improve garden growth.

The Planto Flex gloves are durable and comfortable giving super protection for all gardening tasks. The back is made of spandex allowing the hands to breathe and therefore keeping the hands cool. Features include a super soft suede palm, reinforced fingertips and elasticated cuffs. They are available in Ladies, with a lime green back and Mens, with a grey back and retail at £6.99. Available from January

The Manchester based company Mountrose Ltd have now become a member of LOFA and will hope to exhibit at the 2009 SOLEX show, "Garden Life" at Mountrose offer a vast range of products for the garden leisure market place. Mountrose are becoming a major supplier to the garden trade and are hoping for continued growth into this market.

Petersham Nurseries, the unique garden centre located in Richmond, South West London, has invested in a Eurostop retail management system for its store. The independent nursery is renowned for its wide range of plants, creative display of gifts and antiques and its award winning restaurant, Petersham Nurseries Cafe.  The garden centre has installed e pos at till point in store to manage sales and streamline stock control, reducing wastage and improving profitability as a result.

In Jan 2009 Rottner will be launching at the DIY show their new range of full colour packaging for their 250+ item range of mailboxes along with the brand new Toronto +80°C UV and -30°C resistant plastic mailbox.  This new product is initially available in silver & white with a retail price of £96.00 ex VAT with a minimum 50% trade discount from Rottner wholesale distributors.

After 10 years at the helm of leading barbeque company Weber, MD Janet Ellison has announced she is to step back from the day-to-day running of the business and take on a new role as business consultant.

When times get tough the more knowledge you can have about your business the better, and in the aquatics industry, that means being an expert on livestock.  In the area of aquatics this can be quite a challenge with the wide range of species available for sale.  Looking after a variety of different types of fish - whether they're coldwater, tropical or marine, can be a demanding job and one that all members of staff should be equipped to manage.

Leading garden compost producer Westland Horticulture is pioneering the way in reducing peat use but doubts government targets can be met. The Government has demanded that horticultural use of peat must be cut by a massive 90 per cent by 2010.

They say that the best things come in small packages and this is certainly true of the revolutionary O-Grill range from Kingsford Barbecues Ltd. The O-Grill is a compact gas barbecue that can be easily carried by one person - it is ideal for domestic use or for camping and it comes in four attractive colours with an optional handy carrying bag.

In the past almost all labels that a garden centre or nursery printed themselves were just in black and white. They provided important information but had little visual impact. The fact is that colour pictures help sell your plants so any system you use must have the ability to print in full colour. Greenfield Software Ltd is a market leading software developer of systems for garden centres and nurseries. Based in Cambridgeshire they supply systems to businesses of all sizes throughout the UK and Ireland, and their HLS Pro+ labelling system enables you to easily create the colour labels and point of sale material that can give your company the edge.

G7 have been installing EPOS Systems since 1992 and were founded by seven members (the group of 7) and now consist of over 30 staff dedicated to providing a first class service to the Retail sector. Their customer base ranges from small independent sites to large multi branch corporate outlets. Their main assets are knowledge, skill and over 16 years worth of retail experience. G7 pride themselves in knowing how to fulfill the demands of their customer's needs and expectations.

Specialist manufacturer of PC-based touchscreens, LCD touchscreen monitors and point-of-sale hardware to the retail, hospitality and leisure industries, J2 Retail Systems, has launched a new top-of-the-range integrated touchscreen device, the J2 650.

Gloucester Joinery is a relatively new company to the Garden Centre industry, but it is rapidly gaining ground thanks to its wide and varied range of timber display products. Garden Centre Update magazine asked Gloucester Joinery's Andy Bevan for his views on the industry and the future of the company.

The Blue Diamond Group, the award winning Guernsey based owner of 12 Garden Centres, have appointed Retail Digital Networks Ltd (formally Simply Digital Networks Ltd) to create bespoke TV coverage for its centres. Retail Digital Networks Ltd, the company behind ‘Gardening TV', the hugely successful in-store channel currently broadcasting in over 45 garden centres throughout the UK and Ireland, will design and manage ‘Blue Diamond TV'.

Retail shrinkage is on the increase. Crime alone costs businesses billions of pounds every year and as such, retailers are looking for new ways to reduce this. Retail crime cost the UK a staggering £4.1 billion, last year making it the worst country in Europe for theft, according to Checkpoint Systems' Global Retail Theft Barometer (GRTB).