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Comment from Horticulture Week writers, columnists and industry experts.
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Reader Panel - How have you been dealing with this season's poor weather?
18 May 2012We ask a range of industry people at Malvern Spring Garden Show how they have been affected by this year's bad weather.
Seabrook On ... Shifting plants in challenging times
18 May 2012The removal of VAT exemption on products worth up to £18 posted from the Channel Isles to the mainland is hitting employment and the islands' economy. The increase in postal charges will also become a drag on the mail-order plant trade.
All eyes on clawing back sales
18 May 2012What a wretched contrast to the start of the garden retail season in 2011 this season's opening has proved to be. This time last year, industry stalwarts such as Peter Seabrook were hailing the best ever spring for retail sales for 50 years.
Farrer On ... Collaboration key to industry progress
11 May 2012This year, I have attended many forums where the representative organisations for our industry have independently identified the need for shared goals and a common voice.
Kate Lowe
Olympics showcase careers
11 May 2012In this, the careers edition of Horticulture Week, it is only fitting that we should have as the subject of our main interview Des Smith, who landed one of the biggest roles in horticulture when he became head gardener for the Olympic Park gardens tw...
Now volunteers feel budget woe
04 May 2012We report on yet more evidence this week that cuts to local authority green-space budgets risk undermining many years of highly-valued community involvement within the parks and tree-care sectors.
Steve Smith
Smith On ... Parks are a crucial front-line service
24 February 2012From my experience of almost 40 years working in the industry, the savagery of the current cuts to parks and green space services is almost unprecedented, with the levels of money lost not seen since compulsory competitive tendering in the early 1990...
Leslie Kossoff
Kossoff On ... Beware of spin and excess information
10 February 2012We are living in a literal and metaphorical world of TMI (too much information).
Kossoff On ... Using Lean tools to build on your terms
04 November 2011There's a dangerous misconception about what Lean is and does. In fact, it's so dangerous - and so common - that most organisations either misuse the system, miss the opportunities, or both.
David Domoney
Domoney's design ideas - turn your garden centre into a "destination"
22 July 2011Spending a little to create eye-catching displays can boost sales and turn your garden centre into a "destination", maintains David Domoney.
Guy Moreton
Training stays key in tough times
01 March 2012In recession, investing in the best people is vital, says Guy Moreton.
Time to review your training needs
01 January 2012Equipping planteria staff to manage costs is vital, says Guy Moreton.
Neville Stein
Stein On ... Take responsibility by staying in control
25 November 2011Over the years there have been some fantastic speakers at HTA conferences.
Stein On - Innovation is key to surviving recession
02 September 2011In my last comment column (HW, 22 July), I challenged the received wisdom that garden centres are recession proof.
Professor Geoff Dixon
Something to chew on
01 January 2011Garden centres must provide tangible offerings to lure people away from the internet, says Paul Pleydell.
Dealing with older customers...'Please talk to me'...
01 November 2010A considerate and caring approach to older customers can be the highlight of their day, says Paul Pleydell.
Peter Seabrook
Seabrook On ... Quality products key to holding margins
06 April 2012The sale of premium products has held up well and in a number of cases increased through recent, recessionary times. Quality usually gives value for money and can carry attractive profit margins, and if this is the case garden retailers are well advi...
Seabrook On ... Professional advice must be up to date
16 March 2012It is very difficult to get 100 per cent accuracy in printed copy, as anyone who has to proofread a weighty catalogue will appreciate. Even when we take the greatest care and read things over and over again, the most obvious mistake can sometimes go ...
Andrew Hewson
Hewson On ... Three cheers for the major supermarkets
09 March 2012I expect that this may get me into a spot of bother, but why break the habit of a lifetime? And what's the point of a column if you don't call it as it is. So, let's hear it for the supermarkets, those much maligned monsters that do such wrong and so...
Hewson On ... Subsidies offer help to sign young talent
09 December 2011News that youth unemployment has rocketed beyond one million is as shocking as it is disturbing and unwelcome.
Hewson On - Let's plan laws that protect our heritage
23 September 2011Greg Clark MP is a man with a plan. But not a very good one according to some sources, notably the National Trust, English Heritage and the Woodlands Trust.
Hewson On ... Remembering an industry icon
24 June 2011At 2pm on 14 July many of the nursery stock industry's leading players will gather in deepest Hampshire to pay tribute to one of their own.
Doug Stewart
Council sets park strategy
10 February 2012Oxford City Council has published a draft green space strategy for 2012-26 that aims to ensure people do not have to walk further than 1,900m to their nearest large park, 750m to a medium-sized park and 400m to a small park. This standard will be app...
Make garden centre catering special
01 January 2011Traditional comfort food remains popular, but some customers want something special, says Doug Stewart.
Jeremy Barrell
Barrell On ... Guides to tree risk show stark contrast
20 January 2012Last year saw the publication of two eagerly-awaited guides on managing tree risk.
Barrell On ... Tree risk not always a numbers game
21 October 2011How we assess the risk from trees matters because the consequences of getting it wrong can be both spectacular and devastating when a tree fails. Traditionally, arborists used their eyes and experience to work out what to cut off and what to leave. I...
Noel Farrer
Farrer On ... Learning to love and value the landscape
02 March 2012Can we learn from our flower stall colleagues that beauty and love have a crucial role to play in getting investment for public landscapes?
Tim Edwards
Edwards On ... Getting to grips with modern technology
16 December 2011I recently had cause to think of my grandfather and how he struggled with the concept of the zipper fly.
Edwards On ... Peat challenge is in aligning Europe
07 October 2011There is a great deal of emotion involved in the peat debate, which is not surprising because some of us have a lot to lose if draconian measures are taken without considering their implications.
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In This Issue
NEWS: Garden centre sales start to pick up after relentless poor weather
GROWER: Packaging update
INTERVIEW: Robin Wallis on the Hortus Loci launch
PEST & DISEASE FACTSHEET: Moles
KIT TESTS: Handheld tools
