GUERRILLAgardener talks!
It’s our Breeding right!
A view from down the Garden Path
The Guerrilla Gardener reflects on 2009 and the future for Retail Plants & Shrubs in 2010
A
s we entered the season of constant background music and
annual sales reports the the MTV news style of easy, fast
general consensus was that paced bite sized chunks of infor-
2009 was a fine year for the retail mation are appreciated. But..who
garden sector. Reports from vari- to present? It’s a shame that the
ous bodies including the GCA and only place you can now see Char-
HTA indicate that sales in Garden lie Dimmock is on stage in
Centres grew by 10-12% over Calendar Girls!
2008. However, contrary reports
indicate that about 20% of gar-
Finally a quick thought on Carol
den centres will not realise a
profit. There were heady reports
Klein’s new TV series and book -
of increases in month by month
primarily focusing on propagation.
sales, fuelled by the “staycation”,
I do hope that attention is paid to
the surge in “grow your own” and Plant Breeders Rights before thou-
of course assisted by timely peri-
sands start taking cuttings from
ods of good weather at key selling
periods. So at the beginning of
the latest gardening sensation
2010 how does it look? Assuming
plant. Too often at for example,
customers could make it to the
the RHS gardens and garden cen-
entrance doors to purchase tres I have seen perfectly
sledges, snow shovels or grit/salt ,
respectable gardeners surrepti-
the short answer can be some-
what depressing.
tiously with a polythene bag and a
sharp knife or scissors taking cut-
Visiting Garden or Plant Centres in
tings. Without these royalties,
the period between Christmas and breeders have no incentive to
New Year, seasonal stock was
spend considerable time and
being reduced or packed away for
next year. However, new seed
money developing new varieties.
packet stands were being erected
May/June should be borne in early spring crops, such as pansies. Given the obvious growth areas in
and stocked and displays prepared
mind. Will Garden Centres accept price
gardening, primarily ‘grow your
for onion sets and seed potato de-
increases and will retail price in-
own’, that’s real grow your own,
liveries. The explosion (and
How can you know whether Phy- creases curtail the gardening
continuation) in demand for ‘grow
tophthora or Pythium has taken boom?
not the Ornamental Klein version,
your own’ has realised a new opti-
hold as roots on the outsides of
what about a short series of 6-8
mism in this sector following
pots which have became frozen CAPTURING THE YOUNGER SET programmes? These could focus
significant increases in sales in
and incurred damage? How will The Gardening media, and in par-
on vegetable growing, for those
2009 and more forecast for 2010.
the weather have affected the ticular the flagship of consumer
with gardens, allotments or just
However this was tinged with con-
stock sitting in outside areas of gardening, Gardeners World is fi-
cern and trepidation as Plant Area
growers and nurseries that is due nally reacting to tumbling viewing
patios. Some background features
Managers surveyed the outdoor
for delivery and what guarantees figures and the views of its core
such as seed raising from Kings,
area and wondered what condi-
will garden centres be seeking devotees. We are told that garden- plant raising from Almodington,
tion stock will be in when the
from their suppliers? Who will ers want a more advanced,
buying plants from say B & Q……
thaw comes. Will Camellias, Mag-
underwrite the customer satisfac- informative and technical pro-
nolias and those expensive Italian
tion? Young plant producers who gramme rather than the ‘idiots
Q for a potential programme
plants and Tropical specimens sur-
are raising plugs for growers are guide to gardening.’ I believe that
sponsor!
vive? Can you sell such plants with
having to heat crops to an extent there should be two programmes,
confidence before the effects of
which may be higher than bud- both distinct, one aimed at the ex-
the weather become apparent?
geted for. Against the backdrop perienced enthusiast and the
The Guerrilla
The return of a disgruntled cus-
of rapidly increasing heating fuel other aimed at the new, younger
tomer looking for a refund say in
costs, this extends to growers of gardener. In this younger profile, Gardener
16Garden & Hardware News - Retail Plants & Shrubs
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