an interview with…


“The garden centre was an amateur trade 40 years ago, and none had restaurants,” she says. “You could call yourself a garden centre even if you weren’t – we had a second hand leaky greenhouse, we had timber frame buildings – yet we called ourselves a centre! “In those days you never sold Christmas decorations, and an awful lot of centres came about from someone being a rose grower, or someone selling lettuces in their back garden. It escalates from there.


“When we started, we were in our 30s, so we had the energy, and it was exciting times, particularly when we got involved with the HTA and GCA. We got to know people in industry, and we were all developing together. “This industry are passionate supporters of trade associations – we are open with each other about what works and what doesn’t work. That was exciting – when people first had a coffee shop, or outside the normal range of products. It was an excellent sounding board and made us a unique industry.”


Getting Greenfingers again Although not having been involved with Greenfingers Charity for the last nine years, Allen has now decided it’s time to offer her expertise to a charity that is very close to her heart. “Having been involved with Greenfingers from the very early days, when the first ever garden was created at Demelza House, I am delighted to now feel able to give my time and energy to the charity once more as a trustee,” she says. “Having spent many years on the management committee, it is a bit like coming home, although that home has seen great expansion and lots of improvements and is now a much larger, higher profile charity. I’m


looking forward to working with my fellow trustees to ensure this great work continues.” In her new role as a trustee, Allen is keen to build on the good work that has been undertaken by Greenfingers’ senior management team. Allen stresses that appealing to organisations outside of the traditional revenue streams is key to the long term success of the charity.


“Traditionally, the charity has had to rely on the majority of its income from the horticultural industry,” explains Allen. “What concerns me is if they get campaign fatigue; it’s the same people we’re approaching all the time for money. We need to look further afield. “We have in the last three years had an


amazing relationship with Kew Green hotel, and they have contributed £350,000 – they came to us by chance, by Googling the word green, and a charity to do with children. That fund has come through efforts of their staff; that sort of thing is how we need to try and encourage from outside the industry.


“John Ashley (Greenfingers chairman) has done a terrific job building the brand, and the team in the office are doing a brilliant job projecting the brand via social media. There’s a long way to go, but steps are being made to grow the organisation.


“Also, we need to make sure maintenance and gardens are looked after, once the initial work has been complete. This work is usually left to the hospice; if they haven’t got any gardening expertise, it’s difficult. There is a danger of a garden falling into neglect. There’s not currently a formal maintenance, annual check-up system, which is something we should consider getting involved with.”


The future for garden retail


Allen and Millbrook have noted the change in the dynamics of the retail industry. With changing market forces, including an increase in multinationals selling everything and the rise of e-commerce, the garden retail industry has had to adapt. For Millbrook, this has included increasing footfall by events in-store and a focus on catering.


“We are doing more and more events, and getting people in in that respect – children’s workshops, and gardening clubs, every month we have talks from an expert always fully booked,” she says. “It’s a mixture of getting the catering and getting events right.


“We’re lucky now as 40 years ago we weren’t able to sell certain things, and over the years precedents have been set, and councils have relaxed laws. We’re a department store with plants now.


“In November, garden centre trends were really good; not many high street retailers can say that. I believe there will always be a place for specialist garden centres and nurseries.”


6 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


GCU December/January 2020


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