New DIY sector set to create opportunities for retailers at Glee


Glee is celebrating the addition of a brand-new DIY sector at the 2023 show (27 – 29 June, NEC Birmingham), which will enable garden retailers to capitalise on emerging trends, whilst helping to expand both their offering and appeal, as customers seek to tackle more DIY projects to improve their outdoor spaces.


Keen to keep costs down, and inspired by online influencers,


consumers are more willing to take on DIY projects to update their home without the expense of calling in a professional. The lines between indoor and outdoor spaces are becoming increasingly blurred and, with close to 41,000 Instagram posts bearing the hashtag #gardendiy and Google Trends also reporting a spike in searches for the same phrase, Glee recognises there is a huge opportunity for garden


retailers to provide customers with everything they need to complete a job, all under one roof.


This is the main driver behind the show’s decision to incorporate an exclusive new DIY sector at the 2023 event, enabling buyers to browse a quality home improvement offer and discover products and suppliers that could sit happily within their store and create real


Heart-warming ‘Share the Lawn Love’ campaign sees GreenThumb treat lawns for free across the country


GreenThumb, the UK’s most recommended lawn care service, has had an overwhelming response to their ‘Share The Lawn Love’ campaign which will now see them treat over 160 lawns nationwide free of charge in 2023.


Recalling the sense of community that flourished during Covid, GreenThumb customers up and down the country have been busy nominating those they felt deserved to receive free lawn care.


This inaugural campaign generated over 700 nominations with the successful nominees now set to receive a generous whole year of treatments from the UK’s biggest lawn care specialists.


Paul Edwards, Managing


Director at GreenThumb, commented: “With everything that’s happening in the world outside our control, more and more people are turning to their gardens, local green spaces and nature for quite literal grounding. We’re proud to be able to help some truly great causes, at a time when transforming lawns into green sanctuaries will have an even greater impact on the wellbeing of the recipients.”


In partnership with the National Garden Scheme and Scotland’s Gardens Scheme, GreenThumb are advocates for the physical and mental health benefits gardens provide and are hoping this campaign will allow them to spread the personal and sustainable wins that green spaces offer. Paul continued: “Lawns are so much more than just a carpet of grass, they provide both personal and social spaces for relaxation and recovery, happy places to unwind or share with friends and family, which is why it’s so important to look after them, because they look after us.”


All nominees were carefully selected by volunteers of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme or the National Garden Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Both these long established organisations raise


money for nursing and health charities through the opening of private gardens; charging affordable admissions and serving tea and cake to raise funds for the likes of Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie and the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland. The nomination process saw communal green spaces in high demand for transformations, with schools, churches and sports grounds receiving 22% of nominations in the hope of enriching local communities in need.


The campaign also saw 7% put forward nominations for deserving neighbours to receive the treatments, with some having grown closer as a result of the pandemic and wanting to lend a helping hand.


Perhaps unsurprisingly though, family and friends nominating their loved ones was the most common occurrence with almost three quarters (71%) off all nominations keen to give back to those closest to them for a whole host of heart- warming reasons. For more information on the Share The Lawn Love campaign, please visit: https:// www.greenthumb.co.uk/pages/ share-the-lawn-love


UK Government confirms ban on peat-based gardening products will not be implemented until 2030


Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) has confirmed that while some peat-containing products will be banned from shelves in 2027, others will be exempt from a ban until 2030. This means that for some


6 DIY WEEK MARCH 2023


professional growers, peat use will still be permitted for the next seven years. Ailis Watt, peat policy officer at The Wildlife Trusts, said: The announcement is bitterly disappointing. Last year we welcomed the news that the


UK Government would ban the sale of bagged peat compost in England by the end of 2024. The Wildlife Trusts hoped that a ban on all peat products would follow shortly after this date. “The destruction of irreplaceable peatlands for


gardening should have been outlawed long ago. These precious habitats are vital for nature and for our climate


sales opportunities. Glee’s Event Director, Matthew Mein said of the new DIY sector: “Glee has always been about ‘newness’, bringing our visitors innovation and arming them with the right products to capitalise on market opportunities. Whatever you call it – home improvement, home enhancement, or simply do it yourself (DIY) – Glee believes this broad spectrum of products


and suppliers has the potential to, not only help garden retailers create further add-on sales to enhance their current offer, but to also improve convenience for their customers and stand out in their minds as a destination for their outdoor DIY needs. We are extremely excited to be welcoming a DIY sector to Glee and hope our visitors get real benefit from its presence.”


RHS offers low income households new ‘Access for All’ scheme


The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has introduced a new scheme that will enable thousands of families and individuals from low income households, and who are less likely to have access to a garden at home, to benefit from visiting an RHS Garden.


Starting on 1 April 2023, the brand new ‘Access for All’ scheme will


afford visitors in receipt of Universal or Pension Credit the opportunity to access all RHS Gardens for a reduced ticket price of just £1, and will run all year round.


Access for All will make RHS Bridgewater, RHS Harlow Carr, RHS Hyde Hall, RHS Rosemoor and RHS Wisley accessible to a wider and more diverse audience and builds on existing offers whereby free entry to gardens is granted to a number of groups. These include carers with a disabled visitor, school children on guided and self-guided school visits, and Under 5s, affiliated horticultural societies and community groups supported by the RHS Community Outreach programme. The RHS recognises that entry fees are just one of the financial barriers that might prevent people from visiting its gardens, and to that end are also investing in sustainable and affordable public transport options across all five sites, to enable even more people to visit.


The Screwfix Foundation celebrates 10 years of supporting local charities


The Screwfix Foundation is celebrating its tenth Birthday with Screwfix’s customers and colleagues. After recognising the need to give back to the local community, The


Screwfix Foundation was set up ten years ago with a commitment to supporting charities and not-for-profit organisations whose facilities needed fixing, repairing, maintaining, and improving. Thanks to the generosity of Screwfix’s customers and colleagues, in the last 10 years The Screwfix Foundation has been able to raise a staggering £11 million. The funds have supported over 2,400 local registered charities and not- for-profit-organisations across the UK with grants of up to £5,000. Screwfix customers’ and colleagues’ donations have also enabled the Foundation to donate to its charity partner, Macmillan Cancer Support.


because they store vast amounts of carbon and are home to some of the UK’s most special wildlife. We need to see far greater levels of ambition if the UK is to relinquish its status as one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth or come close to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Peatlands must be better protected as a matter of urgency.”


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