Job
Financial Controller Perrywood Garden Centres
The family-run garden centres in Essex and Suffolk are looking to appoint a financial controller to support the company.
Product Launch
RHS launches Chatbotanist
The Royal Horticultural Society launches an AI chatbot to provide advice for members via their computer or phone.
Media
Happy Christmas
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the festive season.
Gardens
Combe Down Allotments at risk
Landowner has given notice to terminate the lease renewal on historic village allotments after 130 years.
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Business
Dutch Flower Auctions Association: new peat-free growing medium grading
The new S57 grading characteristics and values, growers can now indicate to what extent the product has been grown peat-free.
Plants
Kew experts predict 2024 horticulture trends
Kew horticulturists predict the trends for 2024 from drought-resistant planting, increased urban trees, grow-your-own mushrooms, all year round interest winter plants to becoming more resilient by growing ‘future’ foods.
Business
Increased energy efficiency subsidies for Dutch greenhouse horticulture
The Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Piet Adema increased available subsidies by €12 million for greenhouse horticulture.
Environment
Forest for the Nation competition
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is launching a competition to create a new Forest for the Nation in England.
Local Heroes
365-day running challenge for Greenfingers
Greenfingers Charity supporter, Kate Ebbens has vowed to spend 2024 running daily to raise much needed funds for the children’s hospice garden charity.
Business
Houseplants: saviours of the last-minute Christmas shopper
Around one in seven of all houseplants sold in UK garden centres are purchased in December.
Business
HTA November market data shows a confident countdown to Christmas
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) shares insights on trading during the festive season.
Worth a read
The value of a garden for house buyers
The Managing Director of Nicholsons, Liz Nicholson on what to look for in a garden when buying a home.
Worth a listen
Podcast: Cultivate Your Future
Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture and Visitor Experience at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh talks to Neville Stein on the Cultivate Your Future Podcast.
Charity
The Nature Hubs Fund
In association with Starbucks, Hubbub is offering around 50 groups up to £6,000 of funding to develop green space initiatives to provide much needed access to nature.
Plants
Sarah Raven: Putting the spotlight on shrubs and hedges
Gardening expert and author, Sarah Raven thinks hedging is an overlooked element of the garden.
Regulation
Unlimited penalties for polluters
Companies who pollute the environment can be hit with unlimited financial penalties from the Environment Agency.
Business
Industrial Energy Transformation Fund expanded to include Horticulture
The Industrial Energy Transformation (IETF) Fund is now accessible to horticulture businesses with high energy use to cut their energy bills.
In a nutshell
Squirrel pox virus
The Westmorland Red Squirrel Society reported a case of squirrel pox virus at Neaum Crag in the Lake District, a reminder of the importance of bird feeder hygiene.
Local Heroes
Gardening can be very profitable…
Hermès Heir plans to leave half of his $12billion fortune to his gardener.
Environment
DEFRA: No plans to ban artificial grass
Stating a commitment to eliminating all avoidable plastic waste by 2042 and acknowledgement that artificial grass has no wildlife value, Defra has no plans to instigate a ban on plastic grass.