Glee 2025 Live: GCA's Peter Burks & Boyd Douglas-Davies

Recorded on the show floor at Glee 2025, Phil & Kate sit down with Peter Burks, Chief Executive of the Garden Centre Association (GCA), and Boyd Douglas-Davies (The Boyd Partnership; Chair of Greenfingers) for a rapid pulse-check on garden retail: what’s working now, what’s changing, and where the next wins are. Expect practical takeaways on merchandising, training, social media, and turning your centre into a community hub—plus a Greenfingers update straight from Floral Thursday.

What we cover
Merchandising that moves product. What retailers can learn from the best Glee stands; why simple, instructional POS matters (especially in Ferts & Chems); and how “show it like you’ll sell it” translates back in-store.
Trading picture 2025. A rocket-fuelled spring, a heat-hit summer, and how non-gardening categories - catering, gifts, food halls - propped up performance. Plus the squeeze from labour and NI costs hitting service levels.
Skills & education. GCA’s Grow e-learning (now 98 courses) and the push for better product knowledge on the shopfloor, from peat-free watering/feeding to translating supplier science into customer-friendly advice. Brands + retailers = two-pronged training.
On the Glee floor. Plants return to the Green Heart; quality over volume at the show fringes; packaging clarity for first-time gardeners; useful gift lines (hello, watering-can envy); and smart merchandising solutions that could merit future awards.
Greenfingers now. From “pretty” to therapeutic hospice gardens, public-facing shows driving awareness, next-level maintenance via garden advisors, a £400k project at Hope House (Shropshire), and why Floral Thursday matters.

Why listen
If you’re a buyer, marketer or operator in garden retail, this episode is a compact field guide to 2025 priorities: sharpen the sell-through, upskill slimmer teams, make digital count, and turn footfall into belonging.

Plus
Floral Thursday vibes, a shout to YPHA’s student of the year, and a nudge to support Greenfingers’ next chapter.

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GCA: ⁠http://www.gca.org.uk⁠
The Boyd Partnership: ⁠http://theboydpartnership.co.uk⁠
Greenfingers Charity: ⁠http://greenfingerscharity.org.uk/⁠

Discover more about our hosts:
Kate Turner: ⁠www.gardenerguru.co.uk
⁠Phil Wright: ⁠www.wrightobara.com