Garden centres have become one of Britain’s great retail success stories. At a time when many parts of the high street continue to struggle for footfall, garden centres provide a unique and vibrant destination that combines plants, advice, cafés, retail and leisure in a way that no other retail sector can match. We can be proud of our contribution to healthier lifestyles, greener communities and thriving local economies, and our ability to inspire millions of people to get out in their garden.
From the outside, the picture looks remarkably healthy. Around 203 million visits were made to UK garden centres last year and British households spend around £9 billion on their gardens every year. Gardening has never been more firmly established as both a hobby and a significant contributor to personal wellbeing.
But that’s not the whole story.
Strong customer numbers and ringing tills do not necessarilytranslate into healthy businesses. Behind the queues for coffee and cake, centres are facing unprecedented financial pressure. Many are family-owned small and medium-sized businesses operating on relatively modest margins. They are labour intensive, energy intensive and, as we are all too painfully aware, heavily dependent on the weather. Unlike many retailers and their supply chain partners, horticultural businesses cannot simply respond overnight to rising costs or fluctuating demand; growing quality plants takes months, sometimes years.
June figures suggest that while plant sales have remained broadly stable, profitability is moving in the wrong direction. Increased employment costs, energy, transport, business rates and environmental costs (EPR for example) continue to drive upwards faster than revenues. Data shows that horticultural businesses need more than 10% sales growth in 2026 just to stand still. Unsurprisingly, investment plans are under threat, there’s more caution around new recruitment and, in some cases, difficult decisions about staffing have become unavoidable.
Cuts in investment for future growth would be disappointing because we are an industry that has consistently shown a willingness to invest and innovate. Whether developing alternatives to peat, investing in water resilience projects or encouraging wider consumer participation through initiatives like National Children’s Gardening Week and Your Garden Year, environmental horticulture has demonstrated that commercial success and environmental responsibility can exist comfortably hand in hand.
The popularity of gardening gives every reason for optimism. But if we want horti businesses to continue investing, employing local people and delivering the experiences that customers value, we need a stable business environment that recognises the economic contribution, the environmental value and the unique challenges under which we operate.
I hope the new occupants of Downing Street recognise what we deliver for the environment, public wellbeing and the economy and don’t see our apparently successful sector assomewhere to go looking for more tax revenues.