Cutting the garden centre out of the supply chain

I'm delighted to see that the Agriculture Wages Board is no more; it was out of date and out of place.

There's no doubt that for our industry to enjoy the recognition that it deserves, we need to entice people into it; to do that we need to pay the right money but in order to pay the right money, all of the industry has to come together to educate government and all of our respective customers, of the value the garden and its role as a unique place in the environment, so that we may be properly compensated for our skills.

The practitioner is having to fight too hard in order to make a profit and is often the first to have their services cut because the consumer is paying too high a price for plants and sundries at the garden centre; leaving little with which to pay for important services such as garden maintenance and soft landscaping.

Landscaping of private and public gardens isn't about lifestyle any more it's about 'life' and I think it is set to become one of the most prominent and sought after careers as the message gets driven home that we cannot maintain the same pace of consumerism without putting back a little more than we take.

To increase value while reducing cost, I would like to see a greater connection between plant nurseries and the distribution and sales of their plants and sundry products, directly through landscapers and gardeners and cut out the expensive garden centre en route.

I have always been perplexed as to why a nursery is forced to sell a plant - with tight margin often very little room for mark up - to a garden centre that then doubles or trebles the price of the plant and sells it to the consumer who then employs a gardener to plant it for them.

If we can give the consumer a much better deal by cutting out the expensive garden centre layer and broker a connection directly between the plant producer and the people who plant up and maintain the gardens, it would create greater value for money all round.

There is I feel, a conflict of interest for the Horticulture Trades Association to be representing garden centres on one hand and the landscaping industry on the other.

For me, the garden centre is all about cosmetics and profiteering at the expense of real quality and to be honest, just a blip in the supply chain. Garden centre staff are often clueless about plants and have no knowledge of where the plant originated and how to offer the right advice about its after care.

It seems natural that the consumer should buy directly from the business who might be charged with its after care and similarly for that business to buy from the place the plant originated from; it becomes a secure, short and responsible supply chain and cuts out a rather expensive and insensitive diversion through what is effectively just a show room.

Plant, compost, soil and product suppliers should be working hard to market their wares directly to the professional intermediate consumer so that both may increase their profits but (and it's a big big but) the ultimate consumer can enjoy lower prices and be safe in the knowledge that their are two tiers of passionate carers in the supply chain.

So what can be done? Here's a little check list of how I feel all of the above can be done to improve sales and profits and add greater value along the way.

The nursery

Nursery owners create a strong online presence and maintain a directory of plants that are available from their nursery with high resolution images of all the plants on sale.

The nursery to encourage the potential end consumer to visit and inspect the plants but operate a strict code of conduct whereby they will only sell plants through a trade buyer.

Offer a downloadable stock list.

The nursery to maintain a list of the landscapers and gardeners that they are comfortable to recommend to the consumer (linking to each businesses website).

The nursery to maintain a comprehensive plant care section with advice and tips on how plants can be kept in the optimum condition and what pests and diseases might affect a plants health and well being with tips on prevention treating the conditions.

Create and maintain links (network) with other nurseries within a reasonable distance so as to offer a comprehensive choice for the trader and consumer.

Openly display trade prices so the consumer understands where the value of the plant is derived.

Trader (landscaper or gardener)

The trader would maintain a strong online presence with links to the nurseries they recommend with photos and links to stock lists.

Be open and honest about the supply service and make it clear what mark up is being charged on plants - after all, time and money may be spent whilst putting together planting plans or visiting nurseries for stock selection and collection.