GCA: customers making preparations for spring

December saw garden centre customers starting to make preparations for spring according to the GCA barometer of trade.

According to figures in the report, the period just before Christmas last year showed a 20% increase in seed and bulb sales, compared to the same month in 2014.

Speaking of the results, Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive said: ?There?s plenty to be done in the garden at this time of year in preparation for the new season so it is not surprising to see garden centre customers buying up their seeds and bulbs in readiness.

?Sales in outdoor plants were also up at 20.27% and houseplants did reasonably well at 6% up. It?s no surprise that Christmas and gift sales were up during December as people bought last minute presents for their friends and families. Compared to 2014, Christmas sales were up 10% and gifts were up 7%.?

Simon Bourne, Garden Centre Manager at Perrywood Garden Centre in Essex, said: ?December 2015 was a fantastic month and followed the trend of previous months in being record breaking.

?We had our second busiest trading day of the year on Saturday, December 5, which was our best ever Saturday.?