Dobbies Garden Centres

To mark World Cancer Day, a group of our colleagues took part in the Walk with Us challenge for our National Charity Partner, Teenage Cancer Trust.   They each walked 15,000 steps, which is the average number that a nurse completes in a day.     They’ve had great fun taking on the challenge, despite the rain! Even meeting some of the local wildlife while out on a lunchtime walk.     And all for a great cause – raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust’s specialist nurses and teams who support young people living with cancer.     Well done to all involved!  

We couldn’t be prouder of our colleagues who have supported the refurbishment of a community hub and garden for Retail Trust    Emma from our Milngavie store and colleagues have transformed the garden space at Hugh Fraser Retirement Estate in Glasgow. There's now a pond to encourage wildlife, colourful plants, garden decorations and raised beds for residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables in the spring and summer.    A fantastic project that will benefit the whole community. A huge well done to all involved!  

We’re proud to now offer 64 EV charging bays in partnership with GRIDSERVE at a range of stores across the UK.     Customers to our Dunfermline and Ashford stores now have access to EV charging points - twelve new bays have opened at Dunfermline and six at Ashford.    This is part of our long-term partnership with the electric vehicle charging supplier and demonstrates our commitment to providing access to affordable and fast EV charging to our customers.   

Thanks to GIMA (Garden Industry Manufacturers' Association) for hosting this event. We’re looking forward to engaging with members and discussing opportunities for the future.

Around 50% of our customers have a dog and following the huge success of our pet friendly events in 2024, we’ve created a brand-new one that truly shows how much we love canine companions.     My Paw-fect Valentine will take place in 22 of our stores from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 February, and includes a sniff-ari trail, digital picture in front of our Valentine’s backdrop, and a gift bag filled with a Valentine’s dog toy, dog treats and money off vouchers.    Donations to the national dog welfare charity Dogs Trust can also be made on booking.    A huge thank you to all our amazing colleagues for delivering fantastic dog-friendly events and our B&M team for all their support with the development of these events. We’re paw-sitively brimming with excitement to get our 2025 events programme underway!    For more information, and to book tickets visit   https://lnkd.in/e8rtkDRe

On Houseplant Appreciation Day, we’re shining a spotlight on our best-sellers.    Our most popular houseplants in 2024 were the Phalaenopsis Orchid and the Spathiphyllum (peace lily), perfect for breathing new life into living spaces and for their air purifying qualities.     We’d like to say a huge thank you to Senior Buyer Claire Bishop and her team for all their hard work to create such fantastic houseplant collections throughout the year and to our colleagues, customers and suppliers for all their support.     We think January is the perfect time to welcome a houseplant to your home or office!  

It might still be summer, but autumn is in flight at our stores across the UK, as our biggest range of spring flowering bulbs goes on display this week.    We’ve taken delivery of over six million spring flowering bulbs to help gardeners across the country get their gardens ready for a colourful season!     Six-year-old Ada was blooming excited by their arrival at our Edinburgh store – and we are too!     Big thank you to Taylors Bulbs for helping us ensure this is one of our best selection of bulbs yet!

Back in May, we announced the local winners in our Dobbies Community Gardens competition.    Since then, our stores have been busy helping to support schools, charities, community centres, playgroups and allotments up and down the country with their gardening projects.    Our Stapleton store spent a busy day with the people of Royal Court Residents accommodation with their communal garden space and they are ‘over the moon’ with the results!    Residents and their families have been making the most of the late summer sunshine in the garden, and they are looking forward to hosting a garden party later this month!     Well done to everyone involved and best of luck with the celebrations!   More information on Dobbies Community Gardens here https://lnkd.in/gQQbK8Ye

As National Allotment Week gets underway, we’re highlighting our support for our friends at the Stroke Association.    Throughout August, customers attending in-store Grow How sessions - this month covering the topic of allotment gardening - will have the chance to donation to this worthwhile cause.     We’ve worked with the Stroke Association for several years. More recently, supporting the launch of their first ever online digital garden – Strength in Bloom. Gardening is known to have a positive impact on both the physical and emotional recovery of stroke survivors and the charity supports several groups with allotment across the UK.    Grow How workshops take place every Wednesday at 10.30am across our stores, as well as on the first Saturday of every month.  Find out more here about Strength in Bloom here - https://lnkd.in/en-HsrJZ

We love the chance to support our local communities at Dobbies. And, even more so when it involves huge sculptures of fruit!     You could say we were ‘apple-solutely’ ecstatic to be given the opportunity to launch the 2024 Giant Red Apple Tour at our Cirencester store recently!    The red apple took pride of place at the entrance to the store before it set off on its tour of the region to promote the Malvern Autumn Show, the UK’s largest harvest celebration.    Sam Field, General Manager at Dobbies Cirencester said: “The Giant Red Apple was a fantastic sight greeting everyone when they arrive at our store and we hope it gives people a little seasonal inspiration, as we begin to prepare for the coming Autumn.” Thanks for the collaboration Encore PR