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Glee is nearly here, and whether you’re exhibiting Glee is nearly here, and whether you’re exhibiting or visiting, three days at the NEC can be a lot.


With Glee 2026 fast approaching, and The Underground returning as its official podcast partner, we’re revisiting some of the best advice shared by guests in Season 1: how to plan your time, make the most of chance conversations, take notes you’ll actually use and follow up properly afterwards.


There are practical essentials too: comfortable shoes, hydration, a decent breakfast, emergency plasters and strategic coffee consumption.


Featuring tips from garden centre leaders, suppliers, marketers, PRs, journalists, growers and industry organisations, all with plenty of exhibition miles under their belts.


Listen now to How to Survive Glee: The Garden Industry’s Best Tips, wherever you get your podcasts.
What would a more confident future for garden reta What would a more confident future for garden retail look like?

In the final clip from our Glee 2025 conversations, Paul Pleydell from Pleydell Smithyman reflects on the uncertainty facing businesses and why he'd like to see the industry move beyond it over the next five years.

His other wish for the future is a little simpler: more smiles. Because, as Paul puts it, if everyone is smiling, things are going well.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast on the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
Gardeners deserve results. Revisiting our conver Gardeners deserve results. 

Revisiting our conversations from Glee 2025, Steve Harper from Grass Gains calls for less smoke and mirrors and more focus on making sure products genuinely deliver what they promise.

For Steve, it's about setting gardeners up to win – because if people don't get the results they're expecting, the industry risks losing them altogether.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast on the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
Independent garden centres are about more than ret Independent garden centres are about more than retail. They're part of the communities they serve.

Looking back at our conversations from Glee 2025, Reverend Dave Walker from Birleymoor Garden Centre makes the case for greater recognition and support for independent businesses, particularly as the pressures facing them continue to grow.

For Dave, protecting independents also means protecting the community connections and local economic impact they create.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast on the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
Do plants really need to be flowering on the garde Do plants really need to be flowering on the garden centre bench to sell?

Revisiting our conversations from Glee 2025, Michael Perry, Mr Plant Geek, makes the case for more 'living labels' – using mature plants within displays to show customers what smaller, younger plants have the potential to become.

It's an approach that could change expectations around how plants need to look at the point of sale, while reducing the need to encourage young plants into flower before they're ready.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast on the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
Could the next evolution of garden centre dining h Could the next evolution of garden centre dining happen after hours?


Looking back at our conversations from Glee 2025, Barry Knight from The Full Range considers how garden centres could make more of their existing dining spaces, kitchens and facilities by introducing an evening offer.


From collaborations with local chefs to occasional regional dining events, could bringing in a nighttime audience be the natural next step in making food an even bigger part of the garden centre experience?

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast on the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
The next generation of garden centre customers wil The next generation of garden centre customers will arrive with very different expectations.


As we revisit our conversations from Glee 2025, Natalie Boynton from YPHA reflects on the rise of instant gratification and why garden centres have an advantage that shouldn't be underestimated: they're experiential.


The opportunity is to protect that experience while being prepared to think differently about what the customer of the future expects.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast on the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
With Glee just one month away, we’re heading back With Glee just one month away, we’re heading back to Birmingham and revisiting the conversations we recorded there last year. 

At Glee 2025, we asked every guest who joined us one simple question: What’s one change you’d love to see in the garden sector over the next five years? 

Their answers offered a fascinating snapshot of where the industry believed change was needed—from attracting more young people into horticulture and improving training, to supporting independent garden centres and making more ambitious use of digital technology.

We also heard thoughts on sustainability, peat-free growing media, water conservation, online retail, AI and the evolution of garden centres themselves—with bigger ideas ranging from evening destinations to entirely new approaches to plant merchandising.

A year later, which of those ideas are beginning to take shape? Which challenges are still with us? And if we asked the same question at Glee this year, would the answers be any different?

This special episode features voices from across garden retail, horticulture, suppliers, marketing and the wider garden sector.

Listen to The Underground using the links in our bio, or search for The Underground Pod wherever you listen.
In the latest episode of The Underground Podcast, In the latest episode of The Underground Podcast, Hannah Powell shares why spending time surrounded by nature, with her hands in the soil, plays such an important role in her wellbeing and why her passion for plants has never faded.

Listen now using the links below, or search The Underground Pod, wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast using the links in our bio or search The Underground Podcast wherever you get your podcasts to listen now.
How do you grow a family business without losing t How do you grow a family business without losing the values that shaped it?

In the latest episode of The Underground Podcast, Kate and Phil talk to Hannah Powell, HR and Communications Director at Perrywood Garden Centres, about how the business has grown from a small family enterprise into three award-winning centres while keeping plants, people and continuous improvement at its heart.

From creating a workplace where people feel valued to explaining why a visit to a garden centre can mean so much more than a shopping trip, Hannah reflects on the values that continue to shape Perrywood today.

Listen to Plants, People and the Growth of Perrywood Garden Centres on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

#weekendwordsofwisdom
Looking after people isn’t just about what happens Looking after people isn’t just about what happens at work. It’s about supporting them through everything life brings.

In this week’s episode of The Underground Podcast, Hannah Powell shares with Kate and Phil how Perrywood works to support its team through life’s ups and downs, from caring responsibilities and illness to neurodiversity and returning to work.

For Hannah, creating a positive workplace starts with recognising that every employee is an individual, not just a number.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast using the links in our bio or search The Underground Podcast wherever you get your podcasts to listen now.
In our latest episode, Hannah Powell shares a touc In our latest episode, Hannah Powell shares a touching story about a customer whose first trip after a major operation was to Perrywood. It’s a reminder that, for many people, garden centres offer inspiration, connection and a chance to simply enjoy being surrounded by plants.

It’s these everyday moments that make such a difference, and why creating a welcoming experience means so much.

Check out the full episode of The Underground Podcast on YouTube or search The Underground Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Growing up, Perrywood wasn't just the family busin Growing up, Perrywood wasn't just the family business – it was part of everyday life.


In our latest episode of The Underground Podcast, Hannah Powell reflects on a childhood where conversations about the business happened naturally around the kitchen table at home before she and her brothers each set off to forge their own careers... and eventually found their way back.


Listen to the full conversation now using the links in our bio, or search The Underground Pod, wherever you get your podcasts.
From a four-acre smallholding growing strawberries From a four-acre smallholding growing strawberries and potatoes to three award-winning garden centres, Perrywood’s story is one of family, plants and steady growth.

In this week’s episode, Phil and Kate talk to Hannah Powell, HR and Communications Director at Perrywood Garden Centres, about how the business has expanded without losing the values that shaped it. Hannah explains why plants remain at the heart of Perrywood, how industry standards have encouraged continuous improvement, and why knowledgeable, well-supported teams are central to the customer experience.

They also discuss attracting younger customers, the power of a successful loyalty programme, making sustainable choices, the pressures facing garden centre businesses and how climate change could affect what customers grow in the future.

Along the way, Hannah shares why gardening is her therapy and how a visit to a garden centre can offer people far more than a shopping trip.

Don’t miss the episode. Listen now using the links in our bio, or search The Underground Pod, wherever you get your podcasts.
In our latest episode of The Underground Podcast, In our latest episode of The Underground Podcast, Kate sits down with Phil Wright to explore why some brands stay with us long after we’ve seen the advert.

From the stories they tell to the experiences we have with them and the recommendations we receive, every interaction shapes the gut feeling that influences the choices we make.

Watch the full episode of The Underground Podcast on YouTube or search The Underground Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Strategy, creativity and emotion all play a part i Strategy, creativity and emotion all play a part in the decisions we make every day, but the strongest brands don’t manufacture connections. They uncover what’s already true and communicate it in a meaningful way.

In the latest episode of The Underground Podcast, Phil Wright shares his perspective on what great marketing really looks like.

If you’re looking for an interesting listen this weekend, why not take The Underground Podcast with you? Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

#weekendwordsofwisdom
In this week’s episode of The Underground Podcast, In this week’s episode of The Underground Podcast, Kate challenges Phil on whether marketing encourages unnecessary consumerism. The conversation explores the responsibility brands have, and why the strongest marketing doesn’t invent emotional connections – it reveals the ones that already exist.

Check out the full episode of The Underground Podcast using the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
This week, the tables are turned as Kate sits down This week, the tables are turned as Kate sits down with Phil Wright to explore How People Choose: Emotion, Strategy and Creative Marketing. From what a brand really is to the role emotion plays in the decisions we make, the conversation explores why successful brands are built through every interaction, not just their visual identity.

Listen to the full episode of The Underground Podcast using the links in our bio or search The Underground Pod wherever you get your podcasts.
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