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Are we undermining peat-free by expecting compost Are we undermining peat-free by expecting compost to be cheap?

The quality of peat-free compost has improved enormously. But if retailers continue to demand products at the lowest possible price, are we creating a problem for manufacturers, gardeners and ultimately the industry itself?

In the latest episode of The Underground, recorded live at Glee, Phil and Kate are joined by Dan Durston and Simon Blackhurst from Durstons for a frank conversation about the future of growing media.

We explore the commercial pressures behind compost pricing, why poor-performing products can damage consumer confidence, and Simon's work with the Growing Media Association to establish a minimum quality standard.

We also ask whether the industry should take the lead on peat-free rather than continuing to wait for government legislation.

There's plenty of progress to celebrate, but some difficult questions still need answering.

Listen to the full episode using the links in bio!
It seemed like a good idea. The customers disagree It seemed like a good idea. The customers disagreed.

An Aldi-inspired pallet display, a strong price and stock ready to go. Josh Novell thought Polhill’s customers would see a bargain. They saw a warehouse.

Josh shares what happened in this candid moment from The Underground, recorded live at Glee 2026.

Watch or listen to the full conversation via the link in our bio.
Sold out. Great result? Josh Novell’s next questio Sold out. Great result? Josh Novell’s next question is: when?

If a Christmas product has gone by the end of October, adding one extra case to next year’s order might leave plenty of demand unmet.

In this clip, Josh explains the thinking behind Polhill’s Christmas buying and a reduction from around 6,000 products to 4,500.

Watch or listen to the full episode of The Underground via the link in our bio.
This weekend’s words of wisdom come from Polhill’s This weekend’s words of wisdom come from Polhill’s Josh Novell, who shares what happened when the team took a closer look at familiar routines. Rethinking how long promotions ran helped deliver a 2.6% increase in gross profit. Small changes, well worth making.



What’s happening on autopilot in your business?


Listen to the full conversation on The Underground Pod, using the links in our bio
Same contract. Another annual increase. Sign and c Same contract. Another annual increase. Sign and carry on.

Josh Novell says Polhill had been in its waste management arrangement for 23 years before putting the work out to tender and changing provider. The saving? £40,000 a year.

A practical example of profit hiding in plain sight, from The Underground at Glee 2026. Watch or listen to the full conversation via the link in our bio.
More coffee machines? More people? That was Josh N More coffee machines? More people? That was Josh Novell’s first thought. Then he watched how the orders were reaching Polhill’s coffee team. A six-foot-long roll of tickets was taking time to untangle. 

Changing the process became the next step. Josh shares the story in this clip from The Underground, live at Glee 2026.

Watch or listen to the full conversation via the link in our bio.
A sandwich arrived. The coffee followed 10–15 minu A sandwich arrived. The coffee followed 10–15 minutes later.

For Polhill’s Josh Novell, that was a reason to take a closer look at how the restaurant worked. His first instinct was to buy more coffee machines and put more people on the job. Watching the team at work revealed a different problem: how the orders were reaching them.

In our latest episode of The Underground, recorded live at Glee 2026, Josh joins Phil Wright to discuss how that thinking spread through the business.

From coffee queues and supplier contracts to promotional pricing and Christmas buying, he shares where Polhill has found opportunities to improve profitability by questioning everyday routines.

He’s equally open about what didn’t work, including an Aldi-inspired display idea that customers hated.

Watch or listen to the full conversation using the links in our bio.
Houseplants weren’t just plants during Covid. For Houseplants weren’t just plants during Covid. For many new customers, they became part of interior design and lifestyle.

Ed Hill of The Horti House points to businesses such as Patch Plants, which made plants more accessible and fun, and in his view helped grow the market rather than simply take share from someone else. Could outdoor gardening learn something from that? 

Don’t miss the full episode, listen now using the links in our bio.
4,000 potential plant SKUs 😳 Ed Hill of The Horti 4,000 potential plant SKUs 😳

Ed Hill of The Horti House thinks that’s too many. But his answer isn’t simply to slash the range. Garden centres still need dependable core lines, seasonality and enough fresh product to give customers something they won’t find everywhere else. So where’s the right balance between choice and overload?

To hear the full conversation, search The Underground Pod on your favourite podcast platform.
Some customers want to get their hands dirty. Othe Some customers want to get their hands dirty. Others want to plonk a pot by the front door and admire it. There’s room for both.

In this week’s episode of The Underground, Natalie Boynton and Ed Hill explore how plant buyers are changing, making gardening easier to get into, and why understanding your customers could help grow the whole market.

Less Latin, more listening… Check out the full conversation now.
Green-fingered or clean-fingered? Natalie Boynton Green-fingered or clean-fingered?

Natalie Boynton of Happy Plants sees the plant customer changing. For some people, gardening is becoming less about spending hours planting up a garden and more about taking something home and enjoying it straight away. Different lifestyles, later retirement and tighter budgets all play a part. Is the sector changing quickly enough with its customer?

Check out the full episode now!
Are you a “plonker”? No offence intended. Natali Are you a “plonker”? 

No offence intended. Natalie Boynton of Happy Plants uses the term affectionately for a customer who wants something they can take home, put in place and enjoy without needing lots of gardening knowledge first.

A hanging basket on a hook. A pot by the front door. A “plonk-able product”.
Could this be an increasingly important way into gardening?

Watch Natalie explain the thinking in our latest Glee episode.
Green-fingered to clean-fingered: is the garden cu Green-fingered to clean-fingered: is the garden customer changing?

This week on The Underground Podcast, Kate is joined at Glee by Natalie Boynton from Happy Plants and Ed Hill from The Horti House.

Natalie has an affectionate name for one type of customer they’re increasingly designing products for: the “plonker”. Someone who wants a plant they can take home, put in place and enjoy without needing lots of horticultural knowledge first.

That sparks a much wider conversation about whether we’re making gardening too complicated, whether garden centres offer too much choice, and what the houseplant boom can teach us about reaching a new generation. They also explore how gardening can work for younger people who rent, what happens when garden centres lose experienced staff, and where technology and AI could genuinely improve the customer experience.

There’s a lot in this one about how the garden customer is changing, and how the sector might change with them.

Listen to the latest episode of The Underground Podcast using the links in our bio, or search The Underground on your preferred podcast platform
A bottle is always welcome. Chocolates are always A bottle is always welcome. Chocolates are always welcome.

But what about giving someone something that can grow, bloom, flourish and feed them?

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on why he loves giving seeds and fruit trees as presents, and how a packet of seeds can provide the little nudge someone needs to start growing.

From our latest episode of The Underground, recorded live at Glee.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation now (link in bio)

#TheUndergroundPodcast #HughFearnleyWhittingstall #RiverCottage #SeedRevolution #GrowYourOwn
What if the biggest barrier to growing is simply f What if the biggest barrier to growing is simply feeling that it isn’t for you?

Max Mancroft started Seed Revolution with a simple idea: make growing easier to understand, less intimidating and more exciting.

From simplifying wildflowers to introducing “No Grow, No Fee”, the aim is to give more people the confidence to try.

From our latest episode of The Underground, recorded live at Glee.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation now (link in bio)

#TheUndergroundPodcast #SeedRevolution #GrowYourOwn #Glee2026 #Gardening
This week on The Underground, Hugh Fearnley-Whitti This week on The Underground, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Hugh talks about the childhood experience that first got him growing, why producing some of our own food can change our relationship with what we eat. He's launched a range of organic vegetable seeds in partnership with Seed Revolution. We invited Max Mancroft to join us to discuss the challenge of making growing from seed feel simpler, more appealing and more accessible to a new generation.

Tune in for a dose of inspiration this weekend - link in bio

#weekendwordsofwisdom
Could horticulture be approaching its own version Could horticulture be approaching its own version of the renewables revolution?

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall believes there’s a shift happening in the way we think about soil, fertilisers and growing.

In our latest episode of The Underground, recorded live at Glee, he explains why a well-balanced organic system can produce great food while looking after nature at the same time.

And why more growers may start asking whether there’s another way.

🎧 Watch the clip, then listen to the full conversation with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on The Underground.

#TheUndergroundPodcast #Glee2026 #HughFearnleyWhittingstall #Horticulture #RegenerativeHorticulture
Growing your own food can be about much more than Growing your own food can be about much more than what ends up on the plate.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall talks about growing as an act of self-reliance, a commitment to nature and, sometimes, even a political act.

From our latest episode of The Underground, recorded live at Glee.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation now (link in bio)

#TheUndergroundPodcast #HughFearnleyWhittingstall #GrowYourOwn #RiverCottage #Glee2026
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