The Underground

• Lee Connelly & Sipcam’s Nigel Thompson on Schools, Greener Gardening, and Innovation

  Recorded at Glee 2025, Phil Wright and Kate Turner sit down with Lee Connelly, the Children’s Gardening Coach (formerly Skinny Jean Gardener), and Nigel Thompson, Sales & Marketing Director at Sipcam Home & Garden, to explore how the trade can engage families, support schools, and modernise product ranges for today’s consumer. Expect practical ideas for garden centres, insight on brand-building as a challenger, and new product thinking across outdoor and houseplant care. What you’ll hearSchool gardening at scale: Lee’s 2025 tour reached 10,000 children in a single week across 30 schools, sparking classroom-to-home participation and long-term follow-up with teachers. He argues for sustained brand investment in primary as well as secondary to seed future gardeners and employees. Making garden centres true family destinations: low-cost activities that create reasons to dwell, learn and buy—without feeling like a “kids’ corner” bolt-on. Greener gardening in practice: Nigel outlines Sipcam’s focus on ecofective®, simplifying purchase and sell-through for retailers while keeping efficacy front and centre.Challenger brand mindset: why being smaller enables creative risk-taking, sharper points of difference, and faster iteration. From activation to legacy: how Sipcam partnered with Lee (30 schools supported in total, with the team volunteering locally) to prioritise impact over quick-win influencer content. GuestsLee Connelly — The Children’s Gardening Coach. Campaigning to get gardening into the curriculum and designing joyful, memorable experiences that stick with kids and teachers. https://www.childrensgardeningcoach.co.ukNigel Thompson — Sales & Marketing Director, Sipcam Home & Garden. Steering ecofective®, Fito and Get Off with a “greener gardening” strategy and a challenger’s eye for distinctive propositions. https://www.sipcamhg.co.uk

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• Glee 2025: Live Q&A with Blue Diamond’s Alan Roper

  In this live Glee Q&A, Phil sits down with Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond Garden Centres, for a frank look at what really drives performance in modern garden retail: culture, commercial discipline, and relentless differentiation.Roper explains why scale only works when the “engine room” is tuned for profit and cash, not vanity growth; why benchmarking and ownership culture beat top-down control; how demographic waves continue to pull new gardeners into the category; and where the next profit centres are likely to emerge. He also gives a straight-talking view on British supply, sustainability trade-offs, and the role of social media creativity in sparking demand.Culture + cash over vanity metrics: Growth that sticks comes from building a tight culture, clear customer relationships and rigorous profit control “every step of the way” – using cash generated, not over-leveraging on debt. Retail basics that still win: “Right product, right place, right time, right commitment” remains the core operating system for stores and teams. Demographics & demand: Younger audiences typically reconnect with gardening as life stages shift, with houseplants and community programmes (e.g., Acorn Gardening Club) acting as effective on-ramps. Ownership culture & benchmarking: Centres see each other’s figures, act on conversion insights (back the winning genuses), and keep local DNA intact while improving performance. Innovation = new profit centres: Seek true novelty (from rechargeable outdoor lighting to pergolas) to unlock "new money". Back British where it adds difference: Smaller UK suppliers can deliver point-of-difference ranges and resilience. Who should listen? Garden centre leaders, brand and category managers, and suppliers looking to understand how the UK’s leading group is thinking about growth, assortment, and customer connection in 2025.

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• Michael Perry's “Future Plants” and Canada’s Urban Nature Store on trends, retail experience, and reliable supply chains

  This episode takes on a distinctly international feel: once again at Glee 2025, Phil and Kate sit down with two voices from opposite sides of the Atlantic who share a common mission: get more people excited about nature, and make it easier for retailers to serve them brilliantly.First up, Michael Perry (Mr Plant Geek) explains why he now calls himself a plant promoter, what makes a plant “promotion-worthy,” and the nine trend pillars he’s been touring the halls with: from “Go green or go lean” to “Hedges & Wedges” (living mulch done right). He also spotlights curiosities from his Future Plants display: conifers with character, fragrance-forward bedding, and the odd show-stopping black dahlia.Then we switch gears to Paul Oliver, founder of The Urban Nature Store in Toronto, who shares a retailer’s view on category expansion and community: bird seed as the weekly staple, complemented by gifts, books, optics, kids’ kits, and in-store walks that turn shoppers into a social club. He unpacks why his team is diversifying away from US-centred supply in favour of partners with predictable landed costs, highlighting opportunities for UK and European brands that can ship reliably to Canada and evidence robust sustainability credentials.There’s also a brief check-in with Gardenex on exporting support and the ever-popular Meet the Buyer sessions at Glee. If you’re a brand, buyer, or garden centre operator, this episode is packed with practical pointers on product selection, trend-led merchandising, sustainability signalling, and cross-channel content that actually reaches customers.What you’ll learn:How “plant promotion” differs from plant hunting or influencing, and the criteria Michael uses to spot winners consumers and growers will love.Nine trend themes to watch at retail: efficiency for growers, wildlife value, flowering longevity, houseplant “royalty,” patio-shade lovers, and living-mulch groundcovers.Range curation ideas: conifers with personality, scented patio performers, Agastache vs lavender, and talking-point novelties that drive footfall.Retail experience as a growth engine: why adding gifts, books, socks, toys and seasonal promotions increases average basket around the bird seed staple.Supply-chain strategy for 2025–26: mitigating tariff volatility, leveraging UK–Canada trade, and what Canadian buyers need from UK/EU suppliers (clear logistics pathways, landed-cost clarity, proof-points on sustainability).Community building that converts: seniors’ days, guided walks, and family-friendly kits that turn casual visitors into loyal advocates.Michael Perry: http://mrplantgeek.substack.comPaul Oliver: http://urbannaturestore.caJoe Denham: https://www.gardenex.com⁠Discover more about our hosts:Kate Turner: ⁠www.gardenerguru.co.uk⁠Phil Wright: ⁠www.wrightobara.com

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• Stronger Together: YPHA’s championing of young talent and an industry that cares

  This episode pays homage to the support systems that make horticulture special. Phil Wright and co-host Kate Turner talk with Nat Boynton and Meg Warren-Davis from YPHA about practical ways the community invests in young professionals: from bursaries and employer-backed time to train, to sponsors and partners who step in when it matters. Then Kaz Edwards (Heart of Eden) shares how the trade rallied when she was made redundant, opening doors within weeks and proving why this sector’s people-first culture is its superpower. In this episode:The power of backing young talent: YPHA’s Launch Success journey, bursary support, and a new winter skills programme with Barclays to teach real-world commercial skills (interviews, business plans, reading a balance sheet). Call-outs for operational allies to help scale the next cohort. Employers stepping up: How companies co-funded and released staff for nine training days, with Colegrave Seabrook Foundation support, because investing in people reduces churn and strengthens the whole sector. Community in action: From an initial “not our priority” response to industry champions stepping in: sponsorships, retailers, trainers and mentors who turned an idea into impact.When careers wobble, people catch you: Kaz describes the shock of redundancy and the flood of messages, referrals—even from competitors—that swiftly led to her role at Heart of Eden. Practical advice: be bold, ask for help, this industry will respond. Collaborating on peat-free confidence: Why manufacturers and retailers must partner on education and POS, and how schemes like Responsible Sourcing help the whole category move forward together. www.ypha.org.ukheartofeden.co.uk

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• Rooted in Progress: Durstons Big Rebrand, Woodlodge’s Sustainable Growth & Greenfingers’ Climb to New Heights

  In this episode of The Underground Podcast, recorded live at Glee 2025, hosts Phil Wright and Kate Turner sit down with three guests shaping the garden sector’s next chapter: Dan Durston and Simon Blackhurst from Durstons, and Kate Ebbens, Commercial Business Manager at Woodlodge and passionate Greenfingers Charity ambassador.From product innovation to purpose-driven missions, this episode captures what’s driving momentum across the garden industry today.Durstons share how a bold rebrand has transformed their image, while staying true to their heritage. And how they’re leading the charge in consistent, high-performing peat-free compost.Woodlodge’s Kate Ebbens talks about the company’s evolution, from sustainable recycled plastic pots to outdoor/indoor living trends, and why strong merchandising and design-led thinking are helping retailers stay relevant to modern consumers.Kate also shares exciting (and slightly nuts) news about her upcoming expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Greenfingers, following her incredible year of running 5K every single day to raise funds for children’s hospice gardens last year.Whether you’re a supplier, retailer, or marketer in the garden sector, this episode is packed with insight on branding, product development, consumer education, and the people making a real difference behind the scenes.Listen in to discover:How Durstons turned a simple advertising brief into a transformative brand identityWhy education and collaboration are key to building trust in peat-free compostThe emerging retail trends shaping Woodlodge’s product and merchandising strategyHow industry passion and charity purpose can powerfully intersectThe Underground Podcast is produced by WrightObara, the creative marketing agency for home and garden brands.Durstons: http://durstongardenproducts.co.uk/Woodlodge: https://www.woodlodge.co.ukGreenfingers Kilimanjaro Trek: https://www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/get-involved/climb-kilimanjaro-for-greenfingers

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