Horticulture trades Association Drop in

I was delighted to catch up with Jennifer Pheasey ( on the right in the picture above) from the Horticulture Trades Association (HTA) at the drop in on 19 November 2025 . In addition to finding out how important the industry is, the HTA provided plants to take away and I pledged my support for the industry generally and especially as Co-Chair of the APPG on Gardening and Horticulture.   

The HTA was founded in 1899, represents the entire environmental horticulture sector in the UK. The HTA protects the production and business of cultivating flora for commercial, environmental and health advancement. The HTA are a member-centric organisation with no shareholders with a primary focus to support their members. The HTA has over 1,300 garden businesses among our members including retailers, wholesalers, growers, manufacturers and landscapers, providing representation for the industry.  

In 2023, the Environmental Horticulture industry supported the employment of 722,000 jobs in the UK.

The import of plant and plant material were valued at £780.4 million: 99% of these imports came from EU countries.

The exports of plants and plant material were valued at £29.5 million: 74% of these exports went to EU countries.

Garden Centre visits are estimated to be 203 million in 2024 and 68% of UK adults said they visited a garden centre at least once in 2024. On average, each UK adult visited a garden centre 3.8 times throughout 2024.

It is important to support the our local garden centres.