​Over the past 12 months, I’ve noticed something really interesting: about 50% of the people I’ve placed into garden-centre roles have come from outside garden retail. That’s half of all new staff bringing fresh perspectives, skills, and energy into a sector that’s evolving faster than ever.

What’s changing in the garden retail world?

Garden centres today aren’t just about plants. Many have become lifestyle destinations, cafés, home-ware, outdoor-living spaces, and event hubs. With this shift, the skills needed have broadened too. Strong customer service, operational know-how, and experience in hospitality or retail can be just as valuable as horticultural knowledge.

This is backed up by some industry stats:

• HTA reported that garden-centre sales in April 2025 were up +22% year-on-year.

• Apprentices and trainees in garden retail are extremely low, just about 0.04% of the workforce currently.

• The garden-centres & pet-shops industry in the UK employs around 96,000 people, with employment growth of ~4.3% between 2019 and 2024.

• The sale of garden goods and equipment added around £3 billion to UK GDP in 2023, of which garden centres accounted for about 42%.

Why are people from outside garden retail moving in?

For candidates coming from other industries, why make the move into garden retail? Here are some reasons I’m seeing:

• A change of pace and environment: Many from fast-moving retail, hospitality, or corporate roles want to work somewhere more relaxed, green, and customer-focused, where no two days are the same.

• Better work-life balance: Garden centres often offer more regular hours, fewer late nights, and a more positive working atmosphere - which appeals to people leaving high-pressure or shift-heavy jobs.

• Growth and diversification of the role: Garden centres are no longer just tills and benches of plants. There are event roles, café roles, home-ware, outdoor-living, customer-experience, digital roles- the list is never-ending!

• Value-alignment: Garden centres tap into wellness, sustainability, and outdoor living. This is becoming increasingly more important for people when choosing work.

• Opportunity to learn and stand out: People with non-garden retail backgrounds see an opening: bring their prior experience (customer service, retail ops, logistics) and pick up and learn about horticulture while in the role.

• Strong sector momentum: With positive sales trends and big demand in the gardening market, it can be an attractive time to join.

What this means if you’re hiring?

If you’re a garden-centre owner or manager:

• Broaden your candidate search: Don’t limit it to “garden retail experience only”. Consider what skills you really need: customer service, retail operations, hospitality, event management, logistics. Some of the best candidates that I have placed have come from outside of the industry.

• Invest in proper onboarding: New staff from outside the sector will need clear introductions to your systems, plant knowledge, and customer expectations. A structured onboarding process can make the difference between someone settling in quickly or feeling lost.

• Define transferable skills clearly: Emphasise behaviours like “excellent people skills” and “experience in customer-facing environments”.

• Offer learning & induction in horticulture: Many candidates will come from non-horticulture backgrounds but have a desire to learn about horticulture.

• Brand the role as wider than plants: Highlight lifestyle, community, café, and event aspects.

• Focus on retention: Staff shortages are a real challenge, so keeping talent is key.

When I reflect on 50% of placements coming from outside garden retail, it shows that garden centres are recognising the value of diverse backgrounds, and that candidates from other sectors are recognising the opportunities within garden retail.

For employers: Are you being too narrow in your hiring criteria? For candidates: what transferable skills can you bring, and are you ready to learn something new?

The garden centre world is evolving fast and embracing fresh talent. People who bring more than just plant knowledge will ultimately help your business thrive.

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