DIY and gardening missed out on a jump in sales during June thanks to the miserable weather. 

The Garden Centre Association (GCA) is unveiling the 'Best in Area' garden centre winners at six awards presentation evenings taking place nationwide this month. 

The Kent-based business has jumped on the catering bandwagon which has taken garden centre retail by storm, working alongside the successful restaurateur to rejuvenate its catering offering. 

The Horticultural Trade Association expressed its "delight" as the last remaining hosepipe bans in the UK were lifted. 

Five-strong East Anglian diy store chain Coopers has switched to seven day trading. 

Sheppards DIY in Coventry celebrated its 50th anniversary with open days last Saturday and Sunday. 

Robert Dyas is keeping mum over newspaper reports that the 100-store chain is being bought by retail tycoon Theo Paphitis. 

The Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition - which has traditionally been a firm fixture at the Telford International Centre - will be moving to the Birmingham NEC for its 2013 show. 

The retailer has revealed revenue growth of 12.1% for the year ending June 30, 2012, with 3.1% like-for-like sales growth bringing its total sales to £603.7m in its cheerful trading update for Q4 and the full 52 weeks. 

The co-operative of DIY and hardware retailers has joined forces with Crimestoppers to help protect people's homes. 

"Truly ground-breaking" is how the head of the environment at the British Retail Consortium has described a new collaboration involving retailers and suppliers in a bid to cut the environmental footprint of the goods they deal with, from food to DIY products. 

Trade Union Unite said its switchboards were "on meltdown", with calls "every 12 seconds", since it called on former Focus staff to get in touch and see if they are eligible for compensation. 

Following a recent spate of disappointing revenue drops, the tiling retailer has revealed a 2.1% like-for-like increase for the 13 weeks ending June 30. 

Strong value growth in sales of carpet cleaning products and furniture polishes show that consumers are willing to spend more money on products that help to protect and maintain household items that are expensive to replace. 

On the day shoppers are being urged to buy something from an independent store in recognition of Independents' Day, the British Retail Consortium says high streets can thrive only if they include multiples too. 

Following their win of the Totally DIY prize draw at the trade show in February, Nibletts Mica Hardware owners Robert and Wendy Evans recently travelled to the US National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. 

Today sees the launch of a new group that will encourage and help to secure investment in failing town centre retail premises. 

The Met office has confirmed that double the normal amount of rain has fallen over the past month, making this June the wettest since records began in 1910, but more positive forecasts for the rest of the summer means there is hope yet for retailers to cash in on outdoor products. 

Despite wet weather, which looks set to last all week, the Hampton Court Flower Show got off to a good start yesterday ready for RHS members and public who will flock to the showground from today. 

With more than 80% of the floor space for the garden care sector now booked for the fast-approaching show, Glee has announced several brands making their debut at the NEC event.