DIY and hardware sales were significantly down during the first two weeks of January because shoppers had already taken advantage of pre-Christmas discounts, says the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). 

Monkton Elm Garden and Pet Centre is pulling out all the stops to celebrate 30 years of trading, by inviting children to come and paint a giant terracotta '30' and donating tree saplings to worthy causes. 

Members of the Garden Centre Association (GCA) are celebrating this week after many picked up prestigious awards at the organisation's annual conference. 

Eurocell Building Plastics has expanded with a new outlet on Freshfields business park in Brighton, bringing the total number of stores to more than 120. 

Gardening Direct parent Flying Brands has confirmed that it remains in discussions over the possible sale of some of its businesses, as it reports a slowdown in trading in the last quarter of 2011. 

Dunlop Adhesives has launched part one of a new 'Job Build' feature on the newly launched Trade Zone - an interactive site designed for tradesmen. 

All Map/Pro stock has been recalled over fears that faulty valves are causing leaks on gas cylinders. 

The Range has kicked off 2012 with a milestone, opening its 60th store in the Welsh town of Carmarthen. Owner Chris Dawson also announces plans for a further 15 outlets this year. 

Hardware distributor Avocet Hardware was placed in administration on January 23. 

Burglars stamped a hole through the corrugated tin roof of South Derbyshire DIY and garden store Masseys before raiding £3,000 worth of goods in what was the store's first crime in more than 25 years of trading. 

Torbay-based Suttons Seeds has been nominated for two prestigious awards, one of which is for its group-grown, multi-headed sunflower. 

Welsh independent home and garden chain reveals it is close to receiving planning permission to redevelop a former Makro site into a 130,000sq ft department store. 

Internet sales in the UK have grown 48% since 2008 to reach £50.34bn in 2011, now accounting for 12% of total retail sales. 

There has been a 51% increase in the number of visits to garden centre cafes over the last three years according to the latest Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) report. 

The nation's favourite summer bedding plant has been uprooted from the beds of the country's biggest garden centres due to an outbreak of an airborne and fungicide-resistant mildew. 

The government has released figures suggesting that the number of loft insulations being carried out in UK homes will significantly drop once the new Green Deal comes into effect in October. 

The DIY giant has extended its own-brand gardening, outdoor leisure and garden power ranges for the 2012 season, as well as locking in TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh for another year as an ambassador for the group. 

The plumbing and heating business, which deals exclusively online, says an increase in customer demand for new boilers, radiators, and kitchen and bathroom makeovers means it is on track to record sales of £16million by the end of June 2012. 

High-value power tools and fires stolen from Wolverhampton DIY store in early hours of Monday, January 16. 

The BRC's Retail Crime Survey has today revealed that the overall cost of retail crime has soared to £1.4bn, as the sector is increasingly targeted by "serious, organised criminals".