Every cloud in August had a silver lining for garden centres, as the unseasonal weather boosted sales of clothing.
According to the Garden Centre Association (GCA) its members saw clothing sales up by 25.85% over the previous August.

"The cooler, wetter weather experienced last month saw a shift in sales being made in less traditional categories such as clothing and catering - which was up 7.14% - as people were drawn indoors, said GCA chairman Will Armitage.

"However, seed and bulb sales were up 13.5%, indicating that many gardeners are preparing for autumn planting."

Other categories which performed well during the month were furniture and barbecues, up 6.97%; gifts, up 6.7%; hard landscaping, up 3.65%; and food hall/farm shop, up 3.55%.

Commenting on his own garden centres' performance in August, Alan Roper, managing director of the Blue Diamond Group, said: "The group enjoyed a particularly strong August in many areas of its clothing range as we refined our offer to suit our target demographic."

And in Lancashire, clothing and catering sales were the best performers in August at Barton Grange. Said managing director Guy Topping: "As always in a month where the weather is cooler and wetter than the previous year, clothing and catering out-performed all other categories."