Last year, 42 million people visited a garden centre and more than 30 million own plants. By comparison, 15.5 million people attend an entire Premier League season.

The public understands the value of gardens and green spaces. The challenge is ensuring Government recognises that value just as clearly.

Environmental horticulture is not simply a pastime. It is a major British industry, contributing £38 billion to the UK economy, generating £8.4 billion in tax and supporting 722,000 jobs.

Green infrastructure is infrastructure

When we plan roads, schools or housing developments, we rightly think about construction and long-term maintenance. Yet planting is still too often treated as a finishing touch rather than essential infrastructure.

Trees, hedges and planting schemes need the right soil, space, water and management to survive and thrive. Without that commitment, we risk spending public and private money on green spaces that never deliver the environmental, social and economic benefits expected.

Green infrastructure should be planned from the outset, not added at the end.

Nature-resilient solutions

Following a year of extreme weather, from widespread flooding to record summer temperatures, the need for nature-resilient solutions has never been clearer.

The benefits are measurable. The Office for National Statistics estimates cooling from urban green and blue spaces avoided around £233 million in heat-related costs in 2021. The Forestry Commission found that trees can reduce surrounding air temperatures by as much as 8°C, while urban vegetation delivers an estimated £800 million health benefit annually by helping remove air pollution.

Investment in quality landscapes is not an optional extra. It is part of the solution to some of the most pressing challenges facing our communities.

Supporting family businesses

Behind every tree, shrub and planting scheme is a business that grows, supplies and maintains it.

Many horticultural enterprises are family-owned businesses with substantial investment tied up in land, equipment and growing stock. Recent changes to inheritance tax reliefs have created understandable concern, particularly for nurseries where crops can take years to reach marketable size.

Policymakers must recognise the unique characteristics of businesses whose assets are essential to production and whose returns are often realised over long timescales.

Investing in skills

Horticulture also needs the next generation.

I know from personal experience the opportunities this industry can create. I left school at 16 and began work in a garden centre.

We need more accessible pathways into horticulture and stronger recognition of our sector within Skills England. Apprenticeships must reflect the practical skills employers need, and the system must work not only for large organisations but also for small nurseries, landscapers, arboricultural businesses and garden centres.

For many small employers, taking on a first apprentice can be expensive and administratively complex. We should be making those opportunities easier to offer, not harder.

Water security matters

Water is fundamental to the future of our sector. Without reliable access to it, we cannot grow plants or establish the green spaces that Government wants to see delivered.

The industry fully supports responsible water use, but regulation must recognise the difference between essential and discretionary use. Watering a newly planted tree to keep it alive is not the same as watering for recreation.

We need clearer drought guidance, proportionate exemptions for essential watering and greater support for water storage infrastructure, particularly for smaller businesses. Horticulture must also have a seat at the table in discussions about the UK’s long-term water security.

A partnership for growth

We welcome the Horticultural Sector Growth Plan and believe it should recognise environmental horticulture as a sector in its own right, not simply an extension of food production.

Much can be achieved by aligning existing Government ambitions with the industry’s capabilities, including making greater use of public procurement to support British growers.

Government rightly talks about supporting green industries. But we should remember that environmental horticulture is the green industry.

We grow the plants, produce the trees and create the landscapes that make communities healthier, greener and more resilient.

Our industry is ready to deliver. We need Government to recognise its value and work with us to realise its full potential.

Boyd Douglas-Davies

Chair – Greenfingers Charity – a childrens charity

Chair – Environmental Horticulture Group / RHS

Trustee – Gardening 4 Health – Therapeutic Horticulture in the UK

Ambassador – YPHA – Young People in Horticulture Association

Managing Consultant The Boyd Partnership