15th March is Garden Re-Leaf Day and supporters from across the garden retail sector are busy making preparations for the big day.

The team at The Old Railway Line will be marking the return of its popular curry and quiz night, with a special raffle also in place to bolster the fundraising efforts on the night.

Raffles are also set to be order of the day at Haskins Forest Lodge Garden Centre, Haskins Garden Centre, West Sussex, plus Longacres store in Bagshot, Bybrook Barn, Chobham, Shepperton and Chelmsford.

Visitors to Haskins’ Snowhill centre can enjoy a special Garden Re-Leaf tombola on 15th March, whilst Pulborough Garden Centre customers can not only enjoy a cupcake, but a guessing game will also get the grey matter working.

At Millbrook Garden Centres in Kent, children are invited to plant a sunflower. For just £1, with all proceeds going to the Greenfingers Charity, children can plant a sunflower seed in a biodegradable pot to take home, learn how to care for their plant and experience the delight when their creation comes to life in spring.

Over at British Garden Centres, many of its 62 stores will be participating in Garden Re-Leaf Day with a wide range of family-friendly activities, including raffles, bake sales, plant sales, competitions and even a spot of fancy dress.

It’s not just garden centres getting in on the Garden Re-Leaf action. Friday 15th March will see offices across the country go ‘green’ to celebrate this special fundraising day.

Those with a sweet tooth will wish they worked at Woodmansterne as the greetings card publisher holds a cake sale full of homemade goodies, whilst the Gardena team has confirmed the day will be full of fun activities with their entire teams involved.

Elsewhere, Alan and Felicity Down and the Tintinhull Open Gardens Group has confirmed that they will be holding a Gardener’s Questions Time. Rob Jones, of The Garden Design Co Ltd is holding a grow your own workshop where attendees will learn more about growing fruit, veg and cut flowers. Garden designer, Andrew Fisher-Tomlin, who has previously designed Greenfingers gardens, will take Garden Re-Leaf down under as he joins in the fun from Melbourne, Australia. And The Solar Centre are keen to support their customers in raising money for Greenfingers this Garden Re-Leaf Day, if you are looking for a prize for your store raffle please contact Suzie@thesolarcentre.co.uk to request a product donation.

Finally, the QVC team will be showing their support with a special Garden Re-Leaf show on 16th March, putting the Greenfingers Charity in front of thousands of viewers.

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications said: “Thank you so much to all of those who are helping to put the fun into fundraising. You are all brilliant and I truly hope that whatever you do, you and your customers have the best time.

“More importantly, please know that you are helping to introduce the Greenfingers Charity to so many that may not be aware of us and our work, and it is this awareness that helps us to continue building our garden spaces. It means so much to us and the children and their families who enjoy spending time in a Greenfingers funded garden, so please know that whether it’s a fundraising box for spare change or the challenge of a lifetime, everything you do to promote and support Greenfingers matters.”

Getting involved in Garden Re-Leaf couldn’t be easier. Greenfingers has created a fundraising pack that can be downloaded from www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/activities/29/garden-re-leaf-day-2024. The pack is full of ideas regarding how garden centres can make the Garden Re-Leaf weekend a family-friendly and fun fundraising event so even though the day is fast approaching there is still time to get involved.

The charity also offers a wealth of additional collateral that can help garden retailers to make the most of the Garden Re-Leaf weekend, including t-shirts, collection buckets and posters to name but a few. Garden Re-Leaf is also a great local PR opportunity which helps to drive customers into store, and, again, Greenfingers can offer support to maximise this with draft news releases, and advice on which media to contact.

If you want to find out more about how to get involved in Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day 2024, whether by putting on events in your garden centre, through sponsored solo activities or simply by donating - contact the Greenfingers office on 01494 674749 or email Linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk.