Woolworths has disappeared from our high streets and the Winfield brand has gone with it. Older gardeners will also remember the now defunct Bees and Cuthberts seed brands that figured so prominently in the high-street shops of the 1960s and 1970s.

Woolworths was forced to reduce its gardening lines when out-of-town garden centres came on the scene and introduced new seed brands, which quickly grew - both in volume and in the number of companies being represented on the racks. Today you will see the oldest companies such as Thompson & Morgan (T&M) and Suttons, along with relatively younger names such as Mr Fothergill's, Kings Seeds and Suffolk Herbs.

Over the years, brands have been developed, bought and swallowed up by corporates, so now just a handful of firms own the many seed brands. For example, in the Suttons group of companies you will also find the Dobies (mail order) and Carters brands, and it owns the Cuthberts name but does not use it. Under Mr Fothergill's Seeds you will also find Johnsons, Country Value and DT Brown (mail order), while Kings Seeds and Suffolk Herbs are owned by EW King & Co.

Unwins Seeds is now owned by Westland Horticulture, known mainly for growing media. T&M has diversified, so that in addition to the Duchy Originals Organic seeds licence it now owns a raft of other non-seed horticulture businesses.

According to the HTA Garden Industry Monitor, in the year to November 2008 seed sales of edibles plants were up by almost 30 per cent, while ornamentals seed sales were up by nearly 16 per cent. This represents a huge opportunity for retailers to capitalise and build on the trend. So here are 10 ideas to help you sell more seed.

1. Promote the benefits of seeds over plants and cuttings

Some gardeners prefer to grow their plants from seed instead of buying plugs, trays or starter plants.

T&M head of retail Neil Sharpe says: "If your customers ask why they should bother with seeds, you can tell them: firstly, it is decidedly cheaper to grow from seed (see item 5 on p17), which means that a wider range of plants can be grown for the money; secondly, they are not as difficult to grow as people think - gardeners with a little experience can usually get good results; and thirdly, the seed packets always show a picture of the end result and give full growing instructions, which you do not get with pots or most trays and plugs."

Even the issue over the length of time it takes to get a seed to the flowering or harvesting stage has been addressed.

Suttons sales and marketing director David Arnold says: "We've already had the Speedy Seeds vegetable range, where gardeners have been able to grow vegetables from seed in a matter of just a few weeks.

"This year, Suttons has launched the Fast Flowers range. It's aimed at those gardeners who have little time to wait for their plants to grow. Every packet tells you when to expect the plants to flower or be ready for harvesting - it could be four, six or eight weeks, depending on the variety."

He adds: "We must get over the resistance that some people have to seeds. They are not difficult to grow and, in many ways, growing plants from this embryonic stage is what gardening - and life - is all about."

2. Keep seeds visible

Racks of seed packets are colourful, informative and highly visible for customers to browse. They make an attractive and profitable area, and deserve to be standing in the hot spots.

Buckingham Nurseries & Garden Centre director Peter Brown agrees: "Our main problem is one of space throughout the store, but we stock masses of seeds from many different suppliers and I'm very keen that the lines are always in the most visible area. They have to be seen clearly and we are ever-conscious of the 'browsability' factor."

Having seeds close to the tills helps because they can be impulse items.

Seed firms regularly update packet design in an effort to look fresh, to keep up with or set trends and, of course, to get one up on their competitors. Johnsons' range and display stands have a new appearance for this season. Commercial director Ann Loads of the brand's owner Mr Fothergill's Seeds says: "Most noticeable is the cool, metallic blue of the packets themselves, which echoes the style of the recently introduced World Kitchen and Laura Ashley ranges. We now have a contemporary look on one of the UK's oldest seed brands, dating back to 1820. The brand's various sub-ranges haved also been revised. We are determined to reinforce Johnsons as a top-quality brand with a unique identity."

3. Capitalise on the grow-your-own trend

Loads says that this year retailers should be capitalising on the trend for growing vegetables. "Promote vegetable seeds like never before," she says. "Tell your customers, through well-constructed point-of-sale or leaflets, why vegetables should be grown and how easy they are to grow from seed."

In the January/February issue of GR, T&M vegetable product manager Colin Randel said "freshness" was one of the main reasons for growing your own. "Customers can enjoy fresher produce than anything they can buy from the supermarket. The whole essence of being able to take a trip down the garden and cut some lettuces or pick some beans is incredibly appealing to people. Even those who grow things on an allotment, which may be a mile or two from home, can dig up some potatoes and have them taken home, prepared, cooked and on the dining table almost within the hour."

4. Offer the newest varieties

Arnold recommends promoting vegetable varieties but warns: "The one thing no retailer should do is forget the flowers. This has historically been the strongest area of the domestic seed business and although vegetables are riding high at the moment, things always change."

So how can retailers promote vegetables while still giving space and attention to flowers? One way is to promote "new" flower lines. Arnold says: "Companies like Suttons are very innovative when it comes to new flowers, ideas and promotions. Every year we launch new varieties and come up with promotional ideas for our retail customers to adopt. Suttons produces hanging cards that point to new varieties. It's very important that these innovative seed lines are brought to the customer's attention.

"Through all this, the message has to be: talk to your seed supplier and work with them."

Sharpe agrees: "One of T&M's key strengths is the depth of our flower range. If a garden centre has lots of seed suppliers it can be confusing and daunting for the customer. I believe there is a growing trend for centres to cut down to two or three key suppliers with good ranges. If they can offer something new every season, this can be a sales driver."

5. Price sensitivity

Gardeners growing plants from seed are frequently those who are money conscious. Of course, some like to sow seed for the satisfaction it brings, but for many it is the cheapest and therefore the only way they can garden satisfactorily. This means there is a degree of price sensitivity.

A couple of months ago, JD Wetherspoon made news by offering beer in its pubs at just 99p a pint. In a similar move, Suffolk-based Mr Fothergill's Seeds will this spring be making a tempting offer to consumers, with a healthy twist. The company's Vegetable Explorer seed range is being offered to gardeners for just £1 per packet from its garden retail stockists (after an initial purchase of any two other Mr Fothergill's seed packets). There is no limit on how many packets may be bought at this price.

The Vegetable Explorer range comprises exotic and rare varieties to encourage consumers to try exciting new recipes. Loads says: "It's an opportunity for anyone to try growing vegetables they may never have grown or even seen before."

If your customer base is looking to save money, look at stocking the cheaper ranges, such as the Carters brand from Suttons and the Country Value brand from Mr Fothergill's.

6. Links with celebrities

Most retailers stocking Suttons' products have pictures of Alan Titchmarsh all over the racks. The TV gardener has successfully branded himself on a range of gardening products and Suttons has the licence for the Titchmarsh seed range. The belief, which seems to work, is that whether you like his style or not, Titchmarsh is trusted when it comes to gardening and anything with his name on it is going to be good.

T&M distributes branded seeds to the Duchy Original Organic range while Suttons distributes licensed branded seeds for Cornwall's Eden Project.

Centres with links to celebrities or other dignitaries might consider using them to promote certain items.

This spring, gardeners who decide to buy varieties from Johnsons' World Kitchen range will have the chance to win a place on a two-day residential cooking course at Rick Stein's famous Seafood School in Padstow, Cornwall. The prize includes travel costs, two nights' accommodation and evening meals, and there are also runners-up prizes of signed copies of Stein's books. The promotion (see panel, p17) will be featured by retail stockists of Johnsons, where the range was introduced last year.

7. Links with schools

The sky is the limit with this one. Garden centres can involve nearby schools in some form of activity. Once you get involved in a schools project you will get the teaching staff and the parents coming to your outlet, and they will potentially all end up buying something.

Suttons regards encouraging the young into the garden as fundamental to its marketing. Arnold says: "Every week we get approached by schools to get involved with seed-based activities and learning. We're happy to do it and garden centres can also be the drivers here, not just leave it to the schools."

Last year, and again in 2009, Suttons is running the Grow Your Own Potatoes project in primary schools, in conjunction with the Potato Council. The idea is to encourage the public to buy British potatoes and it provides supporting resources for many educational principles such as growing food and healthy eating.

Championed by GR and HW columnist Peter Seabrook, this project has grabbed the interest of teachers and pupils alike. Suttons is donating laptop computers as prizes for the largest potato by weight and the largest number of potatoes.

8. Linked sales

Anyone buying seeds to take home and germinate will need other products such as propagator units, compost, trays, pots, dibbers and watering cans with rose-ends. They should be advised to buy Cheshunt Compound for preventing damping off disease. They could also do with a book on propagation, and they will need plant food.

All of this should be displayed close to the seed area so that the purchase of one type drives sales of the other.

This season, Suttons is offering retail display units promoting its tomato seed range in combination with its newly launched tomato food product. Sachets of the fertiliser are given free with quantity purchases of seeds.

9. Train your staff

While buying trays of bedding and putting them in the garden is something non-gardeners can have reasonable success with, the idea of sowing seeds and getting them to germinate is often thought of as "real gardening". It is not unheard of for customers and garden centre staff to be equally at a loss when it comes to gardening techniques.

Making sure key sales staff are trained in at least the basics of seed sowing and growing can pay dividends. Most of the larger seed suppliers offer training sessions for shop-floor staff. Arnold says: "The Suttons sales team are very happy to turn up early in the morning to go through the basics of seeds. Sessions regularly include details of the different ingredients and products needed for successful seed sowing, the differences between standard, F1 and F2 seeds, the best timings for sowing certain plants or crops, and so on. These are invaluable for the retail staff and everyone benefits."

The training and development needs of a 21st-century retailer are significant, but no single educative authority has taken ownership of the training needs of this industry. The horticultural college system and the HTA have between them addressed a number of the training issues affecting garden retailers, but there is still a long way to go.

The HTA Retail Plant Care Training Award is modular, allowing candidates to manage their studying effectively. It includes plant identification and looks at why new plants become fashionable and some older varieties fade into obscurity.

10. Don't forget Christmas

One may not automatically think of sowing seeds at Christmas, but as gifts for gardeners or children they can be very profitable.

Arnold says: "We supply seed starter packs for children, which make superb stocking fillers. Many of the retailers we supply have promoted them to great effect. It is a useful gardening line at a time when centres often struggle to sell items other than Christmas trees and baubles."

JOHNSONS AND RICK STEIN PROMOTION

Johnsons' World Kitchen range of vegetable seeds rides on the grow-your-own bandwagon, and every packet includes recipe tips. The packets are displayed on a stand that gives more information and lists the benefits of growing vegetables.

Johnsons is offering consumers the chance to win a place on a Rick Stein cookery course (see item 6 on p18). Consumers are required to buy three or more packets of World Kitchen seeds, answer a question and send their receipt to Johnsons. The closing date is the end of August.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Kings Seeds (also Suffolk Herbs) 01376 570000

Mr Fothergill's Seeds (also Johnsons Seeds, Country Value Seeds) 01638 751161

Suttons Seeds (also Carters Seeds, Alan Titchmarsh Seeds, Eden Project Seeds, Dobies Mail Order Seeds) 0844 922 2899

Thompson & Morgan (also Duchy Originals Organics) 0844 248 5383

Unwins Seeds 01480 443395