Highfield Garden World on the A38 in Whitminster has expanded its planteria team with two experienced new recruits, bringing the team total to 14.

The long-established, family-owned garden, restaurant and retail centre employs 132 staff across the overall business. Turnover is currently £7.5m a year, with planteria sales accounting for 22 per cent.

Ian Byrne (pictured centre) is deputy planteria manager, he is joined by Scott Ellis (pictured right). Ian has more than 35 years' horticultural experience, and Scott has 11.

Jon Mason (pictured left), a director of the business and planteria manager at Highfield for the last 22 years, said: "We're always looking for ways to improve what we offer. A good customer experience is crucial, and we decided to invest in expanding our planteria team, so that staff here would have more time to spend with customers. That one-to-one attention can make all the difference, especially when talking to a customer who doesn't have much gardening knowledge. It means that the customer is twice as likely to leave having really enjoyed their visit, and with a car full of plants which are more likely to flourish than if they had been chosen without any expert input. That, in turn, engenders word-of-mouth marketing and repeat visits."

With recruitment in the horticultural industry being notoriously difficult at the moment, Jon continued; "It's no secret that recruiting staff with good horticultural knowledge is tricky, and we struck lucky with Ian and Scott. Now, with six full-time and eight part-time staff in the planteria team, we have the capacity not only to spend more time with customers, but to tweak and tailor our offering to reflect consumer demands and make the most of changing market conditions and offers through the seasons."