Clothing was the biggest seller at garden centres in December, according to the Garden Centre Association (GCA).
Year-on-year sales in the category were up 14% during the month, while pets and aquatics saw an 8% rise and catering was up 5%. Other good performers were food halls and farm shops, with sales up 4%.

At Powys GCA member The Old Railway Line Garden Centre, shop manager Katie Eckley said: "We relocated and expanded our clothing department in the autumn and it really paid off for Christmas sales. It is now outside our restaurant, which provides a great browsing area, and sales have increased by over 150% compared to last December as a result of this and our expansion in the range."

Millbrook Garden Centre, which has two centres in Kent and one in East Sussex, also had a positive December. Managing director Tammy Woodhouse said: "We found good growth in clothing sales and we plan to expand this department in 2015, adding new ranges and styles to suit all ages.

"Another strong performer was our pet department, especially on gift and Christmas pet accessories from Pet Face. Our cafés had their best-ever Christmas."