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GrootGroenPlus

HORTITRENDS LEADING TRADE VISIT TO GROOTGROENPLUS, HOLLAND

Linked to their recent membership of the European Horticulture Network (EHN) www.hortinet.eu, HortiTrends will lead a group of buyers from Ireland and the UK to the anniversary edition of trade fair GrootGroenPlus. The offering ranges from seed to ornamental plants, standard trees, topiary and horticulture supplies. The event is of interest to nurseries, landscapers and garden centres among others. GrootgroenPlus2015 is held from 30 September till and including 2 October, in Zundert, in the south West of the Netherlands. Interested buyers, please contact Joseph about travel arrangements on 087 9212044 or email joseph@horticulture.ie. Find out more at www.grootgroenplus.nl GLAS STAND #D28 

SANDRO AND IRISH WILDFLOWERS CELEBRATING 25 YEARS SELLING WEEDS

Sandro Cafolla tells HC “Back in the day, some in the trade laughed when we started ‘growing weeds’ and were in disbelief at the concept of wildflowers.” These days wildflowers are grant-aided on Irish Farms, appear on most major roads, adorn gardens, visitor centres and schools and they are a priority for nature conservation and Biodiversity. Keep a lookout for upcoming open days to see the wonderful abundant meadows of wildflowers Speak to Sandro to learn even more about Irish Wildflowers at Glas Stand J4. 

IRISH GRASS MACHINERY HIGHLIGHTING NEW RANGES FROM MAKITA & DOLMAR

The team from Irish Grass Machinery, buoyant after a number of recent tender successes, will be at Glas promoting their new range of Makita battery garden equipment, which is unique in that the batteries interchange with over 130 other Makita tools. The batteries also have a three-year commercial warranty. Also of interest to the trade will be the Dolmar range with their four-stroke engines that use 40% less fuel than a normal two-stroke engine. Michael Smyth tells HC “We are keen to highlight the superior parts and repair service that comes as a given, with all products supplied by our company”. More at www.irishgrassmachinery.ie GLAS STAND #ST10 

IN BRIEF

SIMPLY GRASS LOOKING TO EXPAND DISTRIBUTOR & RETAIL NETWORK AT GLAS

The team will be highlighting their luxury range of DIY rolls, which are a high-quality artificial grass and come with installation instructions on the label. All the most popular sizes will be on display, including handy 4m x 1m (4m2) and 4m x 2m (8m2) rolls. The parent company of Simply Grass is the Internationally acclaimed Tony Patterson Sportsgrounds, who has over 40 years experience in professional sports surfaces installations. They are now looking to expand their team of distributors across Ireland. Find out more and meet the team at the stand is C1 or see the product range featured in the Retail Merchandising Showcase go to Stand C1, M8.

HORTITRENDS JOINS EUROPEAN HORTICULTURE NETWORK REPRESENTING IRELAND & UK

EHN is a network of independent national marketing and communications specialists in the horticulture industry. Together, they form a unique, highly effective network of marketing and PR professionals. The goal of the network is the promotion of free trade between the member states of the EU (internal market) by offering custom-made European wide marketing and PR solutions, and also to stimulate trade by providing effective information to countries outside the EU and/ or Europe. The members of the network also wish to promote the social, ecological and economical values of sustainably produced edible and non-edible horticultural products. Find out more at www.hortinet.eu GLAS STAND #D28

CONGRATULATIONS TO FRANCIS MULHOLLAND FROM CAFRE, GREENMOUNT CAMPUS ON WINNING THE YOUNG HORTICULTURIST OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2015

The one-day event took place in April in the Pheonix Park visitors centre. Pictured here are Paul Fitters, Francis Mulholland, Michal Slawski of Bord Bia and Claire Woods of Greenmount Campus.

INSTRATA APPROVED IN IRELAND – MEET THE EVERRIS TEAM AT GLAS

The official launch of Instrata in Ireland took place in Dublin at the prestigious Aviva Stadium, organised by Everris Country Manager, Colman Warde, and hosted by the stadium’s Head Groundsman, Majella Smyth. Colman highlighted greenkeepers and superintendents in Ireland have been eagerly awaiting the approval of Instrata.

Instrata “Its unique multi-active properties will be especially valuable to protect turf playing quality from disease risk challenges as a result of the typically changeable weather conditions.” Colman and the Everris team will also be launching a range of new products, including the Spec- Ag – Lallemand range of biological plant health care products, including Cilus Plus, Rise-P, Intracell and Rise S. H2Flo- Water Conservation Agent. In professional Hort they are launching the Micromax Premium – controlled release Trace Element package and finally in turf and Amenity both Seamax – highly concentrated water-soluble seaweed and DewSmart a new and safe way to help prevent disease on golf surfaces. Meet the Everris team at stand H9.

ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL HORTICULTURIST OR ARCHITECT LOOKING TO INCREASE YOUR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE OF PLANTS?

Then the Hunting Brook Plantsperson’s Course could be just what you need! Widely covered in the gardening press, Jimi Blake’s Hunting Brook has become a mecca for gardeners and horticulturists from around the world.

Participants on this course will gain an intimate understanding of the garden, see it through the seasons and become well acquainted with all of the plants grown there. One of the most challenging technical elements of garden design is succession planting. Learn how to extend the season by intensively using space for waves of beautiful blooms! Over the course of the year, Jimi will also share his techniques for combining plants to create stunning modern borders. A key part of the course involves visits to some of the best Irish gardens and lectures by leading specialist in the field of horticulture. Call Jimi to discuss further: 087 285 6601, Email: jimi@huntingbrook.com, learn more: www.huntingbrook.com

CONTEMPORARY IRISH CONCRETE PLANTERS

ail+el is ail+el is a contemporary Irish homeware brand based in Dublin and was founded by Aileen Balfe and Eleanor McCaughey. Their unique experiences and styles have been layered together to inspire a creative product range. Pattern, colour and form are integral parts of ail+el’s products. Each planter is hand cast in concrete. They are completely unique as the concrete dictates the finished look and when dry each planter is then hand finished with a different pattern. The planters were conceived and designed looking at an urban living, combining the hard and industrial qualities of concrete with lush succulents. More at www.ailandel.com

NEWS FROM THE GLDA

In early May the GLDA was represented at Garden Show Ireland in Co Antrim, where it hosted a very successful design tent throughout the show. Free 15 minute consultations were given with a booking system in operation to deal with the demand.

The GLDA stand at Bloom saw the launch of their new website. Visitors to the GLDA stand were given a demonstration of the new website and were able to sign up for a competition by having their details entered directly to the site. As well as demonstrating the new website members gave free design consultations to visitors. Full members Jane McCorkell and Ingrid Swan were medal winners in the large garden category with Jane winning Gold and Best in Show, and Ingrid winning Silver Gilt in the concept garden category. On Saturday 13th June the GLDA organised garden visits for members and friends of the Association. The visits started with a large private garden near St Margarets designed by Andrew Glenn-Craigie and Lisa Murphy. A lunch picnic was organised at Jane McCorkell’s before exploring her garden.

Finally, the visit moved on to Beech Park in Clonsilla where Fingal Co Council is restoring the garden which will eventually be opened to the public. Future visits and events will be publicised on the website www.glda.ie and on Facebook. Do visit the website where not only is there information on all the full members but you will also find under the “suppliers” heading all the Corporate Members of the Association and their services.  GLAS STAND #B12 

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BLANCHARDSTOWN TEAM & FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL WIN BEST SMALL GARDEN AT BLOOM 2015

Fingal County Council has worked closely with the Department of Horticulture at ITB for the past four years, providing a training ground for their students in Beech Park Gardens, Clonsilla, Dublin 15. The students have gained invaluable work experience in garden restoration, plant cultivation and plant identifi cation under the guidance of John Harrington, Chargehand Gardener in Fingal County Council who has worked in the horticultural industry for more than 40 years.

This year at Bloom in the Park, Fingal County Council and ITB created a show garden that was a representative vignette of the famous walled garden at Beech Park, Clonsilla, Dublin 15 developed by the Shackleton family during the second half of the 20th century. The design of the Bloom garden referenced and drew on the archive of detailed planting and layout plans for a walled garden at Beech Park prepared during its heyday in the 1980s. In particular, unusual and signature plants which were or are still part of the collection at Beech Park were sourced and incorporated into the show garden to demonstrate the level of horticultural excellence planned for the fully restored garden.

The walled garden at Beech Park will be opened to the public as an important local amenity, visitor attraction and tourism asset. The gardens are widely regarded as being internationally significant due to their long association with horticultural excellence and in particular due to the wide range of rare and exotic plants recorded there over many years. During the 1980s, the gardens were included in “The Good Gardens Guide” (with two stars). This is the highest accolade awarded by the guide and reserved for the very best gardens in the British Isles.

Garden designer Jane McCorkell, lecturer in horticulture at ITB and six times Gold medal of Bloom worked with her students on the design of the Beach Park Garden at Bloom 2015. Eamon Kealy, lecturer in Horticulture cultivated all the plants for the garden at the new ITB urban horticulture facility. GLAS STAND #D5 

YOUNG NURSERIES PROMOTING ‘IMPULSE BUYS’ & PLANNING FUTURE LINES

Joe and Nuala Young and the team will have a wide choice of flowering perennials on display at GLAS aimed at stimulating sales in July and August. Joe tells HC “Our goal is to deliver an excellent quality product at a competitive price combined with exceptional customer service”. They are currently researching new consumer trends as they plan their production for 2016“. We are inviting all customers – potential new & existing to visit us at Stand E10 to listen to their needs”, says Nuala.

BORD NA MONA ACHIEVE RHP – QUALITY AWARD

RHP is a Dutch quality mark for substrates subdivided into three separate quality marks: Horticulture, Consumer and Mushrooms and is managed by the RHP Foundation based in Holland.

The objective of the RHP Foundation is to optimise and warrant the quality of peat products and raw materials through compliance of a specifi c set of standards for a particular field of application.

Bord na Mona Professional Horticulture made an application for direct membership in Autumn 2013 and so began the process towards certifi cation. In September 2014 Bord na Mona Horticulture was awarded the quality mark ‘RHP- Horticulture’ for their peat products demonstrating compliance in the area of general product requirement, chemical, physical and phytosanitary product requirements.

Derrinboy Bog – IPS conference 2015
Derrinboy Bog – IPS conference 2015

In addition under the Peat module, additional compliance must be achieved under site standards, additional weed requirements, non-chemical use, arrival trans-shipment storage sites, extraction methods and sampling.

The award is a credit to the dedication and hard work of both Feedstock and Professional teams working together to achieve this prestigious Horticulture Industry Standard.

We know that Bord na Mona peat and its quality can be specifically measured against high industry standards and this award is proof that the professional team are playing their part in promoting quality Growing Media constituents that can only strengthen horticultural markets at a premium level.

MPS-ECAS is the independent auditing body composed of auditors who are experts in their field who carry out regular product and process inspections.

It was fitting that at the recent IPS conference in Tullamore Bord na Mona received their Certifi cate at Derrinboy bog from the Director of RHP Mr. Hein Boon in the presence of over 100 international delegates and their Feedstock colleagues. GLAS STAND #B2 

CAFÉ CULTURE & CONSERVATION IN THE PARKS – NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL PARKS

As a city dweller, parks are central to the quality of life for all city dwellers and visitors alike. Dublin City Council currently manages in excess of 1,500 hectares of parks and their associated facilities, which can range from new tea rooms to the newly designated ‘UNESCO Dublin Bay Biosphere’. One of the most successful and very popular initiatives being undertaken is the addition of cafe style tea rooms, which have been very warmly received by the locals and tourists. They have been introduced in several parks already including St Patrick’s Park and Harolds Cross by refurbishing unused or underutilised buildings.

The award of a UNESCO Biosphere designation to Dublin Bay was officially announced in June. The strategy for the biosphere is based on themes of conservation, research and education, tourism and sustainable business. Dublin City Council was to the forefront of the initiation of the Dublin Bay Partnership, set up to protect and promote the bay. A new Physic Garden in St. Anne’s Park, Raheny was also officially opened on the 23rd of May. Further conservation studies have been commissioned for several parks, that will support their development, in keeping with their historic importance, their environs and community needs. Leslie Moore, Head of Parks, tells HC “Dublin City Council intends to continue to develop creative and innovative initiatives to provide a level of quality in parks befitting of our capital city”.

TULLY NURSERIES ‘YOUR IDEAS, OUR EXPERTISE’ AT GLAS

‘Your ideas, our expertise’ is the theme for Tully Nurseries at this years GLAS. Niamh Tully tells HC “We want to get as much feedback as possible from our current and potential future new customers. We will continue to strive to produce a better quality and wider range of plants, based on the market knowledge of our retail customers, who at the end of the day are the ones that really know what consumers are looking for”. With this and their own market research in hand, they travel to various tradeshows and flower trials across Europe to select the best new varieties of plants, which they then bring to their state of the art production facilities in Dublin. Meet the team and find out more at Stand E16.