Storm Ophelia & Horticulture News

The wind may have died down, but the negative impact of storm Ophelia on our fragile nursery sector will be felt for years to come

The impact of the storm was felt across the country, but those most severely affected were in the South West of the country. “Gusts more than 130 km per hour ripped through rows of trees with devastating damage,” explained Joe Ahern, owner of Fana Nurseries, Co Cork. “Everywhere we looked there were trees down and bamboo broken. There could be as many as 10,000 trees with broken bamboo, and another 1,400 to 1,600 trees totally broken off at the base or halfway up the tree. My estimated cost of the damage at the moment is between €50,000-€60,000, ” he added. Joe has spent the last number of weeks repairing damage and getting on with lifting and planting. “All I can do is focus on the quality trees I have for sale, and with the upswing in the economy I remain positive that the future is looking brighter”.

“The way the wind moved directions so quickly seems have done more damage than regular storms. New and old plastic was damaged equally,” commented Teagasc nursery stock advisor, Dónall Flanagan. “I spoke with one grower who lost a tunnel that had been reclad just six days previously, another who lost a multispan and three polytunnels, and another who sacrificed the plastic covers to save the structures.” In his capacity, Dónall has
been able to get a broad insight into the nature and scale of the immediate and subsequent impact. Although he feels that structural damage was limited because of the forewarnings, the impacts are substantial and ongoing. “Labour access was a real challenge in the aftermath, caneing and tieing trees is a skilled job, tree lifting was starting the same week so pressure came from both sides”, he added.

One nursery significantly impacted was Annaveigh Plants, owned and operated by John and Grainne Murphy. The nursery is one of the largest tree growers and suppliers in the country. Commenting to RTE, Grainne said, “It will require significant labour input. We’re talking in the hundreds of thousands to sort the whole thing out when we work out the losses and the trees that are now unsaleable. In addition to that, we had many prebooked
orders for these trees and we’ve had to disappoint our customers.” Grainne also threw light on the wider concerns, highlighting the potential impact of changing weather patterns due to climate change.

Storm Ophelia is the latest in a succession of natural and manmade disasters, and she may well be remembered for revealing just how exposed the sector is. Not only are we exposed to negative economic, geographic and environmental factors beyond our control, the sector is afforded zero governmental support or protection. The sector was literally left swinging in the wind. The answer? A sustained, relentless, persistent and industry-wide collaborative lobbying campaign which articulates to policymakers just how important horticulture is. Don’t join a movement, start one. ✽

AWARDS WIN FOR KAVANAGHS CHRISTMAS TREES

At the Irish Christmas Tree Growers recent annual competition, Christy Kavanagh of Kavanagh Christmas Trees won two out of a possible three categories. The competition was fierce among the growers, with some of the best quality trees seen in Europe this year. Christy won the Best Noble Fir award with a beautiful specimen. This open strong branch, excellent needle retaining species has a beautiful smell. In the alternative species section he won with a Korean Fir. This tree has a naturally fuller and slender conical shape. It is an excellent retainer with white buds and beautifully aromatic foliage. Congratulation to all the team. ✽

THE GLDA PRESENTS ITS 22ND INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR – THE DESIGNED GARDEN: AN UNFINISHED CANVAS Who controls the evolution of the living garden? Speakers include: James Basson (France) Douglas Hoerr (Chicago USA) Peter Korn (Sweden) and Ireland’s own June Blake. Book and pay for your ticket online through PayPal at www.glda.ie where you can also avail of their pre-Christmas offer. We look forward to seeing you there. More at glda.ie ✽

GARDEN RETAILERS LOOK TO THE FUTURE AT BORD BIA SEMINAR & PHOTOS

At the recent Garden Industry Workshop presented by Bord Bia and hosted by Carol Marks, one could be reminded of the saying “Lies, damned lies, and statistics”. Thankfully for the audience of mainly garden retailers and nurseries, the information from the most recent Bord Bia ‘Lifestyle Trends’ research was brought to practical life by the presenters including Bord Bia’s own Grace Binchy and Romeo Somers, the internationally renowned trend watcher, green stylist, and creative director of the Retail Lab at Glee. The event was interesting to cover for HC and it was informative to sit at the table among the participants from businesses both big and small who worked and shared ideas together. Of the 60% of gardeners in Ireland aged between 18 and 54, how can the trade connect? The attendees on the day now have some of those answers. More at bordbia.ie ✽

IRISH COMPANIES LEADING THE WAY AT INTERNATIONAL IPM ESSEN FAIR

FitzGerald Nurseries, Bord na Mona, Forest Fresh Ireland and Kelly’s Nurseries will be part of nearly 1,600 exhibitors at the upcoming international fair in January who are flying the flag for Ireland. Upwards of 57,000 visitors will converge on Essen, Germany for the fair, which runs from 23 to 26 January 2018. It is the world’s leading trade fair for horticulture. It is the only specialist trade fair of its kind to cover the entire value chain of plants, including production, technology, floristry, garden features, and the point of sale. HC will be reporting live at the event as usual. See you there. More at ipm-essen.de ✽

SANCTUARY SYNTHETICS TOPS YEAR WITH KILDARE CHAMBER SME AWARD

Congratulations to Mark O’Loughlin and the team at Sanctuary Synthetics. business. They have just received the SME of the Year Award at the annual Kildare Chamber Business Awards 2017. County Kildare Chamber Business Awards 2017 are county-wide awards recognising the entrepreneurialism, innovation, diversity and talent of businesses across all sectors. 110 applications were received with finalists selected in each category.

Mark tells HC, “This is a fitting way to end an incredible year for us at Sanctuary Synthetics. Since its inception, the business has been rewarding but highly challenging. I have a really great team in place, and together this year we opened GRASSLAND in my own hometown of Naas.” This has been a busy year for Mark and his team as they have recently opened a new interactive showroom with the aim of reflecting the versatility of artificial grass in a technical but fun and engaging way for the trade and their customers.

The first of its kind in Ireland, the GRASSLAND innovative outlet has replicating pieces from their Bloom winning gardens, the Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and the Secret Lives of Pets. Mark is always interested in engaging with the trade and recently hosted a group of designers from the GLDA. The fruits of this engagement with the landscape sector could also be seen at the recent ALCI awards where a range of gardens had utilised Sanctuary’s products in their winning gardens.

Alongside this, Mark has been seen an increase of installation of synthetic grasses across the sectors of over 40% in the past 18 months, which is set to increase even further with Lucy Kennedy now acting as a brand ambassador for the company. ✽

MONAGHAN MUSHROOMS WINS SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Monaghan Mushrooms received the Sustainability, Project Impact Award for successfully demonstrating that their company is at the technical and environmental forefront of the mushroom business.The results of their sustainability efforts have led them to develop a vitamin D enriched mushroom which benefits both the customer and environment simultaneously. Monaghan Mushrooms is one of the world’s largest fresh mushroom companies, supplying a full range of top quality fresh mushrooms to leading national and international retailers. The Monaghan Mushrooms group currently employs almost 3,500 people across its facilities in Ireland, the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and
Canada. Since becoming a verified Origin Green member, Monaghan Mushrooms has achieved a 12.5% reduction in the volume of plastic used in a typical mushroom punnet and is working with customers to introduce fully recyclable paper punnets as a packaging material. The company has also:
● conducted feasibility research and trials to recycle used peat in the growing process in a bid to reduce the demand for new peat;
● achieved between 33-55% reduction in the volume of waste sent to landfill across all Irish sites;
● conducted biodiversity surveys and developed biodiversity action plans;
● invested in six new energy efficient lorries

JUDGES’ COMMENTS – SUSTAINABILITY, PROJECT IMPACT
Monaghan Mushrooms successfully showcased that they’re clearly intent on staying at the technical and environmental forefront of the mushroom business. The results of their sustainability efforts have led them to develop a vitamin D enriched mushroom and add another health angle to their business – benefiting the customer and environment simultaneously. ✽