Proudly supported by Bord Bia, the Garden Landscape and Amenity Sportsturf (GLAS) trade show returns today at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin.
The one-day trade show, which runs from 9am to 5pm, offers a unique networking opportunity for both buyers and sellers in Ireland’s horticulture, sportsturf, and related industries.
As always, there is much to explore at GLAS. This year’s show features exhibits, displays and demos from more than 80 of the industry’s leading suppliers – both indoors and in our newly expanded outdoor area.
Bord Bia
As the headline sponsor of GLAS, Bord Bia will be on hand to showcase the latest insight reports for the amenity sector. Bord Bia’s Thinking House offers unrivalled support and industry insight to members of the trade.
Today, Bord Bia staff members will be on hand to demonstrate the facilities available to the industry – to obtain the latest research, global trends, consumer insights and industry innovations – on touch screens formatted especially for the occasion.
“It is wonderful to see the GLAS Trade Show growing at its new home at the National Basketball Arena, with more indoor and outdoor exhibitors again this year,’ said Mike Neary.
“This amenity sector showcase, which Bord Bia is delighted to support, has become a key annual business and networking event for the sector and a critical platform for growers, service providers and supporting agencies to exhibit and engage with visitors.
“Our garden market research in 2023 shows the continuing strong interest in gardening and the demand for plants with the overall market at consumer level valued close to one billion euros, a higher level than the pre-pandemic market measure. Bord Bia will continue to work with and support the amenity sector as it navigates these challenges through our horticulture team and our suite of bespoke programmes and services for the sector.”
Bord Bia Learning Theatre
The Bord Bia Learning Theatre returns to GLAS today featuring free talks from leading experts on some of the hottest topics in our industry, including:
10am – 10.30 am – An update on the Horticulture Apprenticeships in Teagasc
Presented by John Mulhern, Teagasc
11am – 11.30am – Ensuring Success for your Gardening business on Social Media
Presented by Niall McCauley (Niall Gardens)
12pm – 12.30pm – IPSOS Bord Bia Value of the Garden Market 2023 Report
Presented by Shauna Lyndsay & Michal Slawski, Bord Bia
1pm – 1.30pm – Fingal County Council ‘Coming home to nature’ Show Garden – Bord Bia Bloom 2024
Presented by Nicola Haines, Tierney Haines Architects & Ingrid Smyth Garden Design
This show garden was directly linked to new design guidance for building developers demonstrating how biodiversity can be incorporated into housing developments. The design managed rainwater using sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS), while also catering for tree and shrub planting, wildflower meadows, nesting facilities in building facades, green roofs, dead wood, and natural play. The show garden claimed five prizes in total, including a Gold medal, Best in large category and a Special award for sustainability.
Nicola works as a landscape designer with Tierney Haines Architects. She works on all scales of public, commercial and private projects, as well as community-based and educational gardens. As an enthusiastic member of the Garden Landscape Design Association (GLDA), Nicola is passionate about connecting people to nature through design. She has won numerous awards at Bord Bia Bloom, including a gold medal and Best in Category award for her Citroën Power of One garden last year.
Ingrid Smyth Garden Design (ISGD) is design and plant focused service. Her past experience in design was honed as a designer and company associate with a prominent architectural firm and her continued passion for plants and materials constantly informs the work she does. Ingrid has designed and constructed private gardens of all sizes, gardens for residential care homes and commercial projects. She is the current chairperson of the GLDA.
2pm – 2.45pm – Beyond Peat – Panel Discussion
While the Irish horticultural industry fully appreciates the environmental importance of Irish peatlands it is still grappling with a peat crisis. The sudden cessation of harvesting in 2021 of high quality Irish peat, traditionally used in growing media for plant production, necessitating a shift to more sustainable alternatives.
The horticulture sector is actively exploring alternatives to peat as a growing medium, with materials such as wood-based products, green compost, coir and others emerging as options under consideration.
Moderator
Anna Kavanagh, Horticultural Expert and former Head of Technical, Quality and Research Development with Bord Na Mona
Featuring
Eoghan Corbett, Teagasc
William Bailey, Klasmann-Deilmann
Brendan Howell, ICL
3pm – 3.30pm – Ireland’s approach to Plant Health and Biosecurity
Presented by Dr. Deirdre Fay, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
GLAS 2024 Awards
Our awards are always worth looking out for too. Today our esteemed judges will be crowing the winners of the Supplier of the Year award, the New Product New Plant showcase and Best in Show Awards. Stick around to see who takes home gold!
GLAS is for practitioners in the horticulture, garden retail, sportsturf, grounds maintenance and related industries. Admission is free by registration at the door. The show kicks off at 9am, with free parking at the National Basketball Arena.
Follow us on social media to keep up to date with all of the action from GLAS 2024: @glasireland and @growtradeirl
