13 Jun 2011

Avoca Garden Centre County Wicklow


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13 Jun 2011

Bloom 2011 in Photos Part 2

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13 Jun 2011

Bloom 2011 in Photos Part 1 www.HortiTrends.com


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30 Nov 2010

Bloom 2011 Dates for the Diary

Bloom 2011 runs from Thursday the 2nd of June to Monday the 6th of June 2011 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland.

You can add any of the days to your diary by clicking the relevant link in the table below.

We look forward to seeing you there.


Day Date Times Add
Thursday 02/06/201110:00 - 18:00 Add to calendar
Friday 03/06/2011 10:00 - 18:00 Add to calendar
Saturday 04/06/201110:00 - 18:00 Add to calendar
Sunday 05/06/2011 10:00 - 18:00 Add to calendar
Monday 06/06/201110:00 - 18:00 Add to calendar

Regards
Joseph Blair
www.HortiTrends.com
HorticultureTrends
News . Advertising . Sales . Marketing . Business Development & Support. 
Expertise, Practical Know-how, Passion for the Horticulture Fresh Produce & Lifestyle Sectors...

Address: Suite 5,  64 Dame Street . Dublin 2 . Ireland . Location: Map & Directions
    
Mobile: 353 (0)87.9212044  

Email: jblair@hortitrends.com     
30 Nov 2010

Bloom 2010 Facts & Figures

Attendance

  • Total: 60,129
  • Thursday: 8,385
  • Friday: 11,124
  • Saturday: 15,280
  • Sunday: 11,618
  • Monday: 13,722

Visitor Demographics

  • Male: 41%
  • Female: 59%
  • Accompanied by children: 27%
  • Average number of children: 2.3

Age Profile

  • 25 - 35: 9%
  • 35 - 45: 24%
  • 45 - 55: 34%
  • 55 - 65: 22%
  • 65+: 11%

Socio-Economic Classification

  • ABC 1s: 81%

Respondents Traveled From

  • Dublin: 43%
  • Rest of Leinster: 31%
  • Connaught: 5%
  • Munster: 13%
  • Ulster: 2%
  • International: 6%

Booking Practices

  • 32% of attendants booked in advance to attend the show (17% in 2009).

Key Metrics

  • 99% of respondents found their visit either worthwhile or very worthwhile
  • Over 72% were able to recall sponsors associated with the show
  • 75% of respondents spent over 3 hours at the show
  • 84% of respondents purchased at the show
  • 63% of respondents indicated they would purchase as a result of their visit
  • 81% of respondents rated the showgardens as good/excellent
  • 91% of respondents rated the floral display marquee as good/excellent
  • 81% of respondents said they would return again in 2011
  • 11% indicated that they "maybe would" return again in 2011.


You can register your interest in sponsorship using this form or by calling Paul Gallagher in EventHaus on +353 (0)1 846 0020

Regards
Joseph Blair
www.HortiTrends.com
HorticultureTrends
News . Advertising . Sales . Marketing . Business Development & Support. 
Expertise, Practical Know-how, Passion for the Horticulture Fresh Produce & Lifestyle Sectors...

Address: Suite 5,  64 Dame Street . Dublin 2 . Ireland . Location: Map & Directions
    
Mobile: 353 (0)87.9212044  

Email: jblair@hortitrends.com     
3 Nov 2010

GLDA Seminar Ticket Sales to Date Suggest a Pre Christmas Sell Out.

Garden and Landscape Design Seminar, Saturday 29th January 2011

 

Inspired: What drives successful design?

 

Design is borne of many things; Ego, empathy , passion, skill, history, belief, knowledge, vision, bravery, economy and emotion all play their part in stimulating designers to solve problems, satisfy desires and overcome challenges. What drives and constitutes successful design is a somewhat more complex issue. While consensus may be reached on intent, function and aesthetics, the shifting sands of time alter perception, attitude and environment making it an essentially ephemeral agreement; And one which design professionals have debated for eons.

 

To frame a contemporary vision of what drives successful design, the Garden and Landscape Design Association (GLDA) have enlisted the genius of some of Europe’s most respect design professionals for a day of insight, opinion and debate.  Now in its 15th successful year, the GLDA design seminar, which is aptly entitled, Inspired: What drives successful design? Will take place on Saturday 29th of January at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. The speaker line-up for the eagerly awaited 2011 seminar features multi award-winning design professionals of national and international acclaim, including Tom Stuart-Smith, Róisín Heneghan of Heneghan Peng Architects, Hugh Ryan MGLDA and James Doyle of James Doyle Associates.

 

As the design calendar event of the year places are already being snapped up. To secure your place at this exciting event you are encouraged to book early. For tickets and further information contact the GLDA office on: 01 2940092, info@glda.ie or via www.glda.ie.

 

This event is proudly supported by Bord Bia, Ireland’s Food Board.

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

3 Nov 2010

"Operation Chip It" News

"Operation Chip It" News November 3, 2010

Facts about “Operation Chip It”

Different messages about ‘Operation Chip It’ are circulating in the media. Some are correct, but there are also many misunderstandings. The short and simple facts are as follows:

 

  • 1. From the 10th of January 2011 FloraHolland, GASA, Landgard and CC will scan all incoming containers.
     
  • 2. From the 10th of January 2011 FloraHolland, GASA, Landgard and CC will only hand out genuine CC Containers. 
     
  • 3. In December / January you will receive new ID tags (‘padlocks’) according to the number of CC Containers you have under contract with CC. CC will credit you GBP 0.17 per CC Container for the tagging. 
     
  • 4. If you have more CC Containers than stated in your contract(s) with CC, you can currently add these to your CC contract holding at a special license fee of only GBP 5 per CC Container. After the 10th of January 2011, the license fee will be GBP 15. 
     
  • 5. All containers without the new CC ID tag and the CC metal plate will be rejected. 
     
  • 6. New ID tags that cannot be scanned or give an error message will, in the first instance, also be accepted and included in your balance. They will, however, be recorded separately. 
     
  • 7. A special Control Group, manned with both internal and external experts, will investigate and report any suspicious flows or patterns. This is necessary in order to find and eliminate misuse of our common system. 
     
  • 8. If the situation demands it, customers with suspicious flows or patterns will be asked to improve control before hand-in so that any misuse can be avoided.

Scan your CC Containers – YOUR Guarantee!

Containers without a genuine CC RFID tag are not accepted in the CC Pool System. Therefore, we recommend that you always scan the containers you receive.

More information
www.operation-chip-it.com

 

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

2 Nov 2010

www.HortiTrends.com Launching B2B Horticulture Trade Directory & Website that will Work Hard for Your Business

Horticulture & Fresh Produce Ireland News website www.HortiTrends.com is to provide Horticulture Network Ireland with it's new feed service on it's network site at www.horticulture.ie The news feed covers all the sectors involved in the provision of products and services in both the B2B and the B2C arena including:

Nurseries & Ornamental Growers.
Fresh Produce, Fruit & Vegetable Growers.
Garden Centre, Florists & Retail.
Landscaping & Landscape Architecture.
Green Keeping & Sports Turf.
Arboriculture & Forestry.
Environment & Green Sectors.
Local Authority, Parks & Government.
Jobs, Events & Tender Alerts.

John Whelan CEO of the Irish Exporters Association said " A news and directory service of this kind has been sorely missed in the sector and will help companies to stay abreast of changes and trends in the areas of horticulture & fresh produce while providing them with a vehicle to promote and market their services."
He also welcomed three new members. Aqua Flor Direct Ltd www.aquaflordirect.com, Neutrog Fertilisers www.neutrog.ie and HortiTrends www.HortiTrends.com

Joseph Blair of HortiiTrends also announced the launch of a new Directory Service for businesses in the Horticulture and Fresh Produce sectors. "It will go hand in hand with the HortiTrends website and will be heavily marketed at home and abroad as a resource tool for companies who want to source products and services. It will not be your typical static site and will utilise all the benefits of Social Media for Business."

There are also plans to launch both a Trade News printed magazine along with a new consumer gardening website and consumer magazine. Horticulture companies in Ireland will now have a one stop shop to interact with both the B2B and B2C markets. 
To find out more contact Joseph on 087 9212044 or visit www.HortiTrends.com

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

29 Oct 2010

John and Linda Stanley Have an Award Winning Year

John and Linda Stanley, the owners of John Stanley Associates are having a year of awards.  

Belmont Small Business awards announced last week that their company John Stanley Associates had won the Belmont Small Business Export Award.

This is the third recognition of their endeavours in the last twelve months. Twelve months ago the couples business was awarded the Small Business Champions Award for Training and Education in Western Australia and John was awarded Small Business Champion Entrepreneur of the Year for Western Australia.

In July the UK horticultural press placed John in the top 100 most influential people in the UK horticultural retail industry; this was for the second year running and he was  the only non UK resident in the list.

This latest award is in recognition of the amount of work the couple do outside of Australia helping small businesses to grow and prosper. On the awards presentation night, John and Linda could not be present to accept their award as they are working with retailers in Hungary, Czech and Poland. Their Eastern European work is a combination of conference presentations, consultancy and retail workshops. The couple work in 28 countries on all Continents where businesses exist, they have worked in Czech before, but this is the first time they have worked in Poland and Hungary. Their first trip to Poland has already resulted in four more trips being organised to work with the industry.

You can take a look at their calendar of work on their website www.johnstanley.com.au

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

29 Oct 2010

ScottsMiracle-Gro Announces Jim Hagedorn Will Remain as CEO

ScottsMiracle-Gro Announces Jim Hagedorn Will Remain as CEO

Barry Sanders promoted to President; Mark Baker departs as President and Chief Operating Officer

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), the world's leading marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products, today announced that Jim Hagedorn has decided to continue to serve as both chairman and chief executive officer. In 2008, Mr. Hagedorn announced his intention to retire as CEO during this fiscal year.

"The success we've seen over the past two years has been exciting, but it really just reinforces how much more opportunity remains for our Company and the lawn and garden category," Hagedorn said. "While I thought I wanted to step aside after I turned 55, I've decided I want to stay engaged in the business and, with the approval of our Board of Directors, intend to do so."

ScottsMiracle-Gro also said that Mark Baker, who was hired as president and chief operating officer two years ago, has departed the Company and the Board of Directors.

"While I will miss the good friends I have made over the past two years, my decision to leave is the right thing for the Company," Baker said. "Jim is a strong and charismatic leader and I continue to share his vision for ScottsMiracle-Gro. I wish him and all 8,000 associates good luck and I am confident in their continued success."

Additionally, Barry Sanders has been named president of the Company, effective immediately.

Sanders joined ScottsMiracle-Gro in 2001, overseeing the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system as well as the consolidation of the North American Consumer business. He later led the sales force in the U.S. and was then promoted to lead the Company's Global Supply Chain. In 2008, Sanders was selected to lead the U.S. Consumer business and, earlier this year, was named executive vice president of the entire Global Consumer segment.

"I am confident that the leadership team here is as strong as we've ever had," Hagedorn said. "Barry has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to drive profitable growth and has repeatedly set a clear direction for his team, and has been tenacious in driving results.

"I also want to acknowledge the important contributions that Mark Baker made to this Company. As President and COO he helped us implement changes that will benefit us for years to come. And the insights he provided during his seven-year tenure on our Board made our discussions more productive and truly helped to guide the vision and strategy of our Company. I look forward to continuing my 20-year friendship with Mark. He leaves us on good terms and I want to thank him for all he has done," Hagedorn said.  

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

27 Oct 2010

Obituary: Jim Kelleher a Committed Horticulturist and Family Man Remembered by Friends and Colleauges

It is with great sadness that we report the recent death of a popular and hardworking horticultural colleague. I asked Jim's colleagues in Teagasc for a few words.

“The death has recently taken place of Jim Kelleher, Teagasc Nursery Stock Specialist advisor. Jim was based at Kildalton for a long number of years both as an advisor and lecturer in horticulture. He started his career in County Wicklow where he served in the early 80’s. During his time at Kildalton Jim was seconded to Avonmore/Glanbia where he headed up the emerging forestry division before returning to Kildalton. Jim made a very significant contribution to horticultural development.  In January 2010, despite the onset of his illness, Jim was a key driver of plans for the Nursery sector as outlined in the “Plan for the Development of Horticulture in Teagasc 2010-2013”. Socially Jim was great company – a renowned raconteur and able musician! Jim will be sadly missed by his clients, colleagues and friends in Teagasc and particularly at Kildalton.

All at Teagasc send our sympathies to Jim’s wife Kathleen and family.

"Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.”

Jim Kelleher

Jim at the National Plant Fair, Punchestown 2009.

Photo: Koraley Northen

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

27 Oct 2010

40.4bn in Irish exports in Q3 2010

40.4bn in Irish exports in Q3

John Whelan

John Whelan


The leap in exports was driven by an aggressive 12.8pc growth in merchandise exports, according to the Exporters Association (IEA) third quarter review.Good growth in merchandise and services exports brought total Irish exports for the third quarter to €40.4bn, marking a 9.3pc increase on last year.

The Association’s chief executive John Whelan said the export effort continues to show Ireland the “way out of the recession”.

The review said that merchandise exporters gained from a broadening out of the growth across most of the main international trading markets. Exchange rate competitiveness and continued buoyancy in global trade also assisted the acceleration in export growth.

Whelan said the euro exchange rate with the dollar in the three months toSeptember was, on average, 10pc lower than it was in 2009. “This helped Irish manufactured goods exports to the US rise by 32pc in value,” continued Whelan. “This reversed the losses in exports to that market over the last two years. This indicates clearly that Irish exports are now competitive into the US, provided the US Treasury does not re-enter the currency market to weaken the dollar.”

Whelan added that the exchange rate with sterling also improved during the quarters, helping exports to the UK rise by 4pc. This was particularly important for the indigenous sector which trades heavily to the UK market, said Whelan.

The agri-food sector increased its export sales by 14pc. Services exports grew 4.9pc, a more modest growth than its aggressive pattern in the first half of the year. The Association expects export sales will continued to be strong for the rest of the year, and therefore has revised its forecast for the year to €158.9bn in total exports.

It added that Irish exports could grow faster next year if the Budget 2011 is supportive of the export sector and does not increase the cost of exporting from Ireland. The IEA Pre-Budget Submission outlines the key routes to export expansion that should be supported in the Budget. 

Whelan stated that despite the strong overall performance of Ireland exports, it is hard to overstate the difficulties faced by exporters in 2010. He said volatile exchange rates, reduced trade finance for expansion, withdrawal of bank bond guarantees, withdrawal of invoice discounting cover and credit insurance difficulties all are problems which exporters still face.

However, he concluded, “There is clear evidence that exporters can drive their way out of this recession and bring economic growth with it, but it is essential that the upcoming Budget supports export growth and does not increase the cost of doing business in Ireland.”

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

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'

27 Oct 2010

UK Landscape Award Final Shortlist Announced

UK Landscape Award final shortlist announced

The UKLA shortlist has been announced and the details on the six finalists are revealed here...

UKLA shortlist announced

A shortlist of six UK landscapes were announced on 12 October as contenders for the first-ever UK Landscape of the Year soon to be revealed at the Landscape Convention Conference in November…

The six finalists from the transformed heritage coastline in Durham to a bustling city-based network of green spaces in Sheffield, represent the rich variety of work going on the profession today. The shortlist is: 

  • A twenty-five-year campaign to improve the Mersey Basin
  • Restoration of the Durham Heritage Coast – previously an industrial wasteland
  • Creation of spectacular spaces and streets in the heart of Sheffield
  • Community-led rebuilding of Baxter Park, Dundee in Scotland
  • Conservation of the hill forts and heather moorland of Denbighshire in Wales
  • Regeneration of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland

The winning landscape will go on to represent the UK in the European Landscape Award, which takes place in Strasbourg in March 2011.

Commenting on the announcement, Natural Environment Minister, Richard Benyon, said: “Whether you’re in a town or in the countryside there are areas around us that we should rightly be proud of. A good landscape makes us feel part of a community and gives a sense of pride in where we live.”

Helen Phillips, Natural England Chief Executive, was equally emphatic: “All landscapes are important. They form the link between human society and the natural world, and provide vital natural support services – such as food, clean water, climate change regulation, flood prevention and, of course recreation. All six shortlisted landscapes showcase what can be achieved when communities and partners come together to support the landscapes around them.”

Professor Keith Nicholson, a board member of Scottish Natural Heritage says, “We are really pleased to see the Dundee project win the Scottish heat of the award. This project has demonstrated real commitment to sustainable landscape in the local community. Looking after our landscapes is a responsibility shared by everyone. The Dundee project has embraced that responsibility wholeheartedly and we wish it every success in the finals.”

Project profiles: your guide to the UKLA shortlist

Full details of all schemes are available at:uklandscapeaward.org/results

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Latest Company News, Trends, Courses, Products Services, Suppliers & Jobs in Horticulture & Fresh Produce, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Landscape, Architecture, Garden Centre, Florists, Sports Turf, Green Keeping & Forestry Sectors.

'

27 Oct 2010

Capital Investment Programme 'Crucial' For Economic Growth, Says CIF


The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has called on the Irish Government to make job retention and development a primary goal of its four-year budgetary policy. 

Speaking at the publication of the federation's pre-Budget submission, the Director-General Tom Parlon said: "The Government’s fiscal consolidation targets for the next 4 years won’t be achieved without economic and employment growth. If this is to be achieved, the Government has to protect productive spending in the Budget.

"The Capital Investment Programme is particularly crucial in this regard. Cutting capital investment again will only serve to further depress economic activity and as has been illustrated over the past two years, put more pressure on the Exchequer as a result of further unemployment. Cutting productive investment is a false economy."

Mr Parlon continued: "There are a range of measures that the Minister can introduce, at no cost to the Exchequer, to help support the economy. A good example is stamp duty. Persisting with a high transaction tax when there are no transactions makes no sense, either from the economy’s or the Exchequer’s perspective."

"Introducing a 0 per cent stamp duty rate may encourage more interest in commercial and residential property transactions and therefore generate additional incomes for the State," he added.


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'

27 Oct 2010

Glee visitor numbers fall 11% as visitors stay away by Phillip Voice

Exhibitors at this years Glee must be wondering how low visitor numbers can fall as unaudited figures show that just under eleven percent less people attended the event between 20-22 September 2010, NEC Birmingham.

The show has now seen a fall of 49.5% since its peak in 2003 (source ABC).

Confusingly, and quite worryingly - official Glee media partner - Hort Week, headlined their story 'Glee hails visitor uplift to 13,000'. I might be missing something (perhaps it's an industry code?) but Glee posted 14,617 in 2009 and only 13,050 in 2010 - a fall of just under 11%?

Hort Week will have to explain how it's come to its conclusion because I don't understand it.

Here's the audited* figures from 2003 to date.

2010* 13,050 (unaudited)
2009 14,617 
2008 18,119 
2007 22,202 
2006 24,530 
2005 25,157 
2004 24,761 
2003 25,886

Glee

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'

27 Oct 2010

Landscaping & Landscape Architecture News: UK Hard Landscaping Show 2011 Cancelled

Hard Landscaping Show 2011 cancelled

HLSThe Hard Landscaping Show 2011, due to have been opened by journalist Matthew Wilson, has been cancelled after organisers failed to sell enough stand space to make the February 2011 event viable.

Event director, Stephen Callaghan, told DIY Week: "Trading conditions in the landscaping industry remain very tough," and went on, "Many of our major exhibitors are struggling to commit and this has been making it difficult for us to achieve our goal of significantly growing the show for 2011."

Callaghan is proposing that the Hard Landscaping Show will return in February 2012 and has intimated that the event may go to bi-annually.

by Phillip Voice.

More coverage:

Hort Week - Hard Landscaping show postponed until 2012 due to 'tough trading conditions'

The Landscaper Magazine - SHOW MOVES TO 2012

The Hard Landscaping Show website.

If you have a story or event to promote please email: news@HortiTrends.com 

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'

27 Oct 2010

New UK Landscaping Trade Show for 2011

CL LogoRGBDates_picnik


....a step closer to launch

As a landscaping and gardening industry analyst, I've been appalled in recent years at the way the landscaping and horticulture industry has largely ignored the end user when organising trade events.

The emphasis has always seemed to have been on the product or services supplier's relationship with the ultimate buyer, and the practitioner - the guys and girls who use machinery and products, day in and day out - too often referred to as 'tyre kickers', are all but forgotten in the development and sales process.

It's time that practitioners' experience knowledge is fed back into development and fine tuning of equipment and machinery because they are the ones who get to know, warts and all, how a piece of equipment feels and responds handles or how a product works, during the course of their work.

The day has arrived whereby the practitioner, rightly, is becoming recognised as the driver of the landscape and garden industry - their opinion, views and advice should be ignored at peril.

Managers have had their time and not made a difference: how can someone who sits at a desk all day possibly know what machine to buy when they are not out in the fields and dealing with conditions underfoot? It's all well and good acting as a middleman and feeding information back to developers but as always, something will always get lost in translation.

Machinery, equipment, product developers and manufacturers should have the opportunity to talk directly with the practitioner: The Landscape Juice Network was the first ever landscape and horticulture professional trade network to bring together everyone from the landscaping and garden world and now we are close to launch of our brand new industry Trade Show called Creating Landscapes.

I guess it's a case, proverbially at least, of putting my money where my mouth is.

If you are a product, equipment, machinery or plant supplier, why not come over and participate in landscaping and gardening's specialist industry event?

I'm delighted to welcome Stephen Ingram to the Landscape Juice Network as part of the Creating Landscapes' team.

Stephen is an independent exhibition and event organiser having previously worked within the event market and have organised the likes of The Royal Smithfield Show, The CLA Game Fair, The National Amateur Gardening Show and The Royal Bath & West of England Show.

For further details, you can email Stephen directly at stephen@hale-events.com Keep an eye out for the official launch.


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'

26 Oct 2010

Garden and Landscape Design Seminar, Saturday 29th January 2011

Inspired: What drives successful design?

 

Design is borne of many things; Ego, empathy , passion, skill, history, belief, knowledge, vision, bravery, economy and emotion all play their part in stimulating designers to solve problems, satisfy desires and overcome challenges. What drives and constitutes successful design is a somewhat more complex issue. While consensus may be reached on intent, function and aesthetics, the shifting sands of time alter perception, attitude and environment making it an essentially ephemeral agreement; And one which design professionals have debated for eons.

 

To frame a contemporary vision of what drives successful design, the Garden and Landscape Design Association (GLDA) have enlisted the genius of some of Europe’s most respect design professionals for a day of insight, opinion and debate. 

Now in its 15th successful year, the GLDA design seminar, which is aptly entitled, Inspired: What drives successful design? Will take place on Saturday 29th of January at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. The speaker line-up for the eagerly awaited 2011 seminar features multi award-winning design professionals of national and international acclaim, including Tom Stuart-Smith, Róisín Heneghan of Heneghan Peng Architects, Hugh Ryan MGLDA and James Doyle of James Doyle Associates.

 

As the design calendar event of the year places are already being snapped up. To secure your place at this exciting event you are encouraged to book early. For tickets and further information contact the GLDA office on: 01 2940092, info@glda.ie or via www.glda.ie.

 

This event is proudly supported by Bord Bia, Ireland’s Food Board.

 

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21 Oct 2010

Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) Conference

Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) Conference

The Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) are delighted to confirm details of their forthcoming conference on Monday November 22nd. The OGI were formed in 2008 and since then they have slowly gathered momentum around the country. This is the first conference that they are hosting and it takes place in Killcormac, Co Offaly (situated on the N52 between Birr and Tullamore).  Presentations on the day include topics such as Organic Seeds and Varieties, Super Valu Local Organic programme, Irrigation and Composting.  Watch this space for more details! 

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21 Oct 2010

Hedgerow Survey Needs Your Help by RHS UK

Hedgerow survey needs your help

21 October 2010

The hedgerow is home to much wildlife

The hedge in your back garden may hold crucial information for scientists assessing the country's biodiversity as the latest 'citizen science' survey by the Open Air Laboratories Project (OPAL) gets under way.

The OPAL team is inviting members of the public to collect as much information as possible about the hedges in back gardens, parks and open spaces all over the country, particularly in urban locations.

'We know quite a lot about hedges in the countryside and how important they are, but how much biodiversity do they contain in cities?' said Jonathan Silvertown, head of the OPAL Biodiversity Observatory. 'They might be even more important in urban areas where natural habitats are more scarce.'

How you can take part

Hedges are already known to support a wide range of life, but the survey hopes to find out which hedges best support insects and small mammals. Participants select a three-metre stretch of hedge and record information about the appearance of the hedge, how many flowers, fruits and nuts it contains, which insects they find there and other evidence of animals using the hedge, such as holes and burrows.

Once results arrive, they are placed on an online map and the survey team rates each hedge according to its importance for wildlife, building up a picture of the state of hedgerows around the country.

Other surveys

The biodiversity survey is the fifth in a series of surveys carried out under the five-year OPAL project, set up in 2007 with a grant from the Big Lottery Fund. Other projects already under way that you can join in with include:

  • Assessing earthworm populations
  • Air quality
  • The health of ponds, rivers and streams.
Thousands of results have already been collected and a final report bringing together conclusions from all the projects is to be published in late 2012.((tag: HortiNews, horticulture, fresh produce, news, trends, Ireland, ))

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21 Oct 2010

2020 Vision - Improving Ireland’s biodiversity knowledge base

2020 Vision - Improving Ireland’s biodiversity knowledge base

The National Biodiversity Data Centre has produced a knowledge gaps document 2020 Vision - Improving Ireland’s biodiversity knowledge base as one output from the recent Biodiversity Knowledge Quest event hosted by the Centre. The document provides a brief summary of the biodiversity knowledge gaps workshops and proposes a list of the key knowledge gaps that could be filled over the next 10 years. This document is a consultation document. 

Interested parties are invited to make written submissions on the content of the document to info@biodiversityireland.ie. Submissions should be received by Friday 29 October 2010.

Feedback is particularly sought on two questions; 

1. Would filling of the key knowledge gaps listed in Table 1 make a significant contribution to expanding our knowledge base over the next 10 years? 

2. Are there any gaps or errors in the tables presented in Appendix I? 

The document can be downloaded from http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/Knowledge-Gaps-Document-_for-consultation_.pdf

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21 Oct 2010

Minister Launches Research Call and Research Newsletter

Following on from the Food Harvest 2020 Report, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, has announced details of a €10 million Research Call across the Department's three competitive research programmes: FIRM (Food Institutional Research Measure), RSF (Research Stimulus Fund) and COFORD (Competitive Forest Research for Development).


The Minister reaffirmed his belief that a vibrant Agri-Food Industry is a key part of the Smart Economy and will play a key role in leading our country to better economic times. The Minister said "the importance of research and innovation was emphasised in the Food Harvest 2020 Report as a prerequisite to achieving the growth targets for the agrifood sector. In response to the Report I am therefore delighted to launch these very significant research initaitives".

Under FIRM a number of initiatives have been developed which will build on existing research capacity and capability and will add value to existing research outputs whilst also delivering new knowledge to underpin the future development of the food industry. The industry itself has been very involved in informing the content of the Call under the remit of the AgriVision 2015 Food Industry Research Group chaired by Dan Browne. The Minister stressed that "the outputs of the research will provide the basis to deliver on a number of the growth targets outlined in Food Harvest 2020.  One of those targets is to increase the production of milk by 50% over the next 10 years and one of the initiatives under the FIRM programme will provide the scientific knowledge to add value to this sector".

Through the Stimulus programme the Department has committed substantial resources to agriculture based research, resulting in the development of significant research capacity. The Department wishes to further strengthen this capability by supporting the development of a collaborative research network on climate change in agriculture. This network will assist the development of sustainable high calibre integrated multidisciplinary collaborative research effort and will facilitate greater participation in International Collaborative Research Initiatives in this field.

The Minister added that "in addressing the issue of competitiveness, a joint FIRM/Stimulus initiative will also be launched".

In forestry research, proposals relating to forest reproductive material and forest health and protection will be invited from Irish research institutions. Both of these research areas are vital to the productivity and well being of the forest resource, especially in times of the predicted environmental impacts from climate change.

Minister Smith stated that "benefits from projects funded under the Research Call  will accrue not only to producers and processors but also to the wider rural community". They will also contribute to improved collaboration between various research institutions and the establishment of critical mass in the respective research areas.

Further details of the research call are published on the Department's website. 

The Minister also announced the publication of the 1st edition of a new Department Newsletter - Research News . This Newsletter, produced by DAFF's Research Division, will be circulated on a quarterly basis to all DAFF's research stakeholders. It is designed to give an overview of research funded by DAFF primarily under its three competitive funding programmes (FIRM, Stimulus & COFORD), to alert researchers of EU and other international funding opportunities, and to update readers on related policy developments.  The Minister said "The launch of Research News is part of a communications strategy intended to keep relevant parties better informed of the nature, extent and value of DAFF's on-going commitment to investing in agri-food & forestry research and innovation which is seen as a priority for the future under Food Harvest 2020". The Newsletter is available to download from the DAFF website .

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20 Oct 2010

DEFRA to reduce resource spending by 29% and capital spending by 34% 2010 to 2010. Ireland to Follow?

Over the course of the Spending Review period, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will reduce resource spending by 29% and capital spending by 34%. The Department’s Administration budget will be reduced by 33%.

Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL)

£ billion
2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15
Resource DEL2.32.22.12.01.8
Capital DEL0.60.40.40.40.4
TOTAL DEL 2.92.62.52.32.2

In this table Resource DEL excludes depreciation

Defra will reprioritise its spending, focusing tax payer’s money on British farming and food production; enhancing the environment and biodiversity; and supporting a green economy resilient to climate change.

The Department will manage its reductions by:

Maximising the use of matched European funding for the Rural Development Programme for England, enabling a £66m reduction in domestic contributions. This will allow environmental stewardship schemes to remain open to all farmers. Defra will prioritise schemes that will be most beneficial to the environment, increasing the  Higher Level Stewardship Scheme by 80%.

  • An expected 15% efficiency saving will be made in the procurement strategy for flood and coastal defences. Savings achieved from this will be reinvested into safeguarding and enhancing protection for people and properties. It is estimated that by March 2015, better levels of protection can be expected for 145,000 households in England.
  • Making more efficient use of resources for animal welfare and disease prevention and control, by taking forward proposals to involve the industry in sharing the responsibility and cost of disease control.
  • Abolishing British Waterways as a public corporation in England and Wales; a new waterways charity will be created.
  • Funding will be stopped for 7 waste PFI projects, saving £3 million by 2014-15 and more in the longer term.

Reducing waste and bureaucracy:

  • Reducing the number of quangos Defra funds from 92 to 39.
  • Reducing red tape and unnecessary burdens on farmers and food producers, without compromising standards. The task force on Farming Regulation will report by early 2011.

Making efficiencies

  • Reducing administration costs by £174m through reductions in staff numbers, more efficient IT and procurement practices; increased use of shared services across Government; reducing the size and cost of Defra’s corporate estate.

In addition to the above, the Department will be adopting the following idea, suggested through the Spending Challenge process:

  • Reforming the Environment Agency’s staff lease car scheme – saving up to £3m per year.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said:

“Our strategic aim is to deliver on the Prime Minister’s pledge that the Coalition will be the greenest Government ever, whilst playing our part in tackling the economic deficit that we have inherited.

“This settlement reflects the need to make significant savings alongside meeting the priorities we have set and maintaining important frontline services in respect of flood defences, environmental protection and animal health monitoring.”

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20 Oct 2010

Compost Quality Assurance Scheme Tender

Compost Quality Assurance Scheme Tender 
Source: rx3
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RX3 - Rethink Recycle RemakeRx3 published a request for tenders for a compost quality assurance scheme on 6th October 2010 on the e–tenders website. The closing date for the procurement process is 16th November 2010. 

International market driven quality assurance schemes have long been recognised as having a positive impact on collection and treatment of organic waste in other jurisdictions as well as the on quality of the compost produced. In Ireland, it is considered that the development of a compost quality assurance scheme will instil further confidence in consumers as to the quality of, and benefits to, using compost products. A quality mark/logo/label, as part of a compost quality assurance scheme, will also assist consumers in identifying high quality compost products. 

The purpose of this Request for Tenders is to appoint a contractor to conduct a 3–phase project:

  • (i) to develop a compost quality assurance scheme and associated documentation (Phase 1);
  • (ii) to trial the compost quality assurance scheme for a 12 months (Phase 2);
  • (iii) to operate on a pilot basis the compost quality assurance scheme for a further 12 months (Phase 3).

This proposal is being developed in accordance with the recommendations in the Market Development Programme for Waste Resources 2007 - 2011, which is sponsored by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. 

Further information and documentation relating to this notice is available on the eTenders Web Site athttp://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT175257 

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18 Oct 2010

HORTI FAIR 2010 LAYS FIRM BASIS FOR INTERNATIONAL HORTIWEEK 2011

Powerful innovation platform attracts quality visitors

 

Amsterdam, 15 October 2010 – The International Horti Fair is strengthening its position as an innovation platform and its focus on internationally-oriented horticultural businesses. With this in mind, the International HortiWeek was announced during the Horti Fair, which was held this year in the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre from 12 to 15 October. Horti Fair 2010 was a successful, high calibre trade exhibition which put great emphasis on innovation, knowledge exchange and actually doing business.  

 

Satisfied participants

Although the 2010 fair was compacter than previous editions as it had 530 exhibitors from 36 countries, it was just as complete as in other years. For four whole days the Horti Fair House of Technology & Innovation was the centre of debates and interviews with key players in the horticultural industry. According to the jury members, the quality of the products on display in the House of Quality ranged from good to very good. A Horti Fair pavilion such as Career Plaza clearly meets a need as it brought more than 1,200 students and school pupils into contact with the horticultural industry.

 

The exhibitors were very satisfied with the quality of the visitors. Patrick Lek of Lek/Habo Groep BV commented, ‘We’re certainly not dissatisfied: the mood has been positive and we have been visited by many people with investment plans, which is, after all, where it all starts. As a business, you have to be here. And despite all the focus on abroad, we are certainly not forgetting our Dutch visitors.’  Roy O’Mahony of CleanGrow, which was shortlisted for the Horti Fair Innovation Award and ended in fourth place, said, ‘We have achieved maximum exposure here and met very interested and well-informed visitors from all over the world and many key players. An amazing week!’   

 

International Horti Week 2011

Next year, the Horti Fair will be held from Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 November 2011. This will be during the first edition of the International HortiWeek, the week during which both the Horti Fair and the FloraHolland Trade Fair are held in association with one another. Joint promotion, carefully coordinated exhibition concepts and shuttle services will be elements of the cooperation between them. Other hot items will be the linking of the home market and internationalisation.  

 

New director of the Horti Fair

There are other changes as well, because Frans-Peter Dechering will be the new director of the Horti Fair from 1 January. He will succeed Wim van der Loo, who is retiring. Dechering has long international experience of horticulture. He has built up a large network of contacts in both the vegetable and floriculture sectors and among suppliers to Dutch and foreign horticulture firms. ‘The horticultural industry is changing and the Horti Fair is changing with it,’ comments Dechering. ‘Cooperating with the participants to ensure that the Horti Fair fulfils a proper commercial function and at the same time strengthening horticulture nationally and internationally will be a real challenge and involve a lot of hard work.’ Besides the fresh blood for the executive board and this summer’s appointment of the new chairman, Ewald van Vliet, the establishment of the exhibition committee and the introduction of the International HortiWeek, the Horti Fair has taken major steps towards strengthening its position as a leading national and international horticultural showcase for the coming years.

 


Visitors from over 70 countries

The daily Breakfast Briefings held before the fair opened pulled in more visitors and participants than last year. The Horti Fair itself attracted 23,256 trade visitors from over 70 countries. Almost 80% of the visitors to the Horti Fair 2010 took or were involved in decisions on the purchase of products and services exhibited at the fair. 35% of the visitors actually made a purchase or requested a quotation during the fair. The prospects for next year are good: no fewer than three quarters of the visitors stated that they planned to return in 2011.  

 

Horti Fair Innovation Award 

The Horti Fair Innovation Award 2010 was won by Berg Product BV for its BergBand conveyor belt system, which was praised in the jury report for ‘the power of its simplicity, the wide range of applications in horticulture both in the Netherlands and abroad, and the relatively low capital outlay’. Second place went to Frans van Zaal for its Van Zaal Container Submerger System, and third place to Bercomex for its Furora universal grading and bunching machine. For the first time in the history of the award, numbers 4 and 5 were also named. These were CleanGrow for its ‘multi-ion meter’ and the consortium represented by Klimrek for its ‘vertical crop protection’. As international trade jury chairman Gijs Kok noted, ‘This shows just how closely the top shortlisted firms are matched in terms of innovative capacity.’ Bas Lagerwerf of Berg Product was pleased with the award and satisfied with the quality of the visitors to his stand. He commented, ‘Dealers from all over the world come together here. After all, to see innovation you have to come to the Horti Fair!’

 

Best Participant Award

The Best Participant Award went to Bercomex for what the jury described as ‘the innovative strength shown throughout its exhibition presentation and the power of its communication both before and during the Horti Fair’. The award is presented each year to the exhibitor making the best use of Horti Fair as a communication instrument. Roland Kroese, managing director of Bercomex, says, ‘The Horti Fair is very important for our business. Not only as an opportunity to display innovations but also as a way of strengthening our dealer network and meeting customers who come from all over and whom we would not otherwise meet.’  

 

Interpolis Quality Cup, plant stands and Csizik Trophy

This year the Interpolis Quality Cup was awarded to the firm of Fa. G.J.A. van Santen of  Honselersdijk for its Hydrangea macrophylla Pimpernel Classic. The prizes for the best stands in the plant categories were assigned by the Permanent Judging Committee (VKC) to Floricultura (9.7), Anthura (9.5) and Floriade (9.3). The Csizik Trophy for the most attractive flower arrangement at a stand was won by Zuidkoop Natural Projects.

 

Prospects for Horti Fair 2011 already good

Interest in the Horti Fair 2011, which will be held under the umbrella of the International HortiWeek, is already good. ‘Contracts have already been signed and over 80 options for stand space have already been taken,’ says Wim van der Loo, the departing director. ‘In all my years as director of Horti Fair I have never before experienced anything like this. The exhibition concept of the Horti Fair 2011 in Amsterdam RAI, the cooperation with FloraHolland, the Technical Trials and other horticultural initiatives geared to the International HortiWeek in the first week of November 2011 are clearly proving popular in the industry.’  

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23 Sep 2010

Product to Shopper Experience by John Stanley

Product to Shopper Experience
John Stanley

The changes in retailing seem to be happening at a faster pace than ever. Keeping up can be a real challenge. A new word seems to be creeping into the retail vocabulary: shopcentric.

I first noticed the word in reports coming out of mainland Europe, but what is shopcentric all about?  It is about a shift in thinking processes.  It is about being less concerned about the product being sold and more concerned about providing the right experience for the consumer.

Some organisations are using other words that mean the same thing. Shopping malls are emphasising that they are "Activity Centres" rather than places you just go to shop. Whatever word you use to describe it, the emphasis has turned to creating a shopping experience rather than just selling "stuff".

What does this mean for retailers?   It means retailers have to focus more on the consumer and their needs and wants than in the past. Many retailers will argue that they have always focused on the consumer, but now it has become more fashionable for more retailers to do this and as a result the competition for this space has become more aggressive.
 
What do you need to focus on to provide a point of difference?

My first concern is that the word “experience" is now overdone. A recent launch of an American shopping centre was heralded as a "New Shopping Experience”.  The latest marketing from Jakarta in Indonesia is 'Family weekend shopping experience in Jakarta".

The trouble is not many people believe in the headline any more.  For example, 56% of American shoppers "cross shop" on a regular basis when purchasing a product. In other words the so called experience has not bought customer loyalty.

There are exceptions and Starbucks, Anthropologie and Abercrombie and Fitch shoppers are good examples of consumers who are true followers due to the experience they have experienced in those stores.

Creating an experience or being shopcentric means following some specific guidelines in retailing that other retailers either do not implement or do badly or inconsistently.

In 2004 Indiana University produced a report entitled "Creating the Ideal Shopping Experience."  They interviewed consumers to identify what they preferred. It is not the actual results that I find interesting for today's retailers, it is their approach and how that research technique can be adapted to any retail situation.
 
The report was split into five segments:
 
Must Have .  The first question asked of consumers was what must a retailer provide?  The answers were what you would expect. Knowledgeable staff, customer service, cash and credit card payment facilities, product availability and cashiers and people to bag your products. The challenge is if you did a similar survey in your store, what would be the MUST HAVES
 
Should Have.  This was the second question asked of consumers and the response included promotional flyers, staff having computer access to find out information, products signed, a map of the store, products individually priced. Again this may be "common sense", but I recently worked with a retailer where computer access was banned as the owner felt that the sales team could not be trusted to use the computer professionally.
 
Nice to Have.  This was the third part of the survey and looked at what the consumer considered to be a bit of luxury when they were shopping. It got the consumer to think about the shopping experience and this was the core of the survey. The challenge is what would the consumer feel were the nice-to-haves in your store; this would probably revolve around extra services rather than more products.
 
Indifferent.  This part of the survey focused on what you may feel is important, but your customer felt it did not make a difference to their shopping experience.  Too often as retailers we focus on the wrong things in the customer eyes and we could be focusing on the wrong areas of developing the business.
 
Prefer not to have.  The final question focused on the things customers would prefer not to have in their shopping experience, comments like a dirty store became one of the issues in the customers mind.

As I mentioned, this survey was carried out six years ago and the results would not apply to retailers today. The key issue is how would your clients complete such a survey and how you manage and implement the suggestions and ideas that are offered.

You may argue, quite rightly, that you are already providing an experience for your customer base. My challenge to you is that providing an experience has now become trendy and all sorts of retailers and shopping centres are now joining the band wagon.  This means that everyone in the experience economy needs to improve their game to ensure they impress their customers and provide a better experience than the retailer next door.

Customers are not only comparing the experience you provide against other retailers that do what you do, but also against other retailers in other categories or industries.

We have found this in our own town. Six months ago the experience retailers in town on a Sunday were the local garden centre and breakfast coffee shop. Both businesses have seen a drop in town once the farmers market opened during the same time period. The customers changed shopping habits for a better shopping experience even though the product sold was completely different.
 
The Challenge
 
The challenge for all retailers is to improve their game. This starts by asking the customer where they feel the business fits into the experience game.You need to know your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Once you have done that, work with the team to improve them. You will probably find that the opportunities fall into specific groups. Most retailers find they split into customer service, services offered, merchandising and display and management issues. Create some action teams to address each area and come up with a plan to truly enhance the shopping experience.
 
If you would like more information on experience retailing and would like to keep up with what is happening around the world, John Stanley has developed a low-cost, high-value means of doing just that and training your team every month at the same time.  For AUD$45 a month you can become a member of his exclusive club and stay ahead of your competition, watch his monthly TV program online, and train your team, visit his resource site www.johnstanleyretailguru.com.au to join up and start reaping benefits today.

 

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