In This Issue
Coolings buys Potted Garden Nursery at Maidstone
Supplier rebates to exceed £1.5m for Choice members
New Xylella e-learning module available from HTA
"Xylella is the most serious situation I have come across in 32 years in the industry"
Selby site is No.2 for Whitby garden centre family
Plants and Christmas boost September sales
Perrywood, Castle Gardens, Aylett Nurseries and Fron Goch win GTN's Greatest Garden Centre Awards
Hillview CEO 'shocked' to win HTA Pearson Medal award
Smart Garden wins 'Greatest Supplier' award again
Embracing change for the future of garden retail
Syngenta takes over Cultivation Street sponsorship
On the trail of berried treasure
Garden centre walkers smash target for charity
Haskins donates a host of golden daffodils
Seedsmen explore urban gardening trend at Paris event
Countdown begins for Garden Re-Leaf Day 2018
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Scotts fail with claim that Westland Safelawn advertising was misleading
It’s an orchid feed bonanza
Welcome to Thermidrome
Growing Media stays up 4% as bulb planting swells sales
Pansies rule supreme through September
Decorations get personal and Santa loo roll sales are up
Feeding for winter energy
23 Zest 4 Leisure employees take on marathon
Klass opens fashion concession at Longacres Ashford centre
Consumers more likely to buy from a name they recognise
Zapper app is the rewarding way to pay by phone
New role for Rachel
Get the balance right with Flopro
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards 2018: entries now open
Another strong year for specialist coffee roaster Matthew Algie
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700


Seedsmen explore urban gardening trend at Paris event

Urban gardening was the theme of Fleuroselect’s eighth Home Garden Conference in Paris, when about 75 seed breeders and distributors from 10 different countries enjoyed a programme of professional visits and speakers.

 

Compact or climbing Host of the Conference was the French seed breeder HM.Clause who, in addition to its professional activities, also specialises in flower and vegetable seeds for the hobby market. The company invited conference participants to discover its latest varieties in Le Grand Jardin, summer trials showcase set up on a magnificent roof top terrace in Montmartre.


 

In line with the urban gardening trend, Clause mainly showed compact and climbing varieties ideal for city balconies and patios. Echinacea ‘Feeling Pink’ and Lupin ‘MiniGallery Blue’, both Fleuroselect Gold Medal winners, are just two cultivars perfect for modest urban outdoor spaces. Climbing tomatoes and peppers were a real must-have for patios, and a new, single-serving sized climbing watermelon plant ‘Mini Love’ caught the eye of participants. A tasting session crounded off the experience.

 

Keynote speaker was Lodewijk Hoekstra, a Dutch TV gardener who shared his vision for urban gardening. Ghislain Bousseau of the Bureau Regional Horticole gave us interesting facts and figures on the French market and journalist/horticultural therapist Isabelle Boucq introduced the group to the many benefits and applications of horticultural therapy, including those for the sick and elderly. Antoine Jacobsohn, Director of Le Potager du Roi, gave an interesting presentation on the use of plants in the city, past and future.

 

From Zinnia to Marigold This year is the ‘Year of the Zinnia’ marketing campaign, so delegates visited the magnificent Jardin des Plantes where some 130 Zinnia varieties from Fleuroselect members were lined up. Wild varieties were added to the trial to underline the improvements in flower size, flowering period and disease resistance of the cultivated varieties.


 

The 2018 Plant of the Year campaign will focus on Marigold and Pepper. Fleuroselect will offer logos, images and banners, all free of charge, to promote the sales of existing varieties. Trials showing the entire membership’s Marigold varieties are again planned during 2018 at Wisley (UK) and three other gardens in France and Germany.

 

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