Twelve companies have already signed up for 'Green Heart of Glee' in September...and that's in only the first week of selling the exhibition's newest attraction. It's expected that the feature will be home to over 40 growers at the NEC.

Companies already booked are: Darby Nursery, Whartons Nurseries, Morley Nurseries, New Leaf Plants, Kilworth Conifers, Gardeners Kitchen, Javado, Hawkesmill Nurseries, Garden Centre Fresh, Chapel Cottage Plants, Chamberlain Nurseries and Wye Plants.

Neil Gow, Glee’s special project manager, said: “The response to the Green Heart of Glee has far exceeded our expectations. We’ve already got a number of UK growers signed up for the area, and have also received some fantastic feedback from the industry, including from planter buyers and nursery managers. This is helping us to further shape the content to ensure that this new area of the show works as hard as it possibly can.”

One UK grower that has already signed up for the show is New Leaf Plants. Sales manager David Higginson said: “When Neil first talked to me about the idea of The Green Heart it seemed a bit of a no-brainer to be able to get our plants in front of so many key buyers and at minimal cost, so we booked our plot straight away.”

David’s comments were echoed by Helen Boers, sales director at Gardeners Kitchen. She added: “We have always found Glee one of the most successful shows we do because we can get to speak to the business owners and senior managers as well as the plant buyers from right across the country. 

"The Green Heart concept seems just brilliant to us and being able to show off our production in good light conditions to so many key retailers means we did not need to do too much thinking before we booked up. The low cost, with so much done for us by way of benches and signage, will make this a very cost effective event for us.”

Housed in the Atrium area, directly outside the entrances to Glee’s new home with NEC halls 17-20 and incorporating Glee’s registration desks, The Green Heart of Glee will fill what is thought to be the biggest greenhouse within the UK.  It is within this space that growers and UK nurseries can create displays of everything from herbs and bedding plants, to trees, shrubs, alpines and even houseplants. 

For Green Heart of Glee enquires contact Neil Gow on 0203 033 2497 or by emailing Neil.Gow@i2ieventsgroup.com

For more information on the show visit www.gleebirmingham.com