From Holland and Belgium and Germany to Denmark, delegates from across Europe headed to England to find out more about the UK’s ornamentals sector.
Day 1
The event kicked off with a private tour of the historic gardens and grounds at Kenilworth Castle, which explored the long and chequered history of Kenilworth Castle, and the grandeur and hidden meanings of Queen Elizabeth I's private gardens.
The tour was followed by an Opening Reception at the Gatehouse within the castle's grounds, with the beautiful table decorations kindly sponsored by Flowers from the Farm and designed by Carole Patilla and Penny Sowters. Flowers from the Farm is a network of growers from across the UK working to promote British flowers and get local blooms back into every vase. Catering for the evening focussed purely on seasonal, local food and drink, with guests delighted by award-winning English wines and sumptous cuisine.
Day 2
The second day saw delegates taking to the road for a tour or ornamentals nurseries.
The first visit was to Baginton’s, where Will Lamb explained the history of the business and its move towards contract-only production of quality bedding plants, hanging baskets and planted containers. As the home of the National Bedding & Pot Plant Centre, delegates were also shown around some of the trials currently being undertaken by AHDB Horticulture’s Debbie Wilson.
The second visit to Young Plants coincided with their annual FLORAFEST show, which brings together some of the most exclusive and exciting breeding in ornamental plants available in the UK and new products, all under one roof. Led by Kersten Catella, the group was able to look around their spectacular showcase of their bedding, perennials, shrubs and trees, exploring their new lines and thematic displays based on colour and style.
Guests were treated to lunch at the beautiful National Trust-owned public house, The Fleece Inn at Bretforton. The picture-perfect traditional country inn has a fantastic focus on seasonality and provenance in their food and drink. Guests were able to take in the historic surroundings and sample some local delicacies, fuelling up for a busy afternoon of more ornamental plant nursery tours in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire.
After lunch, the third visit took the group to Borden Hill which was led by Malcolm Tanner and Russell Woodcock. Together, they took the group for a whistle-stop tour of their vast high-tech facility which capitalises on a wide variety of process technology. Specialising in the production of young plug plants, the group were able to view some of the mechanisation in action and better understand the systems that allow them to have such a vast and nationally important plant output.
The final nursery visit was to Ball Colegrave, which was preparing for its annual Summer Open Day. Stuart Lowen guided the delegates around the 8 acre site which was being set up to demonstrate the diverse and colourful range of annual and perennial varieties in display gardens, pots, patio baskets and containers, including many new varieties for the following season in their plant range.
Day 3
The visit culminated with a more formal gathering at NFU HQ on the final day, which was an opportunity for the working group to discuss a number of issues affecting the sector both in this country and across the European Union.