Events

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Trade shows, networking and gardening events are now gearing up for a busy year ahead through to 2022 as we emerge from lockdown. Here are some events to look forward to...

Summer celebration of gardening and growing

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) confirms the return of its popular summer flower shows in July. RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival supported by Viking (5-11 July) and RHS Flower Show Tatton Park (21-25 July) will be two of the first major outdoor events to make a safe return this summer.

Following the postponement of the 2021 RHS Chelsea Flower Show until September, and the huge increase in the number of people growing in 2020, the two summer shows will make a welcome return with a celebration of gardening and growing packed with inspiration and advice for everyone growing plants, flowers and food for their health, wellbeing and the environment.

Show gardens shining a light on key issues and environmental challenges we face today will be amongst the highlights at RHS Hampton Court alongside a brand new RHS Flower Market. Meanwhile RHS Tatton Park will see the return of the popular Young Designer of the Year Competition with exciting designs from five upcoming designers and an RHS Feature Garden celebrating the power of plants.

Helena Pettit, RHS Director of Gardens and Shows, says: “After months of planning and uncertainty we can’t wait to return to what we do best, putting on our famous RHS Flower Shows for all to enjoy. We have seen a huge increase in people taking up gardening and growing in the last year and so in being able to return to Hampton Court Palace and Tatton Park this summer, we hope to bring inspiration and advice for all gardeners and plant lovers as well as a much-needed celebration of summer.

“We are so grateful for all the support we’ve received from our members, visitors and exhibitors as we work together to create two unforgettable summer shows. Bringing the horticultural world together again will be significant for the industry and we are continuing to plan for different scenarios to ensure we can open our gates safely and implement social distancing measures if still necessary. We are lucky that both Hampton Court Palace and Tatton Park are large outdoor spaces that can be enjoyed safely by visitors and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back this summer.”

The RHS will also be running a Virtual RHS Chelsea Flower Show online throughout the original show week, 17 – 23 May.

Above: Floral designer Jonathan Moseley makes final preparations at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2019. Credit © RHS / Charlotte Graham.

European show to meet new challenges

Landscaping show, Paysalia 2021, which takes place at the Lyon Eurexpo, France is on track to open its doors from Tuesday, November 30th to Thursday, December 2nd next. This European trade fair brings together everyone active in the sector from landscaping, gardening and sports.

The show hopes to exceed the visitor numbers

Visitors to Paysalia in 2019.

(30,000) it had in 2019 when 741 exhibitors attended.

Co-produced with Unep, Union Nationale des Entreprises du Paysage, (The French National Landscaping Businesses Trade Association) Paysalia exists to help everyone in the landscaping sector meet new challenges and changes:

Themes for 2021 show include:

Biodiversity: Exhibits at Paysalia 2021 proposes solutions that work – from chemical-free maintenance, alternative green space management and greening of urban centres.

New markets: The French Revival program, launched in 2020, boosts some landscaping markets such as forestation and ecological engineering. Urban landscaping and greening of cities is growing and it is a trend that provides opportunities for the sector. Paysalia 2021 intends to address these trends and help professionals enter these new markets.

Trade skills: A paramount challenge is to match landscape designers’ talents with what clients desire. To anticipate future needs, landscaping companies need to equip their staff with new skills. We will need to think deeply about the basics of our business (knowledge of soils, plant recognition), to meet the challenges of biodiversity and adapt to emerging innovations (robotics, use of drones and digitalisation) all requiring new skills.

www.paysalia.com

#GroundsWeek dates for 2022

Looking ahead for 2022, the Grounds Management Association (GMA), the not-for-profit membership body for grounds professionals, volunteers and businesses, has announced the return of #GroundsWeek next year, to be held once again in the first week of March (28th February – 6th March, 2022).

GMA launched the inaugural #GroundsWeek in March 2021 – a campaign celebrating grounds management professionals and volunteers, and galvanising a new generation of grounds enthusiasts to help avoid a major skills gap. The integrated digital and media campaign reached over 135 million people, secured support from 1,193 organisations and individuals, and generated over 3,000 mentions of #GroundsWeek on social media.

Following the huge successes of the inaugural celebration week, GMA has confirmed that GroundsWeek will continue to celebrate and highlight the vital role professional grounds staff and volunteers play in making sport possible each year.

The research conducted by the GMA for #GroundsWeek 2021 showed the severe skills gap the sector was facing. Encouraging people to join the sector is vital, and while 32% of kids want to work in sport, the research found that only 5% understand vital but overlooked roles like grounds management.

This year’s focus was therefore about inspiring young people to enter the industry as a professional and encouraging sports fans everywhere to look at volunteering at their local grounds. Next year, the GMA will aim to build on this, highlighting the amazing community within grounds management and encouraging people from all walks of life to join the sector.

Geoff Webb, CEO of the GMA, says: “It’s safe to say that #GroundsWeek has been a huge success. We had teams, organisations, individuals, and sponsors coming together to cheer on grounds people everywhere. All the hard work that goes into sport behind the scenes was highlighted across the nation, and it was amazing to see so many get involved. We’re particularly grateful to our various sponsors who got involved this year in supporting our activity and we hope we can continue working with such fantastic businesses in 2022.

“By building on the success of our first #GroundsWeek, we want to make next year’s celebratory week even bigger and better than before.” To get involved visit:

www.thegma.org.uk/groundsweek