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Month: January 2025

2024- EXPO XXI

Posted on by Weronika Gajkowska

31th International GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND

From 5 to 7 September 2024, the GREEN IS LIFE trade fair – hosted by the Polish Nurserymen Association (ZSzP) and the Agencja Promocji Zieleni – was held in Warsaw, Poland. The reach and rank of this well-recognised event was enhanced by the presence of members of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) from all over the world – participants of this year’s, 76th congress of the organisation, which was one of the many events accompanying the exhibition Green is Life. The fruitful cooperation between ZSzP and AIPH went hand in hand with the 2024 slogan of the fair – “Experience the Power of Synergy!”, which referred to the overall collaboration aimed at the development of the green industry.  Even more noticeably than ever before, the exhibition featured topics relating to climate change and its impact on the nurserystock sector, horticultural market and urban greenery. The importance of these issues was made strikingly clear to exhibitors as well as visitors by the exceptionally hot, dry, prolonged weather at the beginning of September, so far unprecedented in Poland at this time of year.

Green is Life – plants and knowledge in the centre of Europe

The director of the fair, Joanna Filipczak called it ‘the greenest event in the country’. She emphasized that it had earned the AIPH’s recommendation, which this association awards to distinguished international horticultural fairs. She referred to the slogan of GREEN IS LIFE 2024 and expressed her satisfaction at the synergic collaboration of the Polish organizers and the AIPH in creating a valuable programme of training events for trade visitors. Conferences and seminars, as usual, accompanied the exhibition of plants, horticultural technology and landscape accessories, guaranteeing professional knowledge from Polish and foreign speakers.

The president of the AIPH, Leonardo Capitanio said that Poland, represented by the ZSzP, has been an active member of this international association for a few years already, and thus it was a pleasure to accept its invitation to Warsaw to hold the 76th Annual Congress here, alongside the exhibition. He pointed out that the world needs the green sector’s activities more than ever before, and the ‘Green City’ idea promoted by the AIPH can not do without nurserystock producers in particular.  

The AIPH’s Secretary General Tim Briercliffe summed up this year’s congress, the fair in Warsaw and the members’ visits to local ZSzP’s nurseries by saying: "Hosting the 76th AIPH Annual Congress alongside the Green Is Life International Trade Fair offered AIPH members from around the world a unique opportunity to engage with the Polish horticultural industry and exchange knowledge with growers from this dynamic region." 

Increased number of exhibitors   

There were 172 exhibitors from 7 countries: Poland, as well as Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands. 

After the pandemic standstill and the transition period, there was an increase of 8% in the number of exhibitors at Green is Life, compared to the previous year. Director Filipczak welcomes this progress with satisfaction. She hopes that the development trend will be continued, especially when it comes to companies offering products for landscape architecture and garden centres.  

As usual, plants for gardens and landscapes – trees, shrubs, perennials and climbers – formed the core of the exhibition, with 58 % of the participants showing them. Other sections of the fair that stood out in terms of space occupied, were "Techniques, technologies, sales support" and "Equipment, materials, decorations".

Synergy of show garden and urban trends

Again, in front of the Warsaw EXPO XXI Centre, which is the venue for the Green is Life trade fair, the show garden was created, available for visitors throughout the three days. It warmed up the industrial space of the outdoor exhibition area and, in addition became another example of the synergic efforts of the green industry representatives. 

Namely, seven companies, including one nursery of the Polish Nurserymen Association, created the biodiversified zone named ‘Archipelago of Greenery’. It consisted of islands of plants – dominated by groups of trees and shrubs, complemented with perennials – connected to each other by irregular paths. The creation of the garden was guided by: functionality, sustainability as well as the climate change challenges. Landscaping materials such as permeable paving were used, for example.

Visitors from 42 countries, five continents  

The fair was visited by around 9,600 people, 5,616 of whom were trade visitors (an increase of 5.5% compared to 2023). They came from 42 countries, with Lithuania, Ukraine and Latvia standing out among them, as far as the attendance is concerned. 

Thanks to the congress of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), participants from outside Europe – countries like the USA, Canada, Qatar, Rwanda, South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan – were prominently represented at Green is Life in 2024. The Far East was also represented by the official, highest-ranking guest of the event, who once again took part in the opening ceremony of the GREEN IS LIFE fair – the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Poland, H.E. Sun Linjiang. Traditionally, there were also representatives of diplomatic missions from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The largest group among the professional visitors consisted of people who deal with plant production (29.94%), followed by the next categories: landscape architecture, garden contracting, gardening equipment, decorations and constructions (24.53%), retail sales – garden centres, stores, markets (12.54%); government administration, offices, housing management (5.8%); floristry, florist shops, cut flowers, potted plants (3.08%).

The interest in the fair was generated by the exhibitors’ stands, but also by 8 accompanying events – educational (on the first and second days for professionals, and on the third day for hobbyists) or other. One of the eye-catching presentations was the florist show organized by the Warsaw wholesale market WR-SRH “Bronisze”, with the Polish masters of floristry Sylwia Bednarek and Zbigniew Dziewulski as the stars.

Collaboration, climate change, green industry’s potential 

The word synergy – from the leitmotif of this year’s fair – reminded that together we can really achieve a lot. This is especially relevant to the green industry, which, since the pandemic and in the era of climate change, is gaining more and more recognition – as an important remedy for contemporary global pains. Thus, it has great potential.

Evidence of the “power of synergy” was given by a number of lectures of the GREEN CITY CONFERENCE, which – as always – touched on the current issues and needs of the audience, providing practical solutions. For example, Dr. Stephan Treuke from Germany presented the results of constructive cooperation in transforming the industrial areas of the Ruhr district into green oases, for which more than €5.5 billion has been allocated (the “Klima-Werk” initiative, a project illustrating a participatory approach to regional management of the urban transformation process). Climate change and its challenges were the obvious theme of several lectures of this conference, which was attended by 545 people.

The KNOWLEDGE FOR TRADE AND PRODUCERS seminar – with 8 speakers from 5 countries – was dominated by the topics of sustainability as well as marketing. Solutions forced by the market and increasingly conscious customers were presented by, among others, the speaker from France: Catherine Muller of the industry organization Val’hor discussed ways to label and certify products and companies. The more and more important role of social media in the green industry was covered by Brenda Swinkels of the Dutch nursery Smits Nurseries, holder of the Greenfluencer 2021 title.

Biodiversity and ornamental grasses on top

GREEN IS LIFE is currently characterized by a (bio)diverse range of presented nursery stock, with perennials showing an upward trend. This year’s edition of the fair has highlighted the further development of breeding and production of ornamental grasses in Poland, among which spectacular launches continue to appear.  

In this context, the varieties awarded in the PLANT NOVELTIES COMPETITION, which is another prestigious distinction of the Green is Life fair, are to be mentioned. In 2024, the jury granted 6 medals and 3 special mentions to novelties selected from 30 entries. The most valuable “gold” went to the ZYMON Nursery for Cornus kousa FLOWER TOWER and to the SŁOWIŃSCY Nursery for the Miscanthus sinensis ‘Lady in Red’ PBR. The latter, bred by Krzysztof Słowiński, turned out to be the undisputed winner of two other votes within the Plant Novelties Competition: it won the international Journalists’ Prize – from trade media editors, and the award of the Internet Voting, conducted in social media among a wide audience.

Catalogue of Proven Plants in English

During this year’s fair, the official premiere of the new edition of the "Catalogue of Proven Plants – trees, shrubs, perennials” recommended by the Polish Nurserymen Association took place. This time, apart from the Polish, 6th edition of the catalogue, its English version was published for the first time.

Highly valued in the industry, it is a practical tool for designers, contractors, traders and other users of plants. The basic source of professional information on proven and recommended plants, including new products. The greatest advantages of the catalogue are reliable information on 2872 taxa, containing: a short description of the key features, requirements and applications of a given plant, a sketch of its target silhouette (at the age of 10 or 30 years) and a photo. Tips have also been added to help you make the right choice of plants when shopping, as well as information on biological plant protection against diseases and pests and 107 inspirations of garden arrangements.

– We are happy about the positive reception of our flagship publication, with its Polish version present on the market for more than 20 years, comments Joanna Filipczak. – We are very pleased to be able to offer this valuable overview of the plant assortment also in English, and thus – to the international users, she adds.

At the same time she invites the members of the industry to the next edition of the GREEN IS LIFE trade fair – on September 4-6, 2025.   

SEE YOU IN A YEAR!

2023- EXPO XXI

Posted on by Weronika Gajkowska

30th International GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND

The International Trade Fair for Plants, Horticultural Technology and Landscape Architecture GREEN IS LIFE, which dates back to 1993, was held in Warsaw (Poland) from August 31 to September 2. The organizers – the Polish Nurserymen Association and the Agencja Promocji Zieleni (Greenery Promotion Agency) – had thus the occasion to celebrate the 30th birthday of this important industry event, which coincided with the period of dynamic changes occurring both regionally and globally. Therefore, the anniversary was used to reflect not only upon the past, tradition and previous achievements, but also, even more thoroughly, to think about the future of the green industry . The fair was run under the slogan "New times – new challenges", with which the topics of the extensive program of the exhibition events corresponded.

Green is Life – thirty years have passed

At the opening ceremony of Green is Life 2023, the fair’s director Joanna Filipczak thanked the participants of the green industry for the three decades of their trust and fruitful cooperation. She stressed that the exhibition was born as the initiative of just a few passionate people, and has developed into the international, widely recognized major event.

Wiesław Szydło, the chairman of the Polish Nurserymen Association reminded that 30 years ago GREEN IS LIFE gathered 25 exhibitors, but the event was quickly growing year by year. He mentioned its current strengths, like the stability (it will surely take place, in a fixed place – the Warsaw Expo XXI Center, at a fixed time) and the beauty provided by attractively displayed plants during their lush vegetation period.  

Exhibitors – from eleven countries

The fair was attended by 159 exhibitors from 11 countries: Poland, as well as Belgium, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Lithuania and the Netherlands. 

As usual, plants for gardens and landscapes formed the core of the exhibition, with 66% of the participants showing them. Other sections of the fair that stood out in terms of space occupied, were "Techniques, technologies, sales support" and "Equipment, materials, decorations".

Visitors – from various directions 

The fair was visited by around 9,600 people, 5,324 of whom were trade visitors (an 8% increase compared to last year). They came from 30 countries, among which Lithuania and Belarus are to be distinguished, while visitors from the Far East constituted a specific group this year.

It looks like more guests (from abroad) will show up next year, in part because of the planned visit of the AIPH members – the annual congress of this international horticultural organization will be held in Warsaw during the Green is Life fair. 

As for the profile of professionals, the largest group among those visitors consisted of people who deal with landscape and small architecture, construction industry as well as contractors (30.5%), followed by the next categories: plant production (29.6%); retail sales – garden centres, stores, markets (12.6%); government administration, offices, housing management (6.4%); floriculture, florists, cut flowers, potted plants (6%).

The interest in the exhibition was also generated by its accompanying events such as the seminar "Knowledge for Trade and Producers" (held on Day 1) – attended by 264 people, the conference "Green City" (on Day 2 – 489 participants) or florist shows organized by the Wholesale Market "Bronisze".

Greenery, plants, novelties

From the perspective of 30 years, GREEN IS LIFE can be characterized by an increasingly (bio)diverse assortment of plants presented. First of all, many species and varieties of perennials, once almost absent at the exhibition, have appeared. Within this assortment ornamental grasses are more and more popular and their strong market position has been visible in 2023 too.

At present, however, the fair is dominated by deciduous shrubs. At the same time, in line with the current trends, conifers are on the declining side, although Poland is still a large producer, consumer and exporter of this type of nursery stock. Consequently, such greenery was not to be missed at the stands in 2023 either. 

Conifers also clearly marked their presence in the PLANT NOVELTIES COMPETITION, which has been organized during GREEN IS LIFE since 2004. They made up almost 1/3 of the 21 entries of the 2023 PNC’s edition.

This year, two gold medals were granted in the contest. They were received by Szkółka Roślin Ozdobnych "Daglezja" Artur Maj – for Miscanthus sinensis ‘Silver Charm’ PBR, and by Szkółka Szmit – for Acer truncatum ‘Volcano’ PBR. Silver medals were handed to two exhibitors: Szkółki Kurowscy – for Spiraea japonica DOUBLE PLAY DOOZIE and Physocarpus opulifolius PANTHER, as well as to Szkółki Nowaczyk – for Thuja plicata ‘Golden Whipcord’. The bronze medal was given to Vitroflora for Anemone ‘Garden Breeze Pink Touch’ PBR. In addition, the jury of the Plant Novelties Competition granted two special mentions – for Hydrangea macrophylla PINKY BINDER® (submitted by Minier Professional Solutions) and for Nepeta ‘Cats Pajamas’ PBR (from Gospodarstwo Specjalistyczne PANEK Dariusz Panek).

The Journalists’ Award – from voters representing Polish and foreign media – praised Miscanthus sinensis ‘Silver Charm’ PBR.

The winner of the Internet voting, conducted among a wide online audience, was Phlox paniculata ‘Skubianka’ PBR, entered by OGRODY O ZIELONYCH PROGACH Przemysław Godlewski - Szkółka bylin.

Demonstration garden

The good tradition of arranging a show garden in front of the Expo XXI Center (which hosts GREEN IS LIFE) returned this year, after a few-season break. The 2023 garden received great attention. It fulfilled decorative purposes, but above all presented specific solutions in landscape architecture, from which both professionals and non-professionals could benefit.

The garden, named "Permeation of Space", was created by Gardenphilia.com Ltd. and their cooperating partners. The main idea of the arrangement was the climate change challenge. The area was divided into two zones – the residential and the urban areas. Carefully selected plants, materials, textures and colors formed a harmonious composition and made a good place for visitors to rest and relax.

Time of turning points and challenges

The 2023 Green is Life slogan "New times – new challenges" is associated with a sequence of events of recent turbulent years, starting with the coronavirus pandemic, followed by the war in Ukraine along with geopolitical turmoil, and ending with economic difficulties. For a large group of Polish nurserymen, the current priority is still to look for alternatives to Eastern European markets. Trade fairs, such as Green is Life, are a place to meet potential new customers and may allow to diversify export destinations.

Rising labour costs and recruitment shortages have also become a concern for entrepreneurs, who include plant growers. This issue was dealt with in a lecture entitled "Technique and technology in response to labour shortages in production", which – during the seminar KNOWLEDGE FOR TRADE AND PRODUCERS – was presented by Peter Morrenhof of Delphy. Some of the machines he touched upon, i.e. robots used in horticultural production, seminar attendees were able to check out at the booths of exhibitors, such as HariTech.

Today’s challenges are also related to climate change, and thus the need for ever-increasing concern about biodiversity. This theme, therefore, was the centerpiece of the GREEN CITY conference, which, as always, addressed the current issues and needs of the industry, providing "pro nature" solutions. 

The well-known British designer Noel Kingsbury presented "Green areas of the future". In his lecture he focused on a new trend – biodiverse beds which are established on poor mineral, sandy or gravel substrates, in order to reduce the overall expenses of maintenance and care of such amenity plantings. This solution at the same time determines the certain selection of plant species, different from the currently prevailing ones.

During the same forum, the debate on the biggest challenges for landscape architects, contractors and nursery stock suppliers was not to be missed. "We will continue interdisciplinary activities and even more effectively aim at them" – emphasizes Joanna Filipczak, summarizing this year’s fair and Green City conference. "We keep on engaging private and public developers as well as the construction sector into our activities clustered around the ‘Green is Life’ brand, so that it is obvious not only for our industry that ‘there is no investment without greenery’. Tightening cooperation seems the only logical approach in case of overlaping disciplines in which plants (nursery stock) are involved. Because green is life!

SEE YOU IN A YEAR!

2022- EXPO XXI

Posted on by Weronika Gajkowska

29th International GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND

The GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND exhibition was held on September 1-2-3 in Warsaw, under the slogan “Naturally!”. In times of uncertainty and unpredictability, it proved to be a reliable venue for industry gatherings - on a consistent, unchanging late-summer date, which is conducive to the presentation of garden plants and greenery and the holding of mass events such as trade fairs. 

Exhibitors – regular, new, returning  

156 exhibitors from 9 countries: Poland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Lithuania and the USA took part in the fair. As usual, plants for gardens and landscapes comprised the core of the exhibition (almost 65% of the participants showed them), but a larger area than that of the last year’s was taken up by stands with means of horticultural production, such as machines, equipment, pots, etc. 

About 23% of the companies presented their offer here for the first time or returned to the Warsaw exhibition after a break of at least 3 years. At the same time, there were nurseries that did not miss any edition of the "Green is Life" exhibition, having placed it for good in the calendar of their most important business activities.           

Collective expositions were characteristic this year – including those representing the region of production and/or announcing the wholesale nursery stock fair to be held in the late fall of 2022. Some suppliers made their presence at stands of companies with which they cooperate on a daily basis, so there were actually more brands at the fair than the number of exhibitors would indicate.

Traditional prizes (Laurels) were granted – in two categories – for the most attractive displays and the best ones in terms of the marketing strategy. The recipients of the most valuable, Golden Laurels were Kurowski Nurseries (category "Plants") and ICL ("Technology"). 

Must-see for visitors 

The exhibition was visited by around 9,500 people, of which 4,948 were trade visitors. "This time most of the professionals showed up on the second and not – as in other years – on the first day of the exhibition, which may have had to do with the inauguration of the school year in Poland on 1st September”, admits exhibition director Joanna Filipczak. "However, this did not affect the overall turnout and the interest of the visitors”, she adds.   

The majority of the industry visitors represented the management of companies that operate in the green business, with the owners of these enterprises dominating. In terms of professional profile, the largest group comprised plant producers (30%), followed by people associated with: landscape architecture or garden contracting (22.5%); retail sales – garden centres, garden stores, DIY or supermarkets (13.5%); administration, municipalities (11%).   

The visitors came form 25 countries. Most foreigners arrived from Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, Estonia, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. 

The interest in the exhibition was also generated by its accompanying events, such as the "Knowledge for Traders and Growers" seminar (held on Day 1 and attended by 262 people) as well as the Green City conference (attended by 419 participants on Day 2). 

Extended reach, larger audience 

Those who were unable to make it to Warsaw on September 1-3, could follow the video coverage of the Trade Fair Studio, which operated for the second time during the Green is Life exhibition. As of September 4, 2022, 6045 viewers had watched it on social media and You Tube (the number has been steadily growing as the recording is available online). The streaming from the Green City conference was followed by 1782 people from Poland and abroad.

Time that needs exhibitions 

The atmosphere of this year’s exhibition was different from the previous one. "September 2021 featured the great joy of the meeting, after pandemic restrictions and the long break", recalls Joanna Filipczak. The positive mood was also driven by the extraordinary boom in the green industry and good prospects”, the director of the exhibition adds. This year, the demand for plants is lower, but comparable to that in 2019; however, nurserymen and retailers have obvious worries about the future”, J. Filipczak concludes.

As usual, the business talks at the Green is Life exhibition were mainly about the products sought and orders to be placed. "Conversations at the booths were concrete and satisfying. At the same time, they helped strengthen trade relationships, which is particularly important in periods of market turbulence and uncertainty”, assesses Joanna Filipczak. Therefore, the 2022 meeting of exhibitors and visitors in Warsaw contributed more than before to evaluating the market situation, exchanging opinions, formulating problems, expressing concerns, looking for solutions and new ideas, which are easier to come up with in conversations with other industry members. 

The special role of regular customers was discussed at the "Knowledge for Trade and Growers" seminar by the highly respected speaker Erwin Meier-Honegger from Switzerland. His lecture was entitled "Options for garden centre business models in the new digital environment.” His most important message for retailers was, however, the advice not to copy global "mandatory" solutions, but to focus on plants, quality products and traditional excellent service, as well as on authenticity in dealing with customers – the tools of the digital era are only one of the options to choose from, not a condition for a garden centre success.  

Regardless of looking for reserves in the domestic market, a number of Polish nurserymen are in urgent need of new clients, following the loss of Russian customers as the consequence of the war in Ukraine. Chairman of the Polish Nurserymen Association Wiesław Szydło points out that the participation in the 2022 Green is Life exhibition provided an opportunity to look for new export destinations, to establish contacts with hitherto unknown buyers, who this year came in quite considerable numbers from, among others, the Baltic States or from across the southern Polish border, but also from Romania and Serbia.

Traditions and innovations

GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND 2022 became an occasion to celebrate jubilees by a few exhibiotors. The 40th anniversary was celebrated by the two-generation Szmit Nursery (Szkółka Szmit), known for its wide range of ornamental plants, including many rarities. Thirty years of the breeding work of Szczepan Marczyński (more than 50 Clematis varieties) was highlighted by the nursery Clematis Source of Good Vines (Clematis Źródło Dobrych Pnączy Sp. z o.o. Sp.k.), which he founded together with Władysław Piotrowski in 1988. 

Two companies celebrated their 25th birthdays: Agro-Sur, a manufacturer and contractor of turnkey greenhouses as well as of garden centers, and Chomik, which started with trading jars and in 2022 will offer an assortment of more than 10,000 items. 

Care for tradition mingled with manifestations of recent trends, such as diversification of the plant assortment, introduction of new production divisions or sales channels (e.g., e-commerce, social media, own You Tube channel) by new generations of nurserymen, who co-manage the operations in the family businesses. 

Plant Novelties Competition 2022

Organized for 14 years during the Green is Life exhibition, this competition has already developed into a brand in its own right. It attracts the attention of visitors as well as the media, and effectively promotes the new plants submitted to it – especially the winning ones. 

This year, the gold medal went to Szmit Nursery (Szkółka Szmit) for Cercis canadensis ETERNAL FLAME. Silver medals were handed to three exhibitors: Ornamental Shrubs Nursery Pudełek (Szkółka Krzewów Ozdobnych Pudełek) – for Rhododendron ‘Anna’, Piech Nursery – for Hydrangea quercifolia EDITIONS® JETSTREAM™, and Vitroflora Group of Producers (Vitroflora Grupa Producentów Sp. z o.o.) – for Buddleja davidii BUTTERFLY CANDY® LITTLE RUBY. Bronze medals went to: A&M Kałuzińscy Nursery (A&M Kałuzińscy Szkółka Polskie Korzenie) – for Juniperus conferta ‘Sunflower’PBR, Kurowscy Nurseries (Szkółka Kurowscy) – for Physocarpus opulifolius MAGIC BALL, and Daglezja Artur Maj Ornamental Plants Nursery (Szkółka Roślin Ozdobnych Daglezja Artur Maj) – which presented Panicum virgatum ‘Nosferatu’PBR. In addition to the 7 medals, the jury of the Plant Novelties Competition 2022 granted two special mentions – for Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Snowbird’ (submitted by Szmit Nursery) and Anemone ‘Summer Breeze Snow’PBR (from Vitroflora). 

The Journalists’ Award – from domestic and foreign trade media, who voted online (basing on plant photos and descriptions) – honored Buddleja davidii BUTTERFLY CANDY® LITTLE RUBY.

The Online Poll Winner, voted for by a wide audience, was Miscanthus sinensis ‘Polonus’PBR, entered into the competition by Daglezja Ornamental Plant Nursery Artur Maj.

Green City – contemporary necessity

The Green City conference, which accompanies the exhibition and connects plant producers with landscape architects, green area contractors and municipal officials, received a lot of attention. "When preparing the conference programme, we always focus on specific examples, addressed to the audience, who want to learn, but also share their observations, achievements, difficulties", explains Joanna Filipczak. "The Green City conference is a forum for exchanging experiences, which is very valuable especially now that the topic of greening cities and the implementation of this idea have become such an important issue”, she adds. 

Among this year’s presentations, in reference to the exhibition’s slogan and contemporary trends, lectures on natural plantings in urban spaces and the process of "removing the concrete" in cities are to be highlighted. The world-famous landscape architect Martha Schwartz from the US was the keynote speaker at the conference, as a part of the Green Cities Europe programme, which is implemented in Poland by the Polish Nurserymen Association. In her online presentation "Cities of the future and the urban landscape”, she confronted the audience with the drastic effects of the global warming on the Earth and made people aware how fast it is progressing. She testified that landscape architecture should play an essential role in mitigating further climate change and should be the starting point of any urban constructions or infrastructure projects. She stressed that no moment should be wasted. Green is life! 

SEE YOU IN A YEAR!

2021- EXPO XXI

Posted on by Weronika Gajkowska

28th International GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND

The GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND exhibition, which took place on September 2-3-4 this year in Warsaw once again gathered the green industry after a two-year break, proclaiming the slogan: LET'S MEET. We are glad that you decided to take part in the  GREEN IS LIFE & FLOWER EXPO POLAND exhibition, despite the feeling of uncertainty related to the epidemiological situation.

Exhibitors

We have been trusted by nearly 150 companies from Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Denmark and Italy. Garden plants, which are the heart of the exhibition, were accompanied by garden equipment, and technologies for green areas and plant production, as well as floristry. Compared to 2019, plant producers had a greater share in the fair.  Due to difficulties in transport and international travel - fewer companies from abroad, mainly florists, attended the expo. 

Visitors

4917 professional visitors attended the expo.  This is 69% of the  2019 level. 90% used the first two days of the fair for this purpose. This time there were more people from the industry than hobbyists, who attended mainly on Saturday. In total, during the three days of the fair, we hosted almost 9400 people and, despite the difficulties at the borders, they came from Belgium, Bulgaria, Belarus, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, The Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Slovenia and even the United Arab Emirates.

Wider Reach 

Already in 2020, we introduced an information and promotion platform for the GREEN industry exhibitors and their products. This time we added online broadcasts and streams. We used digitization to expand the exposition audience to include people who could not join the fair in real life. 6710 people on social media and YouTube channels (as of September 7) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGTmZoQ8IK0 have watched the nearly eight hours of reports and talks from the exhibition studio with exhibitors as well as presentations of plant novelties. It is a new channel that encourages people to visit the exhibition this and next year, because everyone who is close to greenery  longs to live with this wealth of plants and connect with people who are so passionate about their business in such a fantastic way.

As of today, the streaming of the Green City conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFbu7NKnb88 has enabled 1,305 people to attend from Poland and abroad (Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, France, Italy, USA).

What’s New Rules!

During the opening of the fair, the results of the Plant Novelties Competition  were announced. This year, the firm Minier Pepinieres - Minier Professional Solution achieved a great triumph, presenting the winners of the gold and silver medals, which were awarded to the Eastern laurel 'Miniredia' PBR and the GOLD FLAME® ginkgo biloba. The bronze medal was awarded to the Cercis canadensis GOLDEN FALLS, submitted by the Szkółkarstwo Ozdobne Olszewscy, and the Serbian spruce 'Golden Rain', submitted by Daglezja Artur Maj Szkółka Roślin. The jury also appreciated the Hosta GYPSY LEMON with honors as submitted by Ogrody O Zielonych Prograch Przemysław Godlewski – Szkółka Bylin and the Rose INCREDIBLE FRUITY from Gospodarstwo Szkółkarstwo Łazuccy. The journalists' distinction was awarded to the Mountain pine 'Tukan' submitted by the Szkółka Nowaczyk.

Congratulations to all the winners. 

The Future 

We are already planning the next edition of the exhibition, to be be held on 1-2-3 September 2022. We are thinking about new solutions that will increase the reach to professionals. However, the most important thing for our exhibitors is face-to-face meetings - only 24% of respondents are interested in the virtual form of the fair.

Maintaining the prosperity of green businesses requires the cooperation of the industry community as well as specific promotional and educational activities aimed at professionals, investors and developers as well as hobby gardener.  The exhibition and accompanying events are a strong element of this strategy.  

WELCOME NEXT YEAR – 1-2-3 September 2022!