HortiTrends Weekly Comment & News Digest April 26th

John Lord continues his series on plant issues with 'I Got a Batch of Betula Pendula' which is telling nurseries that plant identification is king and results in the garden centres reputation being damaged when the wrong tree or plant is sold to a customer.

Congratulations to all those representing the horticulture sector including Supernemos, Secret Garden Centre & Bord na Mona Winners at Green Awards 2012. It's a prestigious and well known award that will be of great benefit to Supernemos as they spread their wings into the UK market and further afield.

Finally we bring you our first Dail Horticulture Questions - Community Employment Schemes. It's one of the cutback scandals that many very worthwhile horticulture related CE schemes are in danger of closing. It seems that government is happier to have people on the dole rather than maximising the benefits that these schemes bring to the community and to the participants and their self-esteem. I know of many people who have turned around their lives due to being on a successful community employment scheme.

We thought that Cork Marina €600,000 Landscape Design Contract Awarded to Dutch Firm was all bad news but a quick response from Evelyn Mitchell the Senior Executive Planner revealed a large Irish participation in the contract. Nothing against the Dutch or any other country but we need these type of prestigious contracts for our own sector. Yes we know! EU rules, but a 'Break Clause' for a couple of years would be a help.

One trade group is being pro-active and signing up New Members for ALCI. They have continued to run the ALCI Awards which are open now. Strong trade representation is important and it can be poor business strategy to look at membership as a simple cost to your business.

In 1 Percent Makes All The Difference by John Stanley he keeps it simple and for any struggling businesses out there who want to increase their net profit by 25% by following the simple formula of: Increase your average sale by 1%, plus increase your customer count by 1%. Increase your conversion rate by 1% and reduce your costs by 1%. Say no more!

Todays articles:

• Product Placement by John Stanley
• Supernemos, Secret Garden Centre & Bord na Mona Winners at Green Awards 2012
• John Lord - 'I Got a Batch of Betula Pendula' - Birch Misidentification
• When Marriage is Good for Your Genes
• Morrisons Makes its Move on the Garden Industry
• Minister Bruton Launches €150million Scheme to Support Growing Irish Companies and Create Jobs
• Thousand Farms and Rural Businesses to Benefit From Grants
• Woodstock Trees and Shrubs Pleased with Met52 Biopesticide Results
• A Road Map to Sustainable Agriculture

Top 5 most read articles last week:

1. Nurseries Exhibiting at Yellow Furze Trolley Fair
2. Dirty Old Towns – Polytunnels – Make the Difference!
3. Slugs and Snails by Rónán Ó Snodaigh
4. Connacht Gold Westport Store Opens its Doors Following €2.5m Investment
5. Questions Raised Over Awarding of Tender for 'Bloom in the Park' 2012 Event Management

Too busy to read all the news? Go straight to your sector below:

This Weeks News Articles:

Thank you.

Joseph (Editor at HortiTrends)

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