Plant Tour Days Adds Seminars
The San Diego County Flower and Plant Association has recently announced a new addition to the Plant Showcase event during the 2005 Plant Tour Days. For the first time in its history, the Plant Showcase will feature seminars geared toward educating attendees, according to the San Diego County Flower and Plant Association. On February 23, there will be four 30-minute presentations given held at the Bing Crosby Hall at the San Diego County Fairgrounds in Del Mar, Calif.
Speaker and cut flower industry member Renee van Rems will present two of the four presentations, the first at 9:30 a.m., “Trend Watch: What’s Hot and What’s Not,” which explores color and container trends using cut flowers, greens and flowering plants. The second presentation, “Mixed Media – Beauty at What Cost: Keeping an Eye on the Bottom Line,” will be held at 2:30 p.m. to explore ideas that will inspire customers to purchase flowers and plants more often.
Author and container garden expert Kerstin Ouellet will present two seminars at the Plant Showcase. At 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Ouellet will present “Container Garden Ideas for Retailers.” She will share her latest designs using many new and underused plants.v “We are thrilled to have these two industry experts as part of the Plant Showcase this year,” said Olive Hill Greenhouses’ Denise Godfrey, committee chair of the 2005 Plant Tour Days. “Their energy and expertise are sure to draw a crowd and make it a valuable experience for everyone in attendance. And both Renee and Kerstin will be demonstrating with our own exhibitors’ products, further highlighting the quality-grown plants and flowers in our region.”
The event kicks off with the Plant Showcase Feb. 23, 2005. In addition to the educational seminars, this one-day trade show will feature a cross section of nurseries and hardgoods suppliers representing a diverse group of growers, including cut flowers; outdoor color and ornamentals; indoor flowering and specialty patio plants; tropical foliage; and cactus and succulents. With booth space for more than 60 exhibitors, buyers are able to get a preview of what they’ll see and experience during the open houses. The Plant Showcase is a large part of the event, allowing buyers to perform side-by-side comparisons, plan their visits for the next two days and network and exchange information and ideas with growers and other industry professionals.
A two-day open house and self-guided tour follows the Showcase on February 24-25, allowing buyers to visit host nurseries and see first-hand the quality and commitment behind the product.
Among the host nurseries already committed to the 2005 Plant Tour Days are: Briggs Tree Company; Brown’s Plants Inc.; Corey Nursery Co. Inc.; Foothill Tropicals; Kallisto Greenhouses; Kent’s Bromeliad Nursery; Mellano and Company; Olive Hill Greenhouses; Palomar Mesa Growers; Premier Color Nursery; Rainforest Flora Inc.; Rote Greenhouse; Sunlet Nursery; Tayama Greenhouses, Inc.; The Good Earth; Thompson Rose Company; Western Cactus; and Zalinda Farms.
Registration for Plant Tour Days is free and can be completed online by visiting www.planttourdays.org.
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