Our time is getting faster and faster! Work and private life is getting more and more connected! The term work-life balance has become obsolete and is increasingly being replaced by the trend work-life blend. Because ‘CLASSIC BLUE’ fits with its soothing properties in the time and lifestyle of many people. BLUE is perceived by most people as restful and at the same time provides a stable foundation for ‘perceived peace’ and actual peace.
All of these beneficial properties on the psyche can also be harnessed to plants, and so ‘CLASSIC BLUE’ is expected to boost the successful sale of plants in 2020.
Unfortunately there are far fewer blue flowers in the plant world compared to yellow, pink and white. That’s why color BLUE is in high demand. For many years, breeders strive to reed a blue rose – the results are still modest. There is not blue Pelargonium zonale either.
We look forward to many projects that we can develop for our clients, for whom ‘CLASSIC BLUE’ will play a role.
Adding labels to plants has been a pre-requisite for growers and retailers in the UK for decades now. Approximately 15 years ago the majority of the growers and retailers in Europe discovered the advantages of this pivotal part of plant promotion. In the early days ‘straight forward’ designs and shapes were used (as shown in our header picture) with the labels being stuck simply into the soil.
Nowadays innovation is needed to differentiate in the market place. Leading growers are working with the Media Concept Group in order to gain more attention and sales success for their plants. In this blog Phil Mabon reports about innovative developments at Hortipak, the leading communication company in the green industry in the UK and Ireland and a Media Concept Group member.
Integrated Clematis label
Exclusively designed for a UK Clematis grower, this integrated label attaches via the lock in slot in the pot and hooks over the cane protector to deliver a uniform branded presentation on the retail benches.
Advantages for the grower are that they have a large image and information print area, are easy fit and give a clean, consistent appearance across their entire range.
Self Tie Hanging Tag
Initially designed as a stock shape, this one piece tag has been designed to negate the need for the additional production process of adding elastic ties. Easy to fit, the label is suitable for use on hanging baskets, climbers and trees.
Advantages for the user are speed of application, uniformity of product presentation and price. The system cuts out any significant movement from wind ensuring it is always customer facing as intended.
Re-use Tree Tag
This label encourages re-use by the consumer prior to recycling. This new tree label is designed to be used post purchase to secure young trees to the stake and promote strength within the trunk. The built in locking system allows the tie to break away rather than dig in to the trunk.
All of these Hortipak labels are produced on recyclable polypropylene.
I have been a keen gardener for most of my life, from ‘helping’ mum, dad and grandparents to my first home and now my family home. The only time I lost the love of gardening was in my teenage years when I disappeared to my bedroom to listen to music. My daughter has now gone to her room, instead of Guns and Roses it’s Stormzy but there is one big difference and it’s not the introduction of wi-fi.
Last week, after running out of cups, I dared to enter her room. She now has a floordrobe, a mountain of crockery and posters of whoever is this weeks favourite popstar, but what never fails to surprise me is she has plants, and lots of them.
The reason, she tells me is that they are good for her, clean the air, she really doesn’t want the planet to die, another reason is she take pictures of them, her Instagram account is full of these photos. Pictures of the cacti she bought after doing about adaptation in science, the rainforest biome she planted for Geography, she is a geek, and she is proud of that, she doesn’t just want to grow and photograph plants, she wants to know there origin, there history. I ask her what her friends think of this hobby and they are all doing it as well, this is meant to be a generation addicted to gaming – not horticulture!
When I think if children’s gardening I think of all of the primary colours, the funny cartoon plants, the sunflowers and tomatoes with smiley faces. After that though there is nothing, straight into the adult world, nothing for our teens who will be the gardeners of the future.
This group have been more assessed and tested than any other, more pressure is put on them to achieve at a younger age than ever before. They care passionately about the planet and green issues, and they worry about the future. Teens are heavily influenced by apps such as Instagram and this has been on the whole the reason for this trend.
To keep teens interested we need to learn how to talk to them. Try to be cool, and they will spot it a mile off, but if we can understand this is the generation that have only ever know social media, that care deeply about pollution, that will take endless selfies, and will explain to you, whilst rolling their eyes, that the prickly part of the cactus are spines, not spikes, then maybe they could become gardeners for life.