“We have people from all over the world coming,” said Les Lane, one of the event's organizers. The conference, which will be held at the Best Western Premier Yew Lodge in Kegworth, will include talks on several of the prominent topics in the industry.
“We have Pat Fitzgerald, director of Fitzgerald Nurseries, who will talk about finding your niche and marketing to that niche,” said Lane. Andrew Spilsbury, operations director for Whetmans Pinks, will talk about exporting their carnations around the world and the need to expand into new markets. The former editor of Horticultural Week will give a talk on taking the marketing of plants outside of just the garden center and taking it to television, newspapers and the internet. In addition to talks, tours of two local nurseries will be offered. The idea is to give attendees a full picture of the current state of the industry.
“We like to seek and share,” said Lane. “That means we find things to improve our business, and then we share that information with each other. The conference is open to all, for details of attending the conference interested growers can look on www.IPPS.org.uk"
Les@smithnjones.co.uk