Sept. 10, 2010 – The Window to the World opens on Oct. 19–20 to give
thousands of buyers in Canada’s garden and floral industry one of the
best opportunities to spot trends, source innovative, differentiating
products, learn new business strategies and find vendor partners that
will lead to growth and prosperity.
Sept. 10, 2010 – The Window to the World opens on Oct. 19-20 to give
thousands of buyers in Canada’s garden and floral industry one of the
best opportunities to spot trends, source innovative, differentiating
products, learn new business strategies and find vendor partners that
will lead to growth and prosperity.
Expo, formerly Garden & Floral Expo, now in its 11th year at the
Toronto Congress Centre, is a must-attend event for green retailers and
mass merchants. Here they’ll discover the latest trends in product and
plant introductions from over 275 suppliers, investigate and test
hundreds of products, and learn from acclaimed retail experts from
around the world.
Expo is produced by Landscape Ontario in partnership with Communities in
Bloom – Ontario, Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc., Master Gardeners of
Ontario, Niagara Economic Development Corporation, The Canadian Academy
of Floral Art (CAFA) and Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph.
Expo 2010 connects more than 3,000 industry professionals — retailers,
growers, garden centre owners, florists, gift and mass merchant
retailers plus landscape designers and interior plantscape professionals
— in one of Canada’s largest horticultural events.
“If you are looking to get into the minds of your customers and
understand them, then come to Expo,” invites Lorraine Ivanoff, show
manager. “Here you’ll discover consumers’ new consumption habits and
learn about how the consumer market is changing, and how to listen for
insights that will lead to positive business actions and profits.”
Three Trends You’ll Spot at Expo 2010:
1. Seeds Your Customers Need
Every garden centre can create its own unique collection of heirloom or
homegrown seeds from the options available from Expo 2010’s seed
distributors.
Ontario Seed Company, Waterloo, Ont., Booth 116, for the past 100 years
has provided the millions of packets of the best quality flower,
vegetable and turf grass seeds to over 5,000 retail outlets for
Canadians "coast to coast". www.oscseeds.com
Pickseed Canada Inc., Lindsay, Ont., Booth 136 is a leader in the
development, production and distribution of turfgrass and forage crop
seed. The company has a trusted and proven reputation for quality,
agronomic advice and a commitment to research and technology. www.pickseed.com
Thompson & Morgan Seedsman Inc., Tipp City, Ohio, Booth 215, is one
of the oldest seed firms in the business, started in the back of a
baker's shop. The company has become one of the country's greatest seed
firms with a reputation for introducing more than 8,000 species and
varieties to the world through the T&M catalogs that are distributed
in 163 countries.
www.thompsonmorgan.ca
McKenzie Seeds, Paris, Ont., Booth 619, helps Canadians go back to “Home
Grown,” encouraging them to take pride in growing their own vegetables
and flowers from seeds, to help them enjoy the little things in life and
know they are getting the absolute most value for their dollar. The
company offers a complete line-up of new items, including additional
organic vegetable seed varieties and fun new flower seed varieties. www.mckenzieseeds.com
2. Shop Local Vendors
For independent garden centres or mass merchants, there are local
Ontario growers eager to partner with you to grow your business
profitably.
Valleybrook Gardens (Ontario) Ltd., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., Booth
445, a leading North American horticulture enterprise, produces an
abundant variety of native perennials and associated plants. The
family-owned and -operated business, located near Niagara Falls, is best
known for its Heritage Perennials, Jeepers Creepers and Rock Stars
brands.
www.valleybrook.com
Lakeshore Inc., Jordan Station, Ont., Booth 315, is one of Ontario’s
largest and most innovative plant growing companies and floral
suppliers, dealing directly with supermarket and general chain
retailers. It recently partnered with Seacliff Farms, an innovative
Canadian company that employs a team of talented merchandisers who
create dynamic displays of high visual impact, excitement and increase
customer-merchandise contact. This partnership offers its retail
customers quality plant products, innovatively merchandised to deliver
higher garden centre sales. www.lakeshore-inc.com
Burns Water Gardens, Baltimore, Ont., Booth 726 operates an aquatic
plant nursery offering a full range of pond supplies including liners,
pumps, fountains, pond accessories, ceramic containers, tabletop
fountains, gold fish and pond plants. The company focus is on growing
hardy hybrid water lilies. In addition, they grow a variety of aquatic
plants such as cattails, water iris, lotus, sweet flag, and bull rushes.
www.burnswatergardens.ca
3. Fashionably Green Inside and Out
Fall is the perfect opportunity to investigate and purchase the products
that will be ‘hot sellers’ in the 2011 spring season. What a great time
to create festive holiday displays of greenery that will improve your
customers' health and well being, beautify the home and satisfy growing
consumers’ interest in sustainable products and practices for their
homes — indoors and out.
The weather may turn and force your customers indoors, but you’ll keep
them shopping year 'round with merchandise for home interiors.
Exhibiting for the first time at Expo 2010 is Patty Rabin, vice
president of Living Colors Nursery, Inc,, Homestead, Fla., Booth 271A,
who has an ongoing commitment to a greener world. The company uses
organic fertilizers on its ten-acre production nursery, primarily due to
its passion for nature, the environment and positive responses from the
plants — bromeliads and orchids. www.livingcolors.com
Introducing a newly invented green product, ideal for the
environmentally conscious, is another new Expo 2010 exhibitor,
Leaf-Pactor, Mississauga, Ont., Booth 165. The company offers a simple
innovative hand-held compacting tool that compresses the volume of dry
leaves in standard paper yard waste bags. When consumers use this tool,
they’ll reduce the number of bags needed, save time and help the
environment. www.leafpactor.com
Mel Bartholomew, innovator, businessman, and author of one of America’s
best-selling gardening books, Square Foot Gardening, will make a guest
appearance in Booth 150. SFG Manufacturing, Waterloo, Ont., holds the
Canadian rights to manufacture and sell Bartholomew’s raised garden bed
kits, known as the Square Foot Gardening System. The kit maximizes space
creating a better way to garden, one that's more efficient, manageable
and requires less work. www.squarefootgardening.com
Landscape Ontario gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our
sponsors – Global Arch Inc., Greenstar Plant Products, Inc, and Turf
Revolution.
Mark your calendar for the 11th edition of Expo:
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Admission to Expo 2010 is free until October 1, 2010. After October 1st
on-site prices will increase to $15 for Landscape Ontario members or $20
for non-members. The three education programs being offered are
ticketed events that are individually priced. Visit www.loexpo.ca to register online and for information on the symposiums and pricing.
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