30,000 flowers offer a foretaste of spring in January -
allotment life in an ideal environment – garden furniture is a "must have" –
equipment and accessories for planning leisure time in creative ways
(опубликовано 29.11.2007)
Berlin, 27 November 2007 – In January, when it gets really dark and the atmosphere is cold and uninviting, the Green Week will be offering a genuine alternative. From 18 to 27 January the horticultural section of the world’s largest consumer show for agriculture, the food industry and horticulture will be presenting attractive floral and plant arrangements, a comprehensive range of equipment, and accessories for balconies and the home, for patios and gardens, as well as valuable tips for keeping flowering and non-flowering plants of all kinds, be they for the art of garden landscaping or spending creative leisure time tending to plants at home. The Green Week will already be offering visitors a foretaste of spring in January, in its horticultural section in six halls, 8.1, 9a, b and c, 10.1 and 11.1.
Fascinating plants from the Far East
Next year the International Floral Hall (9b) will be full of the sweet smell of many exotic and colourfully flowering Asian plants. An Asian-styled park landscape covering 2,800 square metres will invite guests on a floral tour of Asia, and around 30,000 flowers will captivate the senses. Surrounded by a four-metre high embankment some 4,000 red and light pink azaleas will be in full bloom, with names such as Terra Nova, Kassandra, Michele Marie and Heide Hanisch. A four-by-four metre Asian pavilion, 6.5 metres high and made of palm and bankirai wood, will be the centrepiece of this arrangement. Three Chinese lamps and sculptures will be flown in from China for the occasion. One side of the hall will be landscaped as a pond covering 350 square metres, with a wooden jetty, lined by 45 bamboos from 2 to 4.5 metres high, plus a 3.5 metre high waterfall, with the water surfaces producing the necessary amount of humidity in the hall.
On the other side of the hall will be a park landscape covering 580 square metres, with individual bonsai plants with names such as pinus, taxus, ilex, as well as mountain pines, yews and common boxwood. There will be a colourful array of plants such as rhododendron, Chinese witch hazel, apple and cherry trees with several trunks, shadbush, and an additional 5,000 lilac-coloured flowering azaleas called Ostalett, set out as the main basic plant on a slight embankment. One design element will be elevations which visitors can walk over, or where they can simply relax, created by 650 cubic metres of earth. The landscape will also include 40 tons of rocks. The birch-tree lined paths will be comfortable to walk on, with bark mulch laid down underfoot.
Allotment life in an ideal environment
Inside a display area covering 850 square metres the Berlin Regional Gardening Association will be presenting this year’s slogan, "Allotment life in an ideal environment" in Hall 9b. On the one hand the focus is on the social element of life in allotments, on the other the slogan is a reference to ecology and practical measures to protect the environment. One of the good sides of urban allotments is that they represent green inner-city breathing space inside residential areas. Among other things the exhibition will show innovative products such as eco-friendly and eco-based recycled materials for use in allotments. Two cross sections of allotments which owners can build themselves using wood and stone will be on display. A special gardening advisory service will show visitors how to care for plants in every season and offer them hints and tips.
Together with gardening schools the youth organisation Jugendorganisation der Gartenfreunde will show practical measures which will cover school and non-school relevant topics and invite visitors to take part. People will be able to have water and earth samples tested for nutrients and toxic content. One of the topics which the association Brandenburger Gartenfreunde will be presenting together with its local associations will be "pets in the garden". An aisle in Hall 9c where district associations will be represented will serve as a forum for obtaining addresses to apply for allotments. The 18 district associations and the two regional Gartenfreunde associations from Brandenburg and Berlin will be the places to get in touch with for meeting functionaries, gardening enthusiasts and experts. The section under the heading of "allotment traditions" will present historical themes, and in Hall 9a will be showing documentaries and other material about the past.
During the allotment exhibition their will be two interesting lectures. On 20 January at 10 a.m. in the ICC Berlin Dr. Franz Alt will be lecturing on the subject of "Climate change – the clock is ticking down". On 21 January, at 10.30 a.m. in the ICC Berlin Dr. Michaele Schreyer will be talking about the subject of "Are European politics representing women’s interests?". Several forums in Hall 9a will be offering background information on the future of allotments in the greater Berlin area, on maintaining their existing numbers and extending protection dates for allotments which in some cases will expire in 2010 and 2014, on gardening advisory services, women’s advisory services, assistance for gardens and promoting youth matters.
Shopping in the Garden Center at the Green Week
In 2008 the Green Week will once again have all the articles that an impressively wide range of gardening products has to offer. Visitors will be able to purchase tree nursery products, flowers, plants, fertiliser, seeds, the full range of gardening equipment, including hand-operated and power-assisted tools, allotment houses, sheds, greenhouses, furniture for gardens and patios, conservatories, swimming pools and whirlpools. According to a current survey garden furniture is currently very popular.
New trend survey says garden furniture is a "must have"
Nearly every garden owner has furniture for his garden, balcony or patio, and one in four have plans to buy new furniture over the next few years. There was a time when people were content with garden furniture that was basic and whose most sought-after quality was to resist all weathers. Nowadays the level of sophistication demanded of function and design is significantly higher. A poll surveying retail experts in the spring/summer of 2007 reflected the industry’s highly positive mood. 56 per cent of those polled considered overall sales of garden furniture in particular in 2007/2008 to be significantly better than in 2006. This was the result of findings from a trend survey by bbw Marketing Dr. Vossen & Partner (business operations consulting for the industry) entitled "Garden furniture – 2007/2008 latest". A full range of garden furniture will be on display in the horticultural section at the Green Week.
There is a noticeable and increasing trend towards living outdoors during the warmer months of the year. Thus the idea of buying furniture with a more prestigious touch for one’s balcony, patio or garden has taken on more relevance. People’s appreciation of the quality of materials, finish and design now also applies to things outdoors, and has produced a significant trend. Outdoor furniture can also be used as indoor furniture and vice-versa. Quite often ethnically styled features are incorporated as well, and that holiday feeling is simply transported to one’s garden at home.
Certain special functional aspects play a large part here as well. Lifestyle awareness has completely taken over the consumer. Traditional design is not being shunned, but nowadays the consumer rather prefers modern styling and Mediterranean-inspired features. As a result natural colours are a dominant theme. Metal is very popular with garden furniture, but wood alternatives are increasingly appreciated. Besides teak other types of tropical wood are also very popular. Amid the many local kinds of wood, impregnated pine, copper beech, larch, and chestnut have been the consumer’s choice, although with garden furniture metal continues to be very popular. Last year’s hit was furniture that combined aluminium and textiles, as well as aluminium and wickerwork. The current trend is definitely a departure from cheap kinds of plastic.
Reception in the Floral Hall an important meeting place
The main horticultural association Zentralverband Gartenbau e.V. (ZVG), Ingeborg Junge-Reyer, the Berlin Senator for Urban Development, the national organisation for garden exhibitions Deutsche Bundesgartenschaugesellschaft (DBG), and Messe Berlin GmbH are inviting decision-makers from the horticultural sector to the Floral Hall on the opening evening at the International Green Week (17 January). The Floral Hall, whose slogan this year is "a floral tour of Asia", is traditionally a forum where people from politics, business, science, and representatives of green associations meet (admission by personal invitation only). For additional details:
International Floral Hall (Hall 9b): Otto Kittel - Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau GmbH, Bro Berlin, Dahlemer Weg 120, D-14167 Berlin, Christian Mischke, tel: +49 (0)30 817 50 55, fax: +49 (0)30 817 92 83, e-mail: christian.mischke@otto-kittel.de
Special allotment exhibition (Hall 9a): Landesverband Berlin der Gartenfreunde e. V., Spandauer Damm 274, D-14052 Berlin, Peter Ehrenberg, tel.: +49 (0)30 3009 320, e-mail: info@gartenfreunde-berlin.de,
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