Philip Townshend, Tesselaar International - review of The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show

With the chocolate coma starting to fade, and the Easter Break well and truly over I thought it time to send a quick update on the Melbourne International Flower & Garden show which was held just prior to Easter 24 – 28th of March.

The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (MIFGS), held at the World Heritage Listed Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Garden after 15 years is still an explosion of colour & design and remains the biggest annual flower & garden show in the Southern Hemisphere!

This year’s weather for the show was spectacular to say the least with mild autumn conditions showing the best Melbourne has to offer and I expect the attendance to be much higher than that of last year where 110,000 hardcore gardening visitors braved horrible conditions to attend the show.

Highlighting the creativity and passion of Australia's top floral and landscape designers MIFGS is the showcase for the Horticultural Industry to preview a stunning array of inspirational displays, as well as environmentally-friendly ideas for the eco-conscious gardener.

As always highlights include the floral spectacular inside the Great Hall of Flowers, the Children's Garden with its animal petting zoo and numerous show gardens created by some of Australia's most lauded landscape designers – all of which left me wondering why I never see the design opportunities the professionals do when working in my own garden.

The outdoor exhibition of garden sculptures organised by the Association of Sculptors of Victoria, all of which are for sale and range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousands; and floral masterpieces inspired all who attended, and especially popular with a large number of visitors were the massages, facials and hair styling at Garnier World – ideal after a long day of wandering around the show. I am sure the garden designers faced some simpler challenges than the consultants working at Garnier World did is some instances.

As always we at Tesselaar International were actively involved in the show with our hosting of the media tent and first showing of our new release Fairy Magnolia’s which made for great fun with a cupcake and pink bubbly launch opportunity with the media.

One thing that really surprised all of us was the absolute interest in the new Fairy Magnolias (not just the media, but also the public) who all loved the versatility of the plant (suitable for specimens, hedging or espalier) and how floriferous the plant was with a bud at every leaf axel.

In a nutshell the main points that people liked were the flower, light fragrance, the fact that it was a flowering bush that could be used for hedging, the year round lush green foliage and how quick the plant grows.

Anyway should you be planning a trip to Australia any time in the future try to visit during MIFGS as this is a spectacular celebration of the Australian lifestyle and our great outdoors with some of the world’s leading floral and landscape designers all in the beautiful Carlton Gardens with great food and entertainment for the whole family.

http://www.melbflowershow.com.au/ Link for further information / images.

We just had to post these brilliant films from http://www.growingwisdom.com/ and David Epstein in the US. Great small films about the Tesselaar International Flower Carpet Rose. Let me know what you think.

That is for pruning flower carpet roses

http://www.growingwisdom.com/index.aspx?pid=27&sid=1&cid=551

This for the “how great the colors are” video
http://www.growingwisdom.com/index.aspx?pid=27&sid=1&cid=461

This is for the mass planting video
http://www.growingwisdom.com/index.aspx?pid=27&sid=1&cid=460

This is for the overview of the rose
http://www.growingwisdom.com/index.aspx?pid=27&sid=1&cid=447

Glowing and Growing

Anthony Tesselaar's garden in the summer and his thoughts...

Strangely winter is the time I think most of summers past. Last year my garden looked glorious. I say this not in a smug way, but rather in gratitude because the reasons for all its beauty were out of my control: pleasant temperatures and ample, well-timed rainfall. All I had to do was to wander about outside then come inside to chant a mantra of sorts to anyone who was within earshot – “I can’t believe how much everything has grown”, or the other version of this which goes something like, “the plants are literally glowing”.

Glowing and growing – that’s all any good gardener wants, and I was lucky enough to have it happening in my garden because Mother Nature was being very generous. But then we all know she isn’t always so kind. Which is why it’s good to have a couple of aces up your sleeve, which I do. By way of explanation here’s an analogy...

You can read more on the Tesselaar website at http://www.tesselaar.com/

What women want: the rise of branded plants

From perfume to kitchen products, cars to white goods, groceries to running shoes, consumers are trained to buy branded products. The majority of products in the marketplace are branded. People buy brands because they want security, and trust: it’s no good having designer-branded shoes if the stitching is shoddy.

So what is so different about plants?

Tesselaar Plants was at the forefront of plant branding in the early 1990s, marketing the Flower Carpet® ground cover rose and the Canna Tropicanna around the world. While a growing number of plants are now actively marketed with a brand name, company founder Anthony Tesselaar believes that the gardening industry still has an old fashioned male viewpoint.

‘Men’s buying decisions are about practical solutions and cost. The gardening industry often sells plants based on the practicalities of size, height, colour, and cost, but buyers are looking for much more. Women are the end consumers of nearly all the major products bought in the world, and they think about how something looks, whether they have trust in the product, how easy it is to use, and how they feel about it. I have never heard my wife go into a shop and ask to see the cheapest dress. She will first see if it is right for her – this can mean brand, style, colour, size, fashion - and then, and only then, will she look at the price, to see if she can justify the purchase.’

But Tesselaar warns that a catchy name is not enough: ‘Not every branded plant is a good plant, and consumers know when they are being duped. A brand must stand for something, and deliver what it promises. A plants need to be tested for years to ensure consumers can trust it to perform, will buy more, and will recommend it to their friends. The more confidence consumers have that they are buying a product that will perform, the more profitable the industry will be.’

The Tesselaar Story

Anthony Tesselaar hints at the philosophy behind Anthony Tesselaar International, "Brilliant by Nature".

“Having grown up literally in the industry, I can see the value of de-mystifying the act of gardening for those who don’t happen to have the knowledge. Everyone should be able to enjoy the satisfaction and rewards that come from a garden.” We search for mother nature's brilliant plants - that are so easy to grow.

Happily, this personal philosophy has been rewarded with success – and everyone is benefiting. But first, a little history...

This is a section taken from the Tesselaar International website, with Anthony's views on de-mystifying gardening, so that everyone can enjoy it. To read more and find out the history behind Anthony Tesselaar International go to http://www.www.begoniabonfire.com/about/story/

It's all about sustainability

Plant marketing company Tesselaar Plants is leading the way in environmentally-friendly plant production. ‘We’ve been operating with a sustainable approach for the 15 years we’ve been in business,’ says founder Anthony Tesselaar. ‘In fact, the basic premise behind what we do – easy to grow, easy care plants – is itself a contribution to a greener world. The plants we promote are selected for their high-quality performance but they must also be able to thrive with less water and minimal chemicals.’

Tesselaar plants all have a low to no demand for pesticides and fungicides, and the company is heavily involved in research and development designed to identify plant varieties which have improved tolerances, or cleaner methods of propagation and growing.

The company is also exploring clever and sustainable methods of grey water treatment, and other water saving products.

Tesselaars Winter to-do List

What to do now:

Make the most of this time of year by getting planting when roots are quick to establish and there are no high temperatures to stress your plants

Lightly trim your hedges, or plant a new one. This is a bit of a science, so get hold of a book for reference

If you want to be knee-deep in bulbs by spring, you’ve still just got time to plant them before the frosts.

Have a general tidy up and give things a light trim, so the stark view over the winter will at least be orderly.

www.tesselaar.com