Palmstead Seminar

Palmstead Seminar
The beautiful weather did not deter the well over 300 delegates who turned up yesterday for another fascinating day of seminars organised by Palmstead Nurseries in Kent yesterday. This was the third year and it didn’t disappoint. Having just come from Glee which was a little dull, these talks were highly informative and well organised by Nick Coslett, Plamstead’s marketing manager who has been very successful in bringing together all the diverse sections of our Industry into one room , and that is a real accomplishment! A bloomin’ marvel in fact !
Delegates included Landscape Architects, Borough Councils, Garden Designers, Nurserymen, Landscapers and Grounds men from all over the country.
The title of the talks was Dynamic Planting and the line up of speakers included Andrew Wilson who spoke about the future of garden design, Bert Griffioen from Holland whose company Griffioen Wassenaar supplies and plants up public spaces with perennials, Sarah Price who spoke on the 2012 Olympics and her planting schemes, and lastly Mathew Wilson who discussed the ways we can improve the planting of public spaces in this country.
Andrew Wilson opened the programme and spoke of the advances of technology such as the Wii which has replaced many outdoor pursuits such as tennis and therefore made these spaces redundant in many gardens. This generational shift means that as designers we have to look at other ways to redesign these areas. We also have to recognise that many people are not gardeners per se but become so when they have a beautifully designed space which fulfils all their expectations and more.
Bert Griffioen whose nursery supplies perennials to most of Northern Europe , talked of the cost benefits of perennial planting in open commercial and public spaces. The images within his presentation showed that by using perennials instead of the usual bedding and grass was much more cost effective for Councils to adopt. The method involved dense planting of chosen perennial varieties with enriched soil then cutting completely down in March in the first year (it will look dead which caused a few gasps in the room!) but; this will produce strong and low growing bushy plants which completely cover the bed so little maintenance is required.
Nick Coslett introduced each speaker and talked about the nursery and all the plants that they grow as well as their new mechanical methods. He also showed us an array of unusual plants which he had been sourcing and growing many of the plants for Sarah Price spoke of her experience on being involved with the Olympic gardens and how they are progressing.
Mathew Wilson (who I had a quick chat with prior to his talk about the Landscape Man) was quite passionate about how plants are no longer the sole reason people visit gardens such as the RHS. Indeed, he went on with much humour , to say that fun attractions are needed in gardens to draw visitors and a cup of tea and a clean loo should not be sufficient! Slides annotated with funny titles, such as Terracotta Warriors. These were in fact no more than badly trimmed shrubbery destined to become hedging ,were inserted in Mathew’s dialogue which highlighted the need to alter public planting and move away from traditional and boring selections in favour of new styles of planting with perennials.

During each break of the seminar day, delegates were able to explore the stands that were in the foyer. These included Quay Stone, Privett, Artificial Lawn, Grasslands, Platipus anchors, Topsoil, Jub, Hy-tex and City Irrigation.
A really useful day and many new and old contacts were made; proving that a well organised and planned event for people in our Industry can happen and make a difference.