28March2024

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Trade Event Puts a ‘GLAS’ on the Horticulture Industry

Ireland’s national trade only horticultural event, GLAS, took place at the Citywest Events Centre in Dublin. The show, now in its fifth year, attracted over 1,000 industry representatives and over 130 exhibitors, the largest number ever to participate at the event. Fully supported by Bord Bia and organised by Mediateam on behalf of Kildare Growers Group, GLAS is designed to showcase the best of Irish horticulture, and provides a unique networking opportunity for exhibitors and attendees generating business and sales opportunities.

The value of Ireland’s gardening industry is growing for the first time since 2011 according to Bord Bia research launched earlier this year. The ‘Garden Market Value’ research, carried out by Ipsos MRBI, shows Irish consumers’ gardening spend has increased by 22% since 2011 to reach €631 million in 2014. A copy of the full report can be accessed here.

Tom Hayes, T.D. Minister of State with special responsibility for Horticulture at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was among those in attendance at the show. “GLAS provides an excellent platform to showcase the best of Irish Horticulture and an opportunity to meet all the key producers, buyers, suppliers and service providers. To remain competitive every business must constantly seek to improve efficiency, to reduce costs and to maximise quality and service. To generate scale we need to increase co-operation between businesses within the sector. GLAS is a live example of this co-operation in practice. I would like to compliment Bord Bia and all those involved in planning and organising this year’s show and in particular all the award winners”.

Award Winners
A number of awards were presented at the show:

· Best New Plant

Rentes Plants, based in Moyvalley, Broadford, Co. Kildare were awarded ‘Best New Plant’ for their Deep Purple Dance Hydrangea as part of their Music Collection. This beautiful Hydrangea sounds like music to the ears with rich flowering, deep colours and a long flowering period.

· Best New Product

XL Horticulture Ltd. received ‘Best New Product’ at GLAS for their BioLift Plant Health Product. BioLift is an easy to use liquid bio stimulant extraction derived from organic products with no chemical additives.

· Best Plant Stand

O’Dowd Nurseries from Moate, Co. Westmeath were chosen by the judges as the ‘Best Plant Stand’ for their floral display. The company specialises in growing high quality roses, vegetable plants and spring, summer and autumn bedding plants, which it supplies to garden centres and to local authorities all over the country.

· Best Product Stand

Westland Horticulture were awarded ‘Best Product Stand’ at the show. Westland specialise in the development and production of high specification compost, mulches, plant food, lawn treatments, lawn seed and control products as well as seed and potatoes.

Speaking at the event, Mike Neary, Bord Bia’s Manager of Horticulture, said, “This has been the biggest GLAS to date and the largest business event for the sector in Ireland ever. It presents a unique business opportunity to engage with the horticulture trade, by bringing all the different elements of the amenity sector together. Nearly a quarter of those exhibiting have never participated at the event before and this year sees the largest number of nurseries participating in the show. Like Bloom, which kick-started the summer gardening season, we will work to ensure that GLAS will also continue to grow and expand over the coming years.”

Key features at the show included the nursery exhibits, sports surfaces and sports turf village, along with the Machinery Park, Trolley Swap, 4x4 commercial vehicles and the merchandising showcase. For more information, visit www.glasireland.ie.


Rentes Plants


O'Connor Nurseries


Young Nurseries


Schram Plants

Source: HortiTrends News Room