For two days in January, St. Louis’ AMERICA's CENTER was the hub of the horticulture world, as thousands of growers, landscapers, retailers, educators and other industry professionals took part in the inaugural National Green Centre conference and trade show.
Upwards of 4,200 attendees and nearly 300 vendors experienced the show, which ran from Jan. 9-10 and which was tucked between snow storms that hit the St. Louis area prior to and just after the event. Billed as “The Next Generation” trade show, the National Green Centre delivered an informational “blizzard” of its own.
The NGC featured a star-packed, 90-hours-plus education program and introduced a number of technological "bells and whistles" to the horticultural show/conference market. Industry leaders Dr. Michael Dirr, Dr. Allan Armitage, John Stanley, Anna Ball and Jeffrey Bruce shared the Keynote stage at various times during the show.
Interactive discussions also took place throughout the conference, with highlight seminars including a talk on the Garden Pilot app by 10-20-Media’s Steve Cissel, a discussion focused on better inter-market communication led by Maria Zampini of Lake County Nursery, and a State of the Industry panel discussion that included insight from GIE Media editors Yale Youngblood, Kelli Rodda and Chuck Bowen.
In addition to the educational program, something that set this event apart was its foray into the technological realm. The National Green Centre Show Guide, produced by GIE Media’s Horticultural Group, featured dozens of QR tags tied to programming, allowing attendees to use their Smart Phones to find more information about speakers, products and services. After downloading an app by following instructions in the show guide, attendees had the capability to instantly enhance the show-going experience by taking a picture of a QR tag, routing the QR tag photo to the app, and then getting instant access to web data about any item/speaker/service/company that was “tagged.” Also at the show, Dirr introduced a new app for iPhones: “Dirr's Tree and Shrub Finder.”
Another highlight was the Sweet Melissa Fashion Show that took place on opening day. Dozens of the hotter plants for 2011 were paraded down a runway by professional models before an enthusiastic crowd eager to see the new offerings. For a look at all the plants on display at the show, click here.
The National Green Centre is produced by the Western Nursery & Landscape Association and had formerly been a Midwest regional show named The Western, held in the Kansas City area. The National Green Centre will return to that locale in 2012, with the next show and conference set for Jan. 8-9 in Kansas City. For evolving information about the next National Green Centre, check the website frequently, or click here to subscribe to the event e-newsletter.