Spring Blueming: Celebrate your people this November

By Joanna Cave, Chief Executive Officer 

Spring is upon us. Traditionally the busiest time of year for greenlife businesses, I am hearing mixed sentiments about the start of this year’s season.

In some regions, including parts of Western Australia and Queensland, demand continues to outstrip supply and there are shortages of stock, especially of advanced plants for landscaping projects. In other places, and particularly in those areas of New South Wales which continue to experience heavy rainfall, the story is almost the very opposite: optimism is thin on the ground as new stock continues to be vulnerable to ruin and landscaping projects remain on hold.

Notwithstanding this mixed outlook, there are events and initiatives happening all over the country celebrating the season of rebirth and rejuvenation. Nursery & Garden Industry NSW & ACT (NGINA) marked its fiftieth anniversary at a very special Trade Day event last month. The turnout was extraordinary, and it was wonderful to meet so many founding fathers and mothers of the greenlife industry in person.

Likewise, Nursery & Garden Industry South Australia (NGISA) has seen the return of its Trade Day embraced enthusiastically with record participation after so many were cancelled during the extended COVID-19 lockdowns.

I am looking forward to visiting the Perth Garden Festival next month, back better than ever after several pandemic-related postponements. It seems we are all hungry for the opportunity to reconnect with one another and rediscover the joy that plants bring.

The connection between nature and the wellbeing of humans will be celebrated in the 2022 Spring Blueming campaign and I am delighted to be its ambassador this year. If you work in the greenlife industry, you have always known that plants play a powerful role in human wellbeing. This was strongly reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw so many people turn to nature, and their gardens, for solace. But what about the wellbeing of people supplying all those plants and products?

Sponsored by ICL, Spring Blueming invites greenlife businesses to take a moment to check on the wellbeing of you and your staff. I know that you worked harder, stayed open longer, changed your work practices to keep people safe, and grew more and more plants to meet the demand. Spring Blueming invites you to celebrate the contribution nurseries make to the health of the nation, especially during the pandemic which demanded even greater commitment. 

In the week commencing Monday 14 November 2022, you are invited to join with businesses all over the country in holding a Spring Blueming celebration at your nursery. Maybe a coffee morning, lunch, or afternoon tea? Make the time to thank your staff for all that they have done to keep the nation blooming and take the opportunity to ask them how they are doing. There will even be an opportunity to help the industry raise money for the mental health charity, Beyond Blue. Your staff will appreciate it; you will feel good about it and our friends at Beyond Blue will be so grateful. Stay tuned for more details of this event to be released next week on the Spring Blueming page on ICL’s website.

If you hold a Spring Blueming event, I would love to hear how it goes. Get in touch and let me know how you and your team are feeling after a long period of working hard in unprecedented conditions. You can reach me via e-mail: Jo.Cave@greenlifeindustry.com.au or mobile:  +61 468 368 961.

Regards,

Jo Cave

CEO – Greenlife Industry Australia