Great success for MYPLANT & GARDEN, the new fair that has just ended in Milan after three days full of events.

It was now 15 years that Italy has’nt proposed and organized an exhibition dedicated to the world of plants and flowers, a very important market and business sector with a turnover of € 3 billion and represented 2.5% of the whole Italian agricultural production.

Looking at the data, it is easy to see that the production of both flowers and potted plants, both the nursery (plants in tubs), constitute an excellence of Made in Italy for too long neglected. The Italian product is, in fact, always among the most popular: we are the second largest supplier of Germany, France, Belgium and Holland, and the third in Britain and Austria.

Italy, one of the leading players in the market horticultural world, deserved a fair adequate.For this reason, it is made up the Consortium Myplant & Garden, formed by seven founding members, among the most representative companies in the sector. Other consortium members were then added and the expectation is to reopen the fair in 2016 with a very great group of participating members.

Also do not forget all the related industrial sectors, namely the many companies that use horticultural products to offer in turn processed products and compounds. And the case of companies specialized in floral arrangements, in preparations for internal and external decorations for catering, design of gardens and terraces, furniture and accessories for privates and retail. Not to forget the whole group of companies dedicated to the provision of seeds and fertilizers, pruning and maintenance of trees and shrubs is that of cutting lawns.

The panorama becomes so vast and involves many product categories. Not surprisingly, the fair has grown in two different halls. Hall 10 was dedicated to furnishing floral decorations, to machinery, technical and logistical solutions and service and publishing agencies. Hall 6, dedicated to B2B, the buyers, the encounter between supply and demand, was the true heart of the fair, as everyone hoped. And in fact the establishment of new and important business relationships between Italian and foreign entrepreneurs who can act as a driving force for the entire industry and ensure the consolidation and future development, even for the armature.

Despite the limited size of the fair, I’ve spent a whole afternoon to observe the exhibited products and solutions and technologies proposed.Very nice pavilion display of plants and flowers, which are always a pleasure to see and smell. But as a private user I enjoyed the pavilion of services, decoration and design.

I found beautiful floral chairs Beyond the Garden, which resemble the shape of the leaves of various trees, including a seat shaped white lily with mosquito tulle. The designers Andrea Musto e Antonio Severino presented "gocce di relax - winter concept" set up thanks to giochisport e solaris lavoro e ambiente. a garden area with flower beds themes where the colors of the plants and flowers used harmonized with the colors of special chaise-longue "Dune", that led to meditation and regeneration. Also interesting is the structure-greenhouse Square Garden, which recreates spaces from colonial flavor.

I was lucky enough to witness a very special performance, in which hair styles, decorations and were masterfully interpreted in floral. We speak of L'Ecole Des Fleurs, floral art school for professionals but also for beginners or enthusiasts. Details of the furnishings of "origin", which proposed objects to give a special touch to your garden, following different styles: vintage, shabby, rural and industrial.

For gardens of large surface area and articulation, the granules Zandobbio is a reference to gravel, stones, flooring and decorative elements. Very effective are the new stone monoliths, from all over the world; all unique, with different colors, shapes and sizes. Pagano Flowers presented a collection of rustic pots containing prickly pear and olive trees that I liked for the particular combination. While I admired some beautiful primroses, I discovered triphilla, an organic product made from zeolite (rock flour) natural mineral. Suitable for any type of plant (flowers, plants, vegetables, fruits, lawns) stimulates the growth of plant life, improving the entire apparatus.

Among foreign manufacturers Offermadsen point out, for his delightful and varied containers and Easycare who thought a collection of charms and decorative rings for green plants home.

I believed in the need and interest of MyPlant from the first contact I had, during the press conference of presentation. The tour that I made on the spot, confirmed my expectations.

But not being able to give a personal opinion on the performance of MyPlant in terms of business and turnout and to better understand the economic dynamics of the event, I turned to the stand "Proflora Service", a service company for the specific floriculture sector.

First I asked Lucia Vendola, responsible for drafting, what a service company offers exactly. Showing an elegant agenda 2015, Lucia explained to me that Proflora Service has a database of 8,500 companies, of which about 900 appear in the catalog, with a dedicated space. The spread is 6,500 copies per year, distributed to any business operator who requests it. In addition to this, every advertiser gets visibility through two websites: one institutional and one mobile. The website is intended as a platform for exchange between supply and demand.

At this point I thought Lucia Vendola was the best person to ask a technical opinion on the fair marketing and a forecast for the future.

To my great pleasure, Lucia was expressed in very positive terms: "It 'was a great event, I saw the enthusiastic people, both sellers and visitors, and the turnout was high. Companies that have agreed to participate with their exhibition stand have good business. This will surely lead to a fair MyPlant 2016 even richer and more organized and also the database Proflora surely be enriched by new names in search of greater visibility in this sector. We can consider MyPlant & Garden a business fair perfectly successful. "

And after this all, I will be present at the next edition surely.

Maria Rosa Sirotti