New England Grows Reports Record-Breaking Attendance

BOSTON, Mass. Topping last year’s record-breaking attendance, the 14th annual New England Grows conference held Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, 2006 at the
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, attracted 14,275 people. The
Northeast’s premier educational conference and green industry exposition made the move to Boston’s new convention center last year.

A spacious exhibit hall covering approximately 500,000 square feet contained more than 700 exhibitors in approximately 1,500 booth spaces. Exhibitors met with customers old and new and green industry professionals enjoyed the exposition’s showcase of cutting edge products, equipment, plant material and services.

“New England Grows surpassed the expectations of planners, exhibitors and attendees alike,” said president John Filias, MCLP of Jeffrey’s Creek Land
Contractors, Manchester, Mass. “We were able to build on last year’s phenomenal success, producing a show that attracted a record crowd and offered unparalleled educational opportunities. New England Grows has truly arrived as the green industry’s premier educational conference and trade show.”

Jam-packed educational sessions filled the three days of the conference, featuring industry luminaries and covering important topics for the green industry.
Attendees crowded conference rooms to hear perennial hot shot Professor Art Cameron of Michigan State University. Among other highlights were informative talks on garden design from landscape architects par extraordinaire Wayne Winterrowd and Joe Eck, as well as a primer for garden center owners on “outfoxing” the Big Box retailers from Canadian garden center owner Brian
Minter. Dr. Allan Armitage previewed new hardy plants for the Northeast. Garden pests and tree diseases – including natural and organic treatment methods – provided fodder for several other sessions.

The exhibit hall enjoyed the benefits of a record-breaking crowd, with many longtime exhibitors echoing the sentiments Steve Taylor, sales manager of
Connecticut’s Sunny Border Nurseries, expressed to People, Places, Plants prior to the conference: “New England Grows has been a very important trade show for us. It allows us to see most of our major customers. Also, it gives us new leads to potential customers. New England Grows also has good educational seminars and our salespeople are able to expand their plant knowledge by attending.”

As in years past, first-time attendees were wowed by the size of the exposition.
Jeff O’Donal, vice president of O’Donal’s Nurseries in Gorham, Maine summed up the impressions of first-timers: “By far the most common comment from new attendees is: ‘I had no idea this was so big.’ This comment pertains not only to the trade show itself, but to the entire industry. New England Grows has accomplished this by being the one place we, as owners/managers, can affordably send our crews for exposure and training.”

Whether first-timers or 14-year veterans, the show’s exhibitors were impressed with this year’s set up process and improved conference center services. An onsite bookstore run by Barnes & Noble offered a wide variety of “green” books and was a constant hub of activity. The three learning parks – Arbor Park, Fieldstone Park and Garden Park – made an encore appearance this year, offering skillfocused learning right on the trade show floor.

During this year’s show, the New England Grows organization awarded $30,000 in grants to the six New England state Cooperative Extension Systems. Over the past decade, New England Grows has contributed more than $330,000 to the regional Cooperative Extension Systems to help shape the future of the green industry in New England. The results of the New England Nursery Association’s latest economic impact study were also announced at the conference, including the finding that New England’s environmental horticulture industry contributes $4.6 billion a year to the regional economy.

New England Grows 2007 is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 6 – 8 in Boston, Mass. For more information, visit www.NEGrows.org or call 508/653-3009.

New England Grows is an educational partnership between the New England
Nursery Association, Associated Landscape Contractors of Massachusetts,
Massachusetts Arborists Association, Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape
Association, and its network includes more than 30 allied green industry organizations.