A woman sleeps in Greek mythology’s Vale of Enna, created by Brower/Jacques Design of Greenfield, Indiana, for the 2016 Indiana Flower & Patio Show. The show was sold recently to Marketplace Events, the producer of the Indianapolis Home Show. © Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
There’s a saying in the green industry that we need to start them young if we want horticulturists, arborists, plant breeders and growers, garden center managers, landscapers and others in the future. One tact is to expose them to various aspects of the industry through educational experience.
This past week, about 60,000 young people were in town for the National FFA Convention, which returned to Indianapolis after a three-year-stint in Louisville, Kentucky.
FFA students at Vine and Branch examine the safety harness worn by arborists. Photo courtesy Vineandbranch.net/Mary Breidenbach
Fifty FFA students will spend their Career Path Tour at Vine & Branch and Salsbery Brothers Landscaping, two neighboring Carmel companies near 146th Street and Gray Road.
The companies will showcase arboriculture and horticulture, said Scott, a certified consulting arborist and owner of Vine & Branch, a tree service company.
At Vine & Branch, the students suited up in personal protective gear and worked with equipment, participated in safety demonstrations and observed a portable milling machine. They also were to see the aerial rescue of Clay, the Carmel Fire Department’s mannequin wearing a Vine & Branch uniform, from a 40-foot tree, Scott said.
FFA students visited Salsbery Brothers Landscaping to learn about landscaping, plants and design. Photo courtesy Vineandbranch.net/Mary Breidenbach
At Salsbery, students toured the garden center and nursery, discussed irrigation methods and perused landscape architect drawings.
Students received a free membership in the International Society of Arboriculture, and a gear bag stuffed with information about professional tree care and landscaping organizations and related programs at Purdue and other universities.
Flower & Patio Show Sold
Marketplace Events North America, producer of the Indianapolis Home Show and other similar exhibitions throughout the country, has purchased HSI Show Productions, owner of the Indiana Flower & Patio Show and the Christmas Gift and Hobby Show.
The Indiana Flower & Patio show has been produced since 1958, and the Christmas Gift and Hobby show since 1949.
The purchase was announced Oct. 5, 2016. At the same time, Marketplace Events said it also purchased three home shows in Richmond, Virginia, bringing its portfolio to 51 shows, including 47 consumer home shows and four holiday shows.
HSI and Marketplace Events have worked together on shows for a long time in Indianapolis and share many of the same customers and exhibitors, said Brent Keller, Marketplace Events’ vice president. None of the HSI staff made the transition.