April 2019 - 9

INDUSTRY NEWS
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 2019 PPA SYMPOSIUM
Registration for the Perennial Plant Association's 2019 National
Symposium is now open.
This year marks the first time ever that the Perennial Plant Association's
National Symposium will take place in conjunction with All-America
Selections' and National Garden Bureau's annual meetings. The event
will take place July 28 to Aug. 2, 2019, in Rosemont, Illinois.
Participants of the 2019 National Symposium have the option to
expand their three-day core symposium (Tuesday to Thursday) to a
weeklong experience. Selections include extended education, tours,
sightseeing and renowned speaker engagement opportunities featuring
Piet Oudolf, the influential Dutch garden designer and leading figure
of the " New Perennial " movement as well as perennial plant expert,
Roy Diblik.
A highlight of the education sessions will be a panel discussion titled
" Riding the New Dutch Wave, " moderated by Scott Stewart of Millennium
Park Foundation, featuring Piet and Roy alongside Laura Ekasetya of
Lurie Garden and Austin Eischeid of Austin Eischeid Garden Design.
The Symposium also features a diverse selection of tours of some of
the richest gardens in the greater Chicago area including Lurie Garden,
the Chicago Botanic Garden and several private home gardens seldom
seen by the public.
" The planning committee has laid out a very impressive week of
fabulous tours, talks and more! " said Janet Draper, president of the
Perennial Plant Association.
The early bird registration deadline is June 21, 2019, and final
registration deadline is July 21, 2019. Register for the 2019 National
Symposium: www.perennialplant.org/register.
BRIGHTFARMS DETAILS EXPANSION PLANS
BrightFarms, the Irvington, New York-based brand of locally grown
packaged salads, has announced plans for national expansion with
new sustainable greenhouse farms in Massachusetts, New York and
North Carolina.
The new greenhouses will each be 280,000 square feet and sit on 20
acres of land. Each greenhouse is expected to create around 55 full-time
" green-collar " jobs for residents, offering competitive wages and benefits.
The three new greenhouses will further the brand's presence and add
to BrightFarms' network of local and sustainable farms across the MidAtlantic
and into the South. The company currently operates greenhouses
in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, supplying major retailers in a
dozen major metro markets.
To meet retailer demands for locally grown produce, BrightFarms will also
explore acquisitions and partnerships with existing greenhouse growers in
each of the new markets.
BrightFarms plans to break ground on the new greenhouses by year's
end, with production starting in the spring of 2020. The greenhouses will
each produce more than 2 million pounds of fresh, leafy salad greens and
herbs per year while using an estimated 80 percent less water, 90 percent
less land and 95 percent less shipping fuel than West Coast farms.
For more information, visit www.brightfarms.com.
GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS 9
http://www.perennialplant.org/register http://www.brightfarms.com
April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019
