The Blue Diamond exhibit (C25, C40 and C41) will showcase a new range of British grown peat-free houseplants and soil-free plants, grown using air, hydroponics and water. By means of an interactive exhibit, the company aims to show visitors how they can sustainably ‘green’ their homes. The stand is designed a typical urban apartment, featuring examples of plants perfect for steamy bathrooms, warm, sunny living rooms, or rooms with lower levels of natural light.
In collaboration with The Horti House, the collective of British growers, Blue Diamond is showcasing the best of UK growers and their environmental credentials – the plants are grown using the latest developments in biomass heating, solar energy, and recycled roof rainwater as part of the growing process. Supporting British-grown plants, significantly reduces transportation and subsequent carbon footprint.
Nick Jones, Head of Product Direction at Blue Diamond says, “We are proud to be supporting this initiative to help meet our responsibility as a retailer in eradicating the use of peat. The recycled growing media has produced plants to the highest standards, which we are excited to exhibit at RHS Urban Manchester and stock in all our Blue Diamond Garden Centres. We will continue to work with our UK growers to increase the peat-free collection, ultimately providing our customers with a 100% British grown peat-free range, whilst in the meantime, working with our European partners to procure other peat-free solutions”.
The new British Grown peat-free houseplant range has been grown in a variety of composts, including recycled coir as well as more novel waste materials such as green waste from cut flowers (such as lily and peony) and soft fruit production. The material is shredded and then steamed to create a perfect growing media with good water retention and texture. New point of sale and care instructions have been developed to help Blue Diamond customers identify the British Grown peat free collection and helping to facilitate a greater understanding of its importance.
At the RHS Urban Show, Blue Diamond will also featuring the new Ecomade range plant pot covers. British designed, Ecomade is produced in Glastonbury using 30% UK sourced coffee grounds and 55% recycled and recyclable plastic. In the UK, we drink approximately 98 million cups of coffee per day, which means that half a million tonnes of ground coffee waste go to landfill. When breaking down in landfill this releases harmful methane gases, creating a greenhouse effect 28 times higher than carbon dioxide. The aim is to reduce this waste destined for landfill. The covers are made using renewable energy sources, including solar power. The site in Somerset has over 2000 solar panels and is committed to only use 100% green energy from 2025 onwards.