I had every intention of keeping my posts up to date- my excuse for not doing so is that I have been travelling most weeks. Since the last one in October, I have been occupied with crop inspections in the UK- below on one of many Poinsettia grower visits- and in Holland, Belgium and Italy.

Since Christmas, I’ve been checking crops in the Albenga, Pistoia and Sicily regions of Italy and establishing robust plant health protocols.

In between I have been occupied with packhouse quality support in the run-up to Christmas, and audits on plant and cut flower growers. Last week was one of the highlights of the horticulture calendar with the IPM show in Essen, Germany. This is a brilliant place to meet contacts old and new and see a wide cross-section of plants and products from across Europe.