Tune in to social media to see what’s trending
If you want to find out what the latest trends are then it seems Instagram just might give you the answers. According to Google data the top ten ‘Instagrammed’ horticultural posts suggests a whopping 39% increase in global online searches for gardening information.
Of the top ten trends, balcony gardening was the highest followed closely by ‘wild’ gardens and indoor/outdoor came in at number three out of the top ten and is set to feature highly in the Instagram and social media feeds in 2021.
‘Houseplant popularity has bloomed during the pandemic’ according to treehugger.com in a recent survey of 990 people who had bought plants since March 2020, 12% were first-time plant buyers but the majority (65%) bought indoor plants to beautify their homes, whilst others bought plants to spend more time outside. What I found rather interesting was 43% of the people who bought plants said it helped ease their stress levels and apparently those who regularly talk to their plants were 3.5 times more likely to say their stress levels were lower!
So what does this mean for our industry? The fact that people are buying plants for the first time ever suggests that the need for greenery is a natural response for most people. Being isolated and having to social distance has encouraged people to ‘bring the outside in’. How can we encourage people to take that feeling back to their workplace as isolation regulations ease?
Perhaps keeping up with social media to help drive the trend for plants in the workplace. If you do not have time to post your own images share images that relate to ‘green’ office spaces.
IPA regular share images on our social media so when you see those posts be sure to share them to your own social media communities.
We can all do this, so let’s see some great images shared by our members and we can repost them to gain a broader reach.
On another note a quick shout out and a thank you to IPA Member Lisa Jones from Eco Green Office Plants Pty. Ltd, Victoria who shared an article from ‘The Age’ about the ’Green Thumbed Army’ bringing love to lonely plants in empty office buildings. It is a lovely and positive story because aside from the fact that many have lost contracts, I think the story itself shows the dedication of people in our industry. If you would like to read the article go: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/offices-are-deserted-but-green-thumbed-army-bring-love-to-lonely-plants-20200909-p55trj.html
I am hoping by the time I am writing next month’s message we have some more positive stories to share with you. Till then take care of yourselves, your loved ones and your team members.
Karen Smith
IPA 2020 – President
(M) 0425 349 137