International Tours: Froschkonigs (Frog Kings) & Other Hot Trends From Germany

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Vol. 77 No. 2

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Cover Story

International Tours: Froschkonigs (Frog Kings) & Other Hot Trends From Germany
| Chris Beytes

>> Published Date: 2/28/2013

Want to really do a deep dive into the garden center, er, “centre” trends of foreign countries? There’s no better way than to join the International Garden Centre Association for its annual tour. Your scribe has done three—France (2005), Japan (2010) and most recently Germany—and budget permitting, my wife and I would never miss another. The combination of inspirational garden centers, world-class sightseeing and gregarious fellow travelers (garden center enthusiasts all) make it an incomparable event.

Here’s a photo report of some of the trends we spotted during the 2012 IGCA tour of Cologne, Germany, where we visited 10 garden centers (“gartencenters,” as the Germans put it), plus the German flower auction Landgard and the once-a-decade Floriade. I hope it tempts you to sign up for this year’s IGCA tour of Melbourne, Australia, October 6-11. www.intgardencentre.org

1. Lifestyle signage shows up everywhere, like this mother and daughter image at Gartencenter Breuer.
2. Formgeholze—big! At Gartencenter Schley.
3. Whimsical birdhouses at Gartencenter Dinger. We’ve seen these for years at trade shows and they remain wildly popular.

4. An easy-to-recreate Krumpholz tool display at Gartencenter Schlosser.
5. Clever and fun restroom signage (and door sizes) at Dinger’s.
6. Metal fireplaces at Gartencenter Muller. Rusty metal is definitely in.

7. The author’s favorite Germany trend: froschkonigs (frog kings). Truly ubiquitous. And once you start spotting them, you can’t stop. Just ask the folks on the tour whom I pointed them out to.
8. Upscale bakery or gartencenter? Both.
9. Dogs are welcome at many if not most European centers.

10. Mushrooms and hedgehogs: Very big for fall, especially in Germany.
11. How small can you go with a dish garden? Price: 2 euros. Container is clever.

12. Unexpected, yet excellent, merchandising at Gartencenter Schley.
13. One photo, five trends: Hearts, vines, mushrooms and the colors gray and purple. At Gartencenter Kremer. GP