One of the exhibits at the first Doha International Flowers and Garden Exhibition which opened yesterday at Museum of Islamic Art Park. The exhibition ends tomorrow. Salim Matramkot
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Exhibitors at the first-ever Doha International Flowers and Garden Exhibition are upbeat the three-day event would give a chance for companies in the horticulture and floriculture industry to showcase innovations to the public.
More than 50 local and international companies are taking part at the inaugural three-day expo which opened yesterday at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park.
“In harmony with the theme which is flowers, we are concentrating in bringing in more colours to give our clients new ideas on how to use them,” Dr Andre Moolman, General Manager of Palmera, told this daily.
Moolman was happy the unique event was organised at the time when flowers are in abundance available compared to “the rest of the year when he have more limitation.”
“I have been participating in events like this back in my home country South Africa for about 30 years. For the rest of the world these types of events are known. I’m glad that the initiative came from the government. I think it is very useful for people to experience what gardening can be about. This is a good start and I hope it will grow in the future.”
One of the bigger pavilions at the expo, the Palmera pavilion has both internal and external areas which showcase the various possibilities in gardening and landscaping in various situations.
“We also would like to show people they can do a lot in small areas, because the general understanding is you need a big area to do landscaping,” he said, adding, “We’re trying to show clients something different, out of the ordinary with the combination of various elements such as colours, space and height to feel the desired ambience and aesthetics.”
As part of the company’s strategy to further improve their product line, he said it would be bring new plants to the country.
“We are bringing new plants in the market very soon, plants that have never been seen in the Middle East, some exciting things for people in Qatar to look forward to and show them that we are here to bring them new ideas.”
Si Bonne, a leading supplier of fresh flowers and accessories which has been in the Qatari market for 14 years now, has launched an online flower shop to coincide with the expo.
“We have launched especially for this expo, the first online flower store in Qatar. Now customers need not go to buy from the flower shop, they can buy online and within 24 hours they will receive the flowers in their homes,” Mohammad Hassan A Shammout, Manager of Si Bonne, told this daily.
The first visitors to their pavilion, he said, could avail of up to 50 percent discount vouchers.
Si Bonne operates under Flora Group holding company which has been in Qatar for over two decades now and has a network in 14 countries.
“Having the MIA Park as a venue for the first edition of the exhibition is a very good choice. The visitors are all surprised to see a slice of Holland brought to Doha. All the leading companies in the industry are here and this would let people know the best companies in Doha,” said Shammout.
The three-day expo is organised by Classic Dream Advertising in collaboration with MIA under the slogan “Back to Nature” and has, among its aims, raising environmental awareness and conservation of natural resources.
Exhibitors from Europe, the United States, Asian-Pacific and Africa are participating at the expo expected to create a forum of cultural communication through the aesthetics of flowers.
Apart from flowers and ornamental plants, visitors to the expo will also find agricultural equipment used in gardening and landscaping, greenhouses used to grow flowers, irrigation techniques, pump sprayers, different kinds of grass, marble basins, fountains, ceramics, landscaping and irrigation, garden furniture, fertilisers and pesticides.
Workshops are held daily including “Flowers and International Relations,” “Chemistry in plants and flowers,” “Green ranges,” and “Flowers and aesthetics of public parks.”
The expo is open today from 2pm to 10 pm and tomorrow from 12pm to 10pm.
The Peninsula
