Flower Market Circular – edition 89 – 16 August 2018

• Evan Philo answers our Fresh Five questions
• Why do millennials love indoor plants?
• New web resources available

Birthday in August? Give Gladiolus or Poppies

Did you know each month of the year has a particular flower associated with it?
August has two flowers to its name, the gladiolus and the poppy.
Poppies bring a wonderful splash of colour to winter, with their colours varying from deep crimson, lilac to violet or white, to bright yellow or soft pink. Gladiolus consist of large spikes up to 100cm long bearing up to 10 or more flowers, and can look striking when added to large arrangements. With around 60 stand holders, occupying 140 stands, the Melbourne Flower Market in Epping has the largest range of flowers in Victoria. So if you are looking to feature gladdies and poppies in store this month, you won’t find a larger variety of colours, sizes and fragrances, at the most competitive prices, anywhere else.

Full site emergency evacuation drill

On Wednesday 22nd August at 10am, we will be conducting a full site emergency evacuation drill.
This drill will evacuate all tenants on Market land, including all administration building tenants, Flower Market tenants, visitors, and subcontractors on site.
Upon hearing the site evacuation tones everyone will need to follow site evacuation procedures and follow the directions of Market Relations Officers.
The drill should take approximately 20 minutes.

Fresh Five

This week we talk to Evan Philo
1. Your role at the Melbourne Market: I’m a sales assistant, delivery boy and bucket mover-a-rounderer at Dakota Flowers. We sell mostly natives like proteas and banksias which we grow at our farm in Trentham. We also import things like roses and different foliage.
2. If you could only take three fruits or vegetables with you to a desert island, which would you take: Watermelon, because it’s my favourite fruit. Mandarins, because I like them, and some apples because they’re nutritious.
3. When was the last time you bought flowers for someone: I don’t think I’ve ever actually bought a bunch of flowers for someone because I always get them for free! I’m always giving flowers to people though, my mum and my girlfriend mainly.
4. Tell us something that is on your ‘bucket list’: I like to go to Japan to go snow skiing.
5. What do you most enjoy about working at the Melbourne Market: It’s diverse, and every day is different, you get to interact with so many different people.

Why do millennials love houseplants so much?

If you’ve recently visited a trendy cafe or watched any TV renovation show it would be hard to miss the resurgence of the indoor plant trend. A home trend that was so popular in the 70’s and 80’s has exploded back onto the scene, particularly among millennials.
Millennials are seeking out everything from monsteras to ribbon plants, succulents and cactus, to philodendrons and ferns, and the demand is said to be driven by a few factors.
1. Smaller apartment living. With no garden space available an indoor plant can be the only form of greenery at home.
2. Not ready for responsibility. Gen Y’s are putting off having children until later in life and looking after a plant can give them a sense of responsibility, many even give their plants a name! (plus, the consequences of not keeping it alive are not as severe…)
3. A health-conscious generation. Studies have shown that keeping indoor plants can improve your health and well-being.
4. A break from the digital world. Caring about a plant provides a chance to take a break from screens and connect with something tangible in the real world.
5. Social media. Who doesn’t love to post a fiddle-leaf fig on Instagram…
Indoor potted plants are sold at various locations at the Melbourne Flower Market, including Davenport Plants, Landscapelink, Silvan Park Nursery, Wafex, and Mayflower Importer. With so many suppliers in the one spot you can be sure that you’ll find a great range of indoor plants at competitive prices to suit even the pickiest of millennial.

New web resources

New resources are now available on the MMA website to help make doing business easier.

Event calendar – An event calendar has been added to the website to help businesses to better forward plan. The calendar shows all the Market’s major events and activities, as well as key dates and reminders, for the coming 12 months. Some of the items featured in the event calendar include public holidays, (with accompanying altered trading hours) Market events, like Children in the Marketdates and Christmas celebrations, as well as key reminders and due dates for renewals and invoices.

Business grants – Business grants can provide valuable resources for Market businesses but with an array of business grants available at any one time they can be hard to find. This new web page includes a list of grants currently available, that may be of interest to Melbourne Market businesses, with a short description, closing dates and appropriate links. Make sure to check back regularly as the page is always updated with new opportunities available.

Be sure to save both these pages in your web favourites for quick access.

Ask the MMA

If you’ve got a question or suggestion for the MMA email it to submissions@melbournemarket.com.au.

Follow us