With emerald green being the colour of the year for the fashion and interior design conscious of 2018, trends can pop up in arbitrary places, like that of your garden.

Garden trends that are making an appearance this year are indoor gardens, container/potted gardening as well as mango coloured flora.

The rich and vibrant colour of mango adds dimension, colour and fragrance to the garden. Marigolds are the perfect representation of the colour mango.

No annual is more vibrant or easier to grow than that of the marigold. The flower blooms brightly all summer long and even into the autumn months.

Marigolds:

• Thrive in full sunshine and can often withstand very hot summers.
• Though they grow in almost any soil, marigolds thrive in moderately fertile, well-drained soil.
• If planted in containers, soil-based potting mix should be used and space should be left for them to bloom.
• They don’t require deadheading.
• Should be watered at the base of the plant (bottom of the stem), not from overhead.
• Are known to deter pests and are usually planted with vegetables or even roses

Another trend being followed by green thumbs is container gardening.

This can be done with a mixture of plants and is a convenient way of gardening especially in areas that have small garden spaces, or no garden at all. A container garden can be created, moved and re-styled quite easily and with minimal mess.

Using different textures and heights of containers create a unique visual aesthetic and give the garden dimension. Containers can be placed on the patio, they can also come in the form of hanging baskets. Container gardening can also be created using retaining blocks or even pallet boxes.

Tip: If you are wanting to plant marigolds to add that mango-coloured flair, they are annuals, so they prefer hotter climates. If temperatures drop too low, they are likely to perish. However a plant cover otherwise known as a cold frame, may help them last slightly longer. The other option is to remove the marigolds from the garden bed and transfer them into pots and take indoors or under a sheltered area.

Modern day conferences are certainly nothing like the past, where attendees expect so much more to keep them engaged for longer, and to inspire them from the get-go. Making sure that there is something for everyone is never easy, but if you choose to partner with Granny Mouse County House & Spa, your next conference will be an amazing success.

We recently chatted to the Granny Mouse banqueting team to get their inspiring insights into what makes a conference great, and here are their top 5 points to consider.

1. Crowd Polling

Prior to your event, run an internal poll where staff can offer their ideas in regards to guest speaker option, topics of discussion and other such elements. If your staff feel that they are being asked their opinions in regards to the conference content, they are more likely to be engaged in the delivery of messages at the event.

2. Time out

Ensure that the planned timetable allows for some personal downtime for your staff. An integral part of the conferencing plan, is to allow all people some time to ponder the proceedings of the day, whether it was about your company processes and how you can better these, or the message that was imparted from a guest speaker. You need your staff to return to work rearing to go, and a bit of “down time” out of the office, might be the best way to achieve this.

3. Table teams

Seat like-minded staff together and get them to create a team name for themselves, and then run a series of competitions during your conference that the teams can compete for. You’d be amazed as how much more engaged your staff will be when they are competing against each other for prizes, big or small.

4. Offsite events

Sure, conferencing is about work productivity, but it is also about team bonding, and what better way to achieve this than by adding some off-site activities for your teams. Games and team-building events are where memories are made as people break the ice and really get to know one another, which makes for a more cohesive overall team.

5. Team tips

Post conference, allow team members to provide their feedback about the good and the bad of the conference, as this will allow you to better plan the next one, and to harvest ideas from the very market you are targeting.

With these valuable tips, you can be sure that your next conference will truly be a success.

Contact banqueting@grannymouse.co.za for the latest conference packages.