FutureScape bolstered its seminar offering this year, providing attendees with informative sessions on the latest products and materials available to landscapers, garden designers and landscape architects. These seminars took place in the Esher Hall, with visitors giving immensely positive feedback on all sessions.

Specialist nursery Architectural Plants addressed an eager audience in the afternoon. Managing director Guy Watts, broke down the three keys to increase profit: finance, marketing and selling. More colloquially, Guy referred to these as: the boring bit, the fun bit and the hard bit.

The financial aspect heralded keeping all costs tracked, ensuring everything is taken into account when working out what profit really is, and a few areas where businesses can save. Getting creative and doing something that stands out, but retains a certain chic aura was key to marketing, as customers look for a brand that signifies quality. Selling largely comes down to graft and a pitch that shouts why a prospective client needs your service. Networking is integral to this, meeting the right people can put a business at an automatic advantage if there is a preexisting relationship.