Despite miserable weather on Tuesday 20 November, Futurescape 2018 was teaming with horticultural visitors.

Although the majority of the exhibitors and the seminars focused on exterior landscaping and garden design, there are always some things of interest to see. Many of the usual suspects were 'in residence' including plants@work member, Woodland Horticulture.

Their stand covered their range of products from decorative stones to mulch and all things in between. New to their range is a product called 'Leca' which has two main functions: it can be used as insulation fill and the product to prepare for a concrete slab or screed. Simon Packer (not picture) told us that Woodland Horticulture is undergoing a refit and we look forward to reporting on this in the near future.

Two other regular exhibitors were there: Mobilane and Living Green. Living Green had a large stand showing off their exterior planters and seating combinations as well as their bespoke services for planters made to your requirements.

Another interesting addition was their 'ScaperSounds' which transforms their planters into speakers. As their leaflet says, 'This is not a speaker fitted inside a planter but via new technology, the whole planter resonates and becomes the speaker.' So there is no compromise on the design or appearance and any planter, and even bespoke ones, can be given the ScaperSounds upgrade. Nice one Living Green.

There's still a lot of interest in green walls and pictures promoted by both Mobilane and Living Green and others. Living Green was also sporting a pretty flower picture which worked well for the stand and would work for events.

Daleford Composts were showing off a range of peat free composts, namely Wool Composts. Herdwick Sheep's wool is blended with all their composts which means that water retention is better - so less watering needed by the gardener/horticulturist - and of course, the composts come in a number of different grades suitable for different jobs.

There were several nurseries present supplying outdoor plants. I could have been tempted to take home the beautiful bushed 'standard' holly tree on the Creepers Nursery Stand.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency were also present to advice visitors of their services. They cover the laws about exporting and importing and deal with pest control. You can read more about their services here.

The fun part
As artificial grass becomes more and more popular, there were the usual fun uses of this medium on a Guard who greeted us on entry, a smart car and a variety of animals, showing of its versatility!

Also, we rather liked the gimmick of being able to plant our visitors bags. Of course, this isn't new but it is a fun 'freebie'.

Seminars
We managed to catch one seminar in the main 'room': Let's hear it from - The Landscape Legends.

The panel of four: John Melmoe, Ann-Marie Powell, David Dodd and Jo Thompson asnwered questions and gave theri views on a number of business related topics. Some fascinating insights all admirably chaired by Pro Landscaper's own Jim Wilkinson.