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his explains why, in recent years, the Flower Council of Holland has invested a great deal of work into mapping out the latest trends as they become noticeable.

More than clothes alone
Fashions and fashion developments are by no means restricted to clothes. They move into every area of the consumer's life, affecting behaviour, design, use of colour and much more. The way we furnish and decorate our homes has everything to do with developments in fashions. Brown, cosy and intimate at one time; white, spacious and distanced at another. Flowers and plants need to fit into these moods and in this sense, are very susceptible to trends. Varieties and colours both need to slot into the latest fashion image.

Trend-setters
Who are the trend-setters who define fashion? First and foremost the designers of course. However, the media make sure that the designer's work is brought to the attention of the consumer. Fashion glossies, interior design and house and garden magazines as well as plenty of TV programmes all ensure that the newest trends are presented to the consumer in a big way.      

PR-campaign
Several years ago the Flower Council of Holland saw the important part played by magazines and TV programmes in promoting fashions and this prompted them to promote its own Trends. It started with a PR-campaign aimed at the most important journalists in the sector. They received a continuous stream of information, tips and photographs of the latest appearances on the fashion scene, translated in terms of flowers and plants. The result has been thousands of publications both at home and abroad covering the flower and plant trends.          

Flower consumers
There is a further subdivision of trends into style groups. Here consumers are assigned to specific groups on the basis of a large volume of data: education, address and income as well as the magazines they read and the shops where they buy their home accessories to name a few. The greatest flower users are found in the groups 'Modern' and 'Trendy-Ambience'. The Flower Council targets these groups with a large proportion of its activities. You will find more information under consumers in the left hand column.      

Detailed
Nowadays trend information is not only aimed at inspiring journalists, the material has also been 'translated' for other target groups. Consequently wholesalers and florists can now benefit. Information about flowers and plants is extremely detailed. This site includes seasonal themes where visitors can find all they need to know about colours, materials, patterns, shapes, arrangements, vases and products - all arranged under the individual season.