1. New Plants for the Northern
Peripheries Market (NPNP) 2009
- 2012

2. Partnership
• Lead Partner:
Pitea Municipality
Sweden
• Agronomy Institute Orkney College Scotland
• University of Oulu Botanic gardens Finland
• MTT Finland
• Agricultural University of Iceland Iceland

3. Associate Partners (In Scotland)
• COPE: Not for profit charity that is one of the
lead retailers of garden plants in Shetland
• Wm Shearers Ltd (Orkney). Retailers of all
agricultural seed together with garden and
horticultural plants
COPE plant standing grounds at
their garden centre and nursery

4. General Aims of the Project
• Improving the availability and variety of ornamental and
horticultural plants in the northern periphery of Europe by
evaluating and testing potential new plants available from each
project partner.
• Promoting and developing partnerships with local commercial
growers and retail outlets to make the successful ornamental plants
available to the public and create new local markets.
• Facilitate the creation of greener and more varied public and
private areas, such as town centres, parks and private gardens in
the northern periphery area.

5. Orkney Agronomy Institute Main Aims
1. To improve the diversity of hardened ornamentals available in
Orkney to gardeners and retailers, showcase the new plants at
the college and help create new local markets for the new
products
2. To promote the potential of fruits, berries and horticultural
crops as ornamental crops

6. Programme of activity
• Year 1:
– Questionnaire survey of the public, professionals and retailers
– Deciding which plants to trial in each country
– Setting up of demonstration gardens and trial areas
• Year 2:
– Planting and trialling of exchanged plants in the demonstration
gardens
– Open days and KTP events
• Year 3:
– Presentation of final plant choices for each country
– Promotion of new successful plants to retailers through
meetings promotional material and the demonstration gardens
– KTP events to promote the successful new plants to the public,
professionals

7. Activity to date
1. Creation of the NPNP website:
http://www.northernplants.net/

8. 2. Creation of a brochure
leaflets and poster

9. 3. Completion of Questionnaire survey
• Same questionnaire conducted in each country
• Allows comparison between countries
• Asked the public, retailers and professionals:
– General questions on Planting Gardens and Green Space e.g. soil,
climatic conditions, plant preferences etc
– Questions for commercial growers and retailers
e.g.: What groups of plants are/are not commercially successful now,
Problems and advantages from a retail perspectives with plants on sale
now
• Report can be downloaded from the Northern plants website

10. Results of Orkney garden questionnaire
• Perennial plants, especially trees and bushes were important
• Ornamental grasses were surprisingly popular
• Ornamental herbaceous plants are less important
• Longevity and blooming times were important
• Fast growing plants were favoured
• Novelty value was of lesser importance
• Vegetables and herbs grown for ornamental value as well as food
was not considered important
• Formal grassed areas such as lawns were of somewhat importance

11. Results of Sweden questionnaire
• Annual bedding plants were important but annual non-bedding
plants such as vegetables were not so important in Sweden
• Woody perennials were important especially broadleaf trees
• High maintenance grass areas were not popular but low
maintenance grass areas were more popular
• Little interest in choosing garden plants primarily to improve wildlife
or biodiversity
• Ornamental grasses were important.

12. Results of Iceland questionnaire
• Trees and woodland were important architectural features in
gardens
• High maintenance grass areas less important
• Ornamental herbaceous plants are less important than trees
• Ease of propagation and novelty value of less importance
• Fast growth, Colour and Scent were important
• Groundcover plants were important
• Longevity was important
• Plant guarantees were important

13. Results of Finland questionnaire
• This questionnaire went to a much larger number of people with a
much higher number of respondents who were professional in the
industry rather than private gardeners etc and many in their 20’s
• Trees and woodlands are important but not as architectural features,
more as a natural feature
• Pond areas and wildlife areas were important
• Conifers were as important as broadleaf trees
• Vegetables and herbs grown as ornamentals were surprisingly
important. The only country surveyed to say this.
• Plant guarantees were important
• Formal grassed areas were important

14. Similar views between countries: 1
• Price was not an important factor
• Longevity, blooming time, colour and fast growth were the most
important factors
• Winter hardiness and wind resistance were very important
• Plant novelty value was not important
• For Retailers, annual plants were the biggest seller even though
each country said that they were of lesser importance compared to
perennials
• Trees and shrubs were important in all countries but possibly for
different reasons

15. Similar views between countries 2
• Transportation a major factor on plant survivability
• Road transport costs from ‘southern areas’ (Scandinavia) or overseas
importation (Iceland and Orkney) restricted the availability and variety
of plants on offer.
• High price of growing plants locally in the north compared to imported
plants restricted the development of a market in locally sourced
plants.
• Price difference due to dominance of ‘global chains’ in both the sale
and production of plants where bulk numbers rather than quality was
the main driving force.

16. 4. Construction of Demonstration Gardens
Orkney garden under
construction
Mid-entrance to Orkney
garden
Poly-tunnel for plant
propagation under
construction
Site of the Finnish garden
Diagram of where the Finnish
garden will be at the Botanical
gardens
Orkney New plants for the North garden
(Not to scale)
a aaaa aaaa
College
Field
Wall and house
Field and trackway
Orkney Plants
Orkney Plants
Sweden Plants
Sweden Plants
Iceland Plants
Iceland Plants
Finland Plants
Finland Plants
Gate
Pathway
Pathway
Pathway
3m
2m
1m
1 m
a
Rose
hedge
Willow
Hedge
Diagram of Orkney garden

17. Local plants planted in the Orkney garden
Chokeberry Shallon berry
Griselinia littoralis
Phormium cookiana
Olereria semidentata
Osteospermum juncundum
Brachyglottis
elaeagnifolium

18. Some plants from our partners that we will
test in the Orkney garden
Philadelphus
‘Thorunn hyrna’
Lonicera chamissoi
Ligularia jamesii
Sambucus
kamtchatica
Spiraea japonica ‘Eric
the Red’
Rosa rugosa ‘Skotta’
Prunus padus ‘Anne’
Brunnera sibirica
Hemerocallis fulva ‘Sirkku’
Iceland Finland Sweden

19. In Conclusion:
• We have made good progress in the first year
• We have identified what sort of plants people prefer
• We have chosen the list of plants to be exchanged
between countries
• Next year will see the completion and planting up of the
garden with the new plants from our partner countries.
This will be open to the public
• We will be able to assess the new plants’ suitability for
Orkney