Horticulture may be the forgotten element of agriculture at present, but it still has the potential to get bigger.

These words of encouragement came from HRH The Princess Royal, literally added a majestic note to the joint NFU/FPC conference last week, one of the few times that the industry has enjoyed such patronage.

Her message that UK sales, including ornamentals were worth over £2 billion and the industry employed over 100,00 people may help lift its image to a wider audience.

But she also had a message. 'The Five-a-Day campaign has the potential to double the size of the market,' she said, adding that the supplementary challenge is to find ways to get consumers to buy British, and at the same time make sure initiatives were not strangled by red tape.

Flowers and plants were also singled out for special attention as a boom market, based on the number of garden centres with the potential to enhance the quality of people's lives in this country.

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