Planting ring in concrete wins the 2017 Elmia Garden Award!

The 2017 Elmia Garden Award for the garden product of the year has gone to Design Björn Lidbrandt for his planting ring made of concrete. The product offers an effective solution to protect trees and bushes when robot lawnmowers cut the grass. The ring also becomes a stylish feature in the garden.

“The award is very important to me,” Lidbrandt says. “It is a confirmation that this is a good product and I hope it will also bring benefits thanks to the media attention the product is now receiving.”

Protects newly planted trees and bushes

The planting ring is easy to put in place and its solid-cast construction enables the ring to stay put on any type of ground. The raised edge offers protection by making robot lawnmowers turn instead of driving over the new trees and bushes.

“I got the idea for the planting ring when I bought my own automower and encountered problems with putting new plants in my garden after the lawnmower’s loop wire was already in place. I’ve built models and created prototypes all my professional life and know about form and function. The ideas came flooding in and the first prototype was soon ready,” Lidbrandt says.

Big development potential

The planting ring has been on the market since 2015 but has only been marketed via Lidbrandt’s own website plus social media, as he runs the Jönköping-based company Design Björn Lidbrandt alongside his regular job.

The product has major development potential as the use of robot lawnmowers increases. There is already a ring in two sections that can be put around existing trees, and Lidbrandt has several sizes of ring on the way for different types of plants.

“The ring has a modern design and also solves a problem,” comments Christina Säll, chair of the Elmia Garden Award jury. “This is the first time the award has gone to a product that works in both private gardens and public environments.”

The Elmia Garden Award jury consists of Christina Säll, editor-in-chief of the Swedish gardening magazine Hemträdgården, Simon Irvine, garden designer at Läckö Castle, and Magnus Åström, Creative Director at Blink.

This year’s nominated products were presented for the first time during the Elmia Garden 2016 trade fair.

For more information contact:

Björn Lidbrandt, Design Björn Lidbrandt, bjorn@planteringsring.se, +46 (0)73 599 06 06, www.planteringsring.se

Kristin Koefoed, Fair Manager, kristin.koefoed@elmia.se, +46 36 15 22 79, +46 76 548 60 92

Sara Åberg, Communicator, sara.aberg@elmia.se, +46 36 15 20 49, +46 73 822 51 27