Stockport’s Frog Trail

At Plant Shop, we were so pleased to be asked to join The Great Frogtastic Invention Art Trail in Stockport this summer. You can see our frog proudly displayed in our shop’s window, all ready for the trail, and he’s blending in quite nicely with the greenery. When visiting Stockport, you can find a number of amazing painted frogs from past year’s trails dotted around the town centre and in businesses windows. Painted by incredibly talented local artists, the trails started in 2019 and have since become a fun activity for families to play ‘spot the frog’ while shopping and exploring the sites of Stockport!

Plant Shop Manchester’s inventions frog - his name is Venus.

Developed by Future in collaboration with Totally Stockport, the frog trail was first created to attract new visitors to Stockport and celebrate the area’s history. In reference to the iconic Hat Works, each frog features an adorable little hat as part of its design. At the Hat Works Museum, visitors can experience the world of hatting in the early 19th century when hat manufacturing was a thriving industry with over 100 hat factories and businesses in the area. Inspired by similar change and innovation, this year's trail is themed around inventions, and it aims to be, not only fun but, educational for young visitors and school trips to Stockport. Leaping from the last trail, 2023 frogs will join the collection of 2021’s frogs that you can learn more about here.

Painted lovingly in-store, our frog design was of course inspired by plants! Plants have been the starting inspiration for many important inventions and ideas throughout the years. Burdock seeds inspired the creation of Velcro, Aspirin was created from White Willows, and the creation of Solar Panels was influenced by scientists research into how plants photosynthesise!

At Plant Shop, we’ve always been fascinated by Venus Flytraps and how they capture insects for food. If prey such as flies, spiders, or ants touch the leaves, they instantly snap shut before digesting them. We wondered - has this clever ‘trap’ mechanism inspired any inventions?

We did some investigating and discovered PD Dr Simon Poppinga’s research at the University of TU Darmstadt in Germany. He says “Venus flytraps demonstrate how hinge-free forms of movement can be carried out at different speeds...” with “elastic energy” that drives their movement. His findings have inspired new discoveries in the fields of mechanical engineering and soft robotics. You can read more about the university’s research and publication here. Who knew such a small plant could inspire such big ideas!

We hope you enjoy the trail! 🐸

Words by Phoebe Ingram