Ignore the trends and do what you love

As the pace of change increases it often becomes difficult to "keep up". So much has changed in the gardening businesses that even veterans of the trade are having a hard time adjusting. I believe the key is to enjoy what you do right now. That's really the only way to stay sane in today's world. Milton Glaser is a 83 year old graphic designer most famous for the "I (Heart) NY" logo. Two things stood out for me in this article at coolhunting.com.  The first is about not following the trends.  He say's, "I don't follow any designers, it's not my character. I mean there are a lot of young, good practitioners. I actually should be more conscious of what's going on in the field but I've never used the field as my resource, I use history—and an awful lot of history I still don't understand".

The second concerns loving what you do, and ignoring the pace of change. "If you spend your life doing what you love, the speed at which the world goes on and changes around you is irrelevant."

Great advice. Ignore trends, and do what you love.

Horticulture Magazine now a part of "Living Ready"

If there was any doubt in your mind about peoples interests in self-sufficiency or survival subjects this is for you. “Horticulture, The Art and Science of Smart Gardening” magazine is becoming a part of “Living Ready”.  Here is what Living Ready say’s they are all about.

"You will love being a member of LIVING READY if you are honing, or want to begin honing, life skills such as: • growing your own food, and canning & preserving that food • hunting for food, and then preparing and storing the catch • using herbal remedies to save a trip to the doctor's office • creating non-toxic cleaners for your home • raising small animals such as chickens, rabbits, pygmy goats • beekeeping • bartering and networking to meet the needs of yourself and your family • training to be suitably armed to survive threats against you and your"

According to Living Ready Community Leader Patty Craft Dunning, " Horticulture: The Art & Science of Smart Gardening will continue to be published in print just as it always has. Nothing has changed there, and Living Ready 's magazine and website will be able to share similar info as what you read in Horticulture (for example, edible gardening topics like what Peter Garnham writes for Hort, understanding pest management, how to plan and plant edibles for canning, etc.)" Patty adds, "our parent company, @F+W Media, also publishes Gun Digest. And, yes, there will plenty of info in Living Ready about how to be suitably armed to hunt-and-gather food as well as how to protect yourself and your family in threatening situations."

Smart move on this companies part. The interest in these subjects will only grow as we continue to see the poor response of our government when it comes to situations like Hurricane Sandy, and other natural and man made disasters. It’s seems only wise to be prepared where ever you live.

In addition, people are just interested in learning some of the skills that we have forgotten over the last couple of generations. Growing your own food, protecting your family, and being able to deal with the various natural and man made disasters that pop up. This interest is especially strong with the younger demographic like Generation Y, who we in the horticulture trades want to attract. For some there is a "doomsday" type feel to this, but for most people it's just exciting to be able to take charge, and see if you can do it. It's about living better, and closer to the land.

Interesting times in the horticulture field these days. If you have followed this blog you know I encourage garden centers to become the local source of information and tools to help people reach those goals. It’s one way for smaller independent locally owned garden centers to stay relevant. Become indispensable to your community by providing them the tools and services they are most interested in. It would appear being prepared, and self-sufficiency are two of them.

Climb a different ladder

SF Gate has an article today titled, “What scares employees most?”. The answer? Making a mistake. Whats the result of this? This comment from the article say’s it all. “At my job, the ones who don't make mistakes are the ones who sit there and do nothing all day.”

Over at Today's Garden Center  Karli Petrovic explains, “Why I am not gardening (and no one else my age is either) ”.  It’s a story of Generation Y and what Karli sees as the reasons many in her age group don’t garden. What caught my eye was the quote, “As many Gen-Yer's will tell you, most of the flack we get for being lazy and selfish is simply not true. The majority of us (primarily those without trust funds) are working exceptionally hard to move up the corporate ladder. After shelling out for car payments, student loans, groceries and rent (and cheap wine, when going out is no longer an option), there is little to spend on home improvement.”

The corporate ladder? The corporate ladder often leads to working at places where, “the ones who don't make mistakes are the ones who sit there and do nothing all day.”  I hope generation Y doesn't fall into the “corporate ladder” trap.  Seems to me that if you really want to make a difference and change your world you have to avoid the “corporate ladder” at all costs. It use to lead up, but these days the ladder can just as quickly lead nowhere, or down. Climb your own ladder and don't be afraid to move it. That way you can reach the ripe fruit.

Stop Stealing Dreams

So after I post the inspiring story yesterday concerning the Classroom Farm in the Bronx I was directed to an article in the NY Daily News. The article say's the program was terminated. According to the Daily News, "A celebrated classroom farm that yielded fresh produce and great jobs for students at a South Bronx public high school has been quietly shut down." It continues, "Green Bronx Machine withered last August when Ritz was moved to a basement classroom and told to stop growing food at Discovery". The Daily News says, "The city Department of Education referred questions to Discovery Principal Rolando Rivera, who failed to return repeated requests for an interview about why the program was shut down." Without the details it's hard to understand why the program was halted. Maybe a New York reader might have the answer? I do know our school system is broken. Here is a great video with Seth Godin that I watched right after watching the video on the school farm. What Seth say's dovetailed so well with what I saw in that Bronx video. It's called, "Stop stealing Dreams" It's 16 minutes well spent if your at all concerned with how the kids are being "educated" and what we can do about it. Seems the title, "Stop Stealing Dreams" fits well with the closing of the school program.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpbONjV1Jc

A teacher and students using horticulture to change their world

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcSL2yN39JM&playnext=1&list=PL587786522B73DCBA&feature=results_video This is a great TEDx Talk featuring teacher Stephen Ritz and his Bronx classroom. According to the YouTube page, "With the help of extended student and community family they have grown over 25,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. His Bronx classroom features the first indoor edible wall in NYC DOE which routinely generates enough produce to feed 450 students healthy meals and trains the youngest nationally certified workforce in America."

The future is now, and horticulture will play a huge role. Very cool.

What's trending in gardening

Every now and then it’s fun to look at what kind of gardening books are selling at Amazon. Gives a bit of insight into what people are looking for when it comes to their gardens. The last time we did this was September 2011. Let’s look at the top ten sellers and see if there is a theme (there is).

#1 Home Preserving

#2 Mini-farms, Self sufficiency on a ¼ acre

#3  The Foragers Harvest

#4  Marijuana Horticulutre

#5 Back to Basics

#6 The Farmers Almanac

#7 The Encyclopedia of Country Living

#8 All New Square Foot Gardening

#9  Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

# 10 Sunset Western Garden Book

Looks to me like it’s all about using the garden to feed, and sustain. The appearance of the two foraging books is an interesting addition. The marijuana book shows up perennially on the top 10 list. Number 11 is Aquaponics, a method for raising fish and plants together. We talked about in my last post.

Take away what you will from this. If you’re a garden center, it’s this kind of knowledge that can help you better understand your customer’s needs.  Maybe landscaping books and other ornamental books will one day return to the list, but for now it’s all about “growing you own”.

The kids are all right

A fellow nurseryperson in Missouri posted this photo on her Facebook page. She came home to find some kids that live in the same building decided to construct an aquaponics system in the basement. According to many in our trade, the young just don’t garden like their parents and grandparents did. This has affected the bottom line of many garden centers and nurseries around the world with many going out of business.

If you owned a garden center and some people came in wanting to build an aquaponics system, could you help them? What if they asked about growing lettuce hydroponically? What if they wanted to grow lettuce in soil inside under T5 lights? Where do you send them if you don’t carry this stuff? Why?

Organizing by not organizing

I read in the latest edition of “Today’s Garden Center” magazine an article titled “Slow Down”. Written by Sid Raisch of The Garden Center Group, it’s an interesting read concerning the changing garden retail landscape. What caught my eye was this. “Slow Retail Is Not Organized. There is no single controlling organization to the Slow movement. Its momentum is created worldwide by individuals who endorse and spread their passion that the Slow way is the better way.” This is the way it’s going to be going forward. Groups of like minded people connecting via The Internet and creating the change necessary to achieve their goals. Often the groups form without any real motivation or goals, but rather a shared interest. Soon themes may emerge that strike the groups fancy, and the group takes on a more proactive role. I see this in our trade group, Independent Garden Centers and Nurseries. Started as a place to just “talk shop”, it has morphed into a dynamic, action oriented group that is literally changing how business is being done in the horticultural world.

So rather than try and come up with a “plan of action”, such as the trade’s current fixation on creating "campaigns", use the “slow down” idea. Using “slow movement” thinking themes and ideas emerge through collaboration that can help the individual nurseries and garden centers who take part. Help the individual nursery do a better job, the customers will follow, and the “trade” will benefit. Actionable ideas that have a direct impact on the business, rather than a campaign which will have little or no effect on individual business. Guess I am just getting a bit tired of campaigns. So often it’s a forced movement that has no real underlying passion.

“Slow Gardening”, that’s something I can relate to. Our customers might ask, “I am already hungry for change in my life; show me how the garden can help. Help me slow down, and reconnect with the natural world. “ We ought to show the customers the benefit of doing business with us. That will really do something for our businesses.

If you’re an owner or employee of a independent garden center or nursery and want to join us go here.

To join our other trade group for nurseries, vendors, and garden media. Go here.

You can't grow that!

Here is a story that shows just how quickly the horticultural industry in diverging into two different types of business. On the one hand we have smaller, independent garden professionals and on the other hand we have the larger concerns who seem terrified of what the smaller concerns are up to. How else does one explain Scotts/Miracle Gro's recent actions? According to her website, garden writer CL Fornari decided last October to start a campaign titled, “You Can Grow That”. Once a week any garden writer who wished to participate would write an article under that heading. You can read about it here. Long story short, Scotts/Miracle Gro applied for a trademark on “You Can Gro That!”, after she had broached the idea on The Internet.

What’s up with Scotts? At a recent shareholders meeting in January 2012, Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn said, "We are making a step change in fiscal 2012 and setting a new benchmark for our advertising investment," Hagedorn told shareholders. "Both our Scotts and Miracle-Gro brands will be supported by completely new campaigns. While we will continue to support individual products in each commercial, we will do so with a consistent approach and message that creates a halo effect for the brands. I believe this is some of the best creative work we have done in years and I am confident it will impact our business – not just in 2012 – but over the longer-term as well."

Then last August Scotts reported, “During today's conference call to discuss its third quarter results, the Company said it expects adjusted earnings for fiscal 2012 to be approximately $2.00 per share and mistakenly stated an expected loss in the fourth quarter of about 40 cents. To clarify, the Company anticipates an operating loss in the fourth quarter which will translate into an adjusted loss per share closer to 60 cents. The Company still expects adjusted earnings per share of about $2.00 for the year.”

Like all of us, Scotts is trying to figure out its place in the changing gardening scene. Its reputation has taken a beating these last few years, and people just don’t seem to want to garden in a way that helped build the company in the past. Garden centers no longer feel it necessary to carry their products, as there are better alternatives now available. Lawns are slowly loosing favor with the gardening public, and lawn care is where Scotts ruled. Finally, through actions like trade marking a phrase, “You can grow that” it shows a certain un-becoming characteristic. It seems destined to alienate itself even further from the very people it would normally count on for support, garden writers and their readers.

The decline of the county fair

The El Dorado County Fair has come, and gone. It's turning into the amazing shrinking county fair, and if the trend continues it may just disappear. Why do we have the fair in June? School is out, and they need kids spending money on the rides to make it work. If they wait till late summer, when fairs would normally be held, the kids have already headed back to school.

According the the fairs website, "The purpose of today’s fairs is to promote agricultural and animal husbandry, local resource and industrial promotion, education, entertainment, competition, youth development, and community outreach. Several trends over the years have allowed the fairgrounds to become revenue generating entertainment and exhibition venue that operates on a year round basis." How can you have a "biggest tomato" or " best tasting apple pie" or "plumpest chicken" contest, when the first tomato hasn't even ripened on the vine?

I wish the fair would go back to being what county fairs once where. A place to show off local agricultural wonders, and have some fun.  The fair has turned into a carnival, with a smattering of agricultural displays. Let's hold the fair in the late summer, and emphasize the agricultural side of the show. Since the fair is already struggling, let's have a make over where the interest in growing your own, and competing with others is the main focus. Sure, the kids will have gone back to school. So what? Hold the fair on the weekend. Give us a place to share and compete with others with real agricultural products. The time is "ripe" to re-emphasize the importance of fresh food, agriculture, and seasonality in our lives by bringing back the county fairs of the past.

The indispensable garden center

The closest hydroponic shop to us is selling plants now. They are also touting the “local”, as in “your local garden center”. Fortunately for us, they don’t know what they are doing, but the trend is clear. Here in California the hydroponic market is beginning the great unwinding we predicted. Also as predicted, the forward thinking garden centers are starting to capture some of the formally exclusive hydroponic market, which includes the coveted “non-gardening” younger generations. You see, they are super enthusiastic about gardening, but on their own terms. Don’t patronize or talk down to these customers. They just want to know the “why” and “how” and “where from” more so than our older customers.

Today a trade magazine representative asked how we feel about our future as a garden center. The future is as bright as it can be in these uncertain times. In this particular northern California location my customer base is likely 50% under 30 years of age. So we have an interested younger group of potential long term customers. The separation of the hydro business and conventional garden centers is blurring, allowing us a larger customer base who just want to “grow their own”. Growing organically is huge and getting bigger. This is perfect for separating our business from the chemically heavy competition of box stores. They don’t carry three types of bat guano, brew their own compost tea, or sell “veganic” nutrients. The uncertainty in the economy, especially here in northern California continues to drive people to grow their own.

The challenges we face in the future should not be discounted. Yet, on this first day of summer I feel like some of what we have discussed and implemented over the last few years is paying off. Stay small, accessible, and enthusiastic. Drop lines and companies that don’t work. Carry stuff the competition doesn't, and be able to explain why it’s better. Go organic, and encourage your customers to do so by having what they need to accomplish it. I foresee a time when the local garden supply store may very well take its place once again as an indispensable part of the community. Be bold, and remember “small is cool”.

Just gardening?

Just received a note from a garden supplier addressed it to a fellow "farmer." I am a nurseryman, but O.K., I get it. We're all farmers now. I think it's our way of describing why we would work hard, get dirty, and end up with sore muscles. Seems we need to call ourselves "farmers" so as to justify the hard work. After all, we are not just making things "pretty", we're feeding the world!

Seems as more people become involved in gardening the desire to justify the work takes hold. You cannot "just garden" anymore, or describe yourself as a "gardener". We are now "guerrilla gardeners", "guerrilla grafters", "farmers", "urban farmers", "garden ranters", "pothole gardeners", "hydroponic farmer", etc.

When you hear that "gardening" is on the "way out" you'll know different. In the past we we're all happy to follow the rules set forth by the "gardening powers to be". Now many want to make it our own. As a garden trade professional, who are you focused on? The "gardening public", or the people who will help keep the business humming? Find a market, and build your biz around that. Don't chase the masses, as you'll end up at the local box store. That's where the "gardening public" goes, and that's the last bastion of  "the gardening powers to be". It's there where they will make their final stand, and that's great. Having all that conventional garden stuff in one place helps  us smaller operations find the smaller, and more interesting niches left.

Gardening Trends

We in the garden center trade are under intense pressure by media and experts to follow trends. They say the way to success is to look at what the mass of people are doing. Selling organic products from your store is now trendy because everyone is into it. When you have Wal-mart selling organics, Scotts putting out a line of organics, and the media types all telling how organic they are you know it's a trend.

I think the trend towards organics is great! As a business person we sell lots of organics and the more people are aware of them the better sales will be. Of course the list of places where you will be buying organics will be increasing so to stay ahead of the curve we in the garden business will do like we have always done. Offer a better product, packaged more thoughtfully, and backed with better information on how to use.

The problem with following trends is everybody else is doing it. To stay ahead as an independent small garden center you have to create the trends. The hard part of that is that its lonely creating trends, and most of the time you don't know you are doing it. Sometimes you're the first to notice the very beginnings of an upcoming trend and can ride the wave. Most of the time you're just doing what makes sense to you but it takes awhile for the consumer and especially the industry to notice.

Garden centers selling organics is nothing new. John Dromgoole, owner of The Natural Gardener Nursery in Austin, TX has been involved with organic gardening for thirty years. He has been teaching and selling organics before it was trendy. You can hear him speak at the upcoming Independent Garden Center show in Chicago. He must think it's great to have so much interest now in what he has been doing for so long. Still he must wonder why there is so much excitement in the garden center industry now. Where has everyone been? The time to have gotten involved with this and reaped the greater profits was years ago. Sure there is room for the organic market to grow but the competition is getting a lot tighter. Now that Scott's and Wal-mart has recognized the importance it's going to be everywhere. We are about to be bombarded with an advertising campaign that will try to incorporate every eco-catch phrase possible. Organic, ecological, natural, eco-friendly, and earth friendly seem to be the most popular now. I think we'll be The Home of Eco-Friendly Gardening.

The secret to success as an independent is to not follow the money but rather have the money follow you. If you follow the big money it leads to large corporations who leave nothing to chance and only move a certain direction when they are very certain of a result. By the time they are certain this trend will be profitable for them the real trend setters have already moved in a different direction. The real trend setters might not know the direction they are moving. An aversion to following trends will lead them to a niche that they might enjoy for awhile, before everyone else figures it out. Real change takes place on the fringes, not in the middle.

What's the next trend going to be? I don't know. Most likely it's getting started by someone who is passionate about what they do and willing to buck the trends and set their own course. Following trends is safe but boring, bucking the trends and creating your own style is scary but ultimately more rewarding.