Spring Nursery Report

August is often the slowest time, excluding winter, in the nursery. It’s when we sit back and try to figure out what worked and what didn’t this year. Let’s sit in these chairs in the shade and discuss the nursery year so far. Let’s look at the weather this post.

The weather is the all important dictator of sales. This year it rained, about 80 inches, all the way through April. Reminder, our rainy season is from November to March. No rain in summer! Unlike last year where it rained right through May, we at least had a dry May to help out this year. Did you know garden centers make over half the money for the year in a three month period? March, April, and May are the key months. If it rains excessively any of those months you will never be able to make it up. Most of California experienced the prolonged spring rains; therefore I would be surprised to hear of any nurseries having a great sales year. Two excessively rainy springs in a row now. This winter we will see some of the financially weaker centers closing down.

Not much we can do about the weather. Most garden centers try to have a full allotment of plants for the three months of spring sales. So you might imagine it’s tough to watch your center full of beautiful plants just sitting there weekend after weekend getting drenched. It’s amazingly discouraging, since the bills come no matter what the weather. Now I have heard rumors that in the Pacific Northwest, where rain is part of the lifestyle, people go to garden centers and shop even in the rain. We’ll, here in California the public wants dry weather to shop. The busy season ends as soon as school gets out in June. No mater how nice the weather, once school is out it's vacation time, and gardening drops in importance.

All in all, this years spring weather could have been a lot better for sales, but was not as bad as the year before.

I am going to look over what type of plants we want to increase in numbers next year, and which we are going to drop or reduce. I have something to say about roses!

Air mailed plants, the sequel.

Here are the plants being packaged up for their helicopter ride to the high country ( see post below). They will have to close the lids of the boxes, so the plants will have to be stacked inside the boxes.

I thought at first this was for a photo shoot for the Jeepers Jamboree. Turns out it’s for the ad campaign of Jeeps new 2007 JK Wrangler. They have three helicopters bringing supplies from Tahoe and Georgetown. It’s a major production! Somewhere in this whole production the flowers will go.

They film movies and ads in this area on a somewhat regular basis. It’s usually because of the natural beauty, Sierras, rivers, or the history, with the old gold rush towns here.

There they go! Maybe we will see the flowers in a television commercial, or in a magazine. I’ll keep my eyes peeled. As for the fate of the flowers, we can only hope that someone involved in this production will remember that they need a little attention.

First tomato and air mailed plants.

We finally picked our first tomato! I was a bit disappointed how late the tomatoes we’re coming, until I read that May Dreams Gardens was just starting to harvest her tomatoes. So I don’t feel too bad, and it’s the price we pay for living in the mountains. It’s an 'Early Girl'. We also have planted Lemon Boy, Isis Candy, and Tangerine. They are planted in the raised bed we made at one of our workshops, way back in April. Workshop. The harvester is my grand-daughter Savannah.
She ate the tomato.

Yesterday we had an interesting request. We are just five miles from Georgetown, which is the starting point for the Jeepers Jamboree. This event has been going on for fifty years plus, and is considered the “granddaddy" of all off-road events. They start in Georgetown and drive the “back way” all the way to Lake Tahoe!

There is going to be a photo shoot at the Rubicon Springs Campground, and we were contacted to supply plants and containers to the site to dress it up. No way to drive the plants there,
so they are going to fly the plants in via helicopter! These will be our first “air mailed plants”.

Monica picked out two cartloads of flowers to fill the containers.

They will fly the plants, containers, and potting soil in, and plant them there. If I can get some pictures of the photo shoot, I will post them.

Blogs and business

A post at Garden Rant led me to The Washington Post article on blogging called "Barging into the Bloggers' Circle". Since I am a businessman, and blogger, it is an interesting read.

The nature of blogs is there are good ones, and bad ones. More and more business will try using blogs to reach their audience. Some will do this because they enjoy doing it, and really want feedback from their readers, or are trying to reach a specific audience. Others will try it as just another marketing campaign, with little or no place for comments from the readers.

Just like anything new, everyone will try the medium to see if it can affect sales, or to appear hip. The ones that really enjoy it as a way to express themselves, create two-way communication with their readers, or to reach an audience that conventional media is failing to reach will have success. You can just smell businesses that are using them as a sales tool. Most bloggers will sniff out these phonies, and find the blogs that really speak to them.

It’s the Wild West out in blog land. The blogs that will really be successful are the one that the readers have learned to trust. Trust is what will spread the word through the blogosphere, benefiting honest businesses, and toasting the phonies.

Tool Of The Trade

Inspired by May Dreams Gardens most recent post on “Sharp Gardening Tools” I decided to take a good look at the shears I use day in and day out. They are Felco #8 and I have had these so long now I don’t remember when I opened the package. The scabbard that holds them to my belt is older, as demonstrated in the picture, by placing it next to a new scabbard. I have replaced the blade and spring countless times, which is the beauty of Felco’s. They have parts that can be replaced!

The scabbard has acquired, with age, an almost magical ability to draw the shears to it.

Saying no to homogenized gardening.

Great post at Garden Rant about a possible upswing in gardening. I think Mr. Ball in The Washington Post article hit's it right on the head. I never could understand why gardening was thought to be in a decline. Like so many things, it goes in cycles, and I can't believe that entire generations would not feel the pull of working with plants. The idea that younger generations are not interested in gardening just dose not jive with what we see here at our garden center. We have younger, 20 something's, quite interested in gardening. Many seem to be interested in organic gardening since they have young children who they want to feed fresh vegetables and fruits. They are also interested in ornamental gardening, but not the suburban sameness that oozes from most new developments, but a unique garden that expresses their outlook on life. Many are completely bored, like I am, with the packaged, homogenized, garden center experience that is found at the home stores. Now that doesn't mean there are not lots of them that go to places like that, but the ones coming into my store do not. They want to be recognized as individuals, with a unique outlook, not following trends.

20th century advice for the 21’st century.

I thought we had made headway when I was interviewed by a trade magazine about blogs and their importance, or lack of, with garden centers.

Looking at an internet site put on by the same people who publish the magazine, I was excited to see an article with this teaser, "Consider this: You now have ways to communicate with your customers that will boggle the mind ... at least until next year, when the new ways will render the current mind-boggling ways obsolete. That's how it is with technology, and, as we noted last month, it's a challenge you must address to stay competitive". I could'nt wait to see the article, since I thought that maybe some up to date advice for small and medium sized garden centers was forthcoming.

Do you know what the cutting edge is according to the magazine? Watch more television! Yes, the answer for garden center owners is to watch the Saturday morning garden shows and be ready when the customer comes in filled with ideas. This way I can respond knowledgeably about what "so and so" said, and offer products that tie into that shows ideas. We are supposed to be able to speak to customers, as the article continues in their "native tongue that being the dialect of the six or seven garden shows that she watches. This way I will be able to respond when "your customer will be coming in talking about 'this great idea I just saw on television', you will have a jump on the competition when you can say, 'yeah, and we have (fill in the blank) that will make it work for you.'"

This is well meaning advice, if just a little dated. I don't know about other garden center owners, but I do not have customers coming in talking about these shows. If they are watching them, they are not saying anything. I have a feeling that the local Home Depot probably gets the majority of these kinds of customers, since they sponsor, along with the other mass merchants, most of these shows.

My impression with this advice is, while it's not unwise to keep an eye on the garden shows, it's foolish to watch them all. Some are boring, others are marketing tools for the sponsors, and others are not about our unique region. These shows are aimed at a mass audience in the middle, the middle the mass merchants own. I believe as an independent garden center you need to reach the edges. People who might watch one or two of these shows, but are looking for something other than the mass appeal these shows have. The only hope for the independents is to be aware of mass media, and then figure out how to circumvent it with your own targeted media, to get you message out. Why would I want to emulate the mass media/merchants when they already own that turf, and I couldn't possibly compete. I need to get my unique message out to the customers who will respond, and watching television is not going to do it.

Finally this gem from the magazine. "Even if you have a regular e-mail system in the works or a state-of-the-art Web site that shouts, 'my garden center is on top of it, technologically 'there's still no substitute for knowing your customer. She'll let you know what she' s thinking every time she sets foot in the store" (or on her blog!)

Small and medium size garden centers are fighting for a small piece of the gardening pie, and the advice we get is watch Saturday morning television to get to know our customers better. Yikes!

The Lotus Position

Carol at May Dreams Gardens had a post titled “One Container: One Plant”, where she mentions that sometimes just one plant in a pot can make a statement. We have this Lotus plant which we have always thought makes a cool container plant all by it’s self. If you have never seen Lotus bloom it’s something else, spectacular. I will post pictures when it does. It’s in a container that we sunk into the wine barrel, which is full of water. I do put a water hyacinth or two in the water with it to help keep the water clean. Biological “Mosquito Dunk’s” keep those pests under control.

This is Sha′, she is the driver for ‘Blooms of Glen Ellen’, one of our bedding plant suppliers. Recently when we needed bedding plants and had missed the cutoff time she volunteered to extend her driving time, and make sure we got our flowers for the weekend. It’s people like her that make small nurseries happen. Thanks Sha′.

She has a collection of hats, and you never know what she will show up in.

"The Heimlick Manure"

It's Saturday, and time to check out the garden sections of local newspapers. I happened on The San Jose Mercury News garden section .

They published a list of 10 new products for the garden, and their reviews. One that stood out wasThe Heimlick Manure .
Here is what the Mercury said "Perks up plants in distress. Amuses serious gardeners but may give hope to those with black thumbs. `Garden, home or office, the Heimlick Manure saves lives,' crows its promoter, San Franciscan David Neumann, on his amusing Web site, http://www.sayplay.com/.

The Mercury continues "At $9.95 for 16 ounces (includes shipping), this would make a funny gag gift for a gardener, but not a serious item to stock in your shed. You could buy a whole bag of organic compost at SaveMart for $1.99, add some steer manure and mix it up yourself. Of course, it wouldn't be in the cute bag with the even cuter name. Neumann also sells T-shirts that tell the 'story' of the Heimlick Manure ($19.50 for short sleeve or $29.50 for long sleeve).

This is just like "Poo-pets" that were so popular about ten years ago. Cow manure shaped into different animal shapes, frog, duck, cow, etc. We couldn't keep them in stock, people thought they were so "cute".

Would you sell this, or products like this, in your garden center? Is this a rip off, or a fun product that deserves it's day in the sun, or both?

The nursery industry and blogging.

A nursery trade publication contacted me about the relevance of blogs to nurseries and garden centers. They had been researching the subject, and happened across my earlier post "Plant Trafficker". They had some questions about whether the nursery trade should be interested in blogs. According to them, the consensus amongst most nursery consultants was there is no relevance, and no reason for nurseries to be interested in blogging, or bloggers.

The good news is that the magazine is interested and took the time to check out some blogs. I receive this magazine and will let you know how it comes out.

The bad news is that the very nursery consultants that tell us gardening is changing, that there are not enough new gardeners emerging from generation x,y,and z, and that we had better change too, if we are to survive, are so unaware of the importance of blogging on our culture.

Genie has a post about an unfortunate incident she had with United Airlines. Imagine if she was so upset that she started a blog called “why I dislike United Airlines.com”, and invited others to post their own unfortunate incidents with United Airlines. Shouldn’t the airline be concerned about the fact that when you Goggle their name this web site might come up?

I am not suggesting that garden centers or related industries start monitoring blogs for negative press, but instead engage the gardening public using the medium. I realize most garden centers have a hard enough time keeping up with everything there is to do. I most likely spend way too much time blogging, but I enjoy it, and why not do what you enjoy?

Finding Mr. Flowerdew?

Just finished reading a post by alamedagarden about a man named Bob Flowerdew. Mr. Flowerdew is a popular garden celebrity on the BBC in Great Britain. He is "the garden guy", as the Washington post say's. "'Gardeners' Question Time' has an audience of 2 million in a country of 60 million. To translate that kind of audience to the U.S. (with a population of 299 million), a gardening guru would have to have an audience of 10 million. According to USA Today, that would be equal to the audience of last week's #2 top-rated broadcast TV show, 'So You Think You Can Dance'".

The article is a fun read as Mr. Flowerdew is a very interesting man. Claire's post laments the fact that we here in the U.S.A. don't have a Mr. Flowerdew and that if there was an American Flowerdew--someone knowledgeable, funny, charismatic, and (it goes without saying) organic--that he could be the pied piper to seduce more of us into taking up the shovel and rake? That he (or she, of course) could actually grow the audience"?

However, further in the article by The Post comes the reason why I don't think one person in The United States will be able to have the influence Mr. Flowerdew does in Britain. The Post says "The notion that Britain is gardening mad is absolutely true, of course." It continues, "In the uncertainty of postmodern, multicultural and rather godless Britain, gardening is not just a shared hobby. 'Gardening is one of the few things holding British society together,' said Sir Roy Strong, historian and former longtime director of the Victoria and Albert Museum".

We just do not have the gardening heritage that a place like Great Britain has. The United States, being a place made up of so many different types of people and cultures just wouldn't get behind one person that way. Not to say that we too are facing our own challenging times, and could use the common connection that gardening has on the psyche of The British.

I believe the reason we are hearing about a decline in gardening is that mass gardening media, and the larger horticultural concerns, have a vested interest in keeping  "gardeners" in their market share. When people refuse to call themselves gardeners, this is of great concern to them. They have spent millions to get the audience they have, and to hear it may be declining is cause for worry. I believe it's more a case of semantics. People may not call themselves gardeners, but will work feverishly to complete that "outdoor room", as the magazines now call gardens. Most people like many recreational activities, and while gardening may be one of them, they may not think of themselves as "gardeners". Lot's of folks just don't want to be labeled, or seem one-dimensional.

Here is my premise. We already have our own Mr. Flowerdew. It's us! People like Claire and other garden bloggers, and readers, are our version of Mr. Flowerdew. Instead of learning from one man on the television screen, we are learning from hundreds and soon to be thousands of people blogging. Why watch another boring garden show on HGTV with a paid celebrity when we can share with so many others, ideas that are so far ahead of anything we are seeing in mass garden media.

I believe we are witnessing what will be a renaissance in gardening, or what ever it's called. With the power of The Internet you have the potential to reach hundreds, if not thousands of like minded gardeners with your passion. As more and more people find out about garden bloggers writing and sharing their gardens, and garden ideas, they will want to take part. When you live off the beaten path where no one can see your garden you often wish you could share it with people. Now you can. Sometimes you get a following of people who are really interested in how that tomato is doing, or your experiences at the garden center. When you do you will become even more enthused about your garden and gardening because you don't want to let your "fans" down. Talk about your beautiful plant, but don't show pictures and they will let you know.

We are only at the beginning of this renaissance and it may not be noticeable to many. Just like bloggers who are a big part of why the big news networks are loosing market share, I feel the same thing will happen in gardening. I could be wrong, but for me it has become more important to check out whats going on in the blogosphere than read a garden magazine, or watch the television. I still read the magazines and sometimes watch the television shows, but the internet is where I get the real "dirt".

Going Native?

Native Redbud (Cercis occidentalis)

Two posts at Gardening 4 Dummies and
Gardening While Intoxicated got me to thinking about the use of natives.

While it might be fun to go native, you have to ask, how native? Here, a purist would only use natives to El Dorado County, on the west slope of The Sierra Nevada Mountains. Wait; are they on an outcrop of serpentine, or granite, or red clay? Very different species grow in these three soil types, all in El Dorado County.

Going completely native might be a fun horticultural pursuit, but I feel that you have to broaden your horizons to create a "garden." People here seem to use the word "native" to describe any plant from California. Considering our state has some of the most diverse climatic regions of any area, I don't see how a native plant from southern California, on the coast, fits our region, as a native.

Non-Native Grevillea "Penola".

So, it's really a case of semantics. What does native mean? Lets leave that to the purists. I think if you are trying to save water, or maintenance time, you are better off planting a xeriscape garden. There is a wealth of plants from other Mediterranean climates that use low water and require minimal maintenance. Many plants from Australia, South Africa, The Mediterranean region, or Chile meet these requirements.

A true "native" "garden' is difficult to come by, but by mixing natives and other xeriscape plants together, you can create a more satifiying effect, while still conserving time and water.

Confusing Nursery Jargon

In my last post "Plant Trafficker" we discussed Genie's Extreme-Plant-Bitterness at her local garden center. I received a comment from Old Roses where she said "My girlfriend planted some containers this year. These were here first forays into gardening. She thought "annuals" was the name of the flowers (petunias) that she had bought because that's how they were labeled at the nursery!"

I had mentioned in my post how in the horticultural trade we call can sizes by gallons. Such as "a one gallon lantana" or "5 gallon size birch". If you had actually measured how much these cans hold in volume it doesn't "measure up". Why do we call them by "gallons"? A typical "5 gallon" pot does not hold 5 gallons of fluid. I am going to do some research about that.

What got me thinking is how we have terms in the horticulture field that could confuse someone just starting out in gardening. Actually some of the terms confuse people who have been gardening for years.

I am interested in this as it relates directly to Genie's "bitter experience" at her local garden center. She relates this conversation with the "Plant trafficker"(Nursery person).

"What size containers do you want? Melody asked, poised to enter many numbers into the cash register.

You know, I have no idea, I said. What do you have?

Three gallon, five gallon, seven gallon, even bigger. It depends on what you want.

I blinked back tears. Really. At this point, I just wanted to go back and hide in the car. OK, I need to explain to you that I do not know what I'm doing with gardening, and I do not have any idea what those sizes mean in context of a tomato plant.

The bigger the pot, the better! boomed an effusive man who I've seen at this garden center before. I don't know if he manages it or just works there, but he's no shrinking violet.

Well, we're trying to transplant, I said, as if that would make a difference.

Whiskey barrels! he boomed. That's what I would do!

What does that mean? I asked. I drink whiskey out of liter bottles, not barrels. I was a woman without context."

I feel you pain Genie! What's great about your post is I had never heard this experience related by a customer. This is "pure gold" and will change some of my thinking at the garden center.

I am asking you, dear blog readers, about any experiences you have had that relate to unusual jargon at the garden center or in your everyday gardening experience.

"The Plant Trafficker"

Over at the Inadvertent gardener Genie is telling the story of her "bitter" experience at the local garden center. She has even coined a phrase I have never heard, "plant trafficker', her phrase for a garden center employee. I keep thinking of a song I would call "Plant trafficker", perhaps to the tune of "Smuggler Blues"by the Eagles. If I were the owner of the nursery in question I would be reading her post. The problem for the garden center owners is they probably don't even know this conversation is going on. We are only at the beginning of this "blog revolution" that will change the gardening world. If you don't "get online", you'll miss out.

I believe more and people will tell the stories of their garden shopping experiences, for better or worse. If your a garden center owner, landscaper, designer, etc., you had better hope you are giving the customer your best, or the world will hear of it! You don't think a lot of people at the local level are reading this stuff? Think again. Just because folks don't interact on the blogs does not mean they are not reading them.

The garden center in question, has a web presence, but not in the blog world. If they did they could address the concerns of Genie. Explain their side, and talk about what they could do to prevent this type of negative experience.

Genie's complaints at first got my "plant trafficker"defenses up. We in the garden center business forget that we are talking about stuff that some people have never had experience with. We use jargon that we think everybody knows about. Buy a 4" annual? Is that how big the plant grows or the container size? What's an annual? What's a perennial? Buy somthing in a five gallon can? The can dosen't hold five gallons, why are we calling it that

Why should I be defensive? This is such a great opportunity to ask myself if I would, and I hope I would, have responded differently to her requests at the garden center. It reminds me that the most important thing I can do is Listen. Not talk over my customers experience level, assuming I know what they want. Meanwhile there is talk of a new gardening magazine. Over at Rant they want to start a magazine for gardening that is modled after "Wired" magazine. Amy say's "Look at Wired magazine. It's a magazine about computers and technology, right? But you'll never read "Customize Your Browser Toolbar in Five Easy Steps" or "Weekend Project: Upgrade Your Hard Drive." No, it's a magazine about the wider world of technology--about people and ideas and news and business and politics and, yes, a little about software and hardware. And even if you're not a geek, you still interact with technology somehow, and for that reason it makes for fascinating reading. Why? Because the magazine has style. It has opinions. It has attitude. Imagine a Wired magazine for gardeners. "

These are heady days. My blog was "elevated" to Blog Of The Week over at Gardening 4 Dummies. Thanks, Stuart.

And if you don't think that the gardening world is changing we have Angela calling for a "Revolution".

The revolution is happening before our very eyes! I don't doubt for a minute that these blogs will change the way we view gardening and the garden industry for the better. I know it has captured my interest. We'll see how long it takes my friends in the trade to notice.

Gardens Illustrated Nursery Booklet

In an post at Garden Rant

titled "Why British Gardening magazines Are So Superior To Our Own", Amy lists the reasons why she likes them. We'll, after I read that I went out and picked up the June issue and was pleased to see a small booklet attached to the magazine titled "Plant Nurseries, Gardens Illustrated Directory." Editor Juliet Roberts says "Britain is fortunate to have a remarkable heritage of nurserymen and plant collectors and many of the nurseries included are traditional, family-run businesses handed down from one generation to the next." She also said " Narrowing down the selection (of nurseries) to fit the given space was an extremely difficult task and I apologise to the many places that we've omitted."

I assume, then, that you could not buy your way into this booklet. I love it! It looks like the little guys are given their fair share. The booklet is small enough to fit in your pocket and has maps. I know Great Britain is a small country, about the size of California, but it seems that our regional magazines, like "Sunset", could come up with something like this.

I guess what I like about the English gardening magazines, and this is the only one I am familiar with, is the respect they show to the nursery professional. Juliet says, "Many of these businesses are small, specialist and far flung and to ensure we don't loose them we must use them."

I also like the idea that they usually feature a nursery or two in the magazine, and talk to the owners to get their views. This issue, June, they talk to the owners of Pennard Plants Nursery in Somerset. One of the owners, Chris Smith said that Pennard Plants was intended to offer a gentler pace of life, after high-pressure careers in the garden center trade. They wanted to sell interesting plants to interested people. These are a couple of nurserymen after my own heart.

I do know that the English are "obsessive" about their gardens, but it would be nice to see more articles in our own magazines about interesting nurseries and the people who run them. Not that I am biased.