Free Trees?

I was lead to an article in The Washington Post after reading Claire’s post at Alameda Garden. It concerns free trees that The Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) is giving away to residents to help reduce utility costs.

Where are these trees coming from? I couldn’t find out where Sacramento is getting these trees. Are they coming from their own nursery or are they getting them from private nurseries. I, as a nurseryman trying to make a living am quite interested when I hear of quasi-government agencies giving away something I am trying to sell. Maybe they do get them from private nurseries, it just didn’t say.

The article also say’s part of the problem is “a failure to plant shade trees in new residential and commercial developments.” One of the problems with many new developments is the trees planted are often dwarf or small growing trees, so as to not become too big and a maintenance problem. “Many people just don't like trees because they are dirty," said Buscaino, the former head of the federal urban forest program.”We have a lifestyle where the last thing on people's mind is trimming their trees."

I am all for big trees and shade. I put a premium on a property with shade for the hot summers. I get worried though when utilities, counties, and other government and quasi-government agencies try to help things along with “free” stuff. These organizations don’t do any thing for free. You and I will pay for them through our taxes and utility bill. Why do they have to be free? People won’t plant them otherwise? If you educated people about the benefits of tree planting wouldn’t they see the benefit and be willing to purchase them?

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

A post at Garden Rant about home owner associations and the restrictions they impose on what can be planted on your property got me thinking. I wrote a comment on that post about how our county requires at least 50% natives be planted on new commercial landscapes. I wrote, "I have a problem with people who dictate what species and style of plants can or can not be planted. If you do a commercial landscape in The City of Placerville the requirement is 50% of the plants be natives. Not hybrids mind you, but the species! If you want to plant drought resistant Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) you can't plant Arctostaphylos "Emerald carpet" which establishes well under landscape conditions. You must plant Arctostaphylos sp., the actual native, which does not establish well under typical commercial landscape conditions."

What happens is the species are often hard to propagate so most nurseries don't grow them. They won't live well after the soil has been stripped by machinery and all the beneficial micro-organisms which allow them to live in the wild have been destroyed. The land owner, in an attempt to pacify the county plants what they want, and within a year is pulling them out and replacing them with what the land owner wanted anyway. Why can't we plant the hybrids, which are also drought resistant but establish better so the landscape will last?

Where does this fifty percent rule come from? Why not 40% or 60%? What happens when government gets involved in private property landscaping?

Those of us in California recognize the In 'N Out Burger chain. Long a southern California icon they finally opened two here in Auburn and Placerville. They are now the two most northern In 'N Out's in the state. The founder, Harry Snyder's favorite movie was "I's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", which is why many stores have the crossing palm trees in front. Remember the giant "W" in the movie, made with four crossing palm trees? The money was buried there! I can still hear Jonathan Winters saying, "It's the Big "W", I tell ya! The Big "W"!"

The county declined the palm trees be planted here, as it would put the landscape over the 50% non-native rule. A few years pass and the new manager of the store decides to put the "two palms crossing" in. They are quite distinctive and can be seen from Hwy.50.

Just last week the county told In 'N Out to take them out! So these trees which had already been planted had to be removed. The manager apologized and said it was not his intention to go against the county's wishes, just that he was unaware of the rule.

These trees take up less than 10% of the total landscape that wraps around In 'N Out, Office Max, and a Chevron station. Why make things so difficult for business owners and landscapers who want to add some pizzazz to the landscape. Why force people to plant natives, when most of the time they perform poorly in these manufactured landscapes?

It seems that the words "native plants" has taken on a power of their own. Even though it is not a good horticultural practice to plant species that will never provide the results we desire, it doesn't matter. Just give us our 50% "native" landscape, or else.

The "long tail" just got longer.

What an amazing week for really understanding the power of this new medium we are using. If any of my fellow nursery people, garden center owners, or managers don’t think blogs have value, they are hiding their heads in the sand.

Early in August Amy had a post at Garden Rant about “The Long Tail” and the implications of the internet. One implication is “small is the new big”. She say’s “Will garden bloggers push and pull the garden media and horticultural industry until it conforms to our wishes?” I don’t know if they will conform, but they had better be listening!

My post of yesterday “The Nursery Consultants are Wrong” talked about how I goggled the name of the garden center Genie at The Inadvertent Gardener had dealt with in her “Bitter Experience” post. When I Googled the name of the garden center in question yesterday up came Genie’s post, right under the garden centers own web page listing! Yikes, you want to find this nursery’s web site and up come’s a customer’s complaint, too.

Maybe the garden center would be able to let this all just blow over, if they even know its happening. I can tell you that if we saw a customer complaint when we goggled the name of our company, we would be firing off an e-mail to that customer to see what we could do to make things right.

Well the long tail just got longer! Genie has been featured in article in the Des Moines Register for her blog!

Who would have though that this lady who just started gardening, had a bitter experience at her local garden center, blogged about it, is now being featured in an article in the town paper! If the garden center hasn’t noticed her post by now, then someone who now knows about the most famous garden blog in Des Moines surely will.

What an amazing chain of events. I will be watching to see if the garden center in question ever contacts Genie. Garden bloggers, do not underestimate the power of your medium to effect change. Those in the "horticultural industry", ignore it at your own peril.

The nursery consultants are wrong!

Back in June we discussed Genie's bitter experience at her local garden center. She wrote a number of posts on her visit. I wrote that 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. A few weeks later I was interviewed by a nursery trade publication, that read the post. 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.

Well I decided to test my theory that everything has changed, and the nursery consultants are a sleep at the wheel. So I Googled the name of the garden center that Genie had her experience at. Guess what? Her post is the third entry that comes up right after the garden centers own web page! Now you can read about the garden center and a dissatisfied customers experience at the same time.

Yup, garden blogs have no relevance to garden centers!

The business of spreading cheer.

Having just read the post at Garden Rant about the lady in New York who decorates her front yard with fake flowers and Christmas trees we come to this article in The Washington Post. People are putting “giant, sprawling greeting cards on front lawns for birthdays and anniversaries.” According to the Post “This is a new way people in the suburbs talk to each other. Even though they spend more time hunkered down indoors with computers and flat-screen TVs, 21st-century suburbanites still want to communicate with their neighbors (and anyone else who happens to drive by).” With all the talk about suburban gardening and gardens we have had on this blog and others it’s interesting to see this trend and ask, what’s it all about?

Unlike the lady in New York, who I believe decorates her house the way she does to irritate the neighbors, these signs seem harmless enough and won’t be there for more than a couple of days. What I find so interesting is the statement that “this is the way people in the suburbs talk to each other.” This statement by Dawn Coolahan, who installs the signs say’s it all, ‘sure, this stuff is in your face,’ Coolahan says of the great public celebration playing out on the nation's cul-de-sacs. ‘This is what the business of spreading cheer is all about.’”

This is the state of American suburban living? Yelling, look at me, it’s my birthday, anniversary, whatever. Spreading cheer is all about "in your face", over the top, yelling at your neighbors, and if you don’t find this stuff cheerful then you just an old Scrooge. “Once upon a time, a blue ribbon tied on a mailbox was enough to announce a baby boy's arrival. Today, towering fiberglass storks plunked down in front of a house broadcast the name and weight of the latest family member”, says The Post. Back then you would see the ribbon, and stop to talk to the neighbor and get more details. Now you can put all the details on the giant sign and avoid talking to the neighbor’s altogether. I cant wait till these cards come with audio messages.

I love the last paragraph of the article, “Then there was the woman who did not appreciate the six-foot 40th-birthday card sent by her husband. It was called "Out to Pasture" and featured a chubby black-and-white cow. "I guess she was not happy about turning 40," Coolahan says. "She asked us to come and remove it right away."

Maybe it’s not about turning 40; maybe it’s about announcing it to the whole neighborhood with a tacky card. Hey hubby, tackiness is still tackiness, despite the size of the card.

Garden center magazine interview

One of the garden center trade magazines interviewed me a month ago for an upcoming article on gardening blogs. The consensus from the "garden center consultants" was that blogs were unimportant, and nothing for the industry to think about. Well, naturally I disagree and hence the reason for interviewing me. The following is the interview.

Q: Do you think independent garden centers are even aware of blogs? (I'd say the answer is no based on your recent Plant-trafficker (link no longer works) entry. If not, should they be? Why?

A: No, I think most independent garden centers are not aware of blogs, or at least garden blogs. Should they be? Yes! We are told over and over again by the same industry consultants that say blogs are irrelevant, that we need to court generations x,y,and z. Were told that they are the future of gardening. Appeal to the younger crowd. Where do you think the younger crowd is talking and getting its information? The web, chat rooms and blogs! If you want to get a pulse on the audience you are trying to reach then use the same medium they are using.

Q: Do you think garden centers should consider starting a blog? If so, what kind of content should it include?

A: Garden centers should only be willing to do a blog if they enjoy doing it. You start a relationship with the readers, and it takes time to communicate with them. If you look upon it as a chore, you won't update it regularly. Blogs need to be updated weekly or more often. The younger generation, and actually I think all generations, can sniff out phoniness and won''t tolerate a blog that seems to be pandering to them. One type of content to avoid is the sales pitch. Blogs that are nothing more than sales pitches for some new pottery that's arrived, or a plant sale they are having, in my opinion, just are not effective. That doesn't mean you shouldn't tell people about a new product that would be a benefit, just don't do it for every little thing you want to sell.

I want to tell a story about The Golden Gecko Garden Center and the life of a nurseryman. I want to read comments on my blog that I would never hear from customers in my store, customer panels, or surveys. People are much more open and less intimidated by me on their blogs than they are at the nursery, and tend to be more honest or expressive. I think people like having someone in the industry listen to them. Honest feedback from the consumer, who in business wouldn't want that?

I use my blog as a listening post as well as a way to bounce ideas off a very willing audience of gardeners. These are people who shop at nurseries all around the world, and have something to say.

Q: Do you think garden centers should start monitoring blogs to stay on top of customer perceptions or comments? A: I don't think you need to monitor blogs. Just "Google" your name or the company name and see what comes up. You may be surprised! Be aware that your customers are using the internet, including blogs.

Tina, you’re not alone!

In my last post concerning Scotts Miracle-Gro Tina commented, “Boy, do I feel GUILTY, Trey! I'm in a new subdivision (IL), and although I do a lot of the outdoor work myself, planting gardens and trees, I do have a local landscape outfit cut and fertilize, etc. every week. Not Scotts or Chemlawn though. But I am also a victim in our subdivision! Our lawn and gardens look as good as I can get them, while still working a 45-50 hour work week outside my home, but there are plenty of homeowners who simply ignore everything on the outside of their homes. (Wonder what that says about the INSIDES!) The developer's sod looks horrendous, especially since we have had little rain, the weeds are twice the height of the yukky, sparse grass. How I wish these homeowners would do ANYTHING to keep their grounds looking nice. *sigh* These people are so strung out on paying their mortgages that they have nothing left for the nurseries or even the BOX stores.”

No guilt! Younger families often have no choice but move into subdivisions that have affordable homes. It’s admirable that you feel it’s important enough to pay for garden care. 45-50 hours a week will wear you down, not much energy to garden. Many of the garden services out there are made up of hard working, well meaning people.

What’s really neat about your comment is how, just five years ago, we would have never had this conversation. Imagine its five years ago. You have just moved into one of these subdivisions and yearn, like Tina, for something more. Looking up and down the street you might not find anyone doing anything worth talking about in their gardens. You turn on HGTV and find shows that tell you with the right amount of money and throw pillows, you can do anything. Garden Magazines are not much better. None of the gardens pictured look like a garden you might want, or afford. They just don’t speak to you.

Now everything has changed with garden blogging. Tina can see real gardens, and talk to real gardeners. She is not alone! Other people have gardens that look like what she might want to have. Some people have gardens that are never “done”. They are works in progress. Some Garden bloggers are brand new to gardening, and she can share in the challenges and fun they experience.

There is great pressure to fit in with the other neighbors. Now with garden blogging you can find out how other people have dealt with the same challenges. That’s why I think garden blogging will usher in a whole new gardening renaissance. More and more people will see real gardens, and gardeners, and be inspired. This is not going to be a mass movement, but will be embraced by those on the fringes, like garden bloggers, who yearn for more. It may spread from there. We’ll see.

We garden for you, so you don't have to!

The last post on Scott’s Miracle-gro mentioned a “what if” Scott’s bought out Hines nurseries and sold plants. A comment by Lisa ofMillertime mentioned how she just “bought my gorgeous new copper window boxes from Smith and Hawken-they were the least expensive, high quality boxes on the net. I am surprised at their corporate ties, though-I had no idea.” So I went over to check out Smith and Hawken on the web. It’s a classy website with cool things for the garden, including plants. So Scott’s Miracle-gro does sell plants through its subsidiary Smith and Hawken. Check out the plants. Here is a set of three Shasta daisies “Old Court Variety”, set to arrive in 2 ½ inch pots for, $29.00, not including shipping and handling. Here is a "Dancy" Tangerine in a one gallon pot for $49! A one gallon pot! We sell one gallon citrus for $12.99!

Scott’s has positioned itself as the supplier of plants, soil amendments, fertilizer, and Scotts Lawn Service, which will also care for the rest of the garden. You don’t need to go anywhere else for garden stuff. They have it all!

Scotts not only has cheap fertilizer and soil amendments, but also the high end products of Smith and Hawken garden supplies, and Scott’s high end fertilizers and soil amendments. No wonder they had a 51% increase in profits for the third quarter.

What’s wrong with this? Nothing. Whatever they are doing the gardening audience is eating it up. It’s what drives small garden centers nuts. How do you compete with this? The picture on the top of this post could be the Scott’s team working in your garden!

Another comment by Claire at Alameda Garden suggests why Scott's saw such a big increase in profits, “Consider how many new housing developments have been built across the country. There has definitely been a housing boom, and in this country that means lots more lawns that people are feeding all those lovely chemicals. Ka-ching!”

If you look at Scott’s Lawn Care service they will provide the following: fertilization, broad leaf weed control, crabgrass prevention and annual weed control with “Halts”, “Grub ex” grub protection, insect protection, late fall feeding, continuous monitoring, core aeration, disease control, lawn seeding, and free service calls. You don’t have to do anything. These same services are available for the entire garden! What a great program for our overworked, over stressed, suburban home owners. When they bought the house it was landscaped by the developer, and now they can have Scott’s do most of the gardening, so you can concentrate on placing the throw pillows in your "outdoor room" for the next Moroccan themed party you have.

You can’t argue with this kind of success. If that many people want this service and product mix then there is nothing but growth for Scott’s. Driving through the new sub-divisions in Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rocklin, and other greater Sacramento areas you can see the results of this trend. There is something depressing to me when I drive through these sub-divisions that are empty of people between 9 and 5, front yards put in by developers, and poorly maintaind by the homeowner. That’s why they need Scott’s Lawn Care Service. Most don’t know the first thing about gardening, and really don’t want to learn. Have someone else do it.

While these trends might cause grief to a small independent garden center like us, it also spells great opportunity. It’s best not to stress over the people who won’t come into your store anyway. We need to address the needs of people who find this type of “gardening” a bit shallow. It’s not a big group, but it could be a very loyal group. Most garden bloggers are in this group, which is why I am so interseted in what you are all saying.

Scott’s not feelng the pain

Right after finding out that Hines Nurseries profits dropped 12% for the second quarter we find, according to Nursery retailer Magazine, Scotts Miracle-gro Company “posted a record 51 percent hike in profits for the third quarter, crediting the jump to strong sales in North America and in its lawn service division. Net income increased to $133.3 million from $88.5 million a year earlier. North American consumer purchases at its largest retail accounts improved 10 percent from last year, led by a 28 percent increase in lawn fertilizer purchases and a 24 percent increase in garden soil sales. The plant food increase was driven by the launch of Miracle-Gro LiquaFeed, with year-to-date sales of more than $35 million. The company says it is the most successful new product launch in its 138-year history.”

How is it that Hines and Scotts, two of America’s largest garden companies could have two such different results during the same period?

I don’t have a definitive answer, but an educated guess. I know that at The Home Depot wholesale nurseries are not paid until The Depot sells the plants at retail. Hines drops huge numbers of plants at The Depot for spring. Here in California it rained until May, causing spring sales to drop. If the plants don’t sell then Hines has to pick up the plants and ship new ones once the season finally get’s going.

Scott’s products are packaged and not subject to the same problems that plants have in a box store environment. I don’t know if Scott’s has to guarantee sales to The Depot like the wholesale nurseries do. Shelf life for Scott’s products is a lot longer than plants, too.

Scott’s is also much more diversified than Hines. Hines sells plants; Scott’s owns Miracle-gro, Osmacote, Ortho, Round-up, Smith and Hawken, and Scott’s lawn services. When you are this diversified it’s easier to smooth out the ups and downs.

In the long run companies like Scott’s actually reduce the choices to consumers. While they will tell you they are coming out with new products to increase your choices, I can’t imagine that Smith and Hawken is the same store that Paul Hawken built and then sold. You can look the same on the outside but once corporate gets a hold of it the culture changes.

How will Hines deal with the downturn? Cut costs? Sell out to Scott's? How will that affect plant choice and quality? We’ll see. While stores like Wall Mart and Home Depot will say they are keeping prices down for the consumer they may be actually be reducing your choices in the mean time. Imagine, "Scott's Miracle-gro Hines nursery division"

It’s the Homogenization of Gardening

"Significant pricing pressures"

Word has it that Hines Nurseries, one of the nations largest wholesale nurseries, didn’t have such a good year. According to Nursery Retailer Magazine, “Hines Horticulture is selling its color nurseries in the Northeast, four facilities total, plus certain assets in Miami. The company made the announcement as it released its second quarter results, which fell 12.4 percent from second quarter last year to $154.9 million. Net sales for the six-month period ended June 30 were $211.8 million, down 12.1 percent from net sales for the same period last year. ‘Delayed product availability as a result of rain in Northern California, poor product sell-through at our customers’ stores in the Southeast and lost market share throughout the Eastern Region all contributed to the sales decline in the second quarter compared to a year ago,’ says Rob Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer. ‘Despite our efforts, our market share in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast has continued to deteriorate. More intense competition, significant pricing pressures and customer consolidations have all contributed to the decline in net sales in these regions.’ In March, Hines sold 168 acres in Vacaville, CA, for approximately $16.9 million.” That Vacaville property is about 60 miles from here.

We don’t have too much sympathy for Hines. We don’t buy from them as they are thick in the box stores. I find the statement “…significant pricing pressures…” interesting. Could this be that the boxes are squeezing the wholesale nursery trade? I know that at Home Depot, vendors like Hines, don’t get paid until the product is sold at the retail level. If the plants remain unsold for any reason, Home Depot does not pay. Considering the care plants receive at my local Home Depot I am not surprised that there are many unsold plants. I wouldn't get the same treatment from Hines or any of my vendors. I have to pay, and then do my best to sell them.

Hines, Color Spot, and other nurseries that have sold their souls to the chains are going to see further “significant price pressures” as we move forward. I predict that some of these wholesale vendors are going to be sniffing around independent garden centers to see if they can pick up some business. It will never be enough to make up for the losses, but desperation breeds strange bedfellows. We pay before we sell the plants, and do a much better job keeping the plants looking better. Hines is going to find out that better independents have forged bonds with their suppliers, who didn’t sell out to the chains.

Creekside Festival Roundup

The Creekside festival went way better than we expected. Having only advertised the event to our mailing list customers we didn’t know what to expect. Just after 6:00 pm they started arriving and didn’t stop till it was over at 9:00. We will definitely make this an annual affair. Here is Sundae the cat greeting people. We have four cats who follow you around the nursery.


Here is Kristiana and Denise pouring wine for David Girard Vineyards. Kristiana is an artist who lives in a Silver Stream Trailer she has remodeld. Her business is Silver Trailer . Denise is our web master. Her business, River Coyote Designs built our web page and e-newsletter. Thanks to both for helping out.

This is Woodsong Herb Pharm, run by our friends Steve and Julie Baldwin.

White Bear Studio is run by Mark and Barbara Noack. It was also Mark's Birthday which added to the celebratory mood.

Our friend Julie manning the front gate and enjoying it! Local wine was the common theme tonight.

A truck loaded and ready to roll! The owner was proud that it had lichen growing on the metal. He said he was "lichen his truck more and more." We had a sale where everything in the nursery was 25% off! We managed to clear out lots of plants that we don't want to have to over winter. People loved it.

Monica managed to pull me from the wine glass long enough to help write up some customers. I would check the receipt later if I were them.

The next day we hosted 70 El Dorado County Master Gardeners for their annual picnic!

It was a great weekend! Now we have some time to recover as our next big event is the Fall Festival in October.

"Creekside Festival"

Tonight is our first “Creekside Festival”. We are going to close the nursery then re-open from 6:00 to 9:00pm. We live at the nursery, and enjoy the garden almost every night and wanted to share this with our friends and customers. We have pathway lights spaced every so often, and have been wrapping white and some blue lights up the big oaks and alders. I most like the “torches” that have been placed under the oaks. Gives it a surreal look, which is what we wanted.

White Bear studios will be showing off their pottery, Woodsong Herb Pharm will be here, and
David Girard Vineyards will be pouring. We are having a sale, too.

It seems rarely do you get a chance to go through public gardens or nurseries at night. The garden takes on a whole different feel, and with the proper use of light you can create some real interesting effects. I like trying to create a sense of mystery and adventure, so the torches should do the trick.

If this turns out as nice as we hope, we will do it every year. We may even have a night event every month in the summer! It’s so hot here during the summer days. There are two or three other wineries in the area, an olive oil producer, and more local artists that could come.

Then on top of this, tomorrow afternoon we are hosting the El Dorado County Master Gardeners for their annual picnic. This is the second year in a row they have been here. It’s neat that the meeting area under the oaks is starting to be used more and more. Garden Clubs, Sacramento Model T club (of which I have pictures, and will post later), Sacramento Porsche Club (more pictures), Coloma-Lotus Chamber, and our local quilt club, have all met here.

I know it will turn out great because our one helper from high school has called in and said he can’t make it this weekend. It never fails that when we put some special event together someone calls in sick. The events usually turn out alright though, so it must be an omen.

I'll try to take some pictures. My skill of holding a camera and wine glass will be tested, since when I set it down it usually falls over, spilling it's precious contents. Gardening While Intoxicated say’s “For me, the big decision is to flick out the little bugs or just drink them. It depends on my mood.”

Little bugs?

Commenting on comments.

Great post at This Garden Is Illegal about leaving comments. She lists some of the reasons she has not commented before. Being relatively new to blogging it was an interesting read for me. I have to admit not having commented enough on other people’s blogs, even if it’s just to say, “Great post”.

I write because it allows me an avenue to express myself. Comments are welcome, but not necessary. That being said, I think most bloggers are pleased when people take the time to comment. It’s nice to know that people are looking, and being moved to leave a comment, good or bad.

As I wrote in Hannah’s comment section “I sometimes don’t comment because of the opposite of # 2. I don’t want to be a busy body nurseryperson. Bloggers are having fun talking to one another, and the last thing needed is an ‘expert’ jumping in with his solution. That being said, occasionally I do see a post where people are asking for advice. So I submit it, and everything is fine. Just like at the nursery when we offer advice somtimes we never hear back from the customer how things worked out. The solution was made, and they move on to the next project. After all that’s our business. When people do come back and say the advice was helpful, it is a real pleasure to know you helped. It’s the same thing with blogs. The vast majority of the time bloggers do answer back, but every so often they don’t. Could be they are to busy, or any number of reasons.

Most bloggers enjoy it when people comment on past posts. Sometimes I get a comment on something I posted earlier, and it’s nice to know someone went through the archives and found something worth commenting on.

Now that I have read Hannah’s post, and the comments she received, I plan on commenting more, even if it’s just a quick “found your post interesting”.

It’s Susie Coelho from "Outer Space(s)"

Is Susie Coelho from outer space? (No, just Southern California)

Latest issue of  Garden Chic, the art of niche retailing arrived. This is a new publication for garden centers and nurseries. (That's the last issues cover.) They have a section called Celeb View which is billed as unique perspectives from influential style setters.

I don't watch much HGTV so I have missed out on Susie's show, Surprise Gardener and " Outer Spaces". I do see she got a mention in Garden Rant. I did read the whole article, since we are told she is an important person I need to know about to better improve my business.

Her statement that she is one of the few, and probably the most prominent, lifestyle experts in the country, in terms of outdoor living got my attention. She continues "I was one of the few on the air, at the time that covered outdoor rooms. Oh, oh there are those words again, outdoor rooms. Now I just read in Garden Rant "outdoor rooms"is a term well over twenty years old. I understand that Henry Mitchell said "Some mischief has been done, probably, by calling the garden an 'outdoor living room,' as if any living room in the world had such wonderful things in it as a garden has."

Garden Chic asks Susie, as the outdoor room becomes more popular, do you think Americans are going to get use to changing out accessories? Susie answers, across the country, Americans have to get used to the way Californians live. It's because we are outside all the time. A lot of times, we will bring things in. If you want to live that stylish life, it takes a little effort. When it rains, we just dash out and take the decorative pillows off so they don't get drenched. Most are outdoor-rated anyway, but why not keep them nicer? It's the same as people who put their cars in the garage if it's raining or snowing."

Do you get it? You had better start living like Californians if you want to be stylish. Newsflash! We don't have a garage to put our car in, we don't have decorative pillows outside, and I would sure as heck forget to run out and pick them up when it's raining. If you lived in any other state wouldn't you feel a little insulted? I live in Northern California and I am insulted.

She is popular with the stylish crowd that thinks, in her words, you can go to the home improvement stores and buy 4-foot pavers, and, as long as you can lay them on sand with no grout. Fill them with crushed granite, and you have yourself a patio. Don't forget the throw pillows!

What is so infuriating is that Garden Chic magazine bills it self as the art of niche retailing, and then throws this main stream lifestyle expert at us as someone to look to for advice. If garden centers are going to niche themselves, shouldn't we be looking to someone a little less main stream, and a lot less annoying. I'll take garden bloggers any day over her.

Anyway I have to keep reading as there is an article on Garden Antiques and how some garden centers are selling them in their stores. Ed Pasquesi, owner of Pasquesi Home and Garden in Lake Bluff, IL. says I might get a $30,000 length of iron fence work that's really spectacular. I'd bring it in on consignment, and I'd be satisfied to make $5000. If we sell it, fine, and if we don't fine. But I like having those items in the shop because it puts us on a different level. Yea, I'd be satisfied.

Survival of the Independent Garden Center

Over at Garden Rant its mentioned that 70% of all lawn & garden sales are made at Home Depot, Lowes, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart. That leaves 30% of garden sales to be split between on-line internet sales and your local independent garden center.

This really shouldn’t surprise us. The future of retailing is being mapped out as we speak. Look at the landscapes on any new suburban street, and you can tell where people are getting their plants and garden supplies. Lawn, three birch trees, a row of Escallonia fradesi, and you’re done! Cheap, convenient, and 'good enough', are what fuels these businesses.

No sense crying about the facts of the market place. If you want to run a garden center you had better figure out quick how you are going to survive. Make no doubt about it, its survival were talking about. We just lost one garden center in Placerville, about 12 miles from here. It had been in business for over 20 years! The new Home Depot that opened up a block away from this center is doing just fine. You are going to see more and more smaller garden centers going under.

Before we cry for these garden centers we should realize that for the most part they killed themselves. It’s easy to blame Home Depot for their problems.

What are we going to do about this? First thing is to realize that the 70% of lawn and garden sales that are going to Home Depot are going to stay there. Your not going to peal off too many of these people to shop at your store. They like shopping at the chains! It’s convenient, open into the night, cheap plants that are ‘good enough’, etc.

Let those people go! Don’t even try to get them to come to your store. It’s time for independent garden centers to differentiate them selves and focus their attention on the 30% of customers that don’t shop at the chains. I have a feeling that the percentage of people that might shop at independents is even smaller than 30%. You will have an audience of 10 to 15% of the gardeners out there.

How do we get the attention of that 10% of gardeners that would be receptive to our offerings? I have some ideas, but my watering person just called and said he can’t make it today, Saturday. Monica and I have to get some watering done before we open. Ah, the life of a nurseryperson. We’ll come back to this.