Save a tree from what?

Around this time every year someone comes out and says “save a tree” and buy an artificial Christmas tree. I guess these people imagine folks going through the woods chopping trees down wily nilly as Bambi and friends scurry away in fear.

These ideas are usually forwarded by people divorced from the realities of the natural and agricultural world. The places where these trees are grown are farms. We live in the mountains where Christmas tree farms abound and can assure you the farms are not destroying the environment, rather its one way to make the farm profitable and prevet the spread of urbanization into the foothills and mountains.

So where does this “save a tree” concerning Christmas trees thinking come from? I have been hearing this since the 70's and it so “played.” Don't get me wrong, there are many trees that do need to be saved, just not Christmas trees which are a crop like carrots or soy beans, which are replanted every year.

I have no opinion on weather a living Christmas tree, cut Christmas tree, or artificial Christmas tree is a better choice. I see no harm in any of them. So let's quit picking on Christmas tree growers who have many of the same concerns as the rest of us in agriculture, one of which is a consumer so removed from the natural world that decisions are made based on poor information.

The author of the post mentioned above claims " in support of our country’s effort to go GREEN, I would like to dedicate this post to the wonders of “Indoor Artificial Christmas Trees !!!" My suggestion is to help the country go green by supporting your local Christmas tree growers who's farms are suppling needed oxygen and green space rather than increased urbanization.

Tough times for nurseries in Georgia

According to Open Register Pike Family Nurseries is filing for Bankruptcy Chapter 11. This is no small deal as it consists of 20 retail outlets scattered about Atlanta. Pikes is the largest independent retail chain in The United States with over 700 employees. Having been founded in the late 1950's it as well as other nurseries are feeling the effects of the historic drought plaguing the area. I have been through this before here in Nor Cal and the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming. Every nursery should look at this and ask themselves what they would do in the same situation. I am not sure what those nurseries could do in Georgia but we should at least ask the question.

One thing Pike Family Nursery should do is address this via their web site. I know its not a pleasant thing to talk about but it would be better if they air this stuff in the open and explain what they plan to do to come out of bankruptcy.

Here in California the next drought is always right around the corner. We haven't had a major drought in over ten years, we're due. Just not next year, please!

The nurseryperson as entertainer

Hanna at This Garden is Illegal says “I know why gardening shows fail”. She compares the popular cooking shows to the not as popular garden shows. This isn't the first time this stuff has been talked about in the blogosphere. We have all asked why most garden shows don't hold a candle to the popular cooking shows. Hanna nails it when she says, “Gardening should be fun but most of the time… on the TV… it just looks like work. Who wants to watch that?” I found this post interesting since we have been talking about having fun at the nursery.

When Emeril Lagasse's show was first conceived and someone said, “why don't you have a live band in the kitchen” people would have thought the idea CRAZY! Yet the band is a big part of the show now. Its taken the time between dishes and turned it into a party. The whole show is a party! Audience members are given food and wine to nibble on while Emeril entertains. Notice I say entertains, not cooks. Sure Emeril is a chef, but he's really an entertainer.

When I fill out an application and it asks “occupation” I usually either write “nurseryperson” or “business owner”. Maybe next time I'll write “entertainer”. That will get some attention! When I think about what the most important thing I do at work its entertaining people. Every store needs to have people who can “entertain”. Sure we sell plants, water plants, and do all sorts of gardening activities, but the area where we make our money is in the entertaining of our guests. They have taken the time to enter our world and we need to make sure that visit is “entertaining”. Entertaining does not mean having to be “on” all the time, its more about being aware of the “vibe” your business has and being able to enhance the positives to the benefit of the our guests.

Our business, like gourmet cooking is a luxury that people choose to enjoy, not because they have to. There was a time when the knowledge of how to garden was a life or death concern. Didn't grow enough root crops to make it through winter? The family might go hungry. Not anymore.

We need to show people that gardening is not a “serious” business. Its the exact opposite, or should be. It should be the antidote for a world that tends to see everything as “serious”. Experimentation should be encouraged, and a sense of playfulness maintained. The impression that our customers have of us should be anything but serious. I generally don't like hanging with serious people unless the situation calls for it. Gardening shouldn't.

Tin Punch Workshop

We had our first non-gardening oriented workshop on Saturday. Betsy Afdenkamp held the class and fun was had by all. I took the Tassimo Coffee Maker out to our new event tent so everyone could make coffee as they wanted. Great idea as soon the ladies were hyped up banging away on the tin. We had one lady come all the way from Davis which is about an hour away. The next class will be taught by Monica and will be making a ginger bread house for the holidays.

Its fun coming up for ideas for workshops when it doesn't have to be just garden oriented. The main thing is it get people into the store and sure enough buying stuff before they leave. Even if we didn't sell anything the idea behind the workshops is to raise the visibility of the nursery as a resource for the community.

Living the good life, at the garden center!

Today is our Tin Punch Workshop with Betsy Aufdenkamp and Monica. Its our first workshop in out new events tent. While Tin Punch really has nothing to do with gardening, so what. People are signed up, coffee and snacks will be served, and tin will be punched.

We are going to try and have a workshop at least every two weeks. This year we are going to try and get more help putting these on. While Monica and I enjoy teaching these classes it will be helpful to have experts like Betsy, to help hold some of these. In addition these workshops do not have to be about gardening. Tin punch, BBQ cooking class, home wine making, etc. as well as fruit tree pruning and other garden related subjects will all be part of the plan.

When your business deals with gardening you tend to group activities around that subject since we assume thats the reason people come to us. I think a lot of people come to the garden center looking for inspiration, not necessarily a certain plant or fertilizer. I think we need to think beyond the conventional and do the things that we find fun, since it would appear that our tastes are not that much different than many others.. I think a sense of discovery and fun is the key to keeping things lively and fresh at the nursery.

Of course this all dovetails with my goal of building a really cool BBQ and smoker so I can retire the Weber. I love cooking BBQ and sharing it with our friends (customers). Why not have a regular Friday after work BBQ and wine tasting featuring one of the local wineries? As a matter of fact we want it to be a local only produced event. Meat, vegetables, and drink can all be local. Why shouldn't our garden center be the place to discover and enjoy all the things that brought us to the foothills in the first place?

I know this sounds crazy as just running a garden center can be taxing, but this stuff is fun. It seems like when we are having fun the business just flows. My goal is to create a place that is fun for Monica and I to work at since we are here so much. When we are having fun the people around us tend to also have fun. Its weird, but when we focus on trying to make money we don't, but when we focus on having fun the money seem to flow better. The secret is to get beyond the fear of failure, which raises its head now and then. Since we are going on our fourth year now the fear of failure is a little less menacing. Now its time to focus on whats important, enjoying life and spreading that joy to our friends (customers)!

Need a garden speaker, who you going to call?

Angela had asked how the talk at The Sacramento Organic Club went. When I left I had told Monica that if just two people came to the nursery from the talk it would be a success. Yesterday the second person showed up at the nursery. It takes about 35 minutes to make the drive to the store from Sacramento so I consider it a GREAT success. The fact that they also bought some of the things that we had talked about was a bonus. The main thing is connections have been made and now the word will continue to spread. The club also mentioned that the talk was one of the best they had in recent memory, which was also very cool.

I think the one thing I always take away from these talks is how beneficial they are for getting the word out. If you can get over the fear of public speaking the opportunities for the business and yourself are endless.

So there you go, need a speaker for your next event? You know who to call.

The City by the bay

Monica and I went down to San Francisco on Monday. I grew up here, so we like to check out the places that get missed by most tourists. This is a shot of a small garden tucked into a alley with skyscrapers rising up all around. Somehow just enough sun squeak's through to keep things alive.

It's located in Fella Alley. If you know where this is you REALLY know "The City".

All in all "The City" seems much the same as it was twenty years ago except that now I have a car with automatic transmission, which makes driving on these insane hills a lot easier now than my '68 VW Bus with the manual transmission did then. I realize how crazy I was to drive that car some of the places I did.

Start a garden center? You must be crazy.

The list of negative news for the garden industry continues. Just today I read that the circulation for garden type magazines in The United Kingdom is down. We also read that Conde Nast is shuttering its House and Garden Magazine and accompanying website.

If the magazine situation wasn't bad enough there is this, Consumer confidence drops amongst the key consumer base for garden centers, people earning $75,000 to 149,999 a year. Add to that the sub-prime mortgage problems and you would have to ask why anyone would want to run a garden center. On top of that we read that total garden sales have declined by 3% and that Home Centers have surpassed garden centers as the place for gardening purchases.

In addition we read that gardening as a whole is on decline and that the response we should have is to de-emphasize gardening. Again, I have to ask why would anyone open or run a garden center? It's like opening a buggy whip factory right after hearing about Henry Fords new invention the AUTOMOBILE. It's crazy.

At this point you might be expecting me to list the reasons why this is a great business to be in, and that these trends and figures don't amount to much at the well run garden center. Your wrong, though. I can't imagine anyone contemplating opening a small garden center. I fell into this business 28 years ago and it took me more than half that time before I owned my own business. If I had not been involved with the business, and was looking at opening a center today I would pick another industry to be involved in. The lists of closing and near closing garden centers is long and in my opinion no where near ending.

I believe that there will be many more small and medium sized gardening center shutting their doors over the next few years than opening them. I believe that gardening will continue to decline in importance with the general public, and that the number of gardening magazines and other paper publications dealing with horticulture will continue to decline. I also believe that the mega stores will continue to have the lion's share of the gardening publics money and attention.

Here is the good news. While gardening may be declining with the general public, it will gain in importance with a smaller more enthusiastic segment of the population. While gardening publications printed on paper will continue to decline, the growth of individuals and business that publish information electronically will grow. Just look at all the garden blogs sprouting up. The need for information is still there. And while there will be many more smaller nurseries closing than opening over the coming years, the ones remaining will be venturing into a exciting and completely new arena that holds lots of possibilities. I believe that the remaining garden centers will become centers of activity for the communities they serve and will thrive in that atmosphere.

We are witness to some big changes coming down the road, and it will take a certain amount of boldness, and playful craziness to survive and thrive. So yes, you have to be a bit crazy to open a garden center and that's going to be a good thing.

Sacramento Organic Gardening Club Talk Today

Continuing with the theme of “knowledge sells” I am off to speak at The Organic Garden Club of Sacramento at Carmichael Park from 11am to noon. I have never spoken to this group before as this is about 35 miles from our store. Every time I have spoken to a group in the Sacramento area a certain number of people make the trip up the hill to the nursery.

Its more than that though, as I feel it important to get out of the nursery and engage people everywhere, either through this blog or in person. Speaking is something I like doing and it would seem most others don't, so this opens up lots of opportunities for speaking engagements. Besides you never know who you are going to meet and how they might effect your business down the road.

Speaking to groups is one way for small garden centers to get the word out. You have to have someone in the organization that does it well and is willing to do it, but the payoff is huge. So huge that I would think its important for someone in the nursery to learn how to speak comfortably to groups. The opportunities for speaking are so numerous that a person could spend a lot of their time doing nothing but being a traveling representative of the garden center. Yes, I still get a bit nervous at these things but over the years it has gone from sheer terror to something much less. There is no way around it though you will have to bust through your fears to reap the benefits.

The talk will be about how our small garden center is addressing the needs of organic gardeners. I am going to take samples of the organic products and plants that we sell. I would say that 75% or more of our soils, fertilizer, and pesticides are of an organic nature. We are heading towards an even higher percentage as we ween people off the synthetics and towards our organic products.

I'll let you know how the talk goes.

Knowledge sells

A gentleman in his mid twenties came in and bought about $300 worth of fruit trees yesterday. Theses are trees that he received a 10% discount on for pre-booking before the end of October. The trees arrive in early February bare root. You get to choose from hundreds of varieties on any rootstock you like and know the trees will be there for you come February. I was quite happy to see this customer as I thought for sure we wouldn't make a fruit tree sale to him.

About five weeks ago he came in asking about some fruit trees he had bought at the local grocery store. He wanted to know why the bark was peeling away from the trunk just above ground level. Had he painted the trunk with white paint, or mulched the ground to prevent sunburn, which often results in borers getting into the trunk? No, and apparently all the trees we're like that. More than half had the peeling bark. I asked him to bring the trees in. When he did we confirmed the diagnosis and told him to remove the infected trees as they would never perform well. I also told him that since he had bought the trees at the grocery store I couldn't vouch for the condition the trees we're in when he bought them. Who knows what damage occurred out in that hot parking lot in those plastic bags.

We got the same answer we often get when people buy those “cheap” trees from grocers and box stores. They we're cheaper and we are “too expensive.” When you buy trees from us they are grown by a reputable supplier who knows how to care for the trees. In addition we select the proper rootstock for the type of soil and climate we have. Do you think they do that at the grocery store? But here is the most important reason why he should have bought the more expensive fruit trees from us last year. They would be alive, undamaged by borers, and a whole year ahead in growth. Gee, that seems worth a few dollars more for a tree. He would have left with the knowledge of the white paint and mulch to prevent sunburn. We always make sure to let our customer know that sunburn and borers are the number one reason for the death of young fruit trees here in our hot dry summers. Nobody mentioned that in the checkout line at the grocery store.

Our knowledge has value. We need to sell results, not cheap plants. What value is there in getting the information when you need it? How important is it to have a business that can answer almost any gardening question you have six days a week. After all he came to us to find out what was wrong. Why didn't he ask the grocery store manager what was wrong with the trees?

The bottom line is he made the decision to buy from us. Not everyone would. Knowledge and how we spread it may be ours and every good small and medium sized nurseries most valuable asset. We need to attach value to it and charge accordingly. We also need to quit thinking that the mega stores or grocery stores are selling the same things we are cheaper. They are not. They sell plants but thats where the similarities end. The consumer needs to know that they are getting all the information they need to complete the project properly. How much would you pay for that assurance? Many wouldn't pay extra, but some will if they understand just how valuable and powerful knowledge is.

Halloween

If you wonder where I have been, you can see from the picture I got a bit burnt. Its so hot down "there." We survived our Halloween Party at the nursery. It was a private party with friends but since the nursery is set up for crowds we did it there instead of the house. We have invested in a 25' x 30' tent that will act as our workshop/events area. We stuck a heater in it and decorated it for the season. The Devil hanging in the tent was made by Monica with chicken wire and masking tape. Yes, I am the devil and Monica a Vampire.

Since this is Halloween I though I would stop along the way to work and take a picture of one of the areas most haunted houses, The Vineyard House. This place has been the subject of numerous television shows and books on hauntings. It use to be a bed and breakfast with a dinner house and a spooky bar located in the stone basement. Louise Chalmers had her husband, who had become deranged from advanced syphilis, chained up in the basement. He died there and now haunts the house. Apparently she haunts the place, too. The house was bought by a strange couple from L.A. a couple of years ago and its never been opened since. I drive by this place everyday and hardly ever see the present owners. Very mysterious.

Just across the street is the Pioneer Cemetery, which is haunted by "The Lady in Red" who only appears on Halloween Night. The picture of the gravestone is of Louise Chalmers grave looking across the street to her old home, The Vineyard House.

We have a ton of these haunted spots, including Prospectors road which is the most haunted road in California. It is actually the old road to the nursery that the adventurous can take. I use to drive my kids down it while they searched for the ghost(s). We never did see any though.

The long memory of the dissatisfied customer

I want to point you to Carol’s latest post over at May Dreams Gardens. She bought what she thought was a fruitless Liquidambar from her local garden center. After four years the tree started fruiting since it had been mis-labeled by the grower. When she went to the garden center to point this out she was told the manager would contact her. Six years later she still hasn’t received a call. If you run a garden center please take the time to read her post.

While the garden center has most likely long forgotten this event it's clear Carol hasn’t. Oh, and did we mention that in that time Carol started a popular garden blog. The garden center is very lucky that Carol hasn’t mentioned their name. You see many people find your company website using search engines. They type your business name and up come’s a page with all the relevant results. What if Carol’s post showed up in the search right next to your web page? People could read about her displeasure while contemplating visiting your store. Carol’s blog is so popular this is what would happen.

Besides handling the encounter wrong the nursery needs a way for the consumer to reach them and then expect a reply. How about a blog? If the owner of the nursery had a blog Carol could comment and receive an answer from the owner. Of course she shouldn’t have to end up using this method since her concerns should have been handled better in the first place, but still it should be available.

I think that a blog may be one way for a small business to show that it’s not afraid to talk to the consumer. Besides, a business that takes the time to blog, and answer comments sends the signal that it wants open communication and is less likely to be the type of business that doesn’t return phone calls.

Nursery consultants and Greenhouse grower

I have never hired a nursery consultant to come to my nursery. Over the years I have listened to a number of well known consultants via nursery trade shows and nursery association meetings. I have read their writings in the many trade publications I receive. Most of the time I have enjoyed listing and reading about various ways to improve our business.

My wife and I used a general business consultant once when we were in the middle of a very messy partnership dissolution. By having someone who was divorced from the emotional involvement my wife and I were in he was able to steer us in the right direction, which to this day was a defining moment in our lives. It set us on the course we find our selves on now. So the right consultant can make a world of difference.

My generalization of what we are being told by “nursery consultants” in my last post is not based on any particular consultant or a personal experience with a nursery consultant. Rather it’s based on what I read in various trade publications that feature from time to time the views of various consultants. They are either paid by the publications or perhaps do the work “pro-bono” for the media exposure. So when I say, “We read the trade magazines, listen to the consultants, and go to the trade shows which only confuse us more,” it’s not that any one consultant is confusing, but the cacophony of consultant voices coming out of some media outlets does at times confuse.

On another note, my blog was featured last week at Sara’s Green Space Blog. Sara is managing editor of Greenhouse Grower magazine. I found out about her blog before she featured me. We don’t even have a greenhouse, yet because she is out there blogging I check back. She is not going to want to hear this but I would have probably never read the magazine in the past, since I just don’t do any greenhouse growing. Yet by reaching out through her blog she has managed to snare me as a regular reader which is good because it introduces me to a whole aspect of horticulture that I had no interest in before.

Finally, I encourage comments on my posts. Be aware that the first time you comment at the blog I have to approve your comment before it gets posted. Once it’s approved every time after that your comments will appear on the blog right after you hit “submit comment”. It’s an anti-spam measure as so far it’s working!

This can be a lonely profession.

Over at Garden Rant Amy wonders about organic growing of nursery crops. Teresa, a grower asks where the interest is? Wasn't this what everyone was asking for last year? No, it seems they like the idea of organic vegetable starts but you know what, they don't care when it's time to buy. They say they will grow them organically once they are in their yard, and the fact of the organic origins doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes being a nursery person can be a lonely occupation. Usually in a community there is one or two garden centers, maybe only one. While you may be on friendly terms with your competitor you really don't talk about business since you don't want to give away any "secrets" that might be applied by the competitor. I am not including the chain stores as I wouldn't know who runs the garden department anyway.

Spring is so busy you can't think, then comes summer with its heat and slower sales, followed by fall which we promote as planting time. Where is everybody? Why aren't people taking advantage of this season? Then comes winter with it's cold and rain and sales really slow down. Heck, some nurseries just close up for the winter. I can tell you right now that the mood of the nursery person going into winter is either relief that we have enough money to carry us until the following spring, or shear dread when we don't. I would say a good line of credit can be a nurseries best friend.

Oh well, we choose this profession and want to make it happen. We read the trade magazines, listen to the consultants, and go to the trade shows which only confuse us more. People only want flowers in color, they don't want to garden themselves (DIFM), drop the Latin Names (we're told the consumer just doesn't care), put a coffee shop in, basically just try to make gardening as work free and instant as possible. People supposedly just don't have the time to garden anymore.

What's an small independent to do. I find the trade organizations like CANGC(California association of garden centers and nurseries) to be ineffective in getting the message out. We don't even belong to this organization anymore. I think that when they sent our membership sign and it read "Trey Pitsenberger" instead of "Golden Gecko Garden Center" I realized they just didn't have it going on. You can bet my wife wanted to know why my name and not the company name was on there!

The solution is communication within the individual garden centers. I enjoy reading other nursery peoples experiences with these important subjects. Since we are generally separated by distance, the idea of talking to the "competitor" changes to talking with a fellow nursery person. There seems to be a freer exchange of information and experiences.

I would like to hear from more of you in the trade. Many of us are like Teresa who says, "This article has finally gotten me to step out of my silent reader status" and comment. I think many of us don't speak up because we are afraid of rocking the boat. We'll its time for the boat rocking to commence. We independents must speak up to the wholesale concerns that supply our plants, we need to speak up to the large retailers that continue to dumb down gardening and attempt to convince people that gardening is problem free (two year guarantee?)

We do have the power within our grasp, yet I think many of us are shy, worried, or just don't want to let our feelings and concerns out in the open. Our survival and future growth depends on the interaction with our customers and fellow nursery people.

I get a lot of feedback from avid gardeners all the time. This has been an unbelievable resource for me. I would like more of you in the trade to get involved, but only if your passionate about what we do. I know there are independent garden centers that really should not be in business, and they won't be for long. Passion, interaction with the consumer and other small nurseries is what keeps me going much of the time, especially when the consumer decides they have had enough of gardening for the year.

Spring can seem a long way off.

P.S. The above picture is of some Sassafras trees growing a few miles up Marshall Rd. from here. Very rare in California!

Where the garden enthusiasts are.

When I read this post about The Green Girls it made me think about winter in the nursery and how easy it would be to give up on keeping contact with my customers. Since sales go down late fall and winter why bother with the time and money to talk to people about something they most likely won't do until spring. An article in the e-news about dormant sprays, or a workshop on punning fruit trees is only going to bring in so many people and dollars. Why bother. Maybe like the ladies who write the garden column we should just close down and start fresh in spring. Just like in the garden the real work begins in the mind, and what a better time to think than in the fall and winter. Now is the time to kick ideas back and forth. Sure we all slow down and take a breath, but that doesn't mean that we can't still "garden in the mind" if we can't in the ground. We still send out e-news and snail mail newsletters during the winter. Not as many, but we do want to stay in contact. Why would I only care about my customers when the are in the shop spending money? If getting people interested in gardening more is a matter of educating them then my best chance is during the winter when they might have more time to get involved.

I think that small garden centers have a greater opportunity to build a relationship with the consumer than the larger concerns. The future of small garden centers is to build such a strong relationship with the consumer that they spread the word of your business to their friends. WOMA (word of mouth advertising) is the best and really only way for a small concern like us to get the word out. To be able to generate that word of mouth we have to be better than anyone else in our area at what we do. We are, and are exploring ways to help our customers facilitate that information to others. Most of that "thinking" work will be done during the winter.

It might have been a couple of years ago when a number of garden bloggers wondered out loud what would happen with garden blogging in the winter. Would it just stop? No, it slowed down but never stopped as gardeners and professionals continued "gardening" via the internet. The internet allows enthusiasts separated by physical distance to continue the conversation via the blogs, and one place I know I want to be is where the garden enthusiasts are, the internet.