The not so victorious "Victory Garden"

Here is an update on The Victory Garden in San Francisco. We read about it at Garden Rant, where Amy rightly said it was a publicity stunt as opposed to a real attempt to encourage sustainability. She said, "Any Friends of Rant in San Francisco want to keep an eye on that garden for us? I can't wait to see what $180,000 worth of produce looks like come September." Well Amy, I can't report on what $180,000 in vegetables look like but here is a report. It appears the cost keep rising. According to SF Gate "San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is paying thousands of dollars a week in city money for private security guards to play scarecrow over the 'Victory Garden' growing in Civic Center Plaza." It seems that The  Mayor decided that the garden shouldn't come down until December, at the cost of $2,200 a week in security.Very sustainable. Why? What purpose is there in keeping the garden up? What an incredible waste of taxpayers money. Where is the outrage? What do the volunteers who kept the garden going think of this?

What's next for the Victory Garden space. Not a vegetable garden. That was to0 much trouble. Instead,  "Newsom's new acting Rec and Park director, Jared Blumenthal, has been asked to work up plans to give the plaza a bit more European flair - possibly with a Parisian-style cafe, a flower stand, a travel kiosk or other amenities." Gee, I thought The Plaza already had a European flair.

So we went from growing vegetables on concrete, in soil trucked from 40 miles away, and protected by security guards to a European style plaza. Where is the sustainability in any of this?

The moral of the story. Keep politicians out of the garden.

The passionate few

We have a e-newsletter that we send out to just over 900 e-mail addresses. You sign up for the e-mail either at our web page, a forwarded e-news, or at the nursery by writing your e-mail down, which we then enter. Now a lot of those e-news go to people who may never visit the nursery. They live outside the area and are just interested in what we have to say. Out of those 900+ e-news about 39% on average open the e-news. This is a good rate as far as e-news campaigns go! Now out of those 39% of people who open the e-news how many react to our message? 29% of the 39% click on links in the e-news. So about 250+ people on average are interested enough to read more information on what we have sent. How many of those come into the store and actually spend money? I don't know how many people actually respond to the e-mail by spending money at the nursery.  It's a small number of people, but a very important group of people. What we are finding is a certain small group of people consistantly respond to our message. They just don't delete the e-news when it shows up in the in-box. We all know how easy it is to delete e-mail that seems to be spam. Why such a large group of people sign up for a e-news and then don't bother to read it is a mystery? The fact is it happens and that's the nature of e-news. What's more important are those few people who do read it and respond.

It seems  more and more that our business success is because of a small group of powerfully influential people. People who open the e-news, forward the e-news to friends, and bring friends into the store. This is one reason I beleive that mass media advertising is not the way to go for small garden centers. Better to find the people who like what we do, and allow them the means to spread the word.

My guess is that most nurseries have a core group of people who support the business and spread the word. This is where the small and medium sized garden stores have it over the giants in the industry. Scotts Miracle-Gro tried it with their customer written blogs.  While the blogs are still there but many are written by Scotts and the rest are just kind of there. No passion. How passionate can one person get about spreading the word about Scotts?

The future of our business involve being passionate about what we do, find others who share our passion, and give them the means to spread the word.  It's not easy being passionate about running a business during an economic slowdown! Yet, it is the key to making it through the current economic cycle. The passion you show for your business is a direct result of the passion for life that you have. People want to hear a positive message, and we have the ability to provide that message. Let's take this opportunity between all the negative news people hear each day and insert our positive message. Gardens and gardening can change the (your) world.

Small is cool, again.

The other day Seth Godin ran an post titled, "Maybe you can't make money doing what you love." He say's, "That blog you've built, the one with a lot of traffic... perhaps it can't be monetized. That non-profit you work with, the one where you are able to change lives... perhaps turning it into a career will ruin it. That passion you have for art... perhaps making your painting commercial enough to sell will squeeze the joy out of it." So many of us start in the nursery business because we love the work. It seems that if you do what you love the money will follow. Not always. The nursery business is no longer what it use to be. The days of people waiting outside the gates on a Saturday morning are all but gone. I know some places that may still exist but not here in northern California. It's not that the nursery business really did anything wrong, but rather the times have changed. Maybe we didn't change fast enough along with the consumer. We just assumed that gardening would always be Americans number one hobby. Now we have an infinite choices of where to spend our time and money. Some people just don't think gardening is all that cool.

Are you depressed yet? I'm not. Sure I remember "the good all days". Gone. We are entering an era where really none of us know what tomorrow brings. The only thing for certain is change, and more rapid than ever. So what's a small garden center to do? Roll with the punches. That's one of the benifits of being a small business. You can change on a dime. What takes large corporations months and years to do we can do in a few days or weeks. We have been making changes here at our nursery.

We talked about how my wife Monica is opening up a day care in two of the rental units we own in front of the nursery. We made the decision because the reality of these days points out that in our area day care is needed. Monica went to a meeting last night with the other day care business in the area. They are full! They, the competition, said more daycare is needed in our area. The comment Angela made at one of my last posts said it all, " I think your instincts are right-on on this one. Every time I peruse the Classifieds for 'nursery' jobs these days, virtually the only companies hiring are the ones that take care of kidlings, not plantlings. If Monica has the credentials, hey, why not?!"

Are we closing the nursery? No. Are we readjusting what we do with our property. Yes. The nursery is a seasonal business, and here in the mountains winters are pretty slow. By opening the day care we will be able to take some of the presuure off the nursery to "do it all". We are entruprenus. And that's my message to you. Sometimes we define ourselves by what we do. "I am a nurseryman" was the way I thought of myself before. What ever I did was looked through the lens of being a nurseryman. Come "hell or high water" a nurseryman was what I'll always be.  Well something changed recently. It has a lot to do with the economy, but also the times we live in. If your going to be nimble and fluid in your life don't be so focused on one tree that you don't see the forest all around you.

The nursery industries are involved in some of the biggest changes they have seen in a long time. Many nurseries are going to be gone by next year, and the year after. They remain too focused on trying to do business the old way. What's the new way? Heck if I know. Every business and owner has a unique set of circumstances to deal with. Each will respond differently to the challenges. What's that crazy idea you have?

Staring a new business, part two.

I wanted to fill you in on our latest venture, the daycare preschool we are opening. My friend Sid worries about burn out and the stress of running a child care center. Monica ran a day care for two years, and was a child care teacher for eight years. For a number of years she worked at a day care called Happy Kids while I worked at a nursery called Happy Frog. We always found it interesting that we both worked at nurseries with "happy" in the name. Both of us are aware of the stress and tensions that are involved in daycare. It's a lot like the stress in the nursery during spring. The difference is the stress at the daycare is year round. Of course that's why we are interested in it. Year round income as opposed to the up's and down's of the nursery. There comes a time when cutting back on expenses just doesn't cut it. You have to increase revenue. While normally the Fall would be a boost to sales, this year it's a mild boost. Here in California the housing price decline has affected sales more than the banking problems. I talked to a fellow the other day who is walking away from a $600,000 house in The Bay Area. They cannot sell it!

We decided that starting a new business that seems to be needed here was a smart move.  Sid is concerned that we are getting involved in a business we don't know enough about. Don't worry Sid, we have been through this before. The long hours and wild kids. I will say though that in the dark of winter I will do a dance of joy when I see the daycare filled with light and kids, while the plant nursery is covered in frost. Monica is excited about the possibilities and we are no strangers to long hours and repetitive tasks.

Shirley's comment's are right on when it comes to what we are trying to achieve. We are serious about the need for educating kids about the environment and gardening. The parents of the children we will care for are from Generation X and Y. These are the generations we in the nursery industry worry about being non-gardeners. I believe Gen. X and Y feel they didn't get a chance to learn about, and enjoy the garden. They will be excited that their children are learning about nature and will want us to continue the process as the kids get older. Get the children interested and they will drag the parents to "their nursery".

There is also the case of plant nursery burn-out. I would say it's just as easy to become burned out at the garden center as the day care.  It all comes down to attitude. We are all having to make decisions that we wish we didn't have to make. The times call for it. The difference between those that will weather the storm and those that won't is "attitude". You cannot wait around and hope next year will be the magic spring. What happens if California goes into a serious drought next year, which is quite possible? Sure, we will do our best to maximize the possibilities, but having all our eggs in one basket makes it harder. Some garden centers have maintenance accounts that are more or less steady. Others do landscaping. We are opening another nursery. For some reason we are good at raising young things. My youngest daughter will be helping mom full time in the day care. She was raised by Monica at the day care where she worked. We go forward with our eyes wide open.

Our last venture, The Happy Frog Garden Center was started in the middle of the last recession. No one was opening anything and I thought it was a good sign that we we're boldly starting a new business then. It grew to become one of Northern California's leading garden centers. Remember that Google was started during the dot com crash. What about garden centers with Cafes? Who would have thought that would work? Garden Centers that sell wine? Garden Centers with a grocery store attached? Garden Centers that have pet centers (Bone Bar)? Garden Centers that sell high end jewelry? All those are being done as we speak. Why not a Garden Center with a kid nursery?

Those of us that keep a steady hand on the wheel, chart a good course, and have fun all the while, will weather the storm and find safe harbor.

Open a nursery now?

We have been getting ready for our 4th Annual Scarecrow Contest and Pleasure Faire. We have local vendors and artists as well as the scarecrow contest. I'll cook hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. It's suppose to be about 70 degrees and breezy, perfect fall weather. It's a way to showcase the local community and gives people a reason to come to the garden center. You can't just open the gates and expect people to come anymore. Too many priorities for their time and money. You have to have something going on that sparks their intrest. I think being the venue for all things local is a great way for us to show our community spirit. These are the day's to focus on local! Weekends have been o.k. as sales go. Weekdays can go either way depending on just who walks through the doors. Never before has it been so important to realize who your best customers are, and treat them as such. It's so important to have a positive outlook while all around you people are playing the blues. I believe people migrate toward a positive outlook, and if we are that positive place, they will come. People want to feel good and connect with others in the community. Let's be that place.

Monica and I are opening a new nursery! A nursery for kids. "Miss Monica's Garden Valley Preschool and Daycare". Monica was for years a day care provider. We own a small retail mall in front of the nursery. There are six units, most of which are leased out. We have a masseuse, photographer, and video store. There are now two units, 1000 sq. ft. available. That's where Monica will open her business. The nearest daycare to here is five miles away and the next one is 12 miles away. Both are filled to capacity. There is a need for daycare in our area! Our great location is on the way "down the hill" to jobs in Placerville, Folsom, and Sacramento.

How did this come about? We are trying to figure out what business will stay busy in a down economy. Daycare is something that people will sacrifice for since usually both couples have to work.  So it's a new venture for Monica, and I'll have to run the garden center. That's o.k. because we need to do something. Winter is closing in and the garden center business is seasonal, even here in California. Daycare is a year round business.

We came to this decision because these days you have to "think out of the box". Actually we have always tried to think out of the box, but this year and next it will be those who implement the changes necessary that will be in business next year.  We have the commercial space available, we have great landlords (us), a need for daycare in the area, and Monica has the experience and requirements necessary. Plus my daughter Sheala will be an aide, making it a family business. A desire for a more steady cash flow is a major portion of our thinking. Sure I'll miss Monica in the nursery, but she will only be 100 yards away and I can hire help for the nursery next year.

I like the idea of starting a new business now! It goes against the "pull back and hunker down" mentality that I think stifles business, at a time when bold action and ideas need to come into play. Now is the time to prepare for the eventual rebound in the economy. It will come, it just might be awhile. So pull out all the stops. Think about it. Everyone wonders how to appeal to Generation X and Y. We are going to the source, the children of generation X and Y! We will have a learning garden at the preschool. Nature and gardening will be taught to the children as part of the curriculum. If we can't get Gen. X and Y to embrace gardening will get their kids to drag them in.

Recession proof?

You have heard in the past how the garden center business is recession proof? Is that true today? I certainly don't think so, but we are here and the circumstances we face may be different than other garden centers face. I will say this last week has been one of the slowest I have seen when it wasn't raining. To be fair it's been quite hot here as of late. Temperatures in the high eighties does not make one think of fall planting. Never the less you can almost taste the fear out there. People are pulling back and making important financial decisions. Is this what's happening in the rest of the country? What is your take on what's going on and what the future has in store? What are you doing to stand out and get people to think of the garden center?

We have found that you have to give people a reason to come to the nursery. It's easy to say, "no, I don't have the extra money to spend, why go there?" We know that we are like a candy shop, once your in you can't resist. How do you get them in? And is it working?

DIFM, and other trends.

I received a message from a couple that live here in northern California. They want to start a nursery on eleven acres of land. They are looking for advice. I came across this post I did back in December of 2007 and this one from November 2007. I don't think I would change anything I wrote except to say, embrace change! How quickly things change. Not so long ago we we're told that gebration x and y would power the DIFM (do it for me) trend. They just didn't like gardening and they would pay others to do the gardening for them. Poof! That's gone.  Here is a list of post's I have done on "Trends." I wonder how many other trends we have been told we coming down the pike are gone. Are those generation x and y people still intent on accessorizing their backyards instead of starting a vegetable garden? Here is what we we're told, “Today’s young homeowners want you to do the dirty work for them”...they “want beautiful gardens and outdoor rooms, minus the sweat and hard work that come with them"... "they take interest in environmentally sound gardening and raising organic vegetables and fruits-though they’d probably prefer to hire you to come over and do it for them…” Let's see, owe more on the house than it's worth, husband just lost the job at Wachovia, and the credit card bills are mounting. Let's hire someone to garden for us.

What seems to stand out now is how quickly our ideas of where we are headed change. That seems to be the one constant, change.  If I we're going to start a garden center today, and as I run the one we have now the one trait that comes in the most handy is the ability to roll with the punches, and still remain standing. You just cannot predict what is going to happen. It's almost as if we have known all along that the garden center business was changing but had no idea just how much. This latest economic situation may be the catalyst for a lot of us to make the changes we know we have to make, but have been hesitant to do before. Those that don't will be gone! We are headed into some choppy seas and I don't see it calming down until at least next year. Hold on.

Oh, don't think I am being negative here. It's just the way it is. Success will come to those who maintain a positive attitude despite the choppy seas. What choice do we have? Grab the wheel, steer your course, and stay optimistic. The storm will end. We just don't know what port we will be in.

We live in exciting times!

Customers are cutting back on purchases, suppliers are hitting us with fuel surcharges, and the latest news for retailers is, don't get too excited about this Holiday season. We have never had a big Holiday season. We're in the mountains and people tend to head for the covered, warm malls. We do a fair gift card business which is nice. So what to do? Somehow we have to get people interested in coming in the store.  We don't want to just put everything on sale, since it cut's into profits, but we are strategically putting on sale plants which we would rather not over winter here at the nursery.

We have increased the frequency of our e-news from twice a month to once a week. We do run the risk of over inundating some people with more e-mail, but it's imporatnt that we remind them about us. It seems to work and the cost is almost zero.

We are having the Red Hat Ladies come in for a private class with Monica. They will make hyper-tufa pots. $15 each. 16 ladies in the nursery.  That's what counts. I think we will start promoting private classes for groups. We are building up our Fall Pleasure Faire this October. We have 15 vendors signed up so far. We are tying it in with our 4th annual scarecrow contest. It's fun and it get's people in the nursery.

See the theme here. We are competing with everything else that a person can spend money on. Do they eat out tonight, or come to the garden center? Do they take that trip or landscape the back yard. Choices that are going to mean survival for a lot of businesses. We had better give them a great reason to come to the nursery. We are working at becoming a community resource. The more people feel a connection the more likely they will be to shop with us. We have to become so valuable to the community they support us with their time, money, and word of mouth.

I believe that  great things come from tough times. It's during times of economic stress that businesses will come up with the ideas that will take us to the next level. There are two choices, innovate and survive, or stagnate. This is the time to dig down and bring to the surface ideas that may have been kept dormant because they seemed to risky. Well now is the time to rethink those ideas and maybe take a chance on some of them. Hate public speaking? Get over it or get someone on staff to do it. Sales are not your department? It's everyone's department, all the time. Offer on site consultations. We have for years but we just started to really promote it. It almost always results in sales at the store.

Speaking of innovating we now have  59 members of our Linkedin group, "Garden Centers, Nurseries, and New Media."

This group is made up of people who will be leading the way as we head into the future of gardening.  If you would like to be a part of something innovative you should join. Go here to find out more.

Buy local?

Over at Garden Wise Guy, Billy Goodnick has a post on his visit to the Garden Writers Association meeting in Portland. What I found interesting is this comment by Billy, "Most everyone took off for a tour of production nurseries that were going to show off all their newest introductions. Not only was I uninterested in seeing plants I have little chance of growing in Santa Barbara, but the idea of using plants that are grown in Oregon, then shipped nationwide on trucks would give me a carbon-footprint guilt trip I couldn't endure. One more reason to use plants provided by local growers - they're not only adapted to my climate, but the impacts of shipping are miniscule." Now I would imagine that the folks that produce plants in Oregon would cringe if they heard that. Yet that doesn't change the fact that Billy, and more, and more people might start thinking this way.  That could have a effect on  lot's of wholesale nurseries that ship plants around the country. Here in northern California we have lot's of smaller wholesale operations that can supply us by not traveling very far. I know that there are many places in this country that depend on shipments from warmer climates to start their spring.

So as we independent garden centers try to use sustainable practices in our businesses how do we address the issue of where our plants come from? At the grocery store the other day they had asparagus for $1.29 a pound. A great deal. Could be the lowest price of the year! The asparagus is from Mexico or Chile. Quite a trip, yet it was selling out! So apparently the fact that this food came from far away didn't matter as much as the low price.

My questions are, if using sustainable practices  means buying from local suppliers does that mean that we smaller garden centers should buy local, and let The Depot and other chains be the ones that buy from anywhere? Is it even possible for independent garden centers in parts of the country to operate by buying only local, within 100 miles of the store? Is this an issue that independents can run with? "We only carry locally sourced products." Are there nurseries already doing this?

The picture at the top of this post is of some ornamental cabbage that we buy from Blooms of Glen Ellen. They are 132 miles from here.

Scotts to sell Smith & Hawken?

According to The Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune, "Smith & Hawken, the upscale retailer of garden furniture and supplies, will close two of its three Twin Cities-area stores at the end of this year." Scotts Miracle-Gro, the parent company "reported declining sales and continuing losses for the chain. In a recent conference call with analysts, executives described Smith & Hawken as 'a drag on earnings.' They said they were reviewing under performing stores and the catalog strategy and were considering selling the chain, which was acquired in 2004." This is not news to us here. We talked about Smith and Hawken and it's parent company Scotts here.  In that post I said, "As a small independent garden center owner it’s kind of fun to watch huge corporations like Scotts try to reinvent themselves as cutting edge ‘hippies’. They may be successful in luring many new customers and regaining some momentum but they will never again have the interest on the garden enthusiasts who look for the cutting edge and are the ones who spread the word when they find a truly novel idea."

Smith and Hawken is not closing, but Scotts wants to return to it's "roots" According to Morningstar analyst Ben Johnson, " 'We have always held that [Scotts] venture into the outdoor living category marked an unwelcome departure from its core competencies' of lawn and garden care products."

So there you have it. Scotts is doing the right thing by getting out of Smith and Hawken and returning to what it does best. Meanwhile Smith and Hawken plans on opening bigger stores. We have a 10,000 sq.ft. store opening near here in Sacramento.  They feel "The larger size allows more room for full displays of outdoor furniture and garden-inspired home decor."  I am not so sure this will work. It really depends on whether they can find a buyer for the chain and whether they can regain the "vibe" the brand once had.

It all comes down to what I said back in March 2007, " More often than not these days many people make purchasing decisions based partly on a companies 'authentic story'. Many small garden centers have what Gordy Erickson (senior vice president)wishes Smith & Hawken still had, an interesting and authentic story." When large corporations buy smaller niche companies the smaller companies loose that authenticity. The outside apperances may be the same, but behind the scenes corporate mind set takes over and the vibe changes.

Garden Center TV

Head over to Shirley Bovshow's Edenmakers' Blog and check out Garden Center TV. The first installment was about Monrovia Nursery. The second is about Hort Couture. What I like is a chance to visit the Independent Garden Center Show in Chicago. We talked about how it would be nice if you could visit trade shows virtually here. Sometimes it's just impossible to get out of the nursery and get to these shows. Some type of video record would nice for those of us that can't get there physically. Thanks Shirley.

The Nursery Diet

It looks like the economy is going through another hic-cup. What to do? Business is already down, where headed to what may be  lackluster fall, and the cold of winter beckons. Hope everyone saved up enough to get to next year. Lot's of us don't have what we would like in the bank right now. It's easy to become pessimistic. We are trying to be proactive. It's during these times that ideas and action that makes a difference are forced on us. You either give up, or re-double you efforts to get the word out. If we curl up and act dead it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Sometimes just the act of being positive and doing something keeps things humming.

We are putting the nursery on a diet.  Not a starvation diet, but a much needed loss of weight. Unlike a starvation diet where you just cut out everything and feel weak all the time, this is a more healthy loss of weight and building up of muscle. What categories are we wasting our time on? What do we keep carrying that just doesn't resonate with our customers? Roses here just don't sell.  Deer and other critters eat them and we usually end up selling them at a discount. Roses are out. Bonsai? We use to buy in finished bonsai for our 'bonsai section", but not anymore. No bonsai. We have a bonsai nursery near hear and I am more than happy to send you to their place.

What are our strengths? A beautiful location that makes you feel great when you walk through the door. We are having more and more groups use our picnic area. The El Dorado Co. Master Gardeners just held their third annual picnic here. Next Saturday the local garden club is meeting here. We are encouraging people to use the picnic ground as well as working on turning our upcoming "Pleasure Faire" into a well attended event. The big news? Workshops and events held at the nursery bring the community together and makes us a vital resource.

Another strength is direct marketing. I figured out how to do my own e-news without our webmasters help. This saves big bucks and I can now put out an e-news weekly, instead of just twice a month. I have already started to hear positive feedback from customers. I never wanted to cut my webmaster (a small business) out of the e-news. But I need to save money while increasing our exposure, and you know what? It has!

We have started on a local flier program. Our employee's, as well as Monica and I have been creating our own fliers and hanging them at every bulletin board in the area. "Grass Roots". We keep track what fliers are placed where, and we change them out regularly to keep the fresh. Hey, it keeps us busy and doing something to get the word out. Plus it seems to be working. There are a bunch of other low cost ways we are using to keep the positive vibe, that I'll share later.

The bottom line is this. The nursery business is changing so quick it's head spinning. The economy sucks, and customers are pulling back on their expenses. Why would they want to come to the nursery and buy plants and fertilizers? Why would they want to go out to dinner, or take a vacation under the circumstances? They do, but they are a lot more careful where they spend their money. We have to make the garden center culture so compelling that they will give up on the dinner out,  and head out to the garden and garden center.

We all know the days of people just automatically lining up at our gates on a Saturday morning are over. Heck, around here Sundays are busier than Saturday's.  We have to provide an experience that compels the customer to return. We have to stay positive and upbeat so the customer will pick up on the good vibes. We have to look at what we sell and re-examine what's not moving. The future of the small garden center will depend on it's ability to carry what sells, and lot's of it, and jettisoning what doesn't. It's not easy. As a small garden center owner you just know you can't carry everything the Box stores do, at their prices. So why try? What are they not doing well? Organic fertilizers? We at the Golden Gecko Garden Center have THE BEST selection of organics in the county. Maybe in the tri-county area. Since we have increased our fertilizer department it's sales are a bright spot. So bright we are INCREASING the selection. Hydroponics? We have created a new department. It's called the "Hydro-Hut". I am not about to let the hydroponic shops have all that business. The nearest one is twelve miles away. We are already getting interest, and people are saying they would love to buy local, from us!

The small garden center has a huge opportunity, as well as huge risks coming down the pike. The ones that survive, and thrive are going to because they took the somewhat dated garden center concept we grew up with, and morphed it into something that will resonate with the 21st century gardener.

Nurseryman's Weekend in SF

Monica and I headed down to San Francisco for her birthday. We spent the night at The Hyatt at the Embarcedero. The first picture is the view from the room. Since we are from the area we more or less did some stuff that we haven't done before.

 

We went through Golden Gate Park and happened upon something I didn't know existed, The Anglers Cabin, built in the 1930's. What was cool we're the casting ponds, considered some of the best in the world. There was a guy casting, and the setting, hidden amongst the trees was surreal.

We visited the "Victory Garden" in front of City Hall. I took a picture of the tomato plot. They haven't harvested one tomato yet. No surprise there, as growing tomato in "The City" just doesn't work. Too cool all year. They had great crops of leafy vegetables, as well as squash.  The whole thing will be taken down in November. While the garden looked great and the people working it friendly I still think it should have been done where it could be left to grow year after year.  Good idea, but keep it away from politicians, which means don't do it at City Hall on concrete.

 The second to last picture is Monica at The Queen Wilhelmina Garden by the windmill at Golden Gate Park. Those are foxgloves which tower over Monica.

The last picture was just some older police motorcycles in front of a store called "Old Vogue"  It's located near Columbus Ave.

We had a great time!

Branch-Smith sells publications

According to it's website GIE Media, Inc. has "announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Ft. Worth based Branch-Smith Publishing. This development adds four titles to GIE: Greenhouse Management & Production, Nursery Management & Production, Garden Center and Garden Center Product Source. In making the acquisition GIE significantly extends its position serving the commercial horticultural and specialty markets." Interesting news. Other than that I don't know how this will shake out. The Branch-Smith story is quite interesting. Founded in 1900 by Aaron Smith, who was born without arms. He learned to type using his toes. The company is now in it's fourth generation. They plan to, "focus on its award-winning Branch-Smith Printing company, which specializes in books, catalogs, directories and other print solutions for publishers."

I felt Branch-Smith was smart in taking a proactive approach to new media by starting their "Open Register" blog. Perhaps it's that proactive approach that made the acquisition by GIE possible. I am sure we will hear more about this as the nursery industry continues to change before our eye's.

What to do during those slow periods.

Take a look at this article on "(Almost)Endless Summer , How seasonal businesses get noticed during slow periods" at Inc.com, "The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs" There are some tips from others in seasonal businesses on how to keep customers interested during slow periods. The first one is from Adams Fairacre Farms, a Poughkeepsie, New York, company that operates three garden and grocery stores. They discusses the success of their seminar program. Here at our nursery it has been one of the best investments of time we have made. The seminar, or as we call them "workshops" brings people in, and the sales follow. If your garden center has someone who likes to speak don't delay, start a seminar program today! Number 6 is from a florists perspective. See how they used little known holidays and celebrations to boost business. This is a great idea and could be extended to the garden center. Who get's a Arbor Day Card sent to them?

Number 4 is why I found this article. I had forgotten about being interviewed so it was fun seeing, "Blog, especially about the big names in your industry." Yea, it's The Blogging Nurseryman and his, "something of a must read in the industry" blog.  It's really a kick to see The Golden Gecko Garden Center mentioned. We are a small, three (sometimes 4) person operation in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of northern California. Yet, because of new media and my belief that any company no matter how small can make a difference, here we are.

The article makes it seem somewhat like I write about "The Big Boys" in our industry to get the blog attention. I have never written about Home Depot, Hines Nursery, Scotts, etc., to gain attention. Sure those posts bring a lot of viewers, but I write about these companies, and others because they matter to my business. I am not out to "get" anyone. We are just a small business with big competition, and that's some of what we write about. It's interesting, but by just being ourselves we have gotten more attention than we ever thought possible.

What other industries are being changed right now because the "small" players now have a voice?