George Ball of Burpee responds to blog!

Over at Zanthan Gardens they are having a discussion about Burpee's 2009 catalogue. What's interesting is the discussion got the attention of George Ball, President of Burpee. George writes his own blog, Heronswood Voice. George has jumped into the discussion by commenting at Zanthan Gardens, responding to other comments. This is the first example I can find an executive of a large horticultural corporation responding to garden blogs. I give George credit for reading garden blogs, and taking the time to respond. This is very important stuff. It will be watched by other executives to see where it leads. Some will say George is crazy to open himself up to this kind of interaction, yet for all the possible down sides I have to think that at least he is trying to get involved. He has made his point known, and now it's up to the blogosphere to sort it out.

This is exactly what we have been asking for. To be heard by these large corporations, and have them respond! Now, at least you know that the President of Burpee is listening, whether you agree with him or not.

By the way, I learned about this through Twitter! Don't let anyone tell you Twitter has no value.

Smith and Hawken's future decided on Feb.3rd?

Received a comment from Marc who say's he is an employee of Smith and Hawken. He say's, "on Feb 3 2009 there is a VERY important meeting regarding Mr Farrah’s analysis of Smith & Hawken." According to Marc, "if given the chance, I think he (CEO Pat Farrah) will be bringing back the glory of days gone by. If not, Scott’s will close Smith & Hawken and it will be completely gone by June 1 2009." We have talked about Smith and Hawken before.

If fellow business owners wonder why gift card sales we're down this Christmas, the comment from Xris (Flatbush Gardener) right after Marc's comment explains why.

Some reasons to be upbeat

I am excited about the opportunities that exist for small garden centers in the upcoming year. A couple of things have happened over the last few months that give me reason to be upbeat. First is the economic problems that exist. People are cutting back on their expenditures, only buying what they need. “Need” is a loaded term. What one person “needs” to get through the day, may be looked at as a luxury by someone else. With less money to spend on big vacations or extravagant expenditures one realizes what is really important. Since the house is most likely worth less than what you paid for it, you might as well not look at it as a asset. Instead look at it like it should have been looked at all along, as a home. A place to live and enjoy life, not to turn over after two years, and move on. With the realization that you most likely won't be moving anytime soon, we start looking for ways to improve are lifestyle right at home. A garden retreat may just be what does the trick.

Dovetailing with the macro-economic reasons, is a realization by many that where they spend their money matters. Do you want to continue having the option of visiting that great little nursery down the road, or do you really want to see nothing but Home Depots and Lowe's in town? The locavore movement is a part of this realization. We lost a great little restaurant on Main St., Placerville the other week. Poof, gone! I don't know the details of why they quit. We lost a great lunch spot.

The “green” movement is another factor in my feeling for a positive year in the nursery business. Without going into details, every garden center should be able to position themselves as authorities on “green”. We are “The Green Industry”. Smaller concerns will have a easier time with this than the larger corporations. The shear size of an operation like Home Depot precludes it from being “green”. No matter how hard they try to “green” their stores, you can't compete with the smaller footprint of a dynamic “green” nursery.

Finally, the desire to get and know who you do business with will benefit those that reach out to the community. How well can you really get to know a publicly traded company? The board of directors really want to be your friend! This is something that all generations, but especially generation Y, will embrace. Having grown up with Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter generation Y finds it very easy to gather information on anyone, and every business. Just being online won't help. You have to build “street creed” before you are accepted. Jump in with advertising or spam, and your toast. That's what is so frustrating for the big corporations. They have a harder time connecting, and instead use the interruption marketing that worked for them in the past. AT&T, Discover Card, and anyone else that interrupts my day by calling me on my business phone, to sell something is just wasting their time. Same goes for spam and junk mail.

Four different reasons that I feel optimistic about the future of small nurseries. The economy, the locavore movement (which is bigger than just where you get your food), the green movement, and finally, the need to connect, understand, and make a difference within the community.

Over 220 members, and growing.

In the past the only way to meet your fellow nursery people was through the local chapter of the association of nurserymen. We have the California Association of Nurserymen, or now called "California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers.There is our local chapter "Superior",  that puts on monthly meetings. Oh, and there is also the trade shows where you can meet vendors and other nurserypeople. These are great if you can get to them. I can't always get to the meetings. One, because of the distance involved. We are in the foothills, and the meetings are almost always an hour drive away. The trade shows are the same, although I think in my case it's just laziness that keeps me from attending. That's why I love the Internet. Yes, I know it's no excuse for actually "pressing the flesh" (sounds awful, but isn't). It's just the way it is, and besides when would I have ever met 5% of the people I "know" on the web.

The problem with the web now is there is to much information. Almost everything you might want to know is out there, it's just hard to wade through all the other stuff to find what you are looking for. If your interested in garden centers or nurseries there are now lot's of  nurserypeople blogging, and all sorts of forums and groups available. Access to the wealth of information available is possible, if you know where to look.

One place I would recommend visiting is Garden Centers, Nurseries, and New Media. This group is located at LinkedIn, the social utility. What I am amazed at is how quickly our group has grown. We now have over 220 members! Not just horticulturalist. That's what's exciting, seeing how various occupations can be integrated into the garden center world. Our latest member is involved in media. She is a "Video Producer with five years of multimedia production experience. Interested in providing cost-efficient, quality media to clients." Ah, ah! There is someone you might not meet at the trade show, yet could be invaluable to your business ideas concerning multi-media.

This "mashup" of talent is what get's me excited. Trade shows and trade meetings are just that, about the trade. What about outside of our trade? How can an nursery person in Belgium connect with a garden media personality in Los Angeles? What might come from such a meeting? Perhaps the next big idea! Maybe just a small idea that changes your world.

If your interested in joining check out this link. You'll have to join LinkedIn, but it's painless.

Early indicators?

We have had fantastic weather over the last few weeks. With temperatures in the mid 70s F you couldn't ask for a nicer mid-January. Of course every time I would comment on the beautiful weather the response would be," but we need the rain". Why can't people just enjoy the warm breeze and not stress about our lack of rain? This is northern California, and we are either in the middle of a drought, or flooding every January. Well, after the last few weeks of no rain it has started to rain again, and it looks like the chance of rain is on for the next week. Soon, very soon, people will start complaining about how wet it is. My fellow Californians are a bit spoiled when it comes to expectations about the weather. During those few weeks of glorious weather you would have to wonder where all the customers where? We had some very slow days, until we hit the new year and the arrival of bare root. Yes, it would seem people are planting fruit trees and bushes! I am re-ordering fruit trees as we speak, and look forward to more bare root sales.  The first to run out was"Granny Smith" Apples, followed by "Pink Lady" Apple, and the Pluot's. We are going to get more next week, and it's great to see the interest level high for these plants. Looks like Blueberries will score big again, and for the first time Figs are on the radar.

Not one to count my chickens before the eggs have hatched, I do think we will have a decent season coming up. Interest level is high for fruiting plants, and I assume for the warm season vegetables when they arrive.  We will have to see how the ornamental business is this year, but with all the doom and gloom around, it's nice to see one strong area at the garden center. I also can't discount the fact that we have  have been here now for over four years, and the community does seem to be embracing the garden center a bit more this year. In my opinion it takes years for a new business, especially a garden center, to be tested and embraced by the community. Maybe we have reached that level.

As we enter the new year I hope my fellow garden centers will be reporting the same thing from their regions. Increased interest in fruit and vegetable gardening, that translates to an appreciation of our backyards, and their relationship to the outside world.  We could all use some good news, and I hope these early season indicators translate into a better year for us all.

"Now if it would just stop raining..."

Just kidding, we need the rain...

Rural California faces expensive new law

I received a letter from the California Farm Bureau concerning an upcoming law. According to The Bureau, "The State Water Resources Control Board is calling them Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, which basically is just a fancy way of saying septic tanks.These septic tanks, which can be found on virtually every rural property in California, are the latest targets of proposed state regulations—and accompanying fees." Basically the state want's to make sure that septic systems be installed properly and function correctly. Fine so far. To make sure they do function properly the state say's, "property owners must have their septic tanks inspected for solids accumulations every five years by a qualified service provider. The estimated cost is $325. Owners whose existing septic systems are within 600 feet of a surface water body that does not meet water quality standards (impaired water body) will be subject to additional requirements."

I really don't have a problem having our septic system pumped every five years or when necessary. The inspection fee could be absorbed. What's concerning is the following. "Where existing septic systems have been identified by a regional water board to be contributing to the water quality impairment (pollution) of nearby surface water bodies, owners of those septic systems within 600 feet of the impaired surface water body will be required to have a qualified professional determine whether the septic system is contributing to the impairment. If so, retrofit of the septic system with supplemental treatment will be required at an estimated cost of $45,000."Yes, that's 45,000 dollars. What happens to someone who can't afford this? Most everyone here in the foothills have a septic system.

The Farm Bureau states, "In these times of limited resources, why would the state put these requirements on everyone rather than paying attention to specific areas where there are known concerns with contamination of ground or surface water. There's something wrong with priorities when the city of San Francisco is allowed to knowingly dump sewage into the bay following heavy rain events and the state instead goes after all of these individual property owners."  Yes, why are they going after individuals instead of cities like San Francisco, that dump sewage into the ocean in volumes much greater than any individual? Because the City has the resources and legal eagles to fight something like this. Grandma and Grandpa don't, and will have to cough up the money.

I am all for keeping our water way's clean. I am wondering if anyone else, in other locations has to deal with this type of over site? If you are a resident of California and live in a rural area you will be affected. If you within 600' of a small creek or stream, hold on to your wallet!

The future of garden reporting

Two post that touch on the same topic. The first from Amy at Garden Rant about the Seattle Post shuttering it's doors. Amy say's, "The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will be sold or shut down in 60 days. Those of you who don't get to Seattle much may not realize what a remarkable thing it is that the city has two lively daily newspapers--and that BOTH of them have great garden coverage." The second post is from Sarah at Open Register. She tells us what a marvelous opportunity this is for garden centers to pick up the slack by becomming the "new" garden reporters. Sarah say's, " When I travel for business, I always pick up a local paper. What irks me is when you open the Home/Garden section and find a plant-related story that was pulled from a national wire service. Too often the article is offering plant recommendations and tips that don’t jive with the local climate. (And then we wonder why newbie gardeners come into stores so confused. Sheesh.)"

I would add one more idea. Be sure to find out if you have local garden bloggers in your area, and touch base with them. Link to them. Comment at their posts. Ask them to write an article for you. We have a garden blogger in Sacramento that has put together a fabulous web page on the local garden scene. Angela at Garden Bliss also put's out "sacramentogardening.com" Check out the listings for garden centers in the area! We are there, too. See if you can spot us. Keep scrolling, we are the first one you come to with pictures added. What a marvelous resource!

I beleive that in the future we will see a colabrative effort from local nurseries, garden bloggers, bird watching groups, etc. working to enhance the local garden scene. As people start to realize how important the LOCAL ecomony is to our well being, different groups can work together to keep intrest high, and local businesses in business.

Big news in a small world

I wanted to comment again on the Bordier's Bankruptcy. I agree with Doug Green that most gardening enthusiast don't have an interest in whether Bordier's or any other wholesale nursery closes. I also agree that, "The trade press might find it of interest if it’s a singleton item - or of national importance (or even of major regional importance) but if it’s one of many happening right now - it isn’t news or even a story an advertiser wants to support. (Would you want your advertising next to stories of business failures?) I had an editor I respect very much tell me once that it was my first amendment right to write anything I wanted but an advertiser had the same right to decide not to advertise next to it. Guilt by association." Think about what Doug just said. When you accept advertising dollars it becomes harder to bring up stories that might offend the advertisers. This is of course why the main stream media is having fit's. Most blogs are written by people who like what they do, and don't have anyone to answer to. I was recently asked if I had said anything on my blog that I might regret later. Not yet! Who am I? Just some guy living in the foothills of California that happens to own a nursery. Our store is a tiny speck in the whole horticultural scheme of things. Have I offended Scott's/MiracleGro? Hines Nursery? Trade Media? Nursery Consultants? Other Nurseries?

The was a huge number of visitors that used "Bordier's bankruptcy" as the search term coming to my blog. The spike in readership that was spawned by these searches indicated to me that there we're lot's of people interested in this. Most are fellow nurserypeople wondering where they will get their plants next year. Others are wholesale nurseries wondering what's happening with the competition. Some are media outlets. In the insulated world of horticultural business this is big news.

The tie that exists between advertisers and media is one reason I feel the advent of blogs is a breath of fresh air. You have to wade through a lot of bad ones, but you will soon find the ones you trust. It's through these blogs that we can hash out the problems and solutions that need to be addressed. Time moves quickly these day's. Reading about the Bordier's or Hines Bankruptcies two months later when the print addition comes out is too late. You need the news today.It's March, and you just found out one of your major suppliers might not call on you. Now you can make educated decisions that will effect your business like, "where am I going to get my plants now?"

Where is the horticultural media on this?

Maybe there is just so much news out there to bother with this. Bordier's Nursery, a $27 million year operation with over 600 employees filed for bankruptcy. They listed over $50 million in debts. This is big news, yet when you Goggle Bordier's Bankruptcy the only news is from , Court House News, and other legal web crawler services, and this blog. Where are the horticultural news services?

While we hear the main stream media bemoan the advent of blogs, you have to wonder what we missed over the years. This is one reason why garden bloggers are becoming more and more important to the gardening world. They are the ones bringing up subjects that we need to address in our businesses.

The horticultural industries are in a rapid state of change. What we need now is to address areas that might have seemed taboo before. Sure it can be painful to address some issues, but that's what needed. Garden Bloggers often bring up issues that are painful, or don't fit with the image we have of ourselves. Yet these are the very people who often shop at our stores, and want to continue shopping with us.

Ilona's Garden Journal, a blog from Ohio, had a good post on this. She basically tells us what she want's from garden centers. If I owned a  nursery near where Ilona gardens, I would make contact with her. Let Ilona know that we appreciate her taking the time to express her views. Link our blog to her's, etc. This is the future as I see it. Sure we will look at the big name blogs for the big news, but it's the locally involved garden bloggers that will wield a lot of influence in each of our locales. This is the grass roots support we need.

Welcome to the recalibration

I love this blog post from Tom Peters. It's titled, "This is not a recession...think of it as a recalibration." It perfectly summarizes how I feel about our economic concerns. Tom say's, "everything is different now". How true. We in the horticulture business we're dealing with these changes even before the current economic roller coaster. Things are different now. The post encourages us to look to the incredible possibilities that are becoming available to us. We don't see them because we are so focused on our day to day lives, but the time to change is when everyone around you is hunkering down and doing their best to keep the status quo. Change is scary and people don't like to be scared. If you have the courage to face change with an air of excitement, you will start to see the opportunities afforded to us. Change is not easy, but it's our only choice.

Millennials want to meet you

This is interesting, and I feel good news for garden centers. The nursery business is fixated on what generation x and y are up to. Well this seems like it might translate over to the garden businesses. This was listed under "Millennials". According to Iconoculture, "The second-annual UnFancy Food Show — a celebration of handmade, decidedly unfussy food — was held at a dive bar in Brooklyn on June 29, 2008." The web page continues, "treats included country pâté with wild ramps; blackberry ice cream; and direct-trade, stone-ground organic chocolate." Sounds delicious to me. What's the take on this? According to Iconoculture, "The 'local, sustainable, organic' mantra isn't just for hardcore foodies. More and more consumers want to know where their food comes from (and want to meet the people who make that food)." Local, sustainable, organic, and they want to meet  the people who make that food. The small garden center is local, sells sustainable products, and can be organic leaning. You can usually meet the owners of the smaller operations. You should also be able to meet the people who "make"the plants and garden products via a blog. I am asked all the time why anyone should spend their time blogging. Because it's another way for people to "meet" the people behind that local, sustainable, organic, garden center.

What I find interesting is the idea of an un-fancy food event appeals to me, decidedly not a millennial. I think this trend extends beyond a certain age group. People are looking for connections in their lives. Who owns that small business down the road? How do they fit into the fabric of the neighborhood? Here is the money line from Iconoculture, " Food is no longer mere sustenance. Young, hip, creative people are seeing food as an (edible) art form and a creative outlet (New York Times 3.16.08)" Take food out and substitute "gardening". I think the future can be bright for those of us that understand this.

Another take on Smith and Hawken

It's good to hear from people who work at the companies we talk about. The last post about Smith and Hawken elicited a response from Drake in PA. This is great, as I am only one person with a opinion. Sometimes I don't see the whole picture and it's always good to get another opinion. One area that Drake in PA had a different take on was customer service. Drake in PA a say's, "I’m also intrigued by what you refer to as a 'lack of customer service' leading to our demise. We have one of the highest customer service ratings in the industry." I don't know what rating service Drake in PA is talking about. If I was a potential customer of Smith and Hawken and Google Smith and Hawken on the first page at the bottom is Dave's Garden, with the Scoop on Smith and Hawken.  The feedback on the company shows, 11 positives, 5 neutrals, and 13 negative reviews. I am not going to repeat the reviews here, except to say if I was a potential customer I would have second thoughts after reading these reviews.

Dave's Garden is just one rating service, but it is a popular one. As a potential customer it's great to be able to read what others have said about a company. Each review must be looked at in the context of that particular moment, and that persons mood. Never the less, a larger number of people have had a negative experience.

This is the problem with working at large corporations. The people  at Smith and Hawken, like Drake in PA are excited about what they do, and hope to grow the company. Meanwhile the company that owns the brand, Scotts/Miracle Gro wants to sell. They say it's a drag on earnings. What a drag for the brand. Enthusiastic employees. Not so enthusiastic owners. Hard to get any traction.

Stay excited, Drake in PA. Perhaps you are right, and the company will continue. Maybe with owners that want to grow the brand, rather than sell it.

Smith and Hawken, the down hill spiral

Lot's of people wondering what is going on with Smith and Hawken, the garden supply company owned by Scotts/Miracle-Gro. We have talked about this company before, when the last rumor of Scotts selling the brand. Judging by the negative reviews at Dave's Garden it won't be long. Besides the quality of the tools going down, it's the lack customer service that is the biggest complaint. It's no secret Scott's want's to sell the brand.  Who will buy it is another question. When a brand starts getting negative publicity year after year trying to resurrect it becomes harder and harder. Sometimes it's just better to start anew. I watched this company from the get go, visiting their stores in Berkley, and Palo Alto, well over 20 years ago.The stores we're so cool because they promoted quality tools from England we hadn't seen before. Cheap shovels that fell apart and had to be replaced every year was the norm. Suddenly there was a place promoting quality, which was so novel then.

I don't fault Paul Hawken for selling the brand. Nor Scott's for buying the brand. It was just a strange marriage from the beginning. It seems another example of a large corporation looking beyond it's core, and trying to buy a certain reputation and customer. With instant messaging and reviews available for all to see it's getting harder and harder for companies to fake it.

Pay at scan for Independents

A question for the wholesale growers who sell to The Depot, and other chains. Why not offer the pay at scan deal to the independents? In case you don't know, wholesale growers who sell to the box stores are not paid until the plants they supply are sold at retail. If the plants don't sell they have to pick them up, and are not paid. It seems to me that most independents would take better care of the plants so there would be less pickups. You might think that once independents got a hold of this deal, they would allow the plants to go downhill and then just return them, like The Boxes. I doubt it though, since the condition of the plants is a big selling feature for the independents.

We have been told in the past to look to the boxes and other large chains like Target, to see how they operate.  We are told that there are ideas we as independents can use. Well, how about pay at scan for independents? Don't tell me that only the Big Boys can produce the volume to make this work. Apparently they can't.

As we end the year who knows what 2009 has in store? It will be a year of great change in the nursery business. I have a feeling we are going to see more large companies hitting the skids. There is just not enough volume to support all the wholesale operations. The ones that remain will need to figure out what "nursery industry" they want to service. I feel that the industry will continue to fragment. You cannot service the box stores and chains while still giving the service that independents require. You'll have to pick. If I we're a grower I would find out how to service the independents  and stick with them. Sure it means your company will be smaller, but it will be more nimble, and less effected by one or two large businesses.

I think 2009 will be a very, very, interesting year when it comes to the nursery industry. Maybe the most interesting any of us in the trade have seen for quite a while.

Happy New Year!

Plant growers and the box stores

With both Hines and Bordiers Nursery having filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy one wonders just what these companies will focus on after the emerge from bankruptcy.  Will they return to the chains like Home Depot? Will they focus on independent garden centers? I am sure one of the areas that got theses places in trouble is the pay by scan that Home depot and other chains require. Pay at scan means the grower, like Bordier's does not get paid until it is sold to the end customer by Home Depot. If The Depot does not sell the plants they are returned to the grower and not paid for. This explains the row upon row of clipped rosemary I saw at our local Home Depot. They we're selling them at prices I would have to pay for them. They we're from The Pinery, owned by Bordiers. So the bottom line is, the customer got a great deal on clipped Christmas Trees, but the supplier went belly up. What happens next year? Will growers who want to do business with the chains still sign on to pay at scan next year?  Will they return to the independents that have to pay when the receive the plants, not just when they are sold? I don't think there are enough independents to support all these growers. Big changes coming down the pike when it comes to plant growers. Will growers who currently do not supply the chains start seeing an opportunity, and start selling to them? I could see that happening, except I can't imagine any grower signing up for pay by scan. Does this mean The Depot and others will have to start paying for the plants when the arrive? Gee, what will they do when the plants start to die and they can't return them. What the rest of us independents have had to do all along, "Eat the loss."

From the comments in the last post I see that El Modeno Gardens Nursery has not filed for bankruptcy protection. A comment before indicated that they had. So we will wait and see what happens. El Modeno has been thick in the box stores for the last few years, and they have to play by the same rules as every other grower. Perhaps, financially they are better prepared to weather the storm. Time will tell. I do agree that the box stores have sucked the life out of these companies, but it takes two to tango, and the companies knew who they we're getting in bed with from the get go.