The plant world turned upside down

Had to laugh when I saw this DIY suggestion at lifehacker.  The Topsy-Turvy craze is spilling over into the ornamental market. The project looks like it could be fun. Recycling old containers into upside down planters. The orchid is a great subject, too.

If you don't want to tackle the project yourself you could head over to Velocity where they will sell you the completed project, called a Boskke Sky Planter Classic for just $75.

When the world seems "turned upside down" why fight it?

I am not fan of the Topsy-Turvy. Last year I wrote that, "one wonders how many people who planted a tomato in a Topsy-Turvy will do that again? I can’t think of any one item this year (2009)that so perfectly expresses peoples excitement about gardening, and yet tells of their utter lack of knowledge about gardening. This things just don’t work out here where summer time heat gets in the 90’s and 100 degree F range. They dry out much too quickly, yet I have many customers who bought them (not from us). People still love the idea of a gimmick."

Target closing all 260 of it's garden centers

Looks like Target is getting out of the garden center business by late September 2010. According to Grower Talks, Target "is closing it's remaining garden centers in Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada." According to spokesperson Jana O'Leary the reason they are closing is "...that the garden centers don't provide significant value to our guests. Also, it's no longer a profitable business for us." In addition, as the two pictures taken at the Folsom Target near here attest, their plant knowledge was lacking. Labeling Scotch Broom as Azalea's does not help. Why we're they selling an invasive plant through their stores? When a chain like Target get's out of the business the suppliers who hitched their wagon to the chain will suffer.  Altman Plants, headquartered in southern California supplies up to 85% of the plants that Target sold. Ken Altman say's, "You know, you never want to take a hit like this..." He say's they are now focusing on "finding other ways to use his production capacity, to save as many jobs as possible for his employees."

Who's next? Walmart? I had heard rumblings that they were considering getting out of the business for the same reasons sited by the Target spokesperson, not profitable. Lowe's and Home Depot? How long can they bleed their suppliers on cost and returns? How long can the suppliers keep picking up unsold merchandise and replacing it with new stock? If I was a major supplier to these chains I would start thinking about what to do when they finally decide that running a nursery just does not "provide significant value to"... the "guests".

The exciting field of horticulture?

Here is a video clip of a new vertical wall of greens and flowers at Mario Batali's restaurant, Pizzeria Mozza in LA. He admits there may not be much harvesting going on. He say's it's more of a symbol or "flag" promoting his ideals of "being local, organic, and fresh." Frank  of  New York City Garden commented at my last post about a "egg shaped mini-hydroponic vegetable grower-dispenser." "G.T.G. is a self-contained mini hydroponic greenhouse the size of a vending machine.

Both of these ideas show how much is changing in the world of horticulture. They key to all these innovations are summarized in Mario's comments about being, "local, organic, and fresh." It's a great opportunity for the small businesses out there that deal with the exciting field of horticulture. " Did I just say, "exciting field of horticulture?" Yup.

An eco-system in a shower

Whether you think this idea will take off or not, it's the first time I have ever seen a mini eco-system in a shower. Here at the Pitsenberger house we have a big Boston fern in our bathroom, but this idea takes bringing the outside in to a new level. 

It doesn't matter where you buy your plants?

Over at The Inadvertent Gardener Genie laments "the unscented tomato seedlings of Home Depot." She left the store, "sheepish and sad for the people who would, no doubt, buy those seedlings. I have no scientific backing for this claim, but it seems to me that if the leaves have no scent, it’s likely the tomatoes will have very little flavor, as well." Genie's first commenter responded that she had, "purchased tomato plants (even heirlooms) at Home Depot many times and they were fantastic once I got them home and planted them. (Plants are plants, I don’t it matters where they are being sold..."

Both Genie and I would disagree with that. Genies response is here.

What's important to me as a garden center owner is it will be almost impossible to convince a person who say's "plants are plants it doesn't matter where they are being sold... " to shop at my place of business. These people are actually the majority of people who garden. This explains why the box stores have been so successful. We can try and point out the differences, but really the better approach is to focus our attention on people like Genie. Not only will she be more likely to shop at our business, but if anyone is going sway her commenter that not all plants are created equal it's her.

Reader Marc relates how it's unwise to plant tomatoes too early anyway. What's great is how Marc steers us to Baia Nicchia Farm and Nursery. They grow "gourmet tomatoes and more for the Bay Area." I like their post, "Stick it to the man..." where they extol the virtues of planting at the appropriate time and comment that, " we have seen large stores in the Bay Area roll out tomatoes around Valentine's day, which is insane. These stores don't care about you. They just want you to buy as many tomato plants as possible (some now, and some later when the ones you buy now die). Tomatoes are tropical plants, they don't belong in anyone's garden now!"

So while the majority of gardeners are quite content to shop the box stores there is a smaller group of people who think differently. We really don't need a large advertising budget if we can give them what they want. They will spread the word on their own, one blog post at a time.

Armstrong nursery responds

Armstrong Nurseries responded to my last post here.  I appreciate their response. Commenter Michael White expresses his feelings, as well as mine concerning how this turned out. What's fascinating  are the possibilities inherent in the use of social media by companies that truly want to participate. You can build your business on input from the customer faster than ever before. Both positive and negative feedback if acted on can help business avoid larger problems later. Inviting the customer to provide input via social media opens all sorts of possibilities for collaboration. It is after all the the customer that makes or breaks any business. A customer who feels they have made a positive change in their local business will remember that and spread the word.

We await Armstrong Nursery's response...

Imagine just a few years ago. The largest nursery chain in California runs an ad in the local paper extolling the virtues of the pesticide Sevin. In the ad they say, "Garden Tip: Do you have bug problems in your garden? Try Sevin Insect Control. It's OK to use on edibles and is environmentally-friendly." How would you have responded if you disagreed? Write or call. Even if you got the company to listen it's doubtful the company would have printed a retraction or printed your feelings. In  the old days the advertisers controlled the message.  Of course things have changed. Companies want to jump on the social media bandwagon and use it to get their message out.  Twitter is one such medium that many companies are starting to use. The difference these days is the audience can comment back.

Armstrong Nurseries tweeted the other day that the pesticide Sevin was,"OK to use on edibles and is environmentally-friendly."  When Farmer Fred and myself Tweeted our concerns we we're directed to this paper. According to the paper Sevin or Carbaryl is not very environmentally friendly. "Direct contact of the skin or eyes with moderate levels of this pesticide can cause burns. Inhalation or ingestion of very large amounts can be toxic to the nervous and respiratory systems resulting in nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and excessive salivation. Other symptoms at high doses include sweating, blurring of vision, incoordination, and convulsions." The paper continues, "Carbaryl is lethal to many non-target insects, including bees and beneficial insects."

Since there is no definition of "Environmentally friendly" it's left to the advertiser and reader to make that distinction.  What does "environmentally friendly" mean? If one of the most toxic insecticides to bees can be called environmentally friendly, where does it end?  We saw this coming a couple of years ago as advertisers of all stripes jumped on the ecological and environmentally safe bandwagon. The terms have lost their meaning.

As more and more advertisers use social media to make claims, it's up to the users of that social media to speak up when they disagree with those claims. While most advertisers would prefer that those they are advertising at remain silent and do as they are told, others will relish the idea that they now have a forum to discuss these claims. People are searching for the truth and will reward those companies who speak the truth and are not afraid to fess up when they are wrong. We all make mistakes, and these days the price of making those mistakes right are a lot smaller. No more expensive print or TV ads explaining the mistake. Now it's just a matter of Tweeting, blogging, or Facebooking the response. It's a win-win for the customer as well as the company.

Another customer of Armstrong Nurseries Tweeted , "Is it o.k. for pet's, too?" Armstrong Tweeted back, "The powder form can be applied on dogs for flea control. Pets should be kept away from the area when using the liquid form." Why should pet's be kept away when using the liquid form? If the product is "environmentally friendly", why keep pet's away?

We await Armstrong Nursery's response...

The insecticide Sevin is "environmentally friendly"?

I have written a few times on the current trend to call everything "environmentally friendly." The use of the words "eco" and  "environmentally friendly" are used by marketers for everything from a new car, to new clothing. They are buzz words and can be used to describe just about anything we want to sell. It all in how you look at it. Sure, a Prius might be more environmentally friendly than another car, but it's less environmentally friendly than biking or walking to work. It's all relative. Farmer Fred Hoffman alerted me to this Twitter feed from Armstrong Nurseries, the largest independent garden chain in California.  According to the feed, "Garden Tip: Do you have bug problems in your garden? Try Sevin Insect Control. It's OK to use on edibles and is environmentally-friendly. 1:55 PM Apr 7th via HootSuite." I suppose a vegetable garden sprayed with Sevin is more environmentally friendly than that same area covered in concrete.

What's really neat is how people like Fred can catch stuff like this now. No longer are advertisers going to be able to make claims without being called to task. It's good for the public, and good for business. It's even good for Armstrong Nurseries, as they now have a forum to tell us about their claim.

Getting the word out, one Google search at a time

I am getting more visitors coming to this site from this Google search Home Depot tomatoes. The playing field is becoming more even between large corporations and the smaller players. The moral is, if you have something to say, say it! You can make a difference. Home depot is pushing the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter again this year.  As we discussed last year, these things are not the best choice for our low humidity, hot temperature summers. Never the less they will most likely sell thousands of these things.

You heard it here first

Lifehacker has been doing more and more posts on gardening. They mentioned Smart Pots at a post of March 29th, 2010. We talked about them here, August 29th, 2009! That's o.k. Got to get that cutting edge info from somewhere. Now here is something I haven't seen. A tackle box planter.  They also talked about a shoe organizer planter in July of 2009.

Are these things practical? Doesn't matter, as they show an increased interest in all things gardening. From these crazy or not so crazy ideas will come the next big thing(s).

Box stores and independents, two different worlds

I had a lady stop in yesterday to buy a pot and some soil for a plant she picked up at the Lowe's in Folsom. She found a standard (shaped into a tree form) Scotch Broom in the garbage hopper behind the store. The only reason it was in the hopper was it had gone out of bloom. The plant was in fine condition and she planed on putting it in a pot until she could figure out where to plant it. It's a evergreen shrub, not a annual. She mentioned that they wouldn't let her just have it. They charged her $5, even though they we're throwing it out. This is wrong on so many levels.

Why was Lowe's throwing this healthy out of bloom plant out? Most likely they received credit from the wholesale grower who didn't want to pick it up.  Pay at scan means the box stores don't pay for unsold merchandise. They simply don't pay the wholesale nursery for it and the wholesale nursery pick's it up or they just dump it.

Why did they charge this lady $5 for a plant that was headed for the landfill?

Why is Lowe's selling what my county El Dorado considers a noxious weed? Sacramento county does not consider it a noxious weed. Noxious pest in one county, but not the other?

My local Home Depot in Placerville has it's shelves filled with summer color and vegetables. Interesting thing is we are expecting snow today. These plants are not in a greenhouse, but on those Bonnie Plants supplied kiosks. When they die from the cold, Bonnie will pick them up and bring in more. Unsuspecting customers will assume that the nursery people at the Home Depot wouldn't be selling these plants unless it's time to plant them. If they die just bring them back in for credit. No responsibility by the box store for selling plants too early. No responsibility by the wholesale supplier for churning this stuff out and not holding the box stores responsible. And lastly no responsibility by the consumer who will just bring the plant back to the box stores for a replacement. No responsibility by anyone in the chain of events.

It has become clear that the only way for smaller independent nurseries to survive is to do the exact opposite of the box stores.

Sell plants that are appropriate for the seasons, despite what the local box store does. Yes, we have tomatoes, but they are inside and protected from the cold. You see, we have to grow and buy the plants we sell. We can't just stick them outside and return them to our vendors when they die.

Don't sell invasive pests, whether our county say's it's o.k or not.

Give people the right information to help make them better gardeners. Not just move SKU's that can be tossed in the garbage when done.

Don't buy from vendors that supply the box stores. They are as responsible as the box stores for the careless attitude that allows healthy plants to be junked.

Box stores, the vendors that supply them, and customers that shop there are not going anywhere. No sense in getting upset. We just try to find plants, vendors, and customers who do things differently.  We want to partner with organizations that care about what, and who they sell to. We want customers that accept some of the responsibility for their actions. No, I should not have to replace that plant that the deer ate or the cold killed.We told you they we're deer resistant, not deer proof. We don't plant out tomatoes until May, and at least we told you when you bought it.

The future of garden retail will be the tale of two different way's of doing business. The box stores and their suppliers, and on the other side the independent nursery and their suppliers.  One represents big business, throw away culture, and little or no corporate or personal responsibility. The other side represents small business, re-use and recycle, as well as personal and corporate responsibility.

It's your choice.

Famous Bay Area nursery in foreclosure

Just read that a Bay Area landmark nursery Western Hills has closed, and is going through foreclosure. According to The San Francisco Chronicle “the nearly 50-year-old nursery and garden, designed and built by San Franciscans Marshall Olbrich and Lester Hawkins, cultivated and popularized many of the plants that thrive in Bay Area gardens today.”

According to the Chronicle “Hawkins died in the mid-1980s, followed by Olbrich in 1991. The partners left the property to a longtime employee until she could no longer care for it. She sold it to local partners Robert Stansel and Joseph Gatta in 2007.” The paper continues, “Stansel and Gatta admittedly had no professional experience running a garden of Western Hills' size and class, but their $1.5 million purchase was a saving grace…”  “The pair intended to hold onto the garden until a local group or nonprofit could take over. In the meantime, they planned to charge for visits to recoup some of the costs.”  Apparently, the slow economy was the final blow.

It’s interesting to read the comments. Everything from, “blame the native species movement for the demise,” to “it can't be THAT popular if it can't even rustle up a few local volunteers for upkeep and 1.5 mil” and “on the positive side, I sincerely hope this is an indication of a turning away from the introduction of lovable exotics. Perhaps this should be viewed as the end of one era, and the beginning of another.”

Gardening is fragmenting into different niches. That’s neither good nor bad, but does have serious implications for anyone wanting to get into or continue in the garden business. Which niche do you decide to service, and which to ignore? Not always an easy choice.

Smaller and faster is cool

Our small garden business has sure changed over the last few years. Since we opened the nursery over five years ago the idea of what constituted a garden center has changed. Where as in the past we focused on ornamental's we now focus on edibles, or consumables. This was a survival move, and one that was made easier by being a small operation. The ornamental market here in northern California is decimated. In the past people would spot some cool ornamental plant, fall in love, purchase it, and then figure out where to plant it. Now the plant has to match a need the customer has. Screening a neighbors junk pile, providing shade, or preventing erosion, etc. Much less in the way of impulse sales. In this new world the hardest part for myself is letting go of past ideas of what a garden center means. With change coming faster and faster every year it's a good to be a small operation that can make those changes quickly. Being a small operation does not mean you can't have a big impact.  Through the internet our reach grows every day, yet the physical operation actually gets smaller. This is a trend that I believe will continue. We prefer buying from smaller operations that are closer to our business model. The box and chain stores continue to consolidate who they buy from. It seems that soon only the largest wholesale operations will be able to service the box stores.

We have noticed an increase in people looking to buy from small, locally owned business. They even make a point of saying they are doing it. Perhaps people have finally seen the relationship between where they buy, and the local economy. Shop at the larger stores and where does the money go? Buy from your local, smaller operation and you can see the results. Of course you have to have what people want, and at a reasonable price.  Pull that off and folks will respond.

Thinking of starting a small garden business? Now is the time. Don't wait for the economy to improve. If your idea has merit then it will work no matter what the larger economy is doing. If you can start and survive now, when the economy does improve you will have no where to go but up. More and more people are realizing that the only really work security comes from owning your own business. At least you know your success or failure is your responsibility, not some unseen bureaucrat at corporate headquarters. It is a bit scary at times, but so many good things come from doing things that are a bit scary. Fear is a great motivator.

California native plants at The Golden Gecko

California native plant growers Lotus Valley Natives is located just 6 miles from us. They are a new grower, maybe just a couple of years in business. The nursery is a  wholesale only and closed to the public, which can pose a problem for native plant enthusiasts. What we have done is set aside an area in the nursery that will be devoted to native plants. They tend to be viewed, and sell better when they are grouped together. The area we have set aside is basically going to be a mini-Lotus Valley nursery, where the the best of what they have to offer will be available to the native plant enthusiast seven days a week. It's a win-win situation for both nurseries. It allows Lotus Valley a location to send people who are interested in natives and want to visit any day of the week. It gives us the best selection of native plants in a three county area! Native plant enthusiasts will drive a distance for a good selection of natives.

I think there are more possibilities for this type of partnering.  Lotus Valley will restock the selection every couple of weeks, and we hope to hold workshops on the use of natives in our landscapes. Our first workshop will be April 24th, at 10am in our new workshop building (the old store). The interest in using native plants is going to grow as people put more time and energy into the food producing portion of their gardens. Natives, properly placed will cut down the amount of maintenance needed in the rest of the landscape. Here in northern California where the summers are dry, natives once established take little or no water. A huge benefit.

17th century coffehouses, portable farms, and your local garden center

We are at the cusp of a gardening revolution. Every where we look new ideas and people are invigorating the field of horticulture. Some feel threatened by the changes, others look forward to the next development. As a nurseryman for over 30 years that I have felt both feelings lately. There is no better time to be in the garden center business than right now, yet that does not mean there are not great challenges to be faced. There will be many more small, medium, and large nurseries that will go out of business. Anytime there is a revolution the world as we know it gets turned upside down. Rather than pine for the old days of the garden center world, better to ride the wave into the future. What does the future hold for us? Ideas that at first seem outlandish, then come to make sense. My last post dealt with window farms. Window farms? How can you have a farm in a window? The idea that it is even a farm is a revolutionary idea. We all have a picture of what a "farm" is, and most of us would not think of a small window garden as a farm. This is one of the big changes we are talking about. It's the change we make in our own minds. A farm is a state of mind. Yes, you can be a farmer and live in the city. How about portable farms?

Check out the website, Portable Farms. They claim, "A Portable Farms& Aquaponics System is a onsite, food-production facility that ensures food security." Key words,"food security". One of the reasons we are seeing a resurgence in home-grown food gardens is concern about how commercial food is being grown and distributed. By growing your own you are in control. Just the idea of "portable farms" is intriguing. The use of hydroponics is growing by leaps and bounds. The necessary changes are coming that will allow us to grow tasty food hydroponically. The taste of commercial grown hydroponic (hot-house) food has been poor, just as commercially grown in soil food is never quite as tasty as home-grown.

Portable Farms makes use of hydroponics and aquaculture. I cannot vouch for the results of this system, yet it seems to me a great idea for producing food using modern technology. Here is a description of the system, and the inventor Colle Davis.  Colle and his wife Phyllis claim, "they enjoyed all the organic table vegetables, berries, tomatoes, and fish they could possibly eat with enough surplus to feed 50 people daily vegetables and one serving of fish per week, per person, for an entire year."

This is only the beginning. As Colle says, "Sometimes, all it takes is one simple idea that leads to other ideas and then on to other answers . . . it is in that collaboration that people will solve the problems of the world". In my last post about window farms the idea of collaboration was key. One person has an idea, its spread through the internet where someone else improves on the idea, and so on. The pace of change is what is so exciting. Ideas that took years to find an audience in the past now just take days, if not hours.

Just as coffee houses in the 17th century became places for discussion and world-changing ideas, the small local garden center should become its 21st century equivalent.  Places for the community to gather and share ideas that will change the world. It's coming sooner than we think.