Free yourself to think more clearly

The future of the garden and gardening is malleable and not a given. As such the future of the garden center, garden shop, or whatever we wish to call it is open to a myriad of possibilities. The old order seems to be dying, and a new one has yet to emerge. I suggest there is no one “new order” to arise, but many, many choices available.

It’s this change that frightens us. Will everyone shop only at box stores and their kind? Is the future of gardening businesses just to get bigger and bigger? We hear that one way to be successful in this field is to serve food, or coffee along with our plant offerings. Some stores have found success doing this, while others have not. We are also told that to be successful in this new world we must have attendant business attached to our business. How can we possibly appeal to the new generation of gardeners is we don’t offer more and more choices when they arrive at our store? How can we not offer free Wi-Fi or QR codes to scan? Will everyone simply buy online, leaving the physical store behind?

It’s so difficult to predict the future of gardening, and the gardening related businesses. Everything is possible, and without a guidepost we feel lost and unsure how to proceed. When I started in the business the path “seemed” clearer. Now it would seem we have so many different paths that can be followed. Which is the correct one that will lead to our ability to stay in business and thrive? There is no lack of well meaning people, publications, and organizations ready to help. Who do we listen to?

It seems that with The Internet the amount of information increases daily. You get what you focus on, and with so much “information” coming your way, how can you focus? My suggestion is to limit how much information you digest on any given day. You might think you’ll miss something important if you don’t receive all that information. What if the “future of gardening” is published and you’re the last to find out? Someone else will reap the benefits, and leave you in the dust.

I suggest that you turn off much if not most of that noise. I have cancelled most of my subscriptions to well meaning newsletters, and publications. Not that someone else won’t enjoy them and reap benefits. I find for myself, focusing on a much smaller diet of “positive news” makes a huge difference. There is so much negativity all around that it might seem impossible, but it’s not. This includes The Internet, which can be one of the biggest time sucks there is. Interestingly, when I turned off 90% of “The News” I found that my “online time” shrunk to about 10% of what I had been spending with it before. My outlook has improved and I don’t feel lost or left out. Pick your “trusted resources”, and turn off the others. You’ll free up your mind to focus on what’s really important. You won’t miss a thing and you just might discover the proper path for you follow.

The post garden center world

There is no lack of motivational ideas for turning your garden center business around. The most recent was in Garden Center Magazine. Titled, "Take a good look in the mirror", it's " how to work through the major industry challenges, such as marketing to young homeowners, and keeping websites current."  These are good tips that should be followed as a matter of course.

Sometimes the best course of action is to quit. Today I head from another nursery that is closing after three years in business. The owners say they are tired of working so hard, only to find themselves in a hole. Likely their choice of closing now is the best decision they could have made. The old garden center model is dying, and these people are going to head in another direction. They will look into opening a smaller garden shop closer in town where they will have a larger pool of people to work with. They will also start growing vegetables for the local market. This can be done through farmers markets, the small garden shop, or subscriptions. These people knew the direction they were headed wouldn't work anymore, so they quit.

I am afraid many of us in the trade beat ourselves up mentally and physically trying to run our businesses according to what worked in the past. You can only beat you head against the wall so much before it really starts to hurt. More and more I am convinced the future for the small garden center is outside the traditional supply chain and trade think. Much of that supply chain and thinking is a result of the past ideas on how garden centers operated. However, we are entering the "post garden center world". In a world of infinite choices why would we continue to think that trying to carry and sell "everything for the garden" would work?

What's the answer? I'm not sure, but the present course is not working so well for many in the trade. There is no shame in quitting, and moving on. In many cases it's just what's needed to bring new ideas to the forefront. Somehow we need to get beyond the idea that quitting is failing. The future will be full of quitting, and starting anew. Just becasue we are entering the "post garden center world" doesn't mean that people will stop gardening! They will still need gardening supplies and places that sell those supplies. In most cases though, it won't be from a "garden center". Ready?

Roger Reynolds Nursery in Menlo Park is closing

Roger Reynolds Nursery, located in Menlo Park, has announced they will be closing shop after September 28th. Roger Reynolds has been serving the mid-San Francisco Peninsula for 97 years. I remember working at Christensen's Nursery, just north of Roger Reynolds 30 years ago.  They we're California Nursery Association members, and the various Peninsula based nurseries would get together regularly for chapter meetings and dinner.

Did you notice where Roger Reynolds is located? Menlo Park is the epicenter for Silicon Valley wealth. Actually Menlo Park has been the epicenter of wealth on The San Francisco Peninsula for over 100 years. How is it a fine garden center such as this can't even make it there?

Here is what Sally Halstead, owner had to say, "It is with a heavy heart that I announce that after 97 years in the same location serving the residents of Menlo Park and the surrounding communities, Roger Reynolds Nursery & Carriage Stop has closed its doors for the last time.

This has not been an easy decision. Despite all our efforts since the severe economic downturn of 2008 our business has been unable to adequately recover.

I thank the generations of loyal, faithful customers who have supported the Roger Reynolds tradition these many years. On behalf of my family and staff, I thank each and every one of you for being with us. Your patronage and support has been most valued and appreciated. Thank you!"

It's a shame to see these old garden centers going out of business. If you can't make a garden center work in Menlo Park, then you know the trade has changed even more fundamentally than just the economic downturn. The modern gardener just does not support the garden center business in numbers great enough to prevent this from happening. Like so many  businesses, you don't realize how special they we're until they are gone.

Planting garlic

"Spanish roja" or "Greek" garlic is one of my favorite varieties. I planted about  200 in this bed alone. Likely plant about 400 more at home. Fall is the time to plant garlic in northern California.

I don't plant the big "Elephant Garlic". Too mild a flavor for my taste. The "Spanish roja" has a nice spicy flavor.  Unsurpassed thrown in a hot pan with just about anything. I cook them in their skin, removing it later.

Break the individual cloves off the garlic bulb. Space these cloves about 6-8 inches apart, in rows 15 inches wide. They get planted point up, about 1 inch into the soil. I set them where they will be planted first, like in the picture. Then it's easier to just dig a small hole where they sit.

It's a long time before we harvest, usually in July. During winter there is not much to do . In spring we water once the rains have stopped. Harvest is usually in July. Once the garlic is dug up you can store it for months in a cool, dry place.  It's great having fresh garlic available to throw on the BBQ, or stove.

Grow Food, Not Lawns

I receive an industry magazine and found this advertisement for General Organics on the back. It's one of the first ad's I have seen where a fertilizer company is promoting the idea of food over lawns.

We sell General Organics, and I like this proactive approach. While the industry struggles to explain why it continues to sell systemic pesticides possibly linked to Bee Colony Collapse, these people have seen the future, and left all the other fertilizer companies behind.

Is that a tattoo of the Twitter bird on the lady? Check out the neighbors lawns. The ad suggests that it's "hip" to grow veggies, even if your neighbors don't. How much you want to bet these people have a "alternative" garden out back?

The caption below the couple say's, "General Organics provides your plants with complete and wholesome nutrition from start to finish. With GO you can grow your own fresh & healthy produce and your friends and family will enjoy the fruits of your labors."

Look out mainstream fertilizer companies. The magazine is from a hydroponic industry trade journal. Yup, the hydro trade is gunning for more "mainstream" garden dollars as we talked about in the past. 

How do we attract younger gardeners?

The nursery trade anxiously looks towards the younger generation. Our trades attempts to appeal to that younger demographic seem to fall on deaf ears. It seems the younger people either don't want to garden, or just want to grow edibles, herbs, and Herb. Where have all the ornamental gardeners gone?

Trying to entice this younger crowd towards gardening has the trade is a tizzy. The "Plant Something" campaign started by The Arizona Nursery Association of Nurseries is an example of how scared the trade is. They don't even care what you plant, as long as it's "something".

Author Doug Green has some thoughts on The Nursery trade's attempts to lure the younger crowd into the gardening world.  He say's, "...forget trying to attract young people and forget all the jeezly angst around that topic. Work with interested people no matter their age."

The nursery trade will never return to its former day's when people gardened to fit in, and spent untold amounts of money to improve their "curb appeal". The demographics of a shrinking Baby Boomer customer base, and a younger generation much smaller in size are changing the trade. The younger generations are not only smaller in population, but don't seem to have the desire, or money to follow their elders interest in ornamental gardening.

Here is a link to Doug's article. 

Trends report shows a 40% drop in garden spending for 2013.

Here is the first "trends list" for 2014 that I have seen. It's put out by The Garden Media Group and is published in Garden Center Magazine under the heading, "Buying Power Shifts To Millennials And Female Home Owners".  The trends listed are:

1. Women's financial power at unprecedented levels.
2. Millennials are a buying force.
3. Seeking happiness in a wired world.
4. Sustainability trend continues to deepen.
5. Garden buying in flux.
6. Alcohol and garden a happy mix.

The interesting part for the garden center world comes under 5, and Garden Buying in Flux. I am not surprised, but still the amount is staggering. Listing how Americans spend their money , number 1 is shopping for Christmas accounting for $586 billion. It's followed by weight loss methods at $61 billion, and gardening at $58 billion.

Unfortunately the trends report had the lowest response in years for gardening. "2013 average spending is projected at $278 — 40 percent below 2012 at $470". That's a huge drop! While the Millennials may have entered the home owner stage there are simply fewer of them than there we're "Baby Boomers". In addition, the Millennials are broke and don't have a lot of excess cash for things like gardening. That's not going to change for awhile.

Making gardening hip or cool?

 

According to Ball Publishing, "The Berry Family of Nurseries (BFN) announces the launch of a line of products aimed at the urban dweller. Berry is teaming with internationally recognized landscape designer, author and garden personality Jaime Durie. The partnership is designed to engage the up and coming gardeners and gardeners to be."

In a You Tube interview Jamie say's, " “We’re going to make gardening hip again...and were going to make it fun.”  That's a pretty amazing feat for one man, and one nursery. I remember when we we're told Suzie Coelho (remember her?) was going to do that.  It might work a bit, but when you say "we are going to make gardening hip again...and we are going to make it fun" that's a lot to promise.

Gardening doesn't need to be made hip and fun.  What happens when people find out it's not always "fun" or decide some other hobby is more hip? They feel let down and less likely to return to gardening. Rather than trying to make gardening hip and fun, we should be focusing on the rewards we receive from gardening. Beauty, health, food to eat, and a connection to the earth.

California florists are an "endangered species"

According to Hoy Carman, professor emeritus at The Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics at UC Davis, the retail florist trade in California is an “endangered species”.  A recent report put out by Carman details the loss of both florist and nurseries in California, and mentions the trades are in for some "rather basic structural changes" going forward.

The report states that the number of florists peaked in 2008 with 6,427 before dropping 25% to 4,798 in 2011. Total sales by California florists plunged nearly two-thirds in just three years while the sales by nurseries also dropped by 25%, with a partial recovery in 2010 and 2011.

Interestingly although sales by California florists dropped sharply during the recession, the change in farm sales of floral products “was much less dramatic” according to Carman. He attributes that to the rise of supermarkets and other outlets selling floral products.

Just as we have talked about before, traditional garden centers and florists will continue to see competition from other less traditional sources.  Soon, most florists and many garden shops will be like the local book store, nowhere to be found.

Say goodbye to the "Early Girl" Tomato?

Seems that some varieties of seed my be in short supply now, and in the future. Reading the Capay Valley Farm Shop web site we find they had difficulty in sourcing Early Girl Tomato seeds this year. According to the web site, "Our suppliers were saying that Seminis, the holder of the Early Girl patent, seemed to be antagonistic towards selling seeds in small lots, and seemed to no longer be servicing the organic market. Although a standard for the truck farmer and the home garden, the Early Girl apparently wasn't as good for the supermarket in which tomatoes are picked ‘mature green’ and ripened in a CO2 room. As the story continued to unfold, we found out that seeds for one of our favorite melons, the Ambrosia melon, were also impossible to find."

Seminis was purchased by Monsanto in 2005 for $1.4 billion. The Capay Valley Farms website continues, "At the time of its purchase, Seminis controlled 40% of the U.S. vegetable seed market and 20% of the world market. Seminis didn't just sell seeds, they also had a very strong in-house breeding program, supplying the genetics for 55% of the lettuce on U.S. supermarket shelves, 75% of the tomatoes, and 85% of the peppers, with strong holdings in beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and peas."

These large companies see no profit in selling seed to smaller operations, so often they drop the varieties least profitable for them. Remember that Early Girl is a hybrid, and as such the seed is created each year from crossing the pollen of two different varieties. Since Monsanto owns the rights to the seed they can stop producing it any time they like. If you like Early Girl tomato you may just be out of luck. What happens when giant seed houses like Seminis and Monsanto decide to make changes like this?

We're about to find out.

The most influential people in garden retail?

A question was asked of garden tradespeople. "Who are the 10 most influential people in garden retail today?" Some of the answers included consultants, breeders, and the customer.

There is no one person, or ten people who are the most influential in garden retail. The most influential people in garden retail are those who are involved in sharing with one another, mostly via the numerous online trade groups. It's the ability to share ideas in real time with others in the trade, no matter where they are located.

Some of the best ideas I have heard are from people who otherwise wouldn't even be known outside their garden shop world. They willingly share their ideas for the rest of us to try. I look forward to what my fellow trades people have to say. It's through the folks who are on the floor working with the customer that the most profound ideas arise.

My vote for the most influential people in garden retail is  a vote for the tradespeople who willingly share their ideas with others without any compensation other than the joy of sharing.

IKEA, maker culture, and hydroponics

We talked earlier about How the Competition May be Hard to Spot. Food growing has taken on a life of its own and everybody has new ideas and techniques they want to talk about. Eliooo is a book which describes how to make a hydroponic system for growing food from parts bought at the local IKEA.

Two huge takeaways for me are, the explosive growth of the “maker culture”, or DIY (Do it yourself) movement and the mainstreaming of hydroponics. Oh, and one other takeaway. This is all done without the need of a local garden center. It’s only a matter of time before IKEA seize on this and start selling vegetable plants. They already sell house plants.

When we first started talking about selling hydroponics here in July of 2008 it was considered esoteric and something only marijuana growers used.  No more! It’s going main stream and the problem for many garden shops is the people who are really interested in this stuff often think of places like IKEA, or Home Depot before they think of the local garden center.

The other important trend going on here is the "maker culture". The author of Eliooo, Antonio Scarponi says he wants to show how to make this out of stuff you may already have, or can buy cheaply.  How will you stay relevant when you need to sell "stuff" and these projects are more about ideas. How can you spread ideas and still make enough to stay in business? It will involve a new way of thinking and valuing what we do as horticultural professionals.

What’s your theme?

What would you do if a customer said they wouldn't shop with you because you carry “Round-Up”, or “Miracle-Gro”? Why? Because by selling these products you are supporting Monsanto. You might mention that Round-Up is not solely produced by Monsanto anymore, or that Miracle-Gro is not made by Monsanto, but they just don’t care. In their eyes, you’re selling these products makes you part of “the problem”.

This is a whole new challenge in the world of gardening business. Yesterday I had a customer start ranting about Monsanto, and how they would only plant heirlooms so as to “stick it” to the company. I didn't bother to respond as you could just tell they had made up their minds, and heirloom vegetables we’re the only way forward. What was interesting to watch was his son, approximately 9 or 10 years old, start ranting about Monsanto, too. You could well imagine what the conversation around the kitchen table must be like.

Rather than respond to each and every customers concerns, it might be wise to address this kind of stuff through your on-going dialog with your customers via social media, including in- store signage. If you have built up a reputation for truthful, fact based information you can spread this easier through your social media efforts, than one on one with customers who have “made up their minds”.

As our society becomes more and more fragmented into a million different causes and concerns, you will have to deal with all sorts of unforeseen consequences in your business. It will be easier to traverse this new world if you are sure of where you stand concerning what you sell. We choose the organic route as it’s what we believe in. We lose some customers when they ask for a specific synthetic fertilizer that we have chosen not to carry. Why not just carry it and make a few sales? Because it’s not who we are, and our fans know that. We send them to Home Depot, or the local hydro-shop.

At one time a garden center served the entire gardening community in a town. Now there are plenty of places for people to but their garden related stuff. Home Depot, the local hydro shop, Whole Foods, online, Costco, Payless, etc. Choose your theme carefully. It’s no longer just a 9 to 5 job you can leave behind at the end of the day. You will have to live it, or go crazy trying to please all the people, all the time.

You're likely growing GMO's in your garden, and it's OK!

My post from yesterday concerned the confusion concerning the differences between GMO's, Heirlooms, hybrids, etc. Seems our customers in the garden businesses are receiving all sorts of mis-information that is affecting what they buy and plant. After I posted yesterday my first phone call at work was whether we carried organic seeds. I asked why, and they said they didn't want to buy anything Monsanto had a hand in. Yup, they equate anything non-organic with Monsanto, and they are not the only people feeling this way.

To the rescue horticulturist "Farmer Fred" Hoffman posted a link to a PDF file this morning from the Home Garden Seed Association. It's a fantastic summation of the differences between various horticultural terms concerning this subject. Do you know the difference between "GE" (Genetically Engineered)  crops and "GMO's" (genetically modified organisms)? Here is a shocker. Most people are concerned about GMO's when the should be concerned about GE's. GMO's are "organism produced through any type of genetic modification, whether by high-tech modern genetic engineering, OR long time traditional plant breeding methods". That means likely you have have GMO's growing in your yard right now, and it's OK!

Here is a link to the PDF file which explains all this.

I have been involved in horticulture for 30 years, and didn't know some of this stuff. Imagine what a new garden enthusiast would be wondering about all this. Here is your chance as an independent garden professional to spread facts, and not fear. Encourage your fans (customers) to do the same.

The rumor mill

Likely the most interesting trend I've noticed this year we're the questions from customers asking if we sold GMO seeds, or plants. They seem concerned that they might purchase genetically modified organisms from us. Of course we don’t sell GMO’s, as I would suspect most garden centers don’t. The concern is that the public also seems to be confusing hybrids with GMO’s. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to explain that hybrids are not GMO’s, or that heirloom’s are not the only safe food to eat.

What can the local garden shop do?  First you have to gain the public’s trust, and that doesn't usually happen overnight. It takes years to build that, so you had better start today. I know of garden shops that purposely will spread rumors that seem at first to their benefit. Yes, there are some dishonest type garden shops out there.

Just the other day I called a local garden center to see if they had a product we we’re out of, fish emulsion.  The person on the phone said they didn't have that particular brand; wouldn't you like our brand? No, I needed a specific size, and brand. Then they started to tell me about how my brand might have “mercury” in it? Talking down the brand we carry to promote their brand? They didn't know who I was or that I represented a garden business, like them.

No wonder the public is confused. I have had people say they wouldn't buy our Foxfarm Potting Soil because it was owned by Monsanto! Say what? Apparently the rumor was started on message boards and has spread from there. It’s even caused the CEO of the company to send e-mails out saying the rumor were false.  Too late, damage done and sales lost.

We are entered the age of rumors and innuendo spreading quickly through The Internet. What happens when your company becomes the focus of these types of rumors? These things can be countered, but only if you know they are happening (keep an eye on your reputation on The Internet), and have a loyal following of customers (fans) that will stick up for you. Often stopping these rumors is just a matter of a critical mass of “fans” speaking up for you, because they trust you, and don’t want to see you hurt.

Trust is the “gold” of The Internet. Start building it today.