 Justin Hancock |
Justin Hancock’s face is probably familiar to you. He is, after all, the garden editor of BHG.com, Better Homes and Gardens’ popular website. What you probably don’t know is he’s part of the team that owns and manages Loki’s Garden, a garden center and landscape services company in Van Meter, Iowa. “My job at Better Homes and Gardens is a wonderful complement to my garden center,” Hancock said. “At BHG, I get to learn about hot new products—and often trial them—so I get a sense of what’s really exciting for my readers and garden center customers. And from interacting with customers at my garden center, I get a lot of wonderful insights that have helped influence story ideas and the way I produce certain stories. Plus, it's really interesting to see how people react to some of the new plants that I get so excited about.” GARDEN CENTER: Can you describe a really fun garden project you completed in the past year? JUSTIN HANCOCK: One of the projects I’m most excited about is something I did in my own front yard. I dug out most of the lawn and just have a few grass paths weaving through. Once the new plantings grow in, I think this will be a great way to show people how they can design with turf while making their landscapes lower maintenance. It was a major time saver not to have to mow my entire yard every few days this summer! GC: From a local-retail standpoint, which plants do you think will be in high demand in 2011? JH: Heuchera and Echinacea feel like they’re going to be big sellers for me again this year. Some of the newer coneflowers such as ‘Milkshake,’ ‘Pink Double Delight’ and ‘Hot Papaya’ were the first plants to sell out in the spring. And people couldn't get enough of colorful coral bells such as ‘Citronelle,’ ‘Caramel’ and ‘Mocha.’ On the shrubs side, hydrangeas were huge here in Iowa—especially the H. paniculata types that flower all summer long on new wood. Bailey Nurseries’ Vanilla Strawberry was a huge hit; I could have doubled my initial order. GC: How do you generate interest about trees and shrubs among your customers? Any special promotions or seminars? JH: I’ve specifically picked a lot of things that are a little different to get people excited. ‘Wildfire’ black tupelo, for example, generated lots of attention all on its own because most of my customers haven’t heard of it. The same with variegated tulip tree and fringe tree. I also like to pick things with lots of flower power (Loki's Garden stocks a lot of Hydrangea paniculata cultivars) and colorful foliage (such as ‘Diabolo’ and ‘Dart’s Gold’ ninebark or ‘Golden Shadows’ pagoda dogwood). We have an educational series every Saturday morning in the spring where we give gardening/landscaping tips and ideas. Educating folks on how they can use these plants in their landscapes makes a huge difference. GC: Your garden center has been described as “rustic chic.” Do you agree with that descriptor? JH: The Loki’s Garden team spent a fair amount of time brainstorming that and deciding to use that concept to help define our identity. The garden center itself is on a wooded lot, so once you drive in there’s a bit of a magical feel under the canopy of big trees. At the back of the property there’s a ravine and little creek, and the birds are always singing—it’s all very “back in the woods” feeling. But we want to be fun and playful, not the standard country look you’d expect, so we try to bring in the chic with fun design ideas, cutting edge plants, etc. For example, we plan to have some really interesting, sophisticated mixed containers in spring. Not your average red geraniums or dracaena spikes! GC: Where do you stand in the garden vs. lawn debate? JH: Personally, I’m not a fan of big lawns. I know they have their place, especially for folks with pets and/or children or who do a lot of entertaining, but I really like to think of turf more of a graphic element in the landscape. That said, a bit of lawn here or there can be a really fun, dramatic landscape piece—especially if you use it in a way that no one expects. GC: What have been “hot gardening topics” among your customers? JH: The biggest topic I get inquiries about is how to make it easy. Last weekend a customer asked about our landscape services, and he told me his goal is to have a great-looking yard that he just has to blow the leaves out of in the fall. So we’re going to have a lot of things like groundcovers, plants that don’t self-seed, plants that have great drought tolerance, etc. And it’s also a great way to push shrubs, especially smaller varieties like ‘Miniature Snowflake’ mock orange or ‘Lil Kim’ rose of Sharon or ‘Bombshell’ hydrangea that are basically perennial- sized, but you don't need to cut them back or anything. Color is also of big interest to my customers. Whether it’s coming up with fun color combos for them or just boosting the color in those “in between” times. A lot of people don't have very much confidence when it comes putting colors together. |
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