Peace & Earth

I’m not sure where this issue will find you at the turn of the year. But I imagine it will arrive in the mail among holiday cards and packages. Maybe it will be tossed on a breakroom table in your garden center to be perused between poinsettia and Christmas tree sales and side projects. Then again, it might be put aside during the holiday season, to be cracked open deep into January.

Honestly, that’s what I’d prefer. I know that’s probably antithetical to my job description as an editor. I should want you to read our amazing articles and news from incredibly knowledgeable contributors like Judy Sharpton and her insights into improving your signage, or C. L. Fornari and her consistently valuable marketing tips.

I should also want you to look over our cover story on Fossil Creek to learn about the way they’ve honed their value proposition to meet a very specific clientele. I should be encouraging you to read about the new plant e-commerce platform Ship My Plants and look at our coverage of the State of the Industry from Cultivate’23.

And I do want you to do all those things — but not at the expense of finding peace and making connections with your family and friends. This is the time to focus on those you love and care about.

In a way, nature has given us the cues as to how we should behave during this time. As the season turns here in the northern hemisphere, the natural world slows — plants become dormant and certain animals hibernate or go into a winter torpor, curled into fuzzy cuddles. There is stillness in the winter woods and prairies.

And there should be stillness for us as well. The fact is winter is a natural inflection point for our industry. Your customers are as ruled by the seasonal cycles as the plants and animals are. But while we gather and take a breath, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re totally idle.

What’s happening below the earth? It’s not total stasis. Many plants require the cold to germinate in the spring. The soil is taking in the carbon from decaying vegetation. Pests and diseases are killed or prevented from proliferation. It’s all building potential for a bountiful spring.

Our slow season is also about building potential. As I spend time with friends and family, I’ll also be using the quiet to consider and plan the bounty Garden Center magazine will be bringing you in the coming year. And I imagine many of you will also be planning and considering how you intend to grow as well.

Spring, after all, always arrives.

No matter what the winter brings, and no matter where or when you’re reading these words, know that we here at Garden Center magazine thank you for being a reader. We are deeply grateful to be trusted allies and partners in your business, and we wish you peace, joy and a happy and profitable new year.