The right ingredients

For those of you who cook, whether it's grilled cheese sandwiches or soufflé, you know that the possibility of the dish not turning out as planned is higher the more complex the recipe. However, the difference between the amateur cook and the professional is about knowing the proper technique, having the right tools and using the best ingredients for a given dish. Cooks take courses to learn about everything from hospitality to art to history to complement their culinary training. Successful cooks know the value of this type of cross-training to prepare themselves for any situation.

So why am I talking food instead of plants? We can learn a lot from others who also strive to be successful, whether it’s in the kitchen or in the greenhouse. In this issue, we offer you the opportunity to “cross-train” and further develop your business with advice from other retail industries, including specialists in merchandising, developing a strong brand identity and expanding without losing your original focus. In our cover story on page 16, we talk to a retail merchandiser, a social media expert and the founders of a wine company and share what garden center operators can learn from their mistakes and successes. We sat down with Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman’s to find out how he grew his single deli into a thriving community of businesses that brings in more than $35 million annually, and report our findings on page 22. Corey Bordine, one of the co-owners of Bordine’s, gave us a primer on brand identity in the non-green industry retail world and how to apply it to IGCs on page 25.

For those retailers who are also growers, you’ll like our semi-regular features full of growing advice from the experts. Check out the article on dealing with botrytis on page 92.

I’d also like to take the opportunity to introduce a few new folks working with us at Garden Center. Associate editor Michelle Simakis comes to us with a strong consumer news and social media background and is excited to be a part of the team. Contributing editors Leslie Finical Halleck, Nikki Weed and Maria Zampini have joined our team as well. Professional horticulturalist and IGC consultant Leslie Finical Halleck, shares some expert advice on the best ways to market tropicals and a few of her favorite varieties starting on page 28. Garden center manager and horticulturalist Nikki Weed, dives straight into composting in her article on page 78 about finding creative ways to sell the concept to customers. Maria Zampini, president of Upshoot LLC, a new plant marketing company is also a contributing editor; her latest IGC Profile is in our next issue.

Until next time, think spring and drive safely!

kvarga@gie.net