Market Buzz

New England Grows draws thousands to Boston

BOSTON, Mass. – Near-record crowds took advantage of the mild winter as 12,877 green industry professionals attended last month’s New England Grows trade show.

The event, attended by growers, garden center retailers, arborists and landscape professionals from around the country, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 24-percent increase in attendance over 2011.

Held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, New England Grows featured an exposition filled with a variety of industry suppliers offering classic and new products or services, as well as “Grows-only” show specials. Attendees crowded the aisles to see nearly 600 industry suppliers, including 63 new exhibiting firms.

Also popular on the trade show floor were ongoing educational presentations at the Great Ideas Pavilion and the new Expo Classroom. Throughout all three days these forums provided information-packed presentations in a more intimate, ask-the-experts setting.

The well-known New England Grows’ educational programs were once again a big draw. Seminars that focused on great plants for the region, design and innovation, emerging trends, new pests, and the latest research often attracted standing-room-only crowds. The schedule included presentations by Frank Drummond, Dennis Schrader, Cheryl A. Smith, Lew French, Tony Avent, Randall Prostak, Dan Kitteredge, and Richard A. Casagrande, who spoke on topics that ranged from honeybees to annuals, tree health, designing with stone, perennials, weeds, organic growing and insect pests.

In its second year the special program for retailers, Garden Center Success, drew nearly 600 people for a day of inspiriational and informative presentations by business and retail professionals. After hearing groundbreaking business thinker Bill Taylor, retail wizard Chad Harris and urban trendsetter Kimberly Sevilla, among others, the audience came away with practical ideas and motivation for future action plans.

“Bill Taylor’s presentation was particularly useful for us,” said C.L. Fornari of Hyannis Country Garden, a family-owned garden center on Cape Cod. “The Garden Center Success program definitely sparked several ideas … and we’ll be implementing those concepts this season before the spring rush.”

New England Grows supports the green industry through annual grants to the region’s Cooperative Extension Systems. This year $25,000 was awarded to Cooperative Extension programs in the region.

The next New England Grows is scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Feb. 6-8, 2013 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. For the latest information, visit www.NewEnglandGrows.org, follow New England Grows on Facebook and Twitter, or call (508) 653-3009.
 

HGTV HOME Plant Collection debuts for Mother’s Day

HGTV and Agricola Management Group will launch the new HGTV HOME Plant Collection in retail stores and garden centers starting on May 6. Initially, the Collection will be available to a select group of retailers located in key geographic areas, including the West Coast, the Midwest, New England, New York and the Mid-Atlantic. New markets will be added to the collections’ distribution through 2013.

Retailers and growers can preview the 2012 plant selections at the HGTV HOME Plant Collection location at Edna Valley Vineyard in San Luis Obispo, Calif., during Spring Trials from March 25-29. The launch features select annuals, annual mixed containers and hanging baskets designed to perform well in consumer gardens and outdoor living spaces.
 

Letter to the Editor:

A ‘true’ reflection from across the pond?

Garden Center, February 2012

I was surprised to read Ian Baldwin’s commentary on the state of the British garden centre sector. He paints a picture of tired centres, unloved, with little investment. As the U.K.’s leading garden centre property consultants we see a very different picture—one showing an industry which is going from strength to strength. In Britain over the last 12 months not only has the garden centre sector seen like-for-like growth, but also margins have improved. The values of garden centre businesses are continuing to hold up, despite challenging economic conditions, and there is significant demand for garden centres.

As with all retail sectors there will be some sites which are on a ‘downward slope’ and it may be that Mr. Baldwin just visited at a poor time of year (Fall is never great for garden centre retailing), or perhaps he was unlucky with his choice of centres. Much has happened to Britain’s leading garden centres since1993, with many new and record-breaking centres having been developed since that time. At Bicester Avenue near Oxford, for example, we developed and funded an award-winning garden retailing operation.

We recently attended the Garden Centre Association’s Annual Conference, which included an awards ceremony. The entries were as good as they have always been, if not better, and the recognised Centres of Excellence are just that.
 

Mike Gilbert
Partner and Head of Garden Centres
Gilbert Evans LLP
www.gilbertevans.com
 

USDA unveils new Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Time to get those bench cards and plant-info sheets updated. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) a few weeks ago, the first update since 1990. The new version of the map includes 13 zones, with the addition for the first time of zones 12 and 13. Get your own copy of the map online at www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. (And, for the record, Garden Center’s editorial headquarters is now in Zone 8a—instead of 7b. Go figure.)

Pennsylvania Pride Brand ready to expand to the Midwest

After eight years selling Pennsylvania Pride branded trees through independent garden centers in New England and Mid-Atlantic states, grower Eaton Farms is ready to expand the program to the Midwest. The brand, exclusive to independent garden centers, features more than 200 selections of trees. The line includes everything from flowering and shade trees to native, fruit and rare and unusual trees. The brand is supported through the website, http://pennsylvaniapride.com.
 

All-America Selections names another winner for 2012

‘Jams ‘N Jellies Blackberry’ vinca was recently added to the list of All-America Selections winners for 2012. The velvety deep-purple flowers of this vinca are an excellent accent plant and work beautifully in combination with other flowers that are powder blue, bright pink, white and/or lavender. It was bred by Kirin Agribio/PanAm Seed Company. For a complete list of 2012 winners, vist www.all-americaselections.org.

 

Difference Makers

Rockledge Gardens in Rockledge, Fla., has emerged as a destination garden center on the state’s east coast for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its knack for “bugging” customers.

Indeed, as shoppers walk through the entrance the first thing they’re likely to notice is the Volkswagen Beetle convertible parked a few feet inside the grounds. “That’s my baby,” said Theresa Riley, who owns and runs the garden center with husband Kevin. “I still take it on errands. The windows don’t work, and the convertible part of it is stuck in permanent ‘open’ position, but it’s been such a part of our garden center that everyone who comes to the store knows it.”

Here’s where we insert the “hint hint” part for those looking to brand their own garden centers. And here’s also where we congratulate Kevin and Theresa Riley for coming up with a leadership strategy that has turned their store into a place shoppers love to visit.