It's Been a Long Time...

Holy cow, it's been over three months since I last posted - call me the worst blogger ever. Life/work were a bit insane during this time, worthy of at least 10 posts if I wrote about every single plant-related topic. However, I figured I keep things from getting too long-winded and I'd write one instead - consider this the Cliff's Notes edition to my life - and just in time for OFA Short Course starting this upcoming Saturday!

April

Dear Horticulture Consumers - I'd like my month's worth of sales back. Love, Stephanie

Let's not talk about the Month from Hell now and leave that discussion for a time where we can have a drink (or a bottle of wine. Each.)

May

"Yes, I have Non-horticulture friends who grow their own plants."

Wendy LaManque - lawyer. Dani Zylberberg - foodie, wine sommelier. Hanna Block - ex-barista, teacher. Tristan Whitehouse - sailing instructor, teacher (ok, cheap point, he's my brother). I was having a conversation with one of our sales reps from a majore brokerage firm about the Edibles trend and whether it is gaining momentum with consumers. Rich made the comment that has been resounding in the industry for the last three years or so: "Baby Boomers are not getting any younger - how is this industry going to survive? It's not like [Gen X/Yers] are buying plants..." Do any Gen X/Yers beg to differ? My response: "Wendy LaManque, Dani Zylberberg, Hanna Block, Tristan Whitehouse. Give them a call and thank them for buying some plants."

My Future Sister-In-Law's College Graduation - Yay Kalee!

Urban Garden Season 2

We received the "Garden Writers" edition of the Hort Courture Sample Pack of plants at work and Lloyd told me I could use them in my garden as long as I kept record throughtout the season of the varieties' performances. Breeding companies like Hort Courture send out samples of their newest plants to growers and garden writers each spring in hopes of getting feedback and publicity. So far the annuals are doing quite well - more posts to follow!

June

Bucks County Garden Tour

A great girls' day out with Candy and Kristen, we toured the gardens of three houses in Bucks County and Paxton Hill. Beautiful, relaxing, and energizing!

Cornell Reunion - Class of 2006

We broke some reunion records (would you expect anything less from us?), gawked/cried at construction and fences, sang some songs, and drank out of Solo cups on the Arts Quad. It was supurb! Plants WERE involved too, with a visit to the updated Cornell Plantations with its LEED certified headquarters building, and a romantic picnic lunch at the Horticulture Field Trials in hopes of seeing this year's plantings underway.

APGA More! Conference in Philly

The American Public Garden Association (APGA) hosted its annual conference in Philadelphia, a perfect location since the city and its suburbs is home to the greatest number of gardens/arboretums/conservatories per mile than any other city in the country. My company decorated the hotel with mixed planters of some pretty unique and beautiful plants.

July

My Dad, the Next Charlie Hall

While at home this weekend for the Fourth, I was telling my parents all about this upcoming week as I prepare to travel to Columbus for the OFA Short Course and all that is planned for the trade show booth Peace Tree Farm is having for the first time. My dad is a graphics designer whose company does work for P&G and Energizer and so I thoroughly enjoy talking about market trends with him. Dad's market prediction/conclusion: "In the next few years there is going to be a major shipft in the way retail shopping works; it's starting to happen now. With Gen X/Yers becoming more and more prevalent and active in different markets, decisions are going to become more consumer-driven. [Your generation] is so used to customization - you are going to want to make every product and shopping experience your own." There's your homework friends! I'll be looking forward to your thoughts and comments later this week!

Plant on,

Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Lisztomania - The Phoenix

Groove is in the Plant

Thursday marks the beginning of my absolute favorite time of year. From Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, I am giddy with excitement, and who can blame me when you have four holidays, a birthday, and countless parties to attend. Over the years I have become one of those people who requires a birthday party/soiree/gala, and preferably with a theme. I've gone small and intimate with wine & cheese gatherings or Ugly Holiday Sweater parties; I've gone big with black tie shindigs at M1-5. However I am now realizing there was always something missing at each party - plants and flowers.

At a second look, "plants" have been present at most of my parties. When I was an RA, a Holiday celebration hosted for my floor had a "Christmas tree" that my residents cut from the top of a pine tree in the campus golf course (sorry Cornell). M1-5 had spray-painted gold and silver tree branches mixed with evergreens decorating the bar. However, these decorations didn't fit in with the band's lead singer, who was dressed in red leather pants and a Native American headdress (he was channeling the Village People and David Bowie, and no, he wasn't there on our request). Last year's Ugly Holiday Sweater party had dried eucalyptus branches in a vase that was broken by my friend Tyler - he leaned against what he "thought" was a wall. Obviously my plant & party track record isn't too high or successful.

Friends and professors of mine in the industry have also had poor plant & party experiences. A professor once hosted a Holiday dinner party and tried giving poinsettias as party favors. However, when getting ready to leave, each guest gave a different excuese for not taking their plant home. Come on, people! It's pretty, color-coordinates your Holiday decorations at home, and lest we forget, IT'S FREE!

So where is the disconnect? Why have I failed at successfully integrating plants into my own parties? Why do guests make lame excuses for not accepting a free plant as a parting gift? Is this a generational or age-level issue, i.e. am I concerned more about serving the best seasonal cocktails and looking my best than decorating or gifting with flowers? Or do I bypass the plants for the booze because there is arguably more of an 'instant" and "longer lasting" gratification with Manhattans? One thing is for sure - I have decided to pledge a more conscious effort at incorporating flowers and plants into my activities this Holiday season. So if you're attending a party of mine, or I'm visiting your apartment during Thanksgiving weekend for Big Red Hockey, expect Ice Punch the poinsettia instead of Ice Punch the spiked drink.

Plant on and rock on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Let's Dance - David Bowie

Stop and Smell the Roses for FREE!

Hello friends!

For those of you who live in Central New York, the flower research and demonstration station for Cornell University in Ithaca NY is having a Flower Open House THIS WEEKEND!

The Department of Horticulture's Ornamental and Turfgrass Research Fields at Bluegrass Lane features more than 1000 varieties of annual and perennial plants and flowers. Many of the varieties are new to the market or still in testing so you are bound to find something unique and exciting!

Everyone is welcome from 10am to 2pm both Saturday AND Sunday, and it's FREE! It's a great place to bring your camera, friends, kids, and a picnic to share among the annual flower beds. Please, no pets.

Bluegrass Lane is located off of Warren Road in Ithaca near the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, northeast of campus. See the map for directions.

For a preview, visit the Bluegrass Lane trials website lined here and in my previous post on Japanese Beetles.

Rock on and plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Vacationing People - Foreign Born