Happy T-Givz!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my faithful and casual readers out there!  May your holiday be filled with family, fun, love, and plenty of lovely nature-inspired holiday decor.  To my friends and collegues affected by Super Storm Sandy earlier this month -- Nick and I are thinking of you all, and hope that even during a difficult time such as this, you are able to enjoy what is truly important in life, family and friends.

Love to all!


Plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Fir - Blitzen Trapper

Sex & the City or Plants? Choose Wisely

First off, I hope all of you who are Mid-Atlantic and New England readers are safe and at home as Hurricane Sandy comes blundering in.  Let's hope the power stays on long enough to publish this post!

An article was published today in Today's Garden Center Magazine by their new associate editor, Karli Petrovic.  The article, titled 'Why I'm Not Gardening (... And No One Else My Age is Either)', is an op-ed discussing why Gen Yers are not giving garden centers a portion of their purchasing power.  Karli claims that commitment issues are not at stake, but instead that 'gardening' is seen as 'work'.  If I remember correctly, I think I made this very claim two weekends ago at a cocktail party with fellow industry leaders.  Bob at Dickman's, correct me if I'm wrong.  And important to note, the last cocktail party I had been to was in July - quite the dry spell for a Gen Yer and I'm sure Karli would agree.

There are many garden center owners and buyers who are probably reeling in their seats after reading this article.  The blasphemous double speak!  The poor cash-strapped Gen Yer!  Oh those Gen Yers who only want to spend their money on booze and clothes -- they're so detached from the real world!  I partially agree with them, but realize that I too was once in Karli's "WOOO! Post College!" mindset.  Yes, in grad school I'd rather spend my tip money from working as a barista on drinks at Pixel.  Yes, I used to have a much more extensive wardrobe.  However, note the past tense -- there has over time been a change in my mindset, and even though at 23 I wasn't ready for plants, I wasn't ready for a pet or a child either for that matter.  But what I was or wasn't ready for was not the same for ALL 23 year old's, or ALL of my friends.  One important take away for the readers AND Karli: beware of superlatives and over reaching generalizations.

However, I feel the true issue is not that gardening is perceived as work, but that the horticulture industry is not speaking or promoting plants in Gen Yers' terms.  We don't want to garden, we want to make Summer Salad with our neighbors and friends.  We don't want to garden, we want to have our own hops for our home-brewing project.  We don't want to keep a house-plant, we want to collect comic books.  Ok.  So that last example doesn't involve plants, but the collecting and nerdy culture of comics could easily be transmitted to collecting succulents and telanzias.  Make no mistake though -- those of us who do have container gardens, rooftop gardens, edible landscapes, house plants to make the apartment more "inviting to the ladies" sure as hell do NOT want large swaths of petunias as you'd see back in the 90s.  Those days are lame and gone, my friend.

Are you a Gen X/Yer who just recently started gardening?  I'd love to hear how you started living with plants, and why you enjoy it!  Please share your comments.

Maybe Karli needs to read my post from earlier this fall about killing plants.  It's alright Karli -- I kill mint too.

Plant on and rock on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Little by Little -- Groove Armada

Hurry Up and Wait Part 2

The bulbs arrived!!!

So only a week later than I wanted, I arrived home from work this afternoon to a small white box filled with bulbs from Holland!  Actually not Holland but Lewisburg, Ohio.  Those posers and their "DIRECT FROM HOLLAND!!!" plastered over their website and the daily emails I've been receiving since placing my order.

At any rate, the bulbs arrived in great shape, and the iris came with a cute name tag wrapped around the shoot.  Nick and I planted our goodies this afternoon and were watering in the plants just in time before it got too dark to see what we were doing.  I would have taken photos to share with you all, but Nick's camera battery needed charging and my camera was left at my parents home earlier this fall.  We'll just have to wait until spring to share!

Happy fall planting, everyone!

Plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Hurry Up & Wait - Stereophonics

Hurry Up and Wait

In August I stumbled upon a Dutch bulb company while researching colors of amaryllis for work.  This happened to be during one of the hottest weeks of the year and my garden at home was looking as horrible as the neglected patch of invasive weeds in my neighbor's yard.  My garden was surely in need of a life makeover, and I was dreaming of cooler fall weather.  After browsing the online catalog, I put together a wish list and placed an order later that weekend with Nick.  We were excited (ok, honestly I was excited; Nick just thought ordering some plants was nice) for our future fall planting project in early October.  I also liked the fact that next spring we would have flowers for fresh cut bouquets.  The order confirmation noted the bulbs would arrive in late September.  Sweet!


Poppy Anemone 'Mixture', one of the items I ordered (and really want to plant)

In September I decided to schedule a week off from work for early October.  I was past due for a vacation and decided October would be a great time to have a stay-cation to spruce up the garden, put together some fall combination planters, and plant the order of bulbs.  Then I got an email from the bulb company: "Important Update Regarding Your Order."  The delivery date was MOVED!  Moved to LATE OCTOBER!  I was crushed with my plans for an idyllic gardening vacation thwarted.

The bulb industry side of horticulture is so different from the rest of the industry -- it seems to have a bit more whimsy, more magic, something you can't quite put your finger on but spark curiosity.  In college we learned about tulips and how they were a form on currency in ancient cultures, where different colors yielded different monetary values; if I remember correctly, one of the first "market bubbles" was the tulip market.  Seems almost too good of a story to be true; perhaps great tulip industry branding efforts?  Other parts of the industry just seem so unorganized.  My undergraduate advisor would receive shipments of free bulbs to use for research experiments.  Some years there would be more bulbs than research and my friend Cheni and I would spend part of our summer composting bulbs that had gone unused and rotted in the greenhouse coolers.  Then there's last year's Dig, Drop, Done campaign that was so campy I to this day have no idea whether consumers bought it, found it appalling, funny, whimsical, or just plain stupid.  Kind of like the email confirmation when my bulb order was placed: "For Zone 6a, expect your order to arrive between September 15th and November 15th."  It's amazing that the bulb industry can operate so lackadaisical, when the rest of the horticulture industry demands live inventory stats and immediate order confirmations.  Maybe this is just a bad experience with this particular bulb company (that's been in business mind you since 1818, or so their website states), but I seem to remember other bulb companies having similar work ethics.  Am I missing something here?  Do I just have over-rated expectations because I, like other Americans, sometimes have "I want it NOW" consumer habits?  Are the Dutch onto something with their more laid back attitudes?

At any rate, I still am missing my order of bulbs. Please send ASAP.  ::Sigh::

Plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Now Generation - Black Eyed Peas

The Fear of Dead Plants

I have a confession to make: I am a terrible gardener.  I may know my garden plants and my weeds -- hell, I only went to an Ivy League school for seven years to become a horticulturalist and weed ecologist -- but I generally end up killing most of what I plant each year.

This year Nick and I moved out of Lehigh Valley and into a new apartment in a northern suburb of Philadelphia.  Along with the brand spanking new open-concept apartment came a lovely, well established garden off the side of the property.  There are a number of hostas, a single rose "tree" (for its shape in no manner resembles a "bush"), a peony that seemed to disappear over the summer, and a tall mamosa tree.  I tried making my mark on the space this spring, tearing out a number of ground geraniums that multiply like Tribbles and planted some 4 O'Clocks, peas, and dahlias.  The established perennials, 4 O'Clocks 'Limelight', and black leafed 'Dark Angel' dahlias did well until this past week; the peas never made it.

"Well" might be an over statement.  Mind you the 4 O'Clocks did bloom but fried in the August heat.  The dahlias, without proper staking or training became more of a ground cover rather than tall and upright.  An the herb pots for mojitos and grilling -- dead.

Every year I start with good intentions but the three past years at the greenhouse have made me realize that perhaps my gardens will always be the shoemaker's children -- always happy but without any shoes/plants.  My past and current landlords must regret allowing the "flower girl" take the apartments with their largest garden areas.  I know I should pay more attention to the garden by watering more often, amending the soil in the early spring, planning out each season what I'm going to plant, etc.  However, even with my type-A personality, I kinda don't care that the garden fails every year.  You'd think that I would cry over spilled milk (only sometimes) or dead plants.  This seems to be the case with most American gardeners -- we can't stand the thought of killing a plant.  Americans seem to treat plants as we treat our pets, as members of our family, although not as close.  Plants are like an estranged relative -- Aunt Lucy, twice removed on your step grandmother's side.  You still feel horrible when you learn she died two years ago, guilty that you were mad she didn't send a Christmas card during that time.

Why is this?  Why do American gardeners cherish plants so much and yet have a hard time validating purchasing plants throughout the year to beautify our homes or apartments?  Cut flowers are seen only as for special occasions or for when someone died.  Why are we so quick to cut the landscaping budgets when money gets tight, but still make sure we have $5 a day for our soy lattes?  Why do we run away in fear whenever a politician brings up "preserving the environment"?

My friends and colleagues in Europe don't seem to share this thinking.  It's more a mentality of "Oh hey, the plant died?  No worries, mate!  We'll just get another one!  It was time for a change anyhow."  I can agree with this sentiment -- so what if the plant dies?  It just means it's time to try something new!  I think other Gen X/Yers are starting to share this same way of thinking, as it can be seen in the boom in edibles, seed starting, terrariums, and the succulent craze.  Do you know how many different heirloom vegetables there are to try?  How many succulents?  The lists seem endless.

So how do we harness this curiosity to encourage more gardening?

On the Blog Again...

320 days.  That's how long my hiatus from blogging has run.  And it's not that I haven't had blog post topics on my mind, or the lack of encouragement from peers; life just took over.  My husband Nick got a much better job and we moved to a much nicer neighborhood closer to Philadelphia.  I found Pinterest -- follow me!  Spring came and performed above the industry's expectations.  My company patented a new hardy lavender.  We built an outdoor patio for a trade show booth.  Two weddings down and two more to go.

Working in the horticulture industry for nearly the past three years has opened my eyes much wider than my graduate student mind thought was possible when I started blogging.  Lately however I have been a bit confused about the focus of Generation X/Y Gardener.  I had a number of blog topics in mind that were focused more on the industry: how to effectively market to generations X/Y; why Generation X/Y buying power is focused on the tech and clothing markets and not plants; or branded programs and the difference between a brand and a package.  These topics to me sound as if they should be case studies for a marketing class at The Johnson School, not on a blog geared towards the cool kids.

Then GPN Magazine's 40 Under 40 happened.  On my mom's birthday in March I received an email from the editor congratulating me on my induction into the inaugural class of the 40 top individuals under 40 years old in the horticulture industry, hand selected from over 100 individuals who were nominated by their advisors, colleagues, bosses, etc.  I was floored.  Completely blown away that I had been included in a group of such amazing individuals; absolutely humbled that people other than my parents, husband, and bosses think of me as a future leader in the industry, a 'game changer'.  I needed to start blogging again.

I still was really unsure though about Generation X/Y Gardener.  When I started the focus was on the young, novice gardener and the blog was to act as an education tool for those wanting to know more about how to garden, what's new in gardening, and that it truly is easier than it looks in most cases.  I also wanted to voice to the industry that people in my generation are indeed interested in all things green, even if the interest and buying power are arguably not strong (yet) or visible in the traditional sense of large swaths of bedding plants and gaudy, grossly oversized hanging baskets.

Earlier this month I attended my favorite conference of the entire year -- OFA Short Course.  It's an all inclusive industry event which holds both education sessions and a trade show that covers over 8 acres.  It was a past Short Course that convinced me to return to the horticulture industry during my graduate school days, and I'm thrilled to now be a part of the Generation Next Committee.  It's a time when I get to recharge my batteries after the spring craziness, open my mind to new ways of thinking about business and the industry.  I love catching up with friends and peers -- it's like my annual therapy session for work, plants, and life.  A friend I have gained much appreciation for over the last year is Jared Barnes, a PhD candidate at NC State.  It was chats with Jared throughout the week that helped me regain focus on this blog and helped me develop the perfect topic for my next posting.  From here forward, Generation X/Y Gardener will be more of a dialog that is applicable to both folks involved directly in the horticulture industry and Gen X/Y'er gardening fans, to make us all think and gain a better understanding of the other party.

40 Under 40 Peeps and Jared -- thanks for getting me back into my blogging groove.

Rock on and plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Welcome Back - Mase

Fall in Love (Again)

I have fallen in love.  Again.  Thank goodness!  I feel as if I have awoken from a deep, Sleeping Beauty trance that left me feeling bland, old.  This month's issue of Green Profit, a trade magazine for the retail end of the horticulture industry, features an article that recaps the brilliantly successful pop-up retail outlet my friend Carmen and her company Nectar & Company created this spring.  Carmen had told me about the event's success back in July but reading the article yesterday refreshed my excitement to the point I had to visit the gym for two hours to calm down.  Carmen and her team created a gardening wonderland with different vignettes throughout the greenhouse that appealed to numerous audiences in their Georgia town.  The catch though was these vignettes were not just 'mini departments' within a larger 'store' - each had a story to tell through its strategically picked plant offerings, color scheme, and staging.  At every turn you didn't know what you would discover next; cleverness and creativity was oozing from every inch of the greenhouse.  I remember telling Carmen with excitement "I WISH I had BEEN there!!!".  The creative, stylish, and gardening-made-easy nature of the event energized and engaged customers to return two, three times throughout the weekend, making the event a complete sell-out.

Excitement is the exact feeling missing in the gardening industry right now.  Granted there are some of use with lots of spunk who are making a commotion, but the majority of growers, garden centers, and landscaping companies are one in the same.  Regardless of whether they are locally owned or part of a box store chain, everyone is offering the exact same lifeless plants.  Everywhere you go in the spring it's the same Filler-Spiller-Thriller combination planter, the same purple petunia, the same sweet basil, the same over growth-regulated mum and ornamental kale in the fall - like that Greek yogurt commercial: "plainly plain and samely same."  Makes you want to buy plants, right?  It's a poor business model if you ask me, when the gardening industry is vying for the same dollars we spend on our Starbuck's lattes, music from iTunes, Pandora bracelet charms, PlayStation video games, and annual batch of Titleist golf balls, ALL of whom have marketing campaigns exciting and praising the individuality of their customers.

So what does it take for consumers to "fall in love again" with plants?  Thinking of other things in life I love, the answer lies many times with memories of amazing experiences:

Love for Food: Tojo Sushi Restaurant, Vancouver, BC: My husband Nick cannot visit or talk about another restaurant without mentioning our night at Tojo.  We visited during our honeymoon, were treated like family by Tojo, his wife, and an ensemble of waiters and waitresses, ate like royalty, and laughed the whole night.  An experience we would buy $1000 flight tickets just to eat at the restaurant.

Love for Music: Fifteen years of ballet classes, ownership of every Supergrass album, and attending a Girl Talk concert all revived my love for music at different points in my life.  Whether a song, musical chord, genius Jerome Robbins choreography, or Girl Talk's unexpected combination of vocals from Peter Gabriel with the guitar rip from Space Hog, music invokes memories and experiences that I want to relive again and again.

Love for Fashion: a pair of Steve Madden Herringbone Twill Heels: Countless walks up Libe Slope, a Valentine's Day with best friends, and a drunken walk through 3-ft of snow with Mike and Arnaub, I've worn these shoes so many times I've repaired the heels three times.  If a simple pair of shoes does not render memories for you, or if you can honestly deny your closet holds a dress you haven't fit in since freshman year in college but keep to see if one day you can, perhaps it's time for a life makeover.

Love for a Sports Team: Go Tribe! Go Red!: Reinstated every Sunday with Fantasy Football, every summer with the smell of beer and Nathans hotdogs, every winter with the crisp smell of ice, people will die for their beloved sports teams.  Why?  The thrill of watching the winning homerun/touchdown/goal at the last second, a memory that sports fans retell year after year.

We fall in love with songs we danced to in high school, sweatshirts from our boyfriends, with baristas who make our lattes perfectly every time, and lust over the next ipad.  It's time growers, garden centers, and landscapers evoke the excitement and memories of consumers to help them fall in love with plants.

Plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden (Center): The Wise Guys - Start the Commotion