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

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

The McShamrock Shake of Plants

Having just visited the Philadelphia Flower Show, customers calling me by day to pre-book April/May orders, and browsing seed catalogs by night for my kitchen windowsill garden, I've been thinking a lot about all things spring. I'm on the search for the newest (and most fashionable) style of gardening gloves, sourcing the coolest ornamental grass, and waiting desparately for the country's longest continuously running Farmers Market to reopen. My husband Nick is "getting his Spring on" by looking for solar-powered walkway lights, Woolly Pockets for the deck, and has found his beloved new grill. He too is anxious for the Easton Farmer's Market so he can buy the ingredients for our Easter Lamb Kabobs. Nick and I understand the wait is well worth it, completely necessary, realistic, and logical to the seasonality of produce and plants, having grown up with relatives who own an organic grass-fed beef cattle farm in VT, or in Nick's case right next door to a large dairy farm.

Does the rest of the American public understand why the Farmer's Markets are closed in the winter? Do plant buyers of garden centers realize why basil doesn't grow in January?

We live in a time where technology is king, where an astounding number of foods contain high fructose corn syrup, and the majority of our household items are made outside of the United States. Americans today have grown up shopping for their food at the local grocery store or produce dude down the block from their Brooklyn flat - places where food just magically is always available and always looks the same. My friend Melissa asks "Do kids/adults know that their food doesn't materialize on demand like Star Trek or The Jetson's?"

I think sadly the answer is no. A friend of mine attended the Bucks County Food Shed Alliance meeting last week and was taken back when the consumers at the meeting commented they want a year-round farmers market. Catch: a year-round farmers market supplying tomatoes, peppers, berries, etc. that are all LOCALLY sourced. Unless Bucks County finds a grower/farmer who is interested in growing summer produce in a greenhouse with loads of heat and supplemental lighting during the coldest and darkest months of the year, Bucks County residents might be SOL.

Obviously the solution is to educate the public - adults AND children - about farming and greenhouse growing. The work is hard but the results are well worth the effort. For Pete's sake people, plants are NOT tee shirts that sit on shelves in warehouses, waiting to be ordered and shipped to the grocery or garden center. There is a seasonality, an exclusiveness, a "limited time only" aspect - just the same as one can only get McDonald's Shamrock Shakes in March, or candy corn in October, tomatoes and basil are key components in "Summer Salad" for a reason.

CSA's attempt to teach their members about the work involved in growing, but how many of the members actually put in their required time by the end of the season? Perhaps field trips are a better start. When I was in elementary school my classes went to the Dewitt, NY Wegman's to see trucks delivering food to the stores; we visted the original Hoffman Hotdog factory (back when hotdogs were still considered "food" in the mid-80's); and my Girl Scout troop visited a local dairy farm to milk cows. If you're a grower, invite the local Boy Scout troops to tour your greenhouse and have them pot up some petunia starts. If you're a mother, suggest to your child's teacher they take a tour to a local farm. For my garden center peeps, work with the local school district to start a children's garden. And in the meantime, get excited for Spring!

Plant on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: Pumpkin Soup - Kate Nash
Song for the Seedlings (AKA Plant Wannabes): Summer Girl - Beck

Let's Hear It for the Rookie Gardeners

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it would obviously be appropriate to talk about cut flowers, flower arranging, ways to drop hints to your significant other that you want flowers, or helpful hints on how to help cut flowers last longer, but I decided against it. Sorry, Charlie Kremp.

Two weeks ago I attended the American Nursery & Landscape Association's (ANLA) NEW (!) Management Clinic. This was NOT your ordinary horticulture industry conference, were one listens to keynotes every morning at 8am, followed by a number of same-old-same-old education sessions on leadership skills or profit margin analyses. The NEW (!) Management Clinic was incredibly energize, educational, fun, tech-savvy, contemporary conferecnes filled with speakers who were not afraid to tell it like it is. By the end of the week, Gen Y-ers were texting with Baby Boomers their new ideas for retail displays, and I'm sure Mark Zuckerberg's Data Miners discovered a flood of new Fan Pages for landscape designers and garden centers. Needless to say, I'm pumped for Spring 2011.

What does this have to do with Gen X/Y Gardeners? You are all a part of an incredibly important group of consumers whom some at the Management Clinic came to recognize as "Rookie Gardeners". You might be a Rookie Gardener if:

a. You think you lack a "green thumb", or might even say you have a "black thumb",

b. You know the location of the local garden center, but have never gained the courage to visit in person (websites are a start, but don't count as a 'visit'),

c. You think the "local garden center" is Home Depot, Lowes, CostCo, or Walmart,

d. Read Martha Stewart Living and/or visit public gardens, admire the beautiful plants and flowers but think "I could never do that" or "Where do I even BEGIN?!", or

e. An ensemble of All The Above.

Fear not. Rookie Gardeners are a team of many, and there are garden centers and florists in your neighborhood who want to help you. Rookie Gardeners are surprisingly also Seasoned "Localvores" - you know the best restaurants in town, buy birthday gifts from the artist and jeweler down the street, and can be seen every Saturday at the Farmers' Market. Where does one begin to find the best local garden center or florist if one only knows the Box Stores? Running a Google search for "Easton, PA garden centers" does not yield the best results - half of the stores I know aren't even listed. You might have driven past a store a few times, but do you remember the name to find their website ("Honey, what was that place called? Posey Place...? Posey Pods...?")? Here are some suggestions:

- Visit GardenPilot.com and download the iPhone app. It's a great resource for not only plants and gardening how-to's, but also provides a search for local garden centers by zip code.

- Visit Today's Garden Center and check out their list of Revolutionary 100 - these are the Best of the Best stores across the entire US.

- Contact your county's chapter of Master Gardeners, or chat with the women at your church - chances are they know where to get "the good stuff" and might even invite you to their next garden club meeting.

This Valentine's Day I encourage all of the Rookie Gardeners out there to use your localvore skills and visit a local florist or garden center. Check them out - see what they're list, introduce yourself (yes, put down the smart phone and say "Hi, my name is ___, I'm a Rookie Gardener."), and ask what's in store for Spring. Let them know you're new at gardening, and ask how a Rookie Gardener can get started on a kitchen herb garden. Pick up a couple succulents - they're SUPER easy to grow, as long as you have light and don't water too often. Chances are, you'll learn something new and you'll be on your way to becoming a Major Leaguer.

Plant on and rock on,

Stephanie

Song for the Garden: "Let's Hear It for the Boy" - Deniece Williams

PS: I want to make baseball tees that read "Rookie Gardener" on the front - who's with me?

Poinsettias Are Kinda Lame

This is the first holiday season in a long time that I have felt downright depressed, and it's a shame when from Thanksgiving to January 10th is my absolute favorite time of year - holidays, birthdays, Advent, parties, pretty SNOW. Even though Marketplace Morning Report keeps telling me that retails sales are up and therefore consumers are indirectly communicating they are tired of the sluggish economy, all I'm hearing are complaints, disappointments, and an overall lack of excitement - pure torture for an extrovert like myself.

"Well, poinsettias are... well... kinda lame."

That's what one young Gen-Y consumer said to me last week. To be honest, she has a point. Poinsettias in the classical sense have become lame - your generic red and white 6" poinsettias from a box store just don't cut it anymore. Granted one can argue that a red poinsettia isn't just "red", as there are dozens of red varieties in different shades, but to the consumer (and honestly, in the end she's the only one who matters) red is red. Obviously the consumer needs something different, and in recent years there have been huge strides in poinsettia breeding to bring new colors - marbles, speckled, variegated, bright pinks. However, you won't find these colors at a box store, you'll find them at a locally owned, independent garden center, which is desperately in need of your business. Tell them you didn't want a plant from a box store and they'll take you in as family.

"But the wire is showing... the bracts don't meet in the center. I don't get it - I can't work with this - I can't sell this."

A florist called me early one morning in regards to the new Poinsettia Wreath Topiary we had delivered the day before to the store. The wreath is the newest topiary shape for 2010 at work, and being in its experimental year there were some kinks to work out. Yes, the two plants trained along a central wire hoop don't meet in the center to create a fully closed wreath shape. So you turn lemons into lemonade - decorate the wire and add value to the product. Other customers of ours sent in their photos of the wreaths with the wire covered in greenery and fabulous gold bows. One mentioned she let the consumer pick and choose their own decorative additions to match the color scheme in her living room. The holidays are for decorating your living space so you can enjoy it with family and friends when the weather is downright crappy outside. Bring the beauty of the garden INSIDE and inspire your customers with YOUR passion - using beautiful plants to beautify homes. That IS why you're in the floriculture business, right?

There is one comment that has been a beacon of light, hope, and happiness however. Quite possilby the one event that keeps putting a smile on my face is a phone conversation I had with my brother in early December. We chatted about gift ideas for our parents, and about my boss' appearance on The Martha Stewart Show on November 30th. Martha had invited us back for a second visit this year, and wanted to see all the new poinsettia colors and topiary shapes we specialize in for the season. The show's segments were posted online the following day, and my brother had shown them to the students in his after-school program to teach them about poinsettias as part of a holiday themed afternoon.

"[Lloyd] did a great job and my kids really liked the show! We all, myself included, had no idea about the cyathia and bracts, and one kid said he'd check his mother's plants that evening since she purchased them on Black Friday at Lowes."

This was killer! My brother, teaching his 6th graders about plants, and he's not even the gardener in the family! His students getting excited about PLANTS and wanting to go home and tell their parents about what they'd learned. Absolutely killer! Take that, industry folk who think the horticulture industry is making its way to the trashcan!

The excitement my brother and his students had is what I'm talking about. Plants, gardening, and the Christmas Season should not be about commercialism and making money, complaining about the weather and how it's snowing (people, it's winter, it's supposed to snow), complaining about poinsettias and the overall lack of diversity and inspiration in Holiday plants, or seeing who can sell the most pionsettias at a specific price point to meet a predestined profit margin or percentage sell-through. It's about being excited for the beginning of winter, wanting to spend time with family, taking a break from work, hosting wine & cheese parties with friends, burning fires in a fireplace, catching snowflakes on your nose, dancing like the Charlie Brown characters in the movie, laughing when your sibling calls you and cries with joy "IT'S A ZEPPELIN!" Pure joy and sharing that joy with others. That's what the Christmas Season, and gardening, in my mind is all about.

Plant on and rock on,
Stephanie

Song for the Garden: "Skating" - Vince Guaraldi Trio

Photos taken by LRT