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Eileen Nelson
UW-Madison Department of Horticulture
608-265-5283 |
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Total Overload
The purpose behind this newsletter has basically been to provide you with links to articles and information that I feel may be of interest and helpful to those of you who scan the contents. I find this information by scanning electronic newsletters, blogs, and university and industry postings. It has been fairly easy to keep up with what comes across the internet because there is a certain amount of duplication, i.e. many of the newsletters link to the same reources so if you can pick out one or two good ones you will get most of the information without reading all of them.
Today as I began to make my way through the many newsletters I have subscriptions to I realized just how ridiculous it can be to try and keep up with all of them. Filtering through everything that is being reported or re-reported as the case may be could become a full time job!
From this I draw several conclusions:
- For those of you who do get regular e-subscriptions I can see how you just don't have time to look at all of them.
- It is important for me to do a decent job of filtering so if you don't have time to read them all, perhaps mine can be helpful.
- To fine tune this newsletter I would hope that you would let me know if there is a particular topic you would like to see covered more often, i.e. new introductions, insects and diseases, marketing, production, bedding plants, perennials, etc. Click here and send a one word "topic" email to let me know.
- I'm not going to worry when my "open rates" vacillate because it means you are busy doing your jobs and I'm in the "to do pile".
Eileen
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| 2010 Pack Trials | | |
There are many spots on-line that you can see information about the 2010 California Pack Trials.
Ball Publishing has a number of videos that highlight new introductions from Ecke Rance, Proven Winners, GroLink, Suntory, PanAmerican Seed, John Henry, Burpee Home Gardens, Westhoff Flowers, Flora Nova, Dummen, Danziger, Thompson and Morgan and others. Start here to access these 2-3minutes videos.
GPN and Lawn and Garden Retailer hosted a blog that reports on each of the stops they made during the week. You can also access this information on their facebook page. GPN and Lawn and Garden Retailer also has a flickr account where they have posted pictures of the various new varieties they have seen.
I'm sure there will be more coming in the next few days. |
| Knock Out Rosees | |
Source: Lawn and Garden Retailer
The new agreement does not affect existing licensees selling either bareroot plant material or finished product to retailers. According to Conard-Pyle President Steve Hutton, the changes simply offer an opportunity to more effectively manage the plant brand throughout the supply chain.
"Conard-Pyle has taken a bold step in preserving the value of its brand," said Ken Turrentine, head of marketing at SHS. "Conard-Pyle's product lines are highly regarded at the consumer level, and SHS knows that is a key to the success and profitability of our growers."
For more information, visit the Conard-Pyle Company's website, www.conard-pyle.com. |
| Greenhouse Grower Webinars | | |
Source: Greenhouse Grower
- Employee and Management Assessment
- Production, Operation and Resource Assessment
- Boost Your Bottom Line with Benchmarking
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| Offering Top Notch Service | | |
Source: Today's Garden Center
Two articles providing advice on keeping your customers coming back.
The second provides some service tips to help you and your team offer top-notch service. They include clues on how to: - Greet with a smile within 5 seconds or 5 feet
- Approach those who signal for assistance
- Research interests and pereferences
- Direct them to solutions
- Expore questions or concerns
- Now, say thank you and invite them back
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| Gardening Trends Spring Survey | |
Thanks to Ed Lyon of UW-Madison's Allen Centennial Gardens I get to see a copy of the Garden Trends Research Reports. Theyfound the following when they conducted their survey in early March, 2010. - One-half of all respondents have gardens in their backyard
- 54% of respondents go to garden centers or local retail stores to purchase their spring plants
- 37% purchase plants at mass merchandisers
- 46% look for best quality in plant material
- 32% look for trained and educated sales staff
- 43% use retailers for their garden planning
- 37% gain knowledge from their neighbors
- 34% use books and magazines for their garden planning
- 66% plan to grow their own vegetables this year
- 75% are motivated to grow vegetables because they will get better quality, taste and nutrition
- 42% agree that growing their own vegetables will be cheaper than buying them from a store
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| Gift Cards | | |
Do you have a link on your website where a customer can click to buy a gift card? Might it be a good idea? |
| 2010 Independent Garden Center Show |
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This year's Independent Garden Center Show, scheduled to run August 17-19 at downtown Chicago's stunning waterfront Navy Pier facility, will present more vendors and new products specifically targeted for the garden center market than any other show in the world.
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| Perennial Plant Association Annual Conference |
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The 28th Perennial Plant Association Symposium will be held in Portland, Oregon, July 18-24, 2010. Link here for registration information. |
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