Group Gatherings Ahead!

by Danny Summers

The Power of The Group is probably most evident when we gather together, both in-person and virtually. The level of knowledge transfer and creative exchange is dramatic. I am always amazed in witnessing what can happen during Group Gatherings. And in the next three weeks, we will have four Group Gathering opportunities:

\Wednesday, January 10th - MANTS 2024 - Baltimore, MD
The largest of the "woody-focused" trade events will take place January 10-12. At the end of the first day, Wednesday, we will gather for The Best of MANTS at 5pm. This year, we will co-sponsor this hour+ gathering with Master Nursery Garden Centers and Prides Corner Farms to share our day-long experience. We will see a number of new faces this year and the hunt for "what's new" will certainly be center stage. If you will be at MANTS on Wednesday and able to join us at 5pm, be sure RSVP below. We hope you can be with us!

RCA-20

by Danny Summers

For some of us, the title of this message might take us back to our childhood days and one of the earliest TV sets. In fact, for me and our family, it was more a piece of furniture than actual electronics. And it was a black-and-white picture! Ours' was more of an upright piece of furniture with a dark mahogany finish and a large speaker at the bottom. And I remember it had an RCA Victor label on the front. The picture above is not actually our tv, but it is very close (as my "kid memories" recall).

I had no clue what RCA Victor stood for but a quick search today fills in the blanks... Radio Corporation of America and Victor Talking Machine Company (when they merged in 1929). Does anyone remember their "His Master's Voice" logo with a dog listening to the record player?

The Search

by Danny Summers

The search for what's new, in both plants and products is one of the most exciting experiences we have in the industry. The anticipation of what we may find as we prepare to attend industry trade shows and then actually walk onto the show floor helps kick the "excitement meter" off the scale. Admittedly, most of the time what we find may simply be a better "tweaked" version of what we already know and use. But when we do find something incredible, our reward for searching is fulfilled.

This past week many of us, in fact about 10,000 of our closest friends and peers, converged on Columbus, Ohio for Cultivate'23 with this high level of anticipation in mind. We had a large group of Retailers (many Group Centers) search the show on Sunday for incredible plants and products... and we found some. In fact, they nominated almost 70, then had to vote for their top 15 favorites that are the Retailers' Choice Awards™ for Cultivate'23!

An Exciting Time!

by Danny Summers

Over the last two weeks, many of us have experienced two of the industry's largest events, MANTS in Baltimore (top two photos) and TPIE in Tampa (bottom two photos). If these events are any measure of where we are right now as an industry... the best way to describe it is An Exciting Time!

The level of excitement and anticipation is obvious. Both exhibit space and attendance could easily be described as Sell Outs! Interest in plants and gardening at retail is at an all-time high and with young consumers continuing to become homeowners and continuing their "plant-parenthood" practice these trends look to only increase in coming seasons.

More... What's New!

by Danny Summers

This past week the Farwest 2022 Show was held in Portland and we had a great group of Retail Judges working the show on the first day to nominate plants and products for the Retailers' Choice Awards™. Even if you were not with us, you can see all of the "what's new" that received the awards... right here!

First, let me say it was great to be in Portland and to experience the Farwest 2022. The city looked great and since my last visit, a new Hyatt has been added directly across the street from the Oregon Convention Center. That coupled with the Max Lite-Rail system directly between the two made it was super easy to navigate to and from Portland International Airport (PDX). The show looked fantastic and all of the wonderful products we expect from the Northwest region were on full display!

The Search for NEW and DIFFERENT - Parts 1 & 2

by Danny Summers

The Search for what's New and Different can be exciting. It brings with it a level of anticipation and intrigue. You never know what you will find and while most of the time the "finds" are of minor gains or impact, sometimes they are big gains. And in the plant world in which we live, new plants can create some of the most excitement for us.

This past week, many of us experienced Cultivate'22 along with thousands of other industry participants. This year, international participation was back strong and overall Cultivate'22 was extremely busy. We had a great group of Retailers who worked the show to nominate and vote on our Retailers' Choice Awards™ (a special Thank You to all of you who did).

The Possibilities of Plants

By Danny Summers

If you were with us at TPIE 2022 last week, you will understand my thoughts in this message today. Let's begin by seeing if you agree with this statement:

"Interest in Plants and Gardening has never been higher."

Retailers' Choice Awards™ at Cultivate'17

by Danny Summers