Fresh Ideas

by Danny Summers

The concept of Fresh Ideas is like being in your garden early in the morning while the dew is still on every plant. Just imagine we are picking the most beautifully ripe tomato right off the vine. If you're like me most likely you're picking the smaller tomato varieties (one of my favorites is Juliet, a small Roma style that has a wonderful flavor)... and you just pop one into your mouth standing right in the garden... Now That's Fresh!

Integrating "Fresh" with "Ideas" suggests a very similar experience. The results can be wonderfully new, refreshing, and exciting. It can open up a whole new realm of things to explore and create.

Recently we have had several Fresh Ideas that have been shared or experienced in The Group. For instance, last month Robert Hayter shared some Fresh Ideas in his presentation during the GROUPtalk LIVE Session. One such Fresh Idea was his design for new Cash Wraps. The one here is single-sided but he also discussed a double-sided concept using the same design, just double the width. Here are three photos of the ones Robert provided specifications for to Louisiana Nurseries (thanks Mitch for being our stand-in cashier).

Robert emphasized the details of design throughout the session, including counter space with consideration for your register size, interior storage, rear unit design, and even a lower pull-out counter for disabled customer transactions.

Robert shared the overall dimensions of this single-sided cash wrap. Height: 36 inches, depth: 24 inches, and width 48 inches. He said the double-sided cash wrap is just 96 inches in length.

Another example of Fresh Ideas is what I experienced two weeks ago when I was in Portland, Oregon for the Farwest Show. I arrived a little early and had the opportunity to visit Jonn Karsseboom and his team at The Garden Corner.

What I am about to say is not an exaggeration... There were Fresh Ideas at every turn!

There is not enough space or time to share even a small portion of the Fresh Ideas you see at The Garden Corner but here's just one. Let's set the stage for this one by saying The Garden Corner is known for being one of the very best Hanging Basket Centers. They even have what they call the World's Largest Hanging Basket as a symbol of their passion for hanging baskets. By the way, their world record basket is 16 ft high and 10 ft wide and weighs over 2,000 lbs. And it rotates!

The Garden Corner specializes in what they call Crown Baskets and they have a very unique venue space called The Planting Bar (pictured below) where they hold classes, especially basket creation classes. In the photo below (top right) you can barely see the words across the back wall that say, "create | verb | a: to make or do something creative. "She wore a necklace adorned with sedums."

In the Planting Bar space there are lots of supplies needed in the basket-building experience but one thing stood out to me... their tables. As you can see here they are octagonal. Each is mounted to a mobile and manual hydraulic lift cart so you can raise and lower to fit the customers' heights but as Jonn explained, they can also be lowered when you have a larger container and need to reach higher to build the basket or container.

I asked where they found the hydraulic lift carts and Jonn said he thought they came from Granger. They built the octagonal tops and mounted them to the lift tables. A quick search for the term "Heavy Duty Scissor Lift Table" located a similar unit from Global Industrial for about $700 each.

The Planting Bar at The Garden Corner is a perfect example of Fresh Ideas.

Driving Your Eureka! And finally it is impossible to be considering the topic of Fresh Ideas and not be thinking about the Monday afternoon sessions at The Fall Event 2023 when Maggie Nichols will lead us through two sessions to help everyone think more creatively and innovatively about the growth of your business. Fresh Ideas is the end result and the end goal, but it really is much more than that. It is showing us how we can experience creativity and Innovation every day. It really is possible!

Driving Your Eureka! with Fresh Ideas!