Blogger of the week: The Greenhouse Worker

This week's blog is The Greenhouse Worker, written by Andrea Scott. There are just a few posts, but it looks like this is a continuation from a previous blog, so hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more from Andrea about her corner of floriculture.

Her most recent post has images of some impressive combination planters for fall, but in the blog she also gives her impressions of varieties and products and shares some growing tips. I love reading "This is my own opinion and by no means reflects the company I work for" or similar. It means someone is saying something honest and interesting. (She was talking about Scotts vs. TerraCycle.)

You can also follow Andrea's microblog on Twitter here.

Cinnamon - for french toast and powdery mildew

I just heard a grower recommend powdered cinnamon as a fungicide on cuttings and seeds in small greenhouses. Sounds crazy enough that it might work. Anyone try this?

If you're into gerberas, you gotta be at Raker

Just received a Festival Mini Gerbera along with news about the Raker Gerbera Trial. It's Raker's second annual fall trial. Six breeders (Sakata, Syngenta, Global Flowers, Kieft, Northern Innovators and HMA Plants) have provided their top genetics for side-by-side comparisons of almost 200 varieties.

This kind of trial allows you to take a step back and reevaluate genetics. I was surprised there wasn't more of this at Pack Trials when I attended in 2007. It's a great service to you.

So here's the information on the trials -- Oct 20-24, 9am to 5pm each day in Litchfield, Mich. And here's a link to Raker's trial site. And the logo's pretty cool, too.

Retailing up north - IGCA Tour in Vancouver

Today's Garden Center's Associate Editor Ann-Marie Conroy is out in Vancouver for the International Garden Center Association Congress, and is blogging away at http://tgcrevolution.blogspot.com. If you're interested in marketing and merchandising at all, take a look over there. She's been documenting the trip with some fantastic garden and garden center photos and ideas for retailers and probably growers, as well. Having the gorgeous scenery of Vancouver helps people want to be out in nature and in their gardens, I'm sure.

This photo is from Marigold Nurseries, Vancouver Island’s largest garden center.

A few more Terrain images

The Sept/Oct 08 issue of Garden Design magazine has a few more photos of the Urban Outfitters Terrain location in Glen Mills, Pa. It's looking less tinderboxy here compared to the images I showed you guys before, so that's good. The print magazine has a few more photos that aren't on the Web, so pick up a copy if you can.

Cutting back on packaging. Shipping cost going down is just a bonus.

This story on Walmart and HP cutting back on product packaging is just interesting all around. Not only is the eco-savvy consumer going to like not having to dump a ridiculous amount of styrofoam, bubble wrap, cardboard, etc., but it's actually helping cut back on the amount of trucks used to ship the product. The article says:

"In larger terms, that means Walmart can remove the equivalent of one out of every four trucks it takes to ship the PCs."

This is pretty cool.

Are demographics a blessing or a curse for Hort Couture?

Marketing will never be easy, because as much as we like to categorize people in demographic buckets, people are individuals. Take a look at this post over at Garden Rant on Hort Couture. Some female gardeners think it's a cute concept, some aren't so hot on the idea. Some are even "completely insulted."

Hort Couture's marketing is obviously not for the gardener who likes to have her hands in the dirt. It's for the decorator who uses flowers. The gardener who likes to have her hands in the dirt doesn't really need to be marketed, I guess you could say.

I did just receive an email this morning, though, that Hort Couture has started a blog, so you can check that out and decide for yourself.