What I learned in the April 2008 issue of Greenhouse Grower -- About Urban Outfitters' Terrain!

- Carroll Brothers is serious about saving water. Richard Carroll is currently using Aquamats, and his ultimate goal is to build an underground reservoir for rainwater, but he hasn't figured out the finances yet. The method would save a huge chunk of water needed for his crops.

- Dr. George Elliott of the University of Connecticut attended the Leonardo Academy stakeholders meeting for a sustainability standard. He thought the most contentious subject in the talks was around genetically modified organisms, which the draft standard prohibits.

- Urban Outfitters new Terrain retail concept will target the female consumer in her 40s and 50s and will keep the best of Styer's, the garden center chain Terrain purchased as its first retail platform. Terrain is in talks with Styer's existing growers as suppliers.

- In our Variety Central section, check out my favorites argyranthmum 'Spring Bouquet' by Paul Ecke Ranch (pictured) and the great begonias 'Black Taffeta' and 'Madame Queen' by Terra Nova Nurseries.

- Keep up to date on the sustainable garden trials going on at the University of Georgia at www.uga.edu/ugatrial.

Homewood does battle with drought

On much of our trip to Raleigh, the one question we had for the growers and retailers we visited was “How is the drought affecting your business?” Homewood Nursery and Garden Center is helping out its retail customers by offering rain barrels and water by the jug to whoever wants it. A sign posted in the store says the grower/retailer is offering fewer plants this year, so it can share water from its wells with customers.

At retail, Homewood is pushing containers, baskets and window boxes to fight the drought. The business buys in much of the bedding plant flats it sells, while focusing on growing the cutting-edge plant material that would be hard to find from other growers.

The business sells 30,000 poinsettias a year and propagates poinsettias from stock plants. All the work pays off when those stock plants are sold in season for $50 a piece. It’s a size Homewood’s customers can’t get anywhere else.

Other new and exciting things going on at Homewood include an outdoor living furniture gallery and a Monrovia nursery boutique.

Florida Plants Of The Year - In Search Of Drought Tolerance

It's kind of a slow time of year for variety news, but a good time to talk about some drought tolerant varieties.

Of the six varieties that were named Florida Plants Of The Year by the FNGLA (see them all here), four of them are noted for their drought tolerance. Photographed here is Aloysia virgata, the almond bush, a South American variety with upright habit and finger-like clusters of almond-scented flowers. The photo is courtesy of the Leu Gardens in Orlando.

Other drought-tolerant winners include Florida natives Mimosa strigillosa, with pink, ball-shaped flowers that attract butterflies, and Sabal minor, a green to blue-green palm with long stalks of fragrant white flowers and small black fruits.