Articles

10140

Rally ‘Round The Flagpole

When working with grower and retailer clients to help them improve their performance and craft a marketing or business plan, one of the first questions I ask the owner is, "What is the single most... more »

10132

Industry Leader Forecast

If only we were able to see into the future, we would all be prosperous and free of disastrous surprises. But, since we can't, we can take educated guesses, which is what some of the... more »

10132

my favorite color is…

Everyone's favorite color is reflected in the choice of plant materials used in their garden. Yet each year, the colors of our garden change due to the outside influence of color trends. One of the... more »

10132

It’s not Y2K, it’s not even close

If you're a regular reader of The New York Times, you may have had the misfortune of coming across an article entitled "Bigger Bar Code Inches Up on Retailers" this past August. This work of... more »

10132

Mixing plants with pets

Tugging at her mother's sleeve, a little girl finally succeeds in gaining her much-awaited escort to the pet department at their local, full-service garden center. Puppies, lizards, hamsters and birds create a wagging, scurrying, fluttering... more »

10132

Resolve to Do Better

With the new year come resolutions. They always do. Exercise more, eat healthier, be nicer, volunteer more — the top four on my embarrassingly long list of personal goals for 2003. I'm sure many of... more »

10132

Controlling Pests in Retail Greenhouses

The last thing a busy retail greenhouse needs is to be dealing with pest problems. Unfortunately, we have no choice in the matter because pests "come with the territory." The challenge is stiff, but we... more »

10132

Valentine’s Day — not just roses!

Since Valentine's Day is the third-largest holiday in dollar volume for live goods, after Christmas and Mother's Day, respectively, you should take advantage.According to the Society of American Florists (SAF), of the flowers purchased for... more »

10132

A Call to Action

I'm writing this column as I sit in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., attending the 1st Annual America in Bloom (AIB) Symposium. In addition to the excellent educational seminars, this is a celebration for... more »

10132

Simply Sequencing

Increasing sales and reducing labor are two topics that you seldom expect to find on the same page, let alone in the same paragraph. Yet if you sequence, you can expect to see higher sales... more »

10132

Lawn & Garden Retailer Headlines

DIY introduces new programming for gardeners The Do It Yourself Network (DIY), sister station of HGTV, will be heading up a new television program in January entitled "Weekend Gardening." Writer and designer Maureen Gilmer has... more »

10132

Get retail ready!

At this year's AHMA Hardware Show, to be held in Chicago April 18-20, Lawn & Garden Retailer will be sponsoring an experimental venue designed exclusively for independent garden centers. The Garden Center of the Future... more »