Spring may be coming (or so Punxsatawney Phil says), but my brain keeps going over the people and products I saw in the depths of winter during TPIE. I have just a few more tidbits of information from the event to share with you.

Beginning with a few immediate points from the show’s keynote, Christine Boland. As a student of international trends and innovations, she’s got her finger on the cultural phenomena that influence all aspects of society—including shopping. Her talk was enlightening, to say the least! Going through my notes, here’s what I found most valuable from Christine’s talk:

“Design is the language of its time.” I find that right on. Even when “trends” come around again—like houseplants, for instance, or bell bottoms—what appears isn’t the exact same design or trend as what happened before, but a style that has been reinterpreted with the current time’s culture and sensibilities.

A new wave is coming. Wave of what? Tech, innovation and intelligence are the most obvious. And you can’t stop it from happening. The example Christine gave was that the taxi business couldn’t stop ride-sharing apps like Uber.

Sync with nature. You’ve heard this before: People are aligning their values with nature, becoming part of the solution to the problems of waste and disconnectedness with the environment. We’re aligning our brain frequencies to nature through Forest Bathing, and if we can’t get out into nature, we create indoor jungles. I like all of that. And our industry does play a big role in that process.  

Plant-based color trends. More importantly and actionable, however, are the trending colors that Christine says are inspired by nature. Here’s a sample of colors Christine says are not just inspired by nature, but are all related to edibles! The color groups include beet, curcuma (or turmeric) and matcha. Yum.

The text is a bit small, so if you need anything on it deciphered, just drop me an email.  

Gosh, there were just so many cool new products at TPIE, but I’ll leave you with two.

Last week, I told you about Euro Quarries and their brilliant-white flat marble rocks. Arizona East was doing nifty things with rocks, too. They have a line called You’re a Gem Air Plant Collection. They have perched easy-to-care-for tillandsias onto three different types of rocks: sliced dyed geodes, and chunks of rose quartz and amethyst crystals. Spritz them once a week and they’ll keep thriving and sparkling.

Bottomley Evergreens has developed some of the neatest winter greens packaging I’ve ever seen. And I like the DIY messaging, too.

The assorted greens are bundled together and then placed in a sturdy, handled sleeve. Customers can easily carry the bundle while they continue shopping. Hey, they could even easily carry multiple bundles this way. Makes me wonder, what else can we bundle and sleeve?

Of course I could go on and on about all the cool plants and neat products we saw at TPIE. Luckily, Bossman Chris Beytes and his wife Laurie shot video of it all. Great stuff! Watch the video HERE.

Oh hey, speaking of video, I made a short video of a neat rotating marble sphere that I spotted in the Euro Quarries booth. This water feature is totally hypnotic! Watch it HERE.    

I mentioned this in last week’s Tropical Topics e-newsletter, but for those of you who don’t receive it (you totally should), I wanted to show you some of the retail-worthy displays at Excelsa Gardens in Loxahatchee, Florida, one of our pre-TPIE stops.

Excelsa Gardens, a wholesale nursery, is known for its fabulous, award-winning booth displays. On our visit to the nursery, we discovered it’s not just the show booths that are chock-full of retail ideas. Walk into Excelsa’s office and you’ll see that their TPIE booth is just an extension of the environment created at the nursery. That’s the smart planning of Susan Friedrich, one of the nursery’s owners. She has filled the office and area immediately surrounding it with interesting pieces such as grates and grills, distressed tables and cabinets, wall art and such that she finds at second-hand stores and elsewhere.

Susan’s great style blends with the great tropicals her husband Mark and son Colin grow in the nursery and which are showcased in a new display greenhouse adjacent to the office. They built this space specifically to give visiting buyers a chance to see some of their best plants. Mark mentioned that there are just so many great plants that are underutilized in the trade that might not work for the production methods of the bigger growers. Because Excelsa Gardens is small (30 acres total over three different locations and just 30 employees), they can grow those more unusual or finicky or longer-term plants, and they give them a spotlight in this space.

These displays could easily be picked up and put into your retail environment.  

How much is GrowerTalks’ managing editor Jen Zurko dedicated to her job? So much so that she bundled up during the Midwest’s polar vortex last week to attend an industry trade show. And she came back with an idea that garden retailers can implement at their own stores (when it’s not sub-zero, of course).

It may have been brutally cold outside, but it was nice and toasty inside the Schaumburg Convention Center during the iLandscape show. For the 6th year, landscapers, nursery growers and other suppliers from around the Midwest congregated at the event right outside of Chicago, which was experiencing record frigid temperatures. (I literally couldn’t feel my legs after the two-minute walk from my car to the convention center—no joke!)

I would consider it mostly a “nursery show”—say, a mini-MANTS—so most of what you see is geared for that market. But I did see one thing I thought would be right up a retailer’s alley.

Twixwood Nursery, a wholesale grower based in Michigan, had a “living chessboard” in their booth. One of their specialties is groundcovers, so that’s what they had making up the individual spaces of the board, but you could really use any low-growing plants, like succulents or herbs. The chess pieces were about 8 in., which you could find online if you use the Google machine.

It would make a really interesting display piece in your store, and I bet you’d have some customers try and copy it at their own homes, too.

Hey, maybe this chess set is what I need to finally learn the game. Thanks, Jen! 

You can never get too much retail inspiration, right? I’m so very thankful when readers send in their own stories of inspiration and ideas so I can share them with you. Tim Sime of Jolly Lane Greenhouse in Rapid City, South Dakota, sent in one of their ideas for how to get folks in the doors in what he calls the “gloomy days of January.” Here’s what Tim has to share about Birds & Blooms Day, an event they’ve been holding for 13 years.

“The local bird club brings in their pet birds, ranging from canaries and cockatiels all the way up to some very large macaws. Usually there is a variety of about 75-100 birds. The local Black Hills Raptor Center, which rescues injured birds of prey, brings several of their birds, and the local poultry organization brings chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and peacocks. We’ve pretty much got our feathered friends covered. It’s promoted as an educational event, which it is, and the garden center provides free popcorn and soda. The bird folks have put together a bingo card that’s a scavenger hunt covering birds and plants, and the kids (and adults) find this fun. We had about 1,500 people come through this year on Saturday, January 19th. Shoulder to shoulder people, hardly room to walk, let alone find a parking spot, but everyone was having a good time. We typically have an indoor foliage plant sale during this time in January, so the business also has a good day of sales, too! It’s been a great winter event for us and hopefully they all come back for spring flowers!”

Knowing that events are a key component to “keeping things rolling these days,” as Tim said, Jolly Lane is hosting their first fashion show in February. Tim says that event will be put on by Black Hills Works, which is an organization that works with folks who live with challenges and disabilities.

All of that just warms my heart, knowing that people in our industry are finding ways to awareness of organizations that aid others and the environment. The more we know, the better citizens we can become, I believe. Do you have retail inspiration to share? Drop me a line about it HERE.

Continuing with the retail inspiration theme here, let’s talk about the upcoming GCA Summer Tour to Nashville, Tennessee, shall we? It’ll be June 23-26, and I encourage you to SIGN UP SOON, especially to get your hotel room at a very reasonable rate. Nashville is one of the hottest cities in the U.S. to visit, and I imagine that hotel rooms in the summer will go quickly. Get on it now if you’re planning on tacking on a few days for vacation purposes.

Vacation aside, what will you be seeing on the tour? I got the scoop on the first four tour stops announced by GCA Executive Director Jeff Morey. They are:

Gardens of Babylon, Nashville: They’ve been an organic-only, urban garden “boutique” since their beginning. Boasting a funky and eclectic atmosphere, they specialize in small-space gardens, sustainable-minded customers and high-end clients. In addition to the usual menu of plants and garden center products, they also sell lighting and botanical antiques.

Moore & Moore Garden Center, Nashville: This third-generation garden center has been a staple in the city since 1980. Over the years they’ve become a destination for pottery, gifts and home décor. One of the things that makes this retailer unique is its park-like setting, despite being on a small property. You could totally get some ideas for your own small space.

Martin’s Home & Garden, Murfreesboro: Originally a roadside stand, Martin’s is now an award-winning garden supplier, nursery and hardscaping company. In addition to offering everything from bedding plants to shrubs, they also sell lawn furniture, fountains, pottery and more.

JVI Secret Gardens, Nashville: You’ll hear a lot of trickling water sounds at JVI Secret Gardens, as they have a big focus on water features and ponds. Another smaller-sized shop, you’ll get ideas on how to use retail space creatively here. And ask about their free seasonal events that become a gathering spot for the local community during fall and winter.

These aren’t all the stops, of course, but just a few to wet your whistle and get you to sign up for the tour. There will be lots more stops at garden centers and other local spots. Plus brand-new educational and networking opportunities, too.

I’ll announce additions to the lineup as I get them. Stay tuned! 

A very important floral holiday is on the docket for next week— Valentine’s Day. In a recent press release from the National Retail Federation, their survey found that while the numbers of folks celebrating Valentine’s Day has been on a downward trend for the last 12 years, the amount people will spend on the holiday ($162 on average) is at an all-time high.

What is increasing is how much money people are spending on Valentine’s Day gifts for non-significant others. That includes other family members, friends, children’s classmates and teachers, co-workers and pets. Also up is the average spend by men (up 20% to $230). Women are spending an average of $98, which is down 1% over last year. People between the ages of 35-44 are spending the most ($280) with 25-34 year olds spending $239. Folks those ages typically have teachers and kids’ classmates to purchase for, hence the higher spend.

In related Valentine’s Day news, SAF has released a statement in which they revealed that they’ve contacted companies that have disparaged flowers as a Valentine’s Day gift. SAF asked companies such as Harry & David, Chick-fil-A and Microsoft to back off the “flowers are out” messages and let their products stand on their own merits.

Thanks for having our backs, SAF! The question is, however, why so many industries gang up on the floral industry during this time of year. To use a phrase that Patriots fans have been saying for years, “They hate us cuz they ain’t us.”  

Friends, Ball Publishing has a special treat for you on February 13—a retail-related webinar. Call it an early Valentine’s Day gift. The “Five Trending Marketing Tips for IGCs” webinar is sponsored by Proven Winners and will feature regional account managers Jessica DeGraaf and Meghan Owens, who both have picked up a lot of tips as they visit retailers nationwide. Let them reveal what their travels have taught them while you sit and relax in the office for an hour.

Managing editor Jen Polanz and I will be hosting the webinar, and I apologize in advance if the dog barks, the cats start fighting or Mailman Martin rings the doorbell.

Join us next Wednesday, February 13, at 1 p.m. Eastern/12 p.m. Central. Sign up for the FREE webinar at www.greenprofit.com/webinars.

While you’re there, catch the archived version of Ball Publishing’s most recent webinar, “Tools to Bring Back Impatiens.” Just scroll to the bottom of that page to find it.   

Gary Hunter of Gary’s Specialty Plants in Drumore, Pennsylvania, responded to my request for folks who sell the very hot and trending dolphin succulents, also known as string of succulents. He ships within 200 miles of Drumore and is still accepting new customers. Gary says all “strings of things” are worth watching.

Thanks for responding, Gary! Anyone else growing and selling the hottest dolphin since Flipper? Let me know HERE.