I’m keeping my resolution to bring you (at least) one new plant variety in each edition of buZZ! And since I live in New England, a.k.a. Hydrangea Land, I thought I’d start with a new one of those from the folks at Plants Nouveau.

This is Hydrangea macrophylla Elizabeth Ashley, and if you’re familiar with Hydrangea Magical Revolution, this is Revolution with a slightly larger habit and larger, deeper pink flowers. Its flowers, which form on both old and new growth, are long-lasting and age to antique-y colors. Available as liners and for wholesale and retail for this year. Oh, it’s sold as Magical Evolution in the European market, so it may look familiar.

This variety is named for someone who was as joyful a person as this plant looks. Elizabeth Ashley was a young woman who was struck and killed by a drunk driver while on her way to her first week at college. Such tragedy, but such a beautiful way to commemorate a young life.

As I said last week, if you have a new variety you’d like to share with 20,000 of my closest friends, drop me a note about it at ewells@ballpublishing.com.

Wondering what’s trending in the way of edibles? Colleague Jen Polanz shared a trends forecast she received from Burpee. Here’s what they see being in demand this year:

Green industry members looking for a crystal ball peek into what 2021 will bring now have another tool at their disposal. Burpee recently announced its first gardening trend forecast, called GardenCast, put together by a panel of internal and external experts and inspired by the renewed interest in gardening last year.  

“We estimate more than 18 million new gardeners entered the category in 2020,” says Burpee Executive Chairman George Ball. “As they enter their second year, Burpee wants to guide them to garden with confidence. Through the trends highlighted in the GardenCast, new and seasoned gardeners alike will be inspired as they explore new ideas this year.” 

The panel identified five emerging trends for 2021, and provided examples for how to fulfill those garden wishes: 

• Quiet Garden: A calming garden full of blue and lilac impatiens and ornamental grasses like carex and pancium that offer soothing hues and gentle sounds to lull you into a peaceful state of mind. 
• Garden of Joy: A flower bed full of bright “faces,” including pansy and viola, that are sure to inspire many raised-cheek, eye-crinkling smiles of pure happiness. 
• World Herb Garden: Easy-to-grow herbs like basil, dill and cilantro will satisfy your wanderlust without leaving your own backyard and add punchy international flavors to your recipes. 
• Rise of Meatless Monday: A hearty garden full of Burpee exclusive vegetables with dense flesh and succulent textures like summer squash, eggplant and turnips that will help you embrace plant-based eating.  
• Immunity Garden: A plot abounding with vibrant vegetables like winter squash, radishes and tomatoes, all of which can help you commit to a nutrient-rich diet that strengthens your immune system. 

Visit www.burpee.com/gardencast to read the full announcement.

Hasta La Pasta winter squash hybrid, a Burpee exclusive.

I haven’t heard the last word on color trends for 2021 until I hear from Sensational Color’s Kate Smith, an international color expert, consultant and designer. Her thoughts on colors and what’s causing those colors to trend are respected in a gamut of fields, from furniture to floriculture.

She put her thoughts on what hues are being highlighted in 2021—especially by six of the major color promoters—out into the world this week via her BLOG. She prefaced her contemplations by saying she had noticed something fascinating, something she had not seen in previous years, when reviewing this year’s color trends.

And that was? The companies forecasting their colors for 2021 each said their choices were influenced by the events of 2020. That doesn’t happen. As Kate explained, “As anyone involved in color trends forecasting will tell you, a forecast is not based on what is happening today or even in the past few months. It evolves over several years and when completed is a projection of what will most likely be relevant two or more years into the future.”

Reality is, though, that talking about all the stuff that happened in 2020 is actually good PR. But what actually influenced these companies’ color choices had been analyzed and under scrutiny for several years. And Kate’s own 2019 analysis of trending colors is a good example of why words like “comfort” and “grounding” and “stability” pop up in everyone’s forecasting: “From economic insecurity to concerns over our health, safety, and food supply, the solid foundation our lives has been built upon feels like it is crumbling beneath our feet. We need something tangible to latch onto and a place for our mind to escape while we ride out the storm.” Yep, she wrote that in 2019.

I usually look at long posts like Kate’s and just skim through. This is one you’ll want to READ and re-read, not just for her final analysis, but also for each of the six companies’ really intriguing color palettes.

One of my favorite young plantspeople, Kelly Norris, shares the comfort and grounding aspects of the ecologically inspired landscape in his new book, “New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden.” In the book, Kelly asks readers to put aside the high-maintenance and contrived landscapes that have dominated much of the last century’s design aesthetic and consider the freedom of naturalistic designs that mimic the wildness of meadows, prairies, woodlands and streams.

For your customers who got into gardening last year, this year help them discover how they can delve into the ecology of the home landscape. Within the pages of “New Naturalism” they’ll find recipes for ecologically inspired plantings, ways to upgrade foundation and garden bed plantings and ideas for turning even the smallest spaces into ecologically vibrant gardens.

Contact your Quarto representative for wholesale orders.

Maybe you’ve resolved to be more productive this year. If that’s the case, Fast Company has an article for your perusal, “Six Unconventional Productivity Tips for a Calm and Focused 2021.” I like the sound of that.

To entice you to read further, I will summarize:

Develop an indifferent attitude to the things you can’t change. There’s so much you can’t control, so instead focus your energy on what you do have control over, such as your reactions and your procedures to situations that come along.

Deprioritize tasks that are stressful and have zero ROI. A key point here is to come back to that priority list now and again to assess whether they are still priorities or you’re just doing them out of obligation.

Rebuild your passion and curiosity. Refine your focus by building your day around an anchor task, rekindle your passion by focusing on helping others and give yourself permission to refill your well of creativity.

That’s just three of the six, but if you read the REST OF THE ARTICLE, you’ll determine if you’re a “third bird,” use the scientific method to find how best to work and figure out that you need to create hard boundaries for happiness.

Or maybe you’ve implemented a New Year’s resolution for your company, like being more innovative. Fast Company has an article for that, too. It’s presented more as a “don’t do these” list of actions (or inactions) that could derail improvements.

“Ah! We would never do that!” Oh, really? Here’s their list, and after reading it you tell me if any of these have ever happened in your organization:

• An unwillingness to listen
• A lack of patience
• A lack of distance
• A lack of resources
• The wrong people in the wrong roles
• The lack of accountability
• An inappropriate culture
• A lack of political support from within the organization

As you READ THROUGH the descriptions of each of the eight things, you’ll see that the authors referenced big-time organizations such as Nike, Apple, Microsoft and such. Don’t think these eight innovation killers aren’t applicable to your small business, though. We’re always learning how to be and work better than the big boys.

Other than your life and your family, the answer to that question is your store’s inventory. Epicor illustrated the importance of this asset in clear terms in the following infographic (and you know how much I love infographics):

Four of eight ways you should be using your inventory management software.

Regardless of the inventory management software you’re using, are you using it effectively in the following eight ways?

• Low inventory
• Excess inventory
• Inventory value by department, location or vendor
• Top-sellers and bottom-dwellers
• Re-merchandising your store
• Creating promotions
• Donating non-selling items
• Using online marketplaces

It’s mid-January before a spring that you know is going to come in like a lion, sales-wise. It’s time to make inventory management a top-level item on your winter to-do list. Whether it’s adding some functionality, diving a bit deeper into your existing system or on-boarding a new system, staying up on your inventory could be the game-changer you’re looking for this spring. 

Kidsgardening.org and the National Garden Bureau are pairing up to inspire even more gardeners to get gardening—and in new ways—this spring. Simply by forming this working partnership, the two organizations have doubled the number of people—families, educators and consumers—their messaging reaches. And to build on that base, they’ll be undertaking the following cross-promotions:

• Quarterly blog on gardening with children for the NGB Inspirations blog
• Promotion of Kid’s Gardening’s Youth Garden Grants on the NGB social media channels
• Promotion of the NGB Therapeutic Garden Grant on the KidsGardening social media channels
• Kids Gardening Winter Photo Contest – co-promotion by both groups
• NGB’s Year of the Sunflower Photo Contest – co-promotion by both groups

Said KidsGardening Board Chair and President of Gardener’s Supply Company Jim Feinson in a press release on the subject, "Gardens give kids and their grown-ups a way to come together in challenging times. Those of us in the garden industry are fortunate that so many have recently turned to gardening. The partnership between KidsGardening and the National Garden Bureau will help grow and sustain this interest in gardening and in doing so improve the lives of millions of children across the country."

AmericanHort kicks off the 2021 season of the Women in Horticulture webinar series with one of my favorite ladies in the field, Dr. Bridget Behe, professor of horticultural marketing at Michigan State University. I’ve quoted Bridget numerous times here in buZZ!, and with good reason: Her research on consumer behavior is invaluable to the how, what, when, where and why you sell your horticultural products.

The webinar takes place next Wednesday, January 20, at 2 p.m. Eastern. And here’s the best thing: You can submit questions you have for Bridget when you register. Ask away! And register HERE.

Hey, did you hear? The new Fourth Edition of the "Ball Culture Guide" by Jim Nau is out, and it’s fatter and better than ever! In case you aren’t familiar with this master work, it covers germination, scheduling and growing recommendations for almost 400 seed-grown crops, including bedding plants, potted flowering plants, foliage, cut flowers, perennials, herbs, vegetables and ornamental grasses.

So if you grow, be in the know. Find the "Ball Culture Guide" HERE.

If you’re in the Northeast, maybe the 2021-2022 New England Greenhouse Floriculture Guide is a bit more specific for you. Like the Yankees it's meant for (not the baseball kind, the New England kind), it’s unbiased, detailed and shares all the information you need to do battle with insects and mites, to prevent and manage disease, to control weeds and to regulate plant growth.

Updated every two years, the New England Greenhouse Floriculture Guide is now available in two forms: a free online version you can find HERE and as a printed guide for $35 (plus tax and shipping). You can find order information on the printed guide under the aforementioned link.