Have you ever walked by a problem and didn’t even see it was there? The human eyes are trained to only see the obvious or things they're specifically looking for. The eyes and brain tend to tune out sometimes very obvious cues. This is the topic of this week’s diagnostic challenge. Take a look at the following image: 

I can’t believe it’s already July and Cultivate’23 begins this weekend. If you’ve attended Cultivate in the past, you already know what a great opportunity it is to see what’s new, attend educational sessions and to network. If you’ve never attended, what are you waiting for?  

• Landscape Ontario Trial Gardens 
• NVK Nurseries 
• Royal Botanical Gardens 
• Sheridan Nurseries  
• Vineland Research & Innovation Centre

• Beth Edney, Designs by the Yard—What Makes an Inspiring Design 
• Brandon George, University of Kentucky—Perennial Plant Sociability Metrics 
• Dr. Allan Armitage, Perennial Guru—The Road That Got Us Here 
• Gary Lewis, Phoenix Perennials—The Complete Talk on Groundcovers 
• Steve Castorani—Native Plant Production Methods Explained 
• Tony Spenser, The New Perennialist—Wildscaping 

• Schedule some of your “must see” meetings in advance. Don’t leave it to chance that the individual(s) you need to see will be available when you arrive at their booth. 
• Many trade events have apps that are useful in helping you to know when things are happening, how to find them, and often include trade show maps and planners to help you manage your time at the event. 
• Some of the trade events are really large—bring comfortable shoes.  
• Only pick up or accept literature that you need and intend to use. Picking up every piece of literature isn't necessary and can be heavy to lug around for several hours. I've had good intentions so many times when collecting information. However, more often than not, I find the literature sitting in the trade show bags many months and even sometimes years later. Be selective in what you choose to take with you. 
• Don't be intimidated or afraid of approaching the salespeople working the booths at the trade show. Introduce yourself and when someone approaches you, compliment their booth or their product(s). Then ask specific questions, such as "How does your product work?" or "What’s new?" 
• Bring lots of business cards and take them everywhere you go. You can meet an important contact anywhere ... like the elevator, hotel, lobby, restaurants—and even at the bar. You never know, so be prepared. 
• If you don't already have a contact person with the company you have an interest in, be sure to get a business card. It's not enough to only give someone your contact information. 
• Follow up. About a week after the trade show, follow up with the companies you intend to work with. Following up is key to successfully maximizing your new contacts. 

Here’s a new perennial I’m guessing you haven’t seen before. In fact, I suspect you haven’t even heard of sanguisorba. Before I show you Intrinsic Perennial Gardens recent introduction, please allow me to update you on this promising genus.   

I shared this image at the top of the newsletter and asked if you could see what I couldn’t. I imagine this may have been easier for you than it was for me in real time. You had one image focusing on the area I wanted you to see, whereas I initially saw a different perspective over a much larger area. Nonetheless, sometimes when diagnosing or discovering problems, the clues are right in front of you.