We are staying busy here on the farm. Yesterday, we finished planting our ivy plugs into #4s then planted about 200 flats of #6 marigolds and finished out the day pinching the #1G tropical hibiscus which is a new item for us this year. Today, we will finish pinching the hibiscus, plant our first planting of J6 impatiens and stick 2600 geranium cuttings.
Next week is looking to be just as buys with mandevillas, clematis and more cuttings coming in and a lot of plugs that will be ready to transplant.
From the WWW:
Here is an article about a study that has shown the beneficial effects of potted plants and flowers in helping patients recover from surgery. This would be a great article and study to feature in your garden center advertising. You could also put together a press release about the study to send to your local media to try to get them to do a story about your shop and generate some free advertising.
Maureen Gilmer from the DIY Network wrote an excellent article about home gardens that would be another good source for ad material. Gilmer talks about using gardens to teach kids about history, patience, the importance of observation, care and attention to details and the natural cycles of life. You could take this article one step further and plant a small (or big) garden at your store or elsewhere in your neighborhood and invite your customer to come out and learn with their kids about gardening.