The mum cuttings are coming along nicely and looking great.
Since a lot of people claim that greenhouse and garden center businesses are recession proof, here is a good blog post on some of the positive aspects of a recession – http://steadfastfinances.com/blog/2009/03/03/20-reasons-why-i-love-the-recession/ A lot of people don’t think there is anything positive about a recession but I am not one of them. We had a pretty good spring season so for us the recession was not as evident as it is for my friend who owns the local river port which is really slow right now. Even with the recession I think there are opportunities for anyone who wants to look for them.
Also here is a post about the resurgence of locally grown products – http://www.projectgreenblog.com/2009/06/locally-grown-is-gaining-momentum.html. Let’s face it, greenhouses and garden centers are a big part of the locally grown scene. In addition to bedding plants and such, Parks Bros. also has a small blueberry patch; Charley raises about 5 acres of sweet corn and a couple of acres of purple hull peas that he sells by pre-order (we never have enough of either); the kids have a small garden of tomatoes and watermelons that they sell to earn summer money. One of our growers has a large garden that they take to the local markets to sell every week. All of these side projects were started in the last 10 years and these are just a few of the examples of how the locally grown trend is going.
Lastly, here is a reposting of the previous post about AOL Home & Garden @ShelterPop (Twitter) is looking for landscapers to talk about their businesses. You can email them at shelterpop@aol.com or visit the website at http://home.aol.com/gardening/.