Ten products captured Retailers’ Choice Awards™ at the 2015 Farwest Show. The awards recognize outstanding new live goods and hard goods that are available for garden retailers to sell. Sid Raisch of the The Garden Center Group served as the facilitator.
The winners were as follows:

• Medinilla ‘Magnifica’, from Ball Seed, has amazing exotic flowers that bloom several times. This easy-care selection offers timeless beauty. Its beautiful pink flowers can grow to a length of approximately 50cm and are a joy to behold.
• Peppermint Stick Celery (Apium graveolens ‘Peppermint Stick’ Hybrid), available from Ball Seed and from Burpee, is a real culinary delight! The striped candy pink and green stalks shade to green leaves. Intense, full-flavored celery is perfect for any kitchen garden, with abundant yields of ¼-inch stalks.
• The Dan Hinkley Collection, from Monrovia, includes great new selections discovered by the man himself. He has traveled to China, South and Central America, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Nepal, Vietnam, Taiwan, Sikkim, Bhutan, Tasmania and Canada, always returning home with plant varieties new to consumers.
• Tillandsia air plants, from Plantifor USA Inc., are the hit new year-round indoor gardening sensation because of the ultra low maintenance and ultra high style characteristics. Unique offerings include an Air Plant 6-Pack with in-house design to create a private label for your company.
• Pre-Made Planters, from Qualitree, offer exceptional value and sophisticated design. Each planter showcases a strong foliage framework into which are layered seasonal elements such as winter berries or superior long lasting heather. Every component is either evergreen or offers months of seasonal flowers — no more worrying about flowers dying, wilting or going dormant before they sell.
• Clematis ‘New Love’, available from JRT Nursery and Silver Falls Nursery, is a clumping clematis with erect woody stems that do not need support. Clusters of large, star-shaped, violet-blue flowers are sweetly scented.
• Variegated Japanese Aralia (Fatsia japonica ‘Spiderweb’), available from T & L Nursery, is a great plant for adding a dramatic tropical feel to shady spots. It has heavy white speckling on glossy green leaves, and is great in containers.
• ReviewSprout.com, from Third River Marketing, helps you build, promote and manage your online reputation. ReviewSprout.com is the only reputation marketing and management platform built specifically for the yard, garden and patio industry.
• Weigelia ‘Maroon Swoon’, from Van Belle Nursery, blooms an abundance of gorgeous bell-shaped flowers and has rich green foliage that contrasts for a stunning effect. It is an excellent selection for beds and borders, in containers or as a specimen.
• Euonymus ‘Happiness’, available from Van Klaveren’s Nursery, is a new variety distinguished by its compact, upright habit and bright golden foliage. ‘Happiness’ is evergreen, with shoots that emerge light yellow-green and fade to deep yellow.

The Garden Center Group, an alliance consisting of over 150 companies, is the industry’s business development resource for garden centers and suppliers. The Group focuses on business solutions designed to help garden centers increase sales, improve operations and retain more profit.

With a support team of leading industry professionals offering business management, financial, marketing, merchandising, HR services, facility design, and more, the Garden Center Group provides retailers innovative resources to maximize their potential for success. For information about The Garden Center Group and the services it provides visit www.thegardencentergroup.com or call Danny Summers at 678-909-7770.