Digger magazine

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The approachable container

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Helping consumers break the rules of design, for fun and profit Traditionally, annuals fill the shelves of garden centers come Mother’s Day. The beautiful pieces wait for customers to pile them into carts, move through the check-out line and carry them home to fill containers and hanging baskets. But the popularity of pots stuffed with […]

Nursery Guide LIVE clicks into place

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OAN’s first virtual show connected the industry in a new way in March Zen Landis, the Oregon Association of Nurseries’ events and education manager, knows what it’s like to prepare for and help run a big and important professional association event like OAN’s annual Farwest Show. You prepare for months, deal with logistics and coordination, […]

Positive indications for 2021

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One year ago, on March 6, 2020, Plant Nerd Night was held for the 19th consecutive year with more than 500 attendees. Little did we know that the following week COVID-19 restrictions would begin, and Plant Nerd Night suddenly had the dubious distinction of being the last large in-person consumer gardening event that year. Gone […]

Brighter days ahead

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This past month marked the one-year anniversary of our lives getting flipped upside down by COVID-19. What began as a passing phrase on the news ticker quickly turned into what some expected could be the Great Recession 2.0. Uncertainty became the norm. Expectations changed by the day. We were all in need of direction, and […]

March 2020

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From meeting the needs of a whole new fleet of gardeners to providing nearly one-fifth of the nation’s flowering trees, Oregon growers and retailers are set to impress this spring. This issue also explores the effects of cold storage on trees, and Peoria Gardens President Ben Verhoeven shares his story in a Meet the Leader […]

The cold shoulder season

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Nursery growers effectively use cold storage to support sales of deciduous trees Plants in the Pacific Northwest experience a wide range of temperatures, from hot, dry summers to cold, wet winters. Deciduous plants grow when conditions are favorable. They enter dormancy when environmental conditions are too cold, dark, or otherwise unsuitable for growth. Deciduous trees, […]

Flowering cherry trees then and now

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Flowering cherry trees remain popular, from old mainstays to new selections, with more on the way It’s March, and soon showy displays of Japanese flowering cherry trees will trumpet their annual announcement that spring has arrived. Thus, consumers will be prompted to head to garden centers with hopes of adding the ephemeral beauty of these […]

Cultivating the curious

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How retailers can engage with a flourishing generation of new gardeners As the pandemic gripped the world in early spring 2020, toilet paper, yeast and canning supplies weren’t the only products disappearing off shelves. Plants flew out of many garden centers at an unprecedented, or at least unexpected, pace. All of a sudden, everyone in […]

Meet the Leader: Ben Verhoeven

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PresidentPeoria Gardens Inc.OAN member since 2012 OAN roles/positions:• OAN Board of Directors Executive Committee – member at large Tell us about yourself As a second-generation nursery owner, I grew up on a farm my father, Tom Verhoeven, started in 1983. My first job was filling flats for pocket change. Agriculture was just one my interests […]