Former owner Duane Kelly announced recently that he has sold the Seattle-based Northwest Flower and Garden Show – second-largest consumer hort show in the country, behind only the Philadelphia Flower Show – to Portland-based O’Loughlin Trade Shows, which operates the Portland Home and Garden Show and other trade shows. Kelly had announced earlier in the […]
Grand theft palmatum
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Japanese maples are being stolen this year. From homeowners. After they’ve already been planted in the ground. Crazy.
OAN partners with Garden Centers of America
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The partnership begins with the GCA tour in Portland at the end of this month, and continues at the Farwest Show. Read the press release.
Riding out the storm
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“It was the fastest hitting and departing storm I’ve seen,” said Grace Dinsdale, owner of Blooming Nursery in Cornelius, Ore. Last Thursday’s sudden squall raced its way through Western Oregon, bringing dust clouds, high winds, harsh rains, thunder, lightning, hail, and even flash floods, funnel clouds and tornadoes. Some 50,000 people lost power, and temperature […]
Garden Centers of America tour comes to Oregon
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The Portland area will play host for the 2009 Garden Centers of America Summer Tour, which will be June 28-July 1. The 12-stop tour consists entirely of OAN member garden centers, including Al’s Garden Centers, Bauman Farms, Yard n’ Garden Land, Tsugawa Nursery, Shorty’s Garden & Home, Drake’s Seven Dees Garden Centers, Portland Nursery, Garden […]
How to set prices in a recession
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Entrepreneur magazine has a short-but-thorough primer up on the art of setting prices for your products during a recession. Although it doesn’t mention nurseries specifically, all of the information is applicable, and a few of the points are particularly germane. Specifically: Are you offering an affordable luxury? During a recession, most consumers may still be […]
Victory gardens of the new millennium
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Congratulations to Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) garden writer Kym Pokorny, who landed a Page One byline today for her excellent feature on vegetable gardening, fruit trees and other edibles. As we have reported previously, interest is very high in food gardening right now. Not only can edibles save a lot of money, but they look pretty […]
Consumer advice on invasives
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Carol Savonen’s latest column for the Statesman-Journal (Salem, Ore.) advises consumers on which plants to avoid when they are out shopping at garden centers. The column advises folks who see these plants on sale somewhere, to have a polite conversation with the plant buyer at that store. Savonen, a professor emeritus from Oregon State University, […]
Snodgrass tapped for honor
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Congratulations to Lynn Snodgrass, CEO of Gresham, Ore.-based Drake’s 7 Dees Garden Center. She has been selected by the Portland Business Journal as an Orchid Awards finalist for “Business Owner of the Year” in the medium/small business category. The awards, which honor the achievements of leading Portland-area businesswomen, are given as part of the 2009 […]
Gardening hotline returns to Portland
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Gardeners in Multnomah County, Ore. now have a new resource to help them solve gardening problems. Oregon State University Extension Service has partnered with the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conversation District to establish a new, volunteer-staffed gardening hotline at 503-445-4608. It’s available from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday. The public can also drop in and […]