Ravin' Traven: Spring In Full Swing

By Greenhouse Grower staff|April 7, 2009

IT’S EASTER WEEK. The customers are calling, the greenhouse is doing its thing and we’re ready for the onslaught of spring. Are you?

Herb and veggies are HOT, HOT, HOT. Somehow, it seems they are satisfying a real need, a DESIRE for real-world folks, under lots of pressure, to feel like they are doing something, anything, to take care of themselves. They’re bringing CONTROL back into their lives, some clarity of purpose and the belief that you control your own destiny. Gee, it’s been a long time since we felt that way, so this is a good thing.

We’re also seeing strong, pent-up demand for COLOR on anything. It may be “seasonally inappropriate,” like a New Guinea impatiens, but if it can be jammed in a color basket for Easter, it is going. We welcome this type of insanity, but it also creates some potential issues farther down the road–when it all croaks and people get the attitude that plants are NOT a good value.

By the way, did any of you catch the Home Depot promotion going on: four-inch annuals, three for a dollar. Hot diggity, we’re all going to be rolling in the money with that deal. Of course, it was limited to 60 pots, to prevent those pesky landscapers from going in and cleaning off the benches. BUT, don’t most HOMEOWNERS buy maybe 60 plants, too? Twenty dollars a season? We’ll ALL go out of business that way!