Learning From Growers & Retailers In Denmark
August 31, 2009 
What did your kids do on their summer vacation? Right after the OFA Short Course in July, 17-year-old Tucker Cole of D.S. Cole Growers in Loudon, N.H. spent 18 days working for a leading garden center in Denmark.
His father, Doug Cole, has developed many transatlantic friendships over the years through business relationships, which has led to great opportunities for his children to experience our industry in other countries. The friend Tucker stayed with was Ib Elmer who represents Aqua Hort, a copper-based water treatment product, and used to own an orchid greenhouse.
The garden center Tucker worked for was Plantorama, a destination garden chain in Denmark. In addition to the full spectrum of plants, the retailer is a pet store, stocked with fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and reptiles. The daily routine was watering in the morning, setting up tables and plant displays and cleaning up throughout the day.
Tucker was impressed by the amount of fresh plant material that was delivered each day. “Each department orders its own plants. One day it could be indoor plants arriving, the next day perennials, outdoor annuals or trees,” he says. “This was the slow time of year, so I was kind of surprised.”
All the plants arrived on standardized carts that are rented and shared by growers. The carts would stay with the retailer until they were unloaded and then be collected by Container Centraalen, which has been trying to get established in the United States.
Tucker also was impressed by the quality of the plant material that arrived. “The garden center was dumping stuff that looked okay to me,” he says. “After a week, get rid of this. The good stuff stays.”
Now Tucker’s back at school as a senior and thinking about college next year and has been invited to stay in Holland next summer. He is interested in plant science, greenhouse management and landscape design and is looking at a few schools. He is currently doing a senior project landscaping the front of his high school and likes the idea of working in the wholesale production side like his dad. His older brother, Charlie, and his mother, Jane, run a garden center, Cole Gardens in Concord, N.H.
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