News & Education
Since 1895, the Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring the growing season in the adjoining 48 states in America. In the last 30 years alone, the growing season has increased steadily and dramatically, with climate change indicated as the root cause. The West has seen a more rapid increase than the East, not surprising given…
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The Garden Media Group, which aims to instill a passion for nature and a love of gardening in all generations, recently released its 2023 Garden Trends Report. After several years of incredible growth within the industry due to the global pandemic, the team at the Garden Media Group says, “We learned we can’t control…
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HubSpot – a leading CRM platform that provides software and support to help businesses grow – recently released their 2022 State of the U.S. Consumer Trends Report (Volume 1) to gain insight into how consumers act, think, and what they expect from the organizations they choose to do business with. The respondents in this survey included all…
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The pandemic has reshaped how consumers shop. At first, it was merely out of necessity based on the unforeseen circumstances of quarantines and lockdowns. But as restrictions eased and time passed, these newly adopted shopping trends have transformed the behaviors of today’s shoppers into the foreseeable future, and retailers must take notice. The Emergence of…
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The recent pandemic forced many homeowners to do something they were very unfamiliar with – physically staying at home for long periods of time. With work, leisure, and extracurricular activities no longer in-person during the height of the pandemic, homeowners needed to find something to fill their time with besides hunkering down indoors. Thus, the…
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Drought conditions are now a reality for many growers and communities across North America as climate change continues to battle our familiar way of life. According to Drought.gov – the National Integrated Drought Information System – the week ending July 19, 2022, saw 45% of the United States experiencing drought conditions (52% in the lower…
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Gardening trends continue to evolve post-pandemic, and there’s no arguing with gardening’s continued popularity given the statistics. It’s been estimated that the pandemic created 18.3 million new gardeners – of which over 80% have remained active, with 55% of American households fully engaging in the activity. But gardening trends are now expanding beyond simply beautifying…
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This year, the first day of spring is on Sunday, March 20, 2022. It signals the arrival of a new growing season when plants and trees awaken from dormancy with a subtle burst of bright green color, which ignites and inspires one’s soul. But just because the first day of spring arrives on our calendars…
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While many of us have probably heard of the concept of urban agriculture, few fully understand what it means. According to the USDA, “Urban agriculture allows for the development of a variety of environmental, economic, and social benefits to the surrounding communities.” It helps preserve green spaces in cities where buildings have taken over neighborhoods, a…
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In prior years, the greatest threat to a garden center’s seasonal business was often the weather, which could devastate plant inventories in a single night. But today’s challenges go beyond Mother Nature and include increased competition from big-box stores, challenges influencing and reaching the younger digital generation, and most recently, struggles to acquire and maintain…
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