The Game-Changing Products of 2009

I’m not one for prognostication, but I do enjoy reading other garden retailer’s predictions for the industry. Today’s Garden Center recently published an article titled, “The Five Game-Changing Products of 2009.” What are the five game-changers? According to TGC, they include:

• Syngenta’s Calliope geranium
• Suntory mandevillas
• Freedom Garden Product’s Aqualok sustainable hydration system
• Burpee Home Gardens
• Confetti Gardens  by Dümmen USA

According to TGC, these products “all make significant contributions in helping the industry increase sales, reduce discards, drive consumer appeal and satisfaction. They can increase value, and if positioned properly by each producer, they can be a conduit to combat shrinking margins.”

While I’m taken with mandevillas and always appreciate a good geranium, I’m not sure how much of an impact these items will have, particularly for small nurseries and garden centers that often draw customers initially through their selection of plants and great customer service.

Bottom line: are there really game changing products for every year, or are there game changing practices.  If you know of either, please let us know!

Sun Parasol Mandevilla from smgrowers.com

Are Seeds a Tech Trend?

George Ball, chairman of the W. Atlee Burpee & Co. and past president of the American Horticultural Society, explains changes from the Wall Street’s New Economy to the backyard garden economy that many Americans have begun to embrace.  Ball notes, “in this world of iPhones, PCs, Twitter, 200 cable channels and over the top home entertainment centers, the garden suddenly appears as something new and delightful: a multidimensional, interactive realm of flavor, nourishment, fragrance, pleasure, beauty, recreation, sanctuary and self-realization.”

Check out the complete article, Seeds: Nature’s Microchips, published in the Wall Street Journal.