Coast to Coast with Kelli Rodda - May 2007

North Carolina 

The state’s green industry contributed $8.6 billion to North Carolina’s economy, according to results of a study by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The study examined data for 2005. North Carolina had 120,741 acres in production of green-industry commodities, including 27,150 acres of field-grown nursery stock. It employs 152,000 people. Arborists, landscapers and lawn care professionals had total gross sales of $1.2 billion. For more: North Carolina Green Industry Council, (919) 372-1586; www.ncgreenindustrycouncil.org.

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Wisconsin 

Wisconsin Nursery Association named Malus ‘Louisa’ the state’s tree of the year and lungwort (Pulmonaria longifolia ssp. cevennensis) the perennial of the year. ‘Louisa’ is a weeping crabapple with showy, red buds that open to pink flowers in May. It has excellent scab and fire blight resistance. It’s hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4. Lungwort is hardy in Zones 4-8. It features long and narrow silvery-blotched leaves coupled with tubular steel-blue flowers. For more: WNA, (414) 529-4705; bswingle@toriiphillips.com.

California 

Monrovia Growers in Azusa, Calif., opened boutiques in all 36 Armstrong Garden Centers throughout the state this spring. The 1,200-square-foot Monrovia Boutiques promote the company’s branded plants and hard goods. The concept was modeled after designer boutiques in department stores. “In a department store, if you like a specific designer, you’ll see all their clothes in one area. It’s a natural way for consumers to shop for their favorite brands,” said Bob Smiland, Monrovia chief sales and marketing officer. For more: Monrovia Growers, (800) 999-9321; www.monrovia.com.

Oregon 

Dave Van Essen, owner of Van Essen Nursery in Lebanon, Ore., received the first Spring Meadow Nursery Proven Winners ColorChoice Innovation Award. The award recognizes “forward thinking and creativity” in marketing the Proven Winners ColorChoice brand. Winners receive premium placement on the ColorChoice Web site, a full-page advertisement in a trade or regional consumer magazine and a gift basket for the staff. Winners also receive a certificate and a replica of Rodin’s “The Thinker,” which will be passed to the next winner. (Think Stanley Cup.) For more: (800) 633-8859; www.colorchoiceplants.com.

Postcards

Mail.com is taking multitasking to a new level. Its subscribers can have their e-mails read to them thanks to ReadSpeaker, an online service for speech enabling Web content. Mail.com’s Audio Webmail option allows users to catch up on emails while exercising or commuting, the company touted. With some of the scary spam out there, I think headphones are in order to avoid extreme embarrassment. … A recent poll found 65 percent of respondents spend more time with their home computer than their spouse or significant other. Some of you are snorting, “Well no kidding,” but that was the home computer, not the office box. I have to play Dr. Phil for a moment: So how’s that workin’ for you? … Just ask Todd and he’ll confirm it -- I’m a germophobe. I’m an avid hand-washing advocate. So I got a major case of the heebie-jeebies when I read that your desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than your office toilet seat. Women’s desks were serious germ harbors, while men’s PDAs and wallets were bacteria incubators.

Quotable:

“You guys really need to get lives. Go home at night and play with the kids, paint the bathroom -- something, anything.”

- Jamie Jamison, president, Brandywine Nurseries, after an extensive exchange on ANLAConnect about using remote access software.

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-Kelli Rodda