The latest from our website and social media pages

The power of giving plants

It’s always worth the effort to brighten up a stranger’s day, and many think that a bouquet of flowers does the trick every time. The Society of American Florists put this theory into practice with its 2016 Petal it Forward campaign, an initiative to randomly give bouquets to morning commuters in 234 busy cities in all 50 states. Video was recorded of one of these city visits, resulting in a heartwarming clip showing genuine reactions of regular people receiving the gift of fresh flowers.
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What’s trending on Instagram

Earlier this year, Garden Center mailed out the 2016 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers issue, along with special gifts for each of the IGCs on the list. Each business received a copy of the September issue, as well as a plaque signifying their place on the list and BloemBagz containers courtesy of Bloem, a sponsor of the 2016 Top 100 list. The process of packaging and mailing out the issues and gifts was an Instagram-worthy moment we couldn’t pass up! 
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Retweet

Industry talk from Twitter

Nell Foster

Want to change Hydrangeas from pink to blue? Check this out. #garden #gardening #VIDEO bit.ly/1e5odzR

Greenhouse Management Magazine

What were this year’s top-performing plant trial varieties? http://bit.ly/2gcsXpn

Gardening Know How

#gardening article: Answers To What Causes Hibiscus Leaves Turning Yellow http://bit.ly/2hFymqb

5 stories in brief

Top industry news from our website

1. Political shift

What can the hort industry expect from a Donald Trump presidency? Insiders anticipate the potential for major shakeups.
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2. Brace yourselves

As major changes to overtime law made progress toward ratification, business owners were urged to make preparations to accommodate the new standards.
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3. Legal uncertainty

The outcome of the Department of Labor’s overtime expansion law became very ambiguous when Donald Trump was elected president, as he vowed to roll back business regulations.
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4. A new Identity

BrazelBerries, a well-known brand of edibles from Star Roses & Plants, was re-branded under the new name “Bushel and Berry.”
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5. Closing the door

After 60 years in business, Pleasant Valley Garden Center and Flower Shoppe in Iowa City, Iowa, announced that it was closing for business at the start of 2017.
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