I started keeping a diary in the 4th grade - at the age my oldest daughter is now. It had Snoopy and Woodstock on the cover, and a little lock with a code, which probably never prevented my sister from reading it. If I were to somehow locate the thing and re-read it, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the entries (which were generally separated by about a month) started with something like, "Dear Diary, I'm sorry it's been so long since I wrote." I thought of that when I damn near started this post with the same sentiment. Dear Blog, I wanted to write at least once a month, and sorry but I missed September. I must have assumed that my diary always accepted the apologies, and hopefully the blog does, too.
Whatever. We've been extra busy at Southwood, in preparations for a most exciting event: our first ever visit from the Garden Center Performance Group (GCPG)! We - meaning Southwood's duly appointed representatives, my Dad and the nursery's GM, Joe - have been members of this illustrious group for a few years, meeting every few months for comparisons and discussions, and once a year visiting a member nursery. It has been a terrific learning experience
You can't imagine a bigger par-tay: the owners and managers of 10 garden centers dishing about such riveting subjects as growth regulators, point-of-sale software and employment practices. Every industry has the equivalent, and unless it's the lingo you use every day and the stuff you make incessant spreadsheets about, it would be as clear as mud and utterly dull.
But since that is our lingo and spreadsheet fodder (and I truly believe it's possible for a person to become addicted to Excel), we are approaching this visit with supreme gusto. The purpose of a site visit, besides the usual meeting business, is a tour and critique of the host member's garden center. These are people who have been colleagues for generations (many are family businesses) and although they aren't generally competitors for the same market, they are nonetheless competitive. I imagine this critique will be a humbling experience, as well as one that will produce some truly remarkable feedback on what we're doing, from people who know what they're looking at and aren't afraid to say what they're thinking.
Southwood has been spiffed up, freshly painted, and will have our best feet forward in two weeks. Of course, the point is for us to be doing business as usual, because that's what we want the feedback on. The nursery will be open, and after being treated to a delicious breakfast and Power Point presentation, our guests will saunter about, asking questions of our employees, peeking into our greenhouses and inspecting our landscape designs. They will then retire to our Market House, where they will be treated to more food, another Power Point presentation, and the opportunity to ask us whatever they want. It is here that they will hear all of our Big Plans for the Farm & Market.
And it is here that I get a little bit panicky. What if they don't like it? Even more terrifying, what if they don't think it's do-able? I honestly don't think that will happen, because at the last meeting (in Minneapolis, which I attended with my mom and sister as guests), they heard a little bit and seemed intrigued. The industry brass generally opines that the concepts we're pursing align well with the future of garden centers. Still, critique is critique, and as helpful as it can be, it can certainly sting, too. Southwood is pretty polished, but our little project is still very raw.
So, we're preparing ourselves emotionally as well as physically for this event. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing them - they're really creative and intelligent people who obsess about the same things we do. They run such innovative and successful businesses: Hicks Nurseries on Long Island, Bordine's in Detroit, Chalet and Platt Hill nurseries in Chicagoland, Rogers in Orange County, Watson's in Seattle. Brothers Corey and Calvin Bordine alone are worth the admission.
It's in 2 weeks, right after Oktoberfest (which my father claims is "better than Christmas!"). Dear Blog, I'll let you know how it goes.
