April 2015 Big Grower, Culture, Grower News, Plant Health, Production

Do You Know What Year It Is? By Tim Hodson

Of course you do! But do you know what 2015 is the Year of? Do coleus, gaillardia and sweet pepper sound familiar? They should, because those are the crops that the National Garden Bureau (NGB) has designated for its “Year of” program for 2015.

Each year, the NGB selects one annual, one perennial and one edible to be the “Year of” crops and has declared 2015 as the Year of the Coleus; the Year of the Gaillardia; and the Year of the Sweet Pepper.

Do you take advantage of the NGB’s “Year of” programs? If you don’t, you should consider doing so — especially if you are already growing any of these varieties.

The program provides growers and garden centers with additional tools to help them sell these specific crops. It generates a great deal of publicity in the gardening community, it helps educate consumers about the different varieties — and it’s free!

NGB has numerous photos of these varieties posted on www.ngb.org that you can use in your marketing efforts. NGB also provides PDFs of fact sheets, flyers, handouts and signage that you can use free of charge. They are there just waiting to help you sell more product.

Now that spring is in full swing, why not check out the NGB’s “Year of” program and take advantage of its benefits.

Meet Lynn

I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of GPN’s editorial staff — Lynn Tangorra. Lynn recently joined GPN and our sister publication, Lawn & Garden Retailer, as associate editor.

A graduate of Illinois State University, Lynn joined our company last year as part of our corporate Editorial Services team. She will be writing and editing news, feature articles and videos (in print and online) for GPN and Lawn & Garden Retailer as well as attending industry events.

You can reach her at ltangorra@sgcmail.com.