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Garden Centers of America has announced locations for the first-ever coordinated performance trials on the Eastern Seaboard, scheduled for Sept. 19 through 24. Host locations for the Eastern Performance Trials will be:
- Conard-Pyle in Philadelphia, Pa.
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Homestead Growers in Annapolis, Md.
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American Horticultural Society at River Farm, Alexandria, Va.
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Virginia Growers, Richmond, Va.
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White’s Greenhouse and Nursery, Chesapeake, Va.
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McDonald Garden Center, Virginia Beach, Va.
GCA President Jack Bigej forecasts a trend of providing retail garden centers and green goods buyers a new and innovative way of bringing new product ideas to the gardening consumer. “We have seen how successful the springtime California trials have been, and the benefit which that event has been to the green industry,” Bigej commented, “now we see the possibility of bringing a similar experience to our industry members in the eastern part of the country, and at a different time of the year.”
| EASTERN PERFORMANCE TRIALS FEATURED COMPANIES |
From Monday, Sept 19 to Saturday, September 24, the biggest names in industry will present their 2006 plants for review at six locations across the eastern seaboard, from historic nurseries to independent garden centers. "We are going to have a large breadth of plant material and a phenomenal display of super performers,” said Clint Albin, Project Manager for the Eastern Performance Trials. According to Albin, the event is important to the green industry because it will close the marketing loop between cutting-edge products, retailers and consumers. “By showcasing each company’s best plants to the trade and consumer media simultaneously, we hope to create excitement for the 2006 introductions at all levels from garden centers operators to home gardeners.” The host locations for the Eastern Performance Trials are the following: Showing at The Conard-Pyle Co., West Grove, Pa. |
Logistically, the Eastern Performance Trials will provide attendees a convenient and compact travel schedule, covering six sites over 275 miles along interstate highways I-95 and I-64. “This schedule and lineup will make it easy for people to see a wide range of new plant material and network with some of the nation’s leading breeders and growers in a minimal amount of time and miles,” Bigej said.
A complete list of participating companies is at left, with each company featured at one location. The participants include major seed companies, national tree and shrub growers, as well as national and international breeders specializing in floriculture, seed and herb crops.
An advisory committee has been assembled to finalize the details of the program. The committee includes:
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Chair – Don Riddle, Homestead Gardens
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Vice-chair – John Rader, EuroAmerican
Committee members:
- Susie Usrey, Monrovia
- Anna Ball, Ball Horticulture
- Niles Riese, Benary Co.
- Linda Guy, Carolina Nursery/Norvalis Group
- Tal White, White’s Greenhouse & Nursery
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Joe Gray, Hines Horticulture
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Allen Armitage, Athens Select/University of Georgia
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Joel Goldsmith, Goldsmith Seeds
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Eddie Anderson, McDonald Garden Center
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Dave Williams, Williams Nursery
“We have several goals in mind as we move forward with this major undertaking,” Bigej said. “One is to make it easier and more convenient for those in the eastern half of the country who can not get away for the California trials in the spring. Another is to provide independent garden center operators the opportunity to see and place orders for new introductions and offerings that will be made available to the independent channel.
“We believe this event will compliment the California Pack Trials as well as the many industry trade shows,” Bigej added. “As a result the industry will be better served, while at the same time we can develop an alliance strategy with existing industry groups.
| GARDEN CENTERS OF AMERICA GOES HIGH-TECH PLANS TO PROMOTE EASTERN PERFORMANCE TRIALS |
Washington, D.C. – Garden Centers of America (GCA) has big plans to promote its September Eastern Performance Trials event online, and has selected Green Industry Yellow Pages (GIYP) as its official technology sponsor. “Getting information about the trials to as many people as possible is our No. 1 goal,” said Clint Albin, Eastern Performance Trials project coordinator. “We have a laundry list of strategies that GIYP is helping us to implement, so we can fully capitalize on the power of the Web.” Some of the strategies include an Eastern Performance Trial Web site that is set to launch in mid to late April, along with display ads and a search listing in GIYP’s online database. As the technology sponsor, GIYP is working to put all of these tactics in motion on a pro bono basis. The 30-page Eastern Performance Trial Web site will offer a hodgepodge of information for attendees and the trade and consumer media. “Anyone who wants to attend the event can check the site for dates, times, locations, directions and the low-down on what they can expect to see,” Albin said. “Post-event highlights will be available for those who are unable to attend.” Under the terms of the sponsorship, GIYP will also add the Eastern Performance Trials event to its database of business listings, a strategy for optimizing the site so it can be easily found in cyberspace. “When users search Yahoo, Google or any of the other big search engines, the Eastern Performance Trial site will turn up within the first 3 to 4 results,” says Steve Cissel, GIYP CEO and founder. Cissel believes that the display ads within the GIYP space will also help the GCA to capture the right audiences. “The ads will be served to users searching for industry-related plant information,” he says. “That way, we can be sure that we are reaching the right people with relevant information.” |
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