GCPS e-ZONE

	February 19, 2008 Riddle me this... What is it that when you take away the whole, you still have some left over? (Scroll down for the answer.) Trends: Outdoor living Deck-orating 101... Ask Mrs. Keller, my 9th grade algebra teacher — I am not a mathematician. She once wrote on my permanent record that I had a tendency to choke at test time. She was wrong. What I had a tendency to do was choke at test time in her class — which, as best I can recall, was the only academic arena where a premium was placed on finding "X" and "Y." I can verb your subject until the cows come home, but I simply was not/am not/never will be very adept at problems that marry abstract thinking with numbers. That said, I’m going to do some simple arithmetic to show you why you ought to check out this Web site: A soft real estate market + a potential prolonged recession = a good chance that many of your customers won’t be moving but, instead, will be spending a portion of their disposable income on the dwelling they already have. And, given that the next home frontier seems to be the great outdoors, the odds are also good that your customers will focus much of their spending on the entertainment hub of the dwelling — that is, the patio/deck/outdoor living room. I recently received a report from outdoor room specialty company Fire Stone that noted the burgeoning appeal of the new living haven. Obviously, the folks at Fire Stone have a vested interest in the subject of outdoor living. Nonetheless, the company is pitching strikes. "Investing home improvement dollars in outdoor living spaces ranges from $30-$50 per square foot compared to indoor remodeling which is about $150 per square foot," the report said. "For home owners who choose to add outdoor living spaces to their homes, industry research shows that a well-designed outdoor space will return more than 100 percent of the cost upon resale. This fact coupled with a recent study by the NPD Group which found that eight out of 10 consumers preferred outdoor entertaining over indoor. Investing in backyard living spaces just makes sense." If only the same could have been said for Mrs. Keller’s algebra class. Do you think consumers will be tight-fisted this spring? Check our BLOG Puzzling pictures Jumble-aya... One of these photographs is a puzzle. The other two are inserted strictly to fool you into thinking they are puzzles. Ignore them. Don't pay them the time of day. Don't nod or even make eye contact. Instead, choose the one that is the puzzle, put the product together again, and go to bed tonight satisfied that you have soundly defeated the beast that was just moments earlier taunting you and stuff. Do you think consumers will be tight-fisted this spring? Check our BLOG Pick 'n Click Products of the system... This list of links to suppliers will magically enable you to find gardening items you desire. Just point and click to retrieve information about the various products in GCP&S magazine. OK, it's not magic, per se. Our Information Technology guy made me say that so you'll think what he does is, like magical, which is sort of true, especially when he plays, "Pick a memory card, any memory card." Achla Designs: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12013 ATLAS Glove Consumer Products, a Div. of LFS, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12040 A-V International: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12034 Bamboo Accents: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12045 Bartlett Bench & Wire, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12010 Best 1 Hummingbird Feeders: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12052 Bird Brain, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12004 Carruth Studio, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12026 Charlie Cook Associates, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12022 Clean Air Gardening: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12031 Country Originals, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12028 Danove Corporation: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12043 Deer Out: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12021 Discount Pond Supplies, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12041 Dr. T's Nature Products: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12018 Echo Valley: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12019 Fabriscape: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12033 Freedom Ponds: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12001 Gardenware: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12025 Gifts That Bloom: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12006 H. Potter: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12014 National Lawn & Garden Show: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12011 Novelty Manufacturing Co.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12053 Par A Sol: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12015 Pentair Aquatics: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12046 Poly-Tex, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12003 Protective Industrial Products: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12032 Red Carpet Studios: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12030 Retail Service Company: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12035 Riverside Enterprises: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12027 Rubber Resources Ltd: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12024 Ruibal's Topiary Systems & Ironworks: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12023 SATO Labeling Solutions: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12002 Stoney Creek: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12042 Structural Plastics: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12054 Sunlight Supply, Inc.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12036 Sunshine Paper Co.: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12037 The Perfect Garden Tool: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12051 Tierra-Derco International: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12020 T-Mate-O: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12029 Tula Hats: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12050 Ver-Mac Industries: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12038 Vitamin Institute: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12039 WeatherPort Global Shelters: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12009 Winston Company: Request info · Web site · 1-800-690-1826 ext. 12044 Do you think consumers will be tight-fisted this spring? Check our BLOG Oh, yeah, the riddle answer... Wholesome. To SUBSCRIBE: http://www.greenbeam.com/email/email_form.html To UNSUBSCRIBE: Reply to this e-mail here. TO CONTACT EDITOR YALE YOUNGBLOOD: yyoungblood@branchsmith.com Reach the desktop of thousands of garden center professionals twice a month through the e-ZONE, contact Tiffany O'Kelley, tokelley@branchsmith.com or Ed Tavender, etavender@branchsmith.com. (c) 2008 Branch-Smith Publishing. Before publishing or redistributing this information, visit http://www.greenbeam.com/copyright.html