Trends: Decorative planters
"I can't contain myself!" the plant proclaimed... It's no secret to anyone who sells gardening products that the container has become something of a statement-maker in the garden. Today's sophisticated customer looks for — and can easily find — planters that team with the plants to say, "Wow!" Hey, sometimes, they can discard the plants and leave the container; the pots are that interesting.

How interesting are they, you ask? Statistically, they're the stuff of number-crunching nirvana. Over the past five years, according to the National Gardening Association's National Gardening Survey — say that five times fast — an average of 26 million plant containers were purchased annually in the United States. And that's not even counting the window boxes of the world (of which more than 4 million were purchased each year). And, bear in mind, these weren't just round terra-cottas. These planters do come in the shape of round, but they're also oval, square, tall, short, fat, skinny and "other." They come in basic colors — as well as in exotic hues, such as tangelo, limoncello, sea bluff, silverado and espresso. Some look like conventional containers; some integrate new decorative elements into the plant/planter mix.

In some cases, they even have names. Take, for example, the Gardenzilla family. The company offers a range of planter items made of a variety of materials. Each line has a name to help identify it. For example, Rustzilla planters are made of fiberglass but contain flecks of metal that rust over time. Leadzilla has the look of lead, while Bronzilla has the look of bronze. Ironzilla — yep, you guessed it — looks like iron and, in fact, is made of cast iron. Another new "cutting edge" container trait is the self-watering planter, which is becoming a big player with the Do-It-For-Me consumer, the always-on-the-go Generation X customer who wants a garden but doesn't want to work hard at gardening. Check out The Earthbox at the National Gardening Association store to see a good sample of this type of planter.

Clearly, the container has come of age. In fact, last year some 27 million containers were part of the latest birthday bash. Here's hoping some of them made their way to — and through — your store.

Puzzling pictures
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!... One of the pictures below is a puzzle. Select the correct one and then piece the product together again. Should you be caught or killed in the course of this mission, the agency will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

Yale reports: A new-style conference for retailers
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Pick 'n Click
Instant tea, instant rice, instant product information... If you are searching for garden/gift items — and who reading this page isn't? — you'll find this list of links to the suppliers particularly helpful. Simply click the company for e-reader service.

Achla Designs Advanced Organics Allsop, Inc. Alpine Corporation Amturf Enterprises Anamese Garden & Home Aquascape, Inc. Bamboo Accents BC Landscape & Nursery Association Benchmaster by Structural Plastics Bird Brain, Inc. Carson Industries Clean Air Gardening Collier Metal Specialties, Inc. Color Wheel Country Originals, Inc. Danove Corporation Dekorra Products DeWitt Co., Inc. Discount Pond Supplies, Inc. Dorothy Biddle Service EasyPro Pond Products EbioExpress International Echo Valley Ecological Laboratories, Inc. Fabriscape Featherock, Inc. Firestone Specialty Products Friendship's Garden, Inc. Garden Market EXPO/CANGC Gardenware Gifts That Bloom Good Directions, Inc.

Hines Pottery Imperial Ponds Jamaica Cottage Shop Lawngrips Listo Products Maine Bucket Company, Inc. Melrose International Michael Gordon LTD National Lawn & Garden Show Novelty Manufacturing Co. Par A Sol Poly-Tex, Inc. Principle Plastics Red Carpet Studios Riverside Enterprises SATO Labeling Solutions America, Inc. Savio Engineering, Inc. Sherman Nursery Company Silcast, Inc. Sonne-Gro Company Texas Nursery & Landscape Association Thayer Birding Software Vitamin Institute Walter E. Clark & Son Waterscapes Aquatic Plant Nursery West County Gardener Winston Company Woodstock Percussion, Inc. Woodstream

 

Yale reports: A new-style conference for retailers
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Oh, yeah, the riddle answer...
Gloves

 
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