Nat'l. Hardware Show moves to Orlando
The 2007 Nat'l. Hardware Show will settle into its temporary digs in Florida, May 8-10. This year's show will be at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. In 2008, the show will return to Las Vegas. Rob Cappiello, industry v.p. of Nat'l. Hardware Show, said the show's Lawn & Garden World exhibits can help independent retailers gauge the market. "[Independents are] looking for unique items in new categories. And they're looking for what used to be new and is now commoditized," he said. The new Homewares Show will feature home-improvement products, personal-care products and pet supplies.

Bayer wins 7th Rose Parade trophy
Bayer Advanced won its 7th consecutive trophy in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day. The company's Red Carpet of Roses float won the Queen's Trophy for the most effective use and display of roses in concept, design and presentation. The float featured the All-America Rose Selections' 2007 winners: Rainbow Knock Out, Moondance and Strike It Rich.

Gift cards are a boost and burden
Gift cards are boosting retail numbers. But some consumers are becoming frustrated with this gift.
→ Cards extend sales season. USA Today
→ Too much plastic. Boston Globe
→ Card rules vary. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Grant will help promote green roofs
Amer. Society of Landscape Architects Library and Education Advocacy Fund received a $22,000 grant from Nat'l. Endowment for the Arts in December. The money will fund the society's green-roof demonstration project, completed last April. The grant will go toward constructing an exhibit, student workbooks and a program to raise awareness of green roofs.

FNGLA announces plants of the year
Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Assoc. announced its 2007 Plants of the Year last month. Plants are chosen for the state's 3 geographic regions. Selections are made by a jury representing different parts of the green industry. This year's selections are Dracaena deremensis 'Limelight,' a tropical with bright, glossy, lime-green leaves; Cyrtomium falcatum, a low-growing clumping evergreen fern; Zamia maritima, a palm with exotic-looking seed cones; Galphimia gracilis, a drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub with blue-green foliage; and Eragrostis spectabilis, a Florida native perennial grass.

Marketers sniff out a sales opportunity
Scent-based promotions are a growing trend, according to a report in USA Today. Harold Vogt, founder of the Scent Marketing Institute, told the paper companies spent $50 million to $80 million on scent-related marketing in 2006. Vogt predicts spending will pass $500 million by 2016. Yankee Candle offered scent samples in its December catalog. Kraft Foods touted cherry Jell-O and white fudge Chips Ahoy in "rub-and-smell" holiday ads.

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