Horticulturist and garden designer P. Allen Smith, who has partnered with the Flower Fields, discusses how the floriculture industry can help consumers be more successful with its products.

Q. What are the most common topics consumers want to know about?

A. Today's gardening consumers have an incredible thirst for knowledge. They want how-to information: how to plant a great container, how to combine colors for dramatic effect, how to water and fertilize. They want ideas on design -- suggestions on areas to plant, what to use where, use of texture. Exterior decorating, if you will. They want recommendations on varieties that work in each season in their region. But at the root of it all, consumers want to be inspired, and that's my goal for every topic we cover.

Q. How do you think growers and retailers can better assist consumers in being successful in their gardening experiences?

A. It's really quite simple. Know what your consumers want and need, provide it to them and -- this is important -- if you're a retailer, always add a little extra. That's the touch I call inspiration and itcan take many forms: a recipe for a simple container, grouping plants by usage as well as sun and shade, stocking supplementary materials like good gardening books, accessories and tools. Think outside the pot, I suppose.

Q. From talking with consumers, what are the most common obstacles consumers have for starting to garden? What are the most common reasons people have for quitting gardening?

A. The most common obstacle I've found, other than time, is the perception that they don't know enough. That's why I keep the information I provide short and simple. Consumers need the kind of inspiration that causes them to say, "I can do that!" When it comes to gardening, nothing motivates better than success.

As for quitting gardening, I think the same reasons apply, only in reverse. If consumers aren't inspired, if they aren't successful, quitting could be the next step. That doesn't mean they won't come back, however ... as long as we offer solutions and inspiration. That brings us back to your first question of how we in the industry can better assist consumers.

Q. At this year's OFA Short Course you had the opportunity tosee all of the new varieties the floriculture industry is releasing. Do you think the industry does a good job promoting varieties?

A. It seems to me that the industry does a great job of promoting new varieties to the industry, but with growers and even retailers there has been a gap between knowing about new varieties and promoting them to consumers. The industry can help that effort by providing growers and retailers with consumer product descriptions and information about how to mix and match new and existing varieties. Also, it's important to take every opportunity to connect with the consumer media to get the word out.

Take photos. Show the new varieties as consumers might use them. Inspire the media and you'll inspire the consumer.

One of the goals of my partnership with the Flower Fields is to let growers and retailers know the crops and varieties that I recommend for each season. The P. Allen Smith Monthly Garden Guide does just that. In the guide, I describe my favorite flowers and the varieties I like to use throughout the year, and the kind of ideas that I will be providingto consumers. My Garden Guide is posted at the Flower Fields Web site (www.theflowerfields.com) for everyone in the industry to use.

Q. Can you give more details on your Monthly Garden Guide and how it works?

A. Every gardening authority has ideas about what to plant and what to plant together during different times of the year. My Monthly Garden Guide lists topics I plan to address and topics that consumers might want to be thinking about in planning their gardens month to month. I list crops that support the topic and individual variety recommendations.

Growers and retailers can refer to the guide to see the topics I plan to address each month, the crops I'll likely be mentioning and some of the varieties that I recommend. By growing and stocking these plants in the appropriate season, growers and retailers will be well-positioned to create happy consumers, especially those who follow the guide or hear about my recommendations in the media.

Q. How will you promote the plants from the Flower Fields in the various media outlets (television, Woman's Day magazine andyour Web site) in which you are involved?

A. In my television shows and magazine articles I feature hundreds of flower varieties from every source imaginable. Once Idetermine the types of plants that best fit the story I'm working on, I'll includevarieties from the Flower Fields when appropriate.

My partnership with the Flower Fields gives me access to some great photography and over 1,300 cultivars. The media is always looking for a great shot. If that shot happens to include Flower Fields varieties, all the better.

On my Web site, www.pallensmith.com, I go into more detail on all the plants I talk about in the media. When a Flower Fields variety is mentioned, there is a link that takes consumers directly to the Flower Fields Web site for more information about that variety and where they can find it in their area.

Q. You have a new gardening book coming out this spring. What will be the focus of the book? Will it mention the Flower Fields plants?

A. My book is called "P. Allen Smith's Garden Home." In the book, I urge readers to break down the barriers between a home's interior and exterior design. In each chapter, I show readers how to expand the beauty and livability of their homes by blending indoor and outdoor spaces together to create a Garden Home. I encourage readers to create garden rooms for relaxing, cooking, entertaining, bird-watching -- or just enjoying the great outdoors. It's about giving people the confidence to take on significant projects that can transform their homes and gardens into private sanctuaries.

This book will not mention the Flower Fields as it was written before our partnership was created. However, I will be doing a national book tour and will likely have the opportunity to mention the Flower Fields many times during this tour.

My book is the first in a multi-book contract with Clarkson Potter/Random House. The Flower Fields will provide the color for many of the designs that I create and photographs for my books.

Q. Have you personally trialed the plants that have "Recommended by P. Allen Smith" tags?

A. The "Recommended by P. Allen Smith" tags are designed to be used to point out plants that I recommend in my Monthly Garden Guide or in the media. My recommendations also involve design recommendations on colorful garden companions for each season. The tags are meant to be moved around depending upon mentions or seasonal recommendations. I've already trialed a great number of the Flower Fields varieties, spent time with their R&D people and, of course, went to school learning about their legendary genetics. The photo on the tag and in the POP was shot in my own garden, where I trial many of the varieties, and I keep a very close watch. I also test the plants in gardens across the United States where I shoot television segments or still photography.

Q. Your photo will appear on several of the Flower Fields point-of-purchase products. Plant quality is a very subjective issue between growers, retailers and consumers. Any concern that you might end up associated with poor-quality plants?

A. This has always been a concern of mine, which is why I never entered into a relationship such as this, until I got to know the Flower Fields. The track record of the four partners (Paul Ecke Ranch, Fischer USA, Goldsmith Seeds and Yoder Brothers) is exemplary. The Flower Fields partners provide extensive technical support to growers of their products to assure the highest level of quality at retail. They are also very careful to address this in all of their retail programs.

I feel that the information and procedures to assure quality are well established and that what will stand out in the minds of the retailers and the consumers are the great genetics, color range and garden performance that the Flower Fields' reputation has established. If that wasn't true, I wouldn't put my name on it.

Send this article to a friend

Enter your e-mail address:


Enter your friend's e-mail address:


Click the image below to send:

© 2002 Branch-Smith Publishing