Tropicals, succulents and houseplants are finding a lot of traction with young folks. And they are ready to buy. How do I know? I witnessed it myself while shopping at Walmart with my Mom a few weeks ago. We had stopped at a rack of succulents and mini orchids set in darling little recycled wood containers right near the entrance. The product was branded Mini Wonders by Kait & Mike, and according to the POP materials they were “young entrepreneurs.’ At least two younger folks were looking for the just-right container while Mom and I examined the goods.

Kait of Kait & Mike connected with me to thank me for the product shout-out in a recent Buzz! e-newsletter. Turns out Kait & Mike are indeed young—both being 21—and are both from families in the greenhouse biz (and they are dating, by the way); Kait den Hollander’s family runs Garden State Growers and Mike Prol’s uncle Arie Van Vugt runs Plainview Growers, both in New Jersey. The plants are sourced from Plainview.

Kait and Mike are more than excited about this project. “When we started dating, we thought it might be cool to have our venture,” Mike said in a phone interview. “We both love succulents and orchids, and they are both really easy to care for, so we wanted to sell those.” Mike realized lots of other businesses were already selling those products, and so to differentiate their product, they put a “renewable and recycled” spin on it—something he says is trendy and in demand. Mike, a marketing major in college, brushed up on his woodworking skills and eventually designed a crate from discarded pallet wood sized to work with the 2-in. plants. He’s gotten Kait’s little brothers to help with the crate crafting, too. The tag proudly claims the products are “handcrafted in New Jersey,” and in reality they should say “handcrafted in Kait's & Mike’s backyards!”

While the Mini Wonders have been available to a few small independents for about a year, Kait said her dad Roy had helped them get the products into a few local Walmarts within the last few months. They’ve also provided Mini Wonders to a couple of weddings. In fact, the Mini Wonders tag includes the line, “Planning a party? These make great favors!” along with Mike’s phone number in case anyone wanted to place an order.

Most folks would think putting your own number on a tag would be a bit risky. Has Mike gotten any calls? A few, the one being the most noteworthy was from a guy asking if he could use these succulents in an underwaterscape in a fish tank.

What’s next? Kait says they are looking to incorporate other flowering plants, possibly kalanchoe or another hardy flowering succulent into the mix. In addition to their current 2- and 3.5-inch succulents and orchids, they are looking into larger items in larger wooden crates, possibly some that hang. “We’re really excited about this and are looking for more opportunities and more places to sell them. It’s exciting to see people buying our product.” It is indeed, Kait! And we’re excited to see how far you both will take this. 

I just listened to an archived version of a webinar on biophilic design. The presentation by designer Rebecca Lindenmyer was offered in November by the Western Nursery and Landscape Association, and if you’re interested in the plant/human interface, biophilia is the topic for you. And if you’re a landscape or interior designer, it’s got to be on your radar.

If you’re a WNLA member, just head over to wnla.org, sign in and look for the archived version of the Introduction to Biophilic Design Webinar under Resources. Rebecca gave a great talk that asks—and answers!—what she sees as the 10 basic questions about how we can integrate nature into our spaces to increase human health and productivity.

If you’re not a WNLA member, you can catch Rebecca giving similar presentations on biophilic design and the future of the green industry at The Western show in Kansas City, Missouri, January 17-19. Click HERE to access a schedule of events.  

If Missouri in January isn’t your thing, maybe TPIE in Florida is. I’ve just found out about a pair of workshops happening on the morning of Tuesday, January 16, the day before the trade show opens.

First, Sandra Könings talks about Trends & Marketing Relevance (8:30-10:00 a.m.). Having worked in horticulture, fashion, food and interiors, Sandra has a unique perspective and approach to our industry. She starts with consumers’ needs first instead of starting with the trends. In this way you’re ensured you’re meeting actual demand, no matter the trend.

Next up is Andrew Hermann of Blue Earth Foods in Cincinnati, Ohio (10:15-11:45 a.m.). Andrew will talk about Millennial Marketing GOLD RUSH and Strategy Refinement in Consumer Horticulture. He’ll help you understand marketing techniques that work for Millennials, what data you should be collecting and how to use it to refine your marketing strategies.

Sponsored by Pottery Direct and Bower and Branch, both workshops are vital to positioning your products, and even choosing which products you should be pursuing! Find out more about these TPIE workshops HERE. Register for TPIE at www.tpie.org.  

FNGLA is urging members and anyone connected to the Florida agricultural community to take action in order to encourage Congress to provide needed, flexible and supplemental USDA disaster assistance for the state’s agricultural producers. Hurricane Irma hit the state’s nursery and greenhouse crops hard, and the emergency hurricane relief package that has been proposed still does not include assistance for those fields.

And it’s not due to lack of effort on the parts of Ag Commissioner Putnam, Governor Scott and the Florida delegation and ag associations. With other significant bills on Congress’s agenda (like tax cuts and such), it’s vital to let representatives know you have their support—and expect something to be done to help with emergency relief.

What can you do? Get on the horn! Call:

• U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (202-224-3041)
• U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (202-224-5274)
• Your U.S. House representative (Unsure who is your U.S. House representative? Use this link and put in your zip code.

FNGLA has even given you an outline of what you can say:

“Please fix the emergency hurricane relief package with the flexibility to help Florida agricultural producers recover from Hurricane Irma. After citrus, Florida’s nursery growers were the second hardest hit with an estimated $624 million in crop losses and structural damages.” 

The delegation needs to hear from YOU directly to ensure they understand the imperative of getting emergency relief as quickly as possible. Get on it!