Back in 2023, I asked some of you this question:

Is there some tool, some piece of equipment, some technology, that you put off investing in for one reason or another, but then when you finally caved and pulled the trigger and put it to work and saw the amazing results, you said “Good grief! Why did I wait so long?”

Or is there ONE piece of equipment that you just can’t live without—something that makes your business run smoother, faster, easier?

Share your ideas with me HERE. I enjoyed this article so much, I wanted to try for Part 3!

For a refresher, here are links to parts 1 and 2 in 2023 and 2024:

Why Did I Wait So Long? (pt. 1)

Why Did I Wait So Long? (pt. 2)

Thanks in advance for your help!

Full-service retail garden centers are less common in Florida than other states—I think because we have so many plants-only nurseries because of our mild weather. But what I’d term a true “garden center” in Florida you can count on a couple of hands.

Lukas Nursery in Oviedo, just northeast of Orlando, is one of those, and I’m saddened to report the passing of one of its third-generation patriarchs, Phil Lukas, who passed away March 28 at the too-young age of 73.

What’s interesting about third-generation Phil, who was born in 1951, is that he didn’t join the family business right away, possibly because at the time, the family business was not garden center retail, but truck farming—celery, potatoes, turnips, cucumber, beans, melons and more. Even eggs, as the next generation sought new ways to make money in agriculture. Instead, Phil became a car salesman in Leesburg, Florida, where he learned business and negotiating skills.

Meanwhile, his older brother, Paul Martin Jr., started growing and retailing plants in their old chicken coop. The business grew and prospered, becoming officially incorporated in 1976. Phil returned home the next year to join Paul, mother Gertrude and brother Stanley in the family business as vice president and general manager. His sales experience, knowledge and ingenuity helped grow Lukas to its current 33 acres. The business has been recognized by The Orlando Business Journal as a Top 100 Privately Held Companies in Central Florida. Phil and Stanley’s children are now the fourth-generation operators.

Lukas is my closest IGC, and I think I’m there every week or two as I seek plants for my new Orlando gardens, but I never got to meet Phil and I’m sorry for that. According to his obituary, we shared a love of Corvettes, jokes, Florida history and grilling. He also loved rare and exotic plants, especially bananas and palms, and I’m working on establishing my own collections of both.

Next time I’m in, I’ll see if they stock any of your favorites, Phil, and I’ll add them to my garden in your honor.

Dang weather! If it would stop raining and warm up across the Mid-Atlantic and New England, we might get some good national scores! As it is, you rated April 12-13 6.8 in the U.S. and 5.4 in Canada. Compare that to the 12-year average of 7.2 in the U.S. and 6.5 in Canada.

Here’s the map:

That’s based on 90 scores from 41 states and eight provinces.

Like always, some of you are now saying, “What do you mean, not so good? I scored it a 10!” And 11 of you did, from Oklahoma, Washington, North Carolina, Louisiana, Ohio, California and Alabama. California was the place to be doing business last weekend, with three straight 10s. Oklahoma scored two 10s and two 9s. (Ten of you scored it an almost-perfect 9.) Louisiana scored two 10s and an 8.5. Other states with 10s also had low scores … in one case, I recognized the 10 from a grower who ships out of state; the other scores were from retailers.

Easter has fallen on this weekend two out of the last 12 years and yet even Easter doesn’t guarantee a great weekend. In post-pandemic 2022, you scored this Easter weekend 6.5 in the U.S. and 4.7 in Canada. However, 2017’s Easter was much more like it, at 8.3/6.9.

The best-ever second weekend in April was—you guessed it—the pandemic year of 2021, at 8.8/8.3. Which might be a reason you scored 2022 so low, what with coming off record scores—it’s hard to comp up against that!

There have been worse second-weekends in April than this one. Like 2018: a dismal 4.1/3.5. That must have been some really bad weather! And that was coming off an equally bad first weekend of April: 4.4/4.8. What did you follow up with for the third weekend in April that year? A slightly better 6.5/5.4.

Next weekend is, of course, Easter, and growers and retailers alike are anticipating big things. Cabin fever is running rampant, what with the rain and cold. And sales have been phenomenal anyplace weather has been good. Unfortunately, the long-range forecast for the weekend shows yet another big rain front extending from New England down to Texas and Oklahoma. Come on, Mother Nature! Give my people a break!

BC is off to a strong start, with scores of 7.9 (March 29-30), 7.6 (April 4-5) and 9 (April 12-13). Wrote regular score contributor John Derrick of Elk Lake Garden Centre in Victoria, “Finally, four days of sun with reasonable temperatures. Only downside was that an extra couple of hours were added to my day because all of a sudden I realized that container plants actually have to be checked for water everyday now. How spoiled we have been the last two months!”

Alberta isn’t far behind, score-wise, with Trudy Watt of Parkland Garden Centre rating her weekend an 8, writing, “A good solid weekend. Great weather and lots of enthusiastic gardeners coming in the door.”

Ontario was a mixed bag, with scores of 8, 7, 6 and 5. The 5 was from Rob Gemmell of Gemmell’s Garden Centre, who explained, “Sales well behind last year. Weather is terrible and April showers hanging on. Still wet everywhere. People are not even out raking or dreaming yet.”

Bringing down the average are the four easternmost provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, with a collective score of 2. Not good … but better than last week’s 1 for those four. If I remove them from my spreadsheet, the Canada average climbs to a respectable 7.1. Just wait until eastern Canada warms up, dries out and kicks off—those 10s will help the average!

Some highlights (and lowlights) from where the rubber meets the road:

Ohio (10). “We opened for the season on Saturday with our traditional free homemade doughnuts. Sales were down slightly from last year, but I think the temps have been colder. I still give it a 10 because people seemed excited and upbeat for the upcoming season. Most were buying things they should (seeds, hardgoods, trees, early veggies) and saying they'll be back for annuals and the rest of their vegetable plants later.”—Kim Grant, Strait Gate Greenhouses

California (10). “Great early weekend … everything was selling … average sale was great. On to another one!”—Tom Courtright, Orchard Nursery

South Dakota (9). “Had some great weather, and the weekdays and Saturday were really strong. I question some of their purchases, as we’re about a month before the last frost and they’re buying on April 12 like it’s May 12. But, hey, they hate hearing the word no and that it may be a tad early, as we try to express to them. Maybe they know something I don’t!”—Tim Sime, Jolly Lane Greenhouse

Oklahoma (9). “Through the roof! Non-stop all week, especially the weekend.”—Bill Sears, B and R greenhouse

Oregon (8). “The skies parted here in western Oregon and we had a cool weekend with lots of sunshine. Forecast looks great for this week, time for pedal (petal) to the metal! I’d say an 8 heading towards 10 this week.”—John Crisp, Ball Seed Company

Oregon (8). “Strong … but was it the raindrops on Saturday or the economic worries that kept sales a little below the best-ever early April weekend?”—Ed Blatter, Cornell Farm

Colorado (8). “Great weekend, sunny and warm. In fact, record-high temps.”—Gene Pielen, Gulley Greenhouse

Wisconsin (7). “A slow start to spring in southern Wisconsin compared to last year. Hopefully, the weather is trending in the right direction.”—Chris Williams, K&W Greenery

Missouri (7). “We are a small greenhouse, rural area and opening weekend. With a low of 37F tonight, people are still a bit timid in buying, but we had a lot of lookers and a decent weekend, considering.”—Jan Garner, Lake Country Gardens

Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York (5). “Still cold and not the greatest. Sunday turned out better than expected, but still behind last year. Buffalo/Upstate New York is dragging all my numbers down.”—Andy Sausser, Corso’s Horticulture

Wisconsin (5). “Still too early for bedding plants … but we’re selling a few anyway.”—Melissa Wiltrout, Raintree Garden Center

Of all the things I get to do as a horticulture industry journalist, bus tours to greenhouses and garden centers may be my favorite. Heck, my wife and I have spent eight week-long vacations on International Garden Center Association tour buses!

Anyway, not the IGCA, but regarding the Farwest Show in Portland, Oregon, this August 20-22, which will have three tours for attendees on Tuesday, August 19, the day before the show opens. That’s up from the two they normally host, said Jamie Moore, events and education coordinator for the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which produces the show.

“Our grower and retail tours have been selling out quickly the last several years, so it made all the sense in the world to add a third one.”

The result is their Automation Tour, which will provide an inside look at machine-driven nursery innovation and the three growers making great use of the technology. Here’s a look at its itinerary and the other two tours, too:

Automation Tour. You’ll see cutting-edge nursery automation equipment being built at a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility GK Machine and tour a prototype for a fully automated smart greenhouse. Stops to follow will include three innovative nurseries that are redefining the future of the nursery industry through automation: Bountiful Farms Nurser, Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas, and Brentano’s Tree Farm.

Wholesale Grower Tour. This tour will provide a deep dive into some of Oregon’s best tree and shrub growers in the Cascade Range foothills, under the backdrop of majestic Mt. Hood. They include J. Frank Schmidt & Son, John Holmlund Nursery, Hans Nelson & Sons Nursery, and Don Marjama Nursery. It’s a chance to learn about propagation, grafting and bareroot vs. potted plant production.

Retail Garden Center Tour. The tour will take you from the heart of Oregon Wine Country to some of the most innovative retailers in the Portland area. The day will begin at Durant at Red Ridge Farms, Oregon’s premier olive tree nursery and olive mill, which offers olive oil tasting and a great selection of herbs, edible landscape trees, and shrubs. The farm is also home to a vineyard and winery. Next up is The Garden Corner, home of the Garden Rebels, which features the world’s largest hanging basket. The last stop is Portland Nursery, a landmark known for its broad selection and amazing houseplants.

All tours include luxury motor coach transportation, lunch, beverages and snacks.

Tour and expo registration is now open HERE. The cost for each tour is $124 per person if purchased by July 31 or $139 if purchased later. Register early, as tour space is limited!

Complete details on events, daily schedules, speakers and education for Farwest are POSTED HERE.

It seems the big magazine publishers think plants are still cool! And powerful! These two special-interest titles were side by side at my local grocery store, one from Meredith and one from Better Homes & Gardens.

Topics include “Calming Benefits” and “Cultivating Calm,” Houseplants and Healing” and “Herbs That Heal,” and “Gardens that Thrive” and “Nurturing Seedlings.”

Cultivating calm, eh? They’ve never worked in a greenhouse or garden center in spring, I guess! Either that or we in the industry need to do a better job tapping into the power of our own products.