Feeling Thankful Yet?
The penultimate month of 2022 has arrived, laden with its usual cargo of football, autumn chores and (oof) holiday feasting. Your fall-planted perennials are drifting off into the long winter nap of dormancy, while their more tender kin enjoy the warmth indoors. May your days be merry and bright.
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Luckily, Hurricane Ian had zero effect on our operations last month; we’re well west of that particular storm’s epic havoc. But our fellow Floridians who were in Ian’s crosshairs are suffering mightily. Here are two ways to help:
A PA-based, faith-based group that puts workboots on the ground wherever they’re needed: Mennonite Disaster Service: https://mds.org/
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Field production has always been a Florida specialty: They have the acreage, the experience, the staff, the mojo, and the sandy soil. Here? Landlocked, on stony Pennsylvania clay. But some years, in a few genera, our climate could give us better bare-root clumps. So this year, farmer Nick DiBernardo got in touch with his inner sodbuster and made a go of it. Because better roots = better liners for you. And that result is always worth a shot.
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Nick DiBernardo putting in tractor time |
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Al Mueller inspecting freshly dug grasses
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Gotta mention this rare phenomenon: The Phillies are in the World Series! How rare? This is their 9th trip in 139 seasons. We’ve razzed them mercilessly so many times that when kudos are in order, kudos shall be bestowed. Go Phils!
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About the Rock Star Award
Our Rock Star award honors ECG employees who demonstrate a sustained high level of performance and inspire others.
This month’s kudos go very deservedly to Keena Furr.
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Keena came onboard at our HQ in Pensacola in 2018. Besides working as a Customer Service representative, she also fills another important role: As our Social Commerce Specialist, Keena manages ECG’s social media content.
“I vote for Keena Furr! She does such a phenomenal job! She always goes above and beyond to make sure our customers are happy with GREAT customer service!”
“Keena is always willing to help other team members with her knowledge of plants. She is always friendly and comes to work with a smile on her face that our customers can hear through the phone!”
“Keena Furr has been nothing but great since she joined our team. She is positive, creative, dependable and professional. She’s a natural charmer in all customer service areas. She cares about her quality of work, and it shows. She rocks!!!”
“Keena is persistently hard working and is constantly creating solutions to make the office more efficient. Very helpful and thorough with her work.”
“I vote for Keena Furr. She is always helpful and caring. She has handled most of my training since I’ve been with the ECG family, and continues to be excellent at her duties while also helping me with mine.”
Congratulations, Keena! In the office, on the phone or online, your consistent effort and ingenuity help make ECG a better business. In short, you rock!
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WHAT'S HOT (& What's Not) |
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Over the last decade, This Space has touted the virtues of a number of things we don’t grow anymore, for various reasons. Some just didn’t trip your ordering trigger, while others were superseded by better stuff. Like what, you ask? Like this:
Leucanthemum ‘Becky’: This old-fashioned favorite’s height proved problematic for today’s gardens and gardeners’ tastes. New ‘Mount Hood’ brings a more compact, heavy-blooming presentation. If you need more stem length, there’s always the sturdy classic ‘Alaska’. It was introduced by Luther Burbank himself, after all.
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Echinacea: Way back in 2010, we were touting coneflowers named ‘Harvest Moon’ and ‘Strawberry Shortcake’. Those varieties are long gone, but we offer almost 50 others. You’re still keen on the tried-and-true ‘Magnus’ and ‘White Swan’, but treat yourself to the terrific endless bloom of Artisan™ Red Ombre and Soft Orange. Or extend your bloom season and color range in ’23 with our short-day-treated ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ mix.
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November, as its name implies, was once the ninth month of the year. That ended in 153BC, when the Roman Senate changed the calendar.
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, Nov. 1 – 2) festivities have sparked huge sales increases in one flower: The marigold, known as cempasúchil to Mexicans and Tagetes to taxonomists.
Marigold: Day of the Dead :: Poinsettia: Christmas.
John Wayne used the word “Pilgrim” 25 times in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”
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HORTISCOPE Zodiac on Wry
Born in November, you’re either a Scorpio or a Sagittarius. If the former, you share a sign with Marie Antoinette, Daniel Boone, King Charles III, Dale Hendricks, Grace Kelly, Claude Monet, Mickey Mouse, Kurt Vonnegut and Presidents Biden, Garfield, Harding and Polk.
If the latter, your fellow archers include Winston Churchill, Samuel Clemens, Joe DiMaggio, Jimi Hendrix, Boris Karloff, Ron Strasko, and Presidents Pierce and Taylor. Either way, what are you doing to inspire future list makers to include you?
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TRAY BON!
What’s cute, striped and native? If you said Mephitis, you’re skunked. It’s Lewisia, named for Merriwether Lewis: The genus was first collected by the Corps of Discovery in the Bitterroot Mountains of what is now Idaho.
Hybridizers have made the most of Captain Lewis’ eponymous find. A 72-tray of L. cotyledon ‘Rainbow Mix’, in dazzling flower, stops traffic at our tradeshow booth. Or try L. longipetala ‘Little Peach’ and ‘Little Plum’. Discover it yourself!
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Was It Good For You, Too? |
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You’ve just read the last Coastal Current written by the undersigned. The author has retired. It’s been a pleasure communicating with you since our debut issue in March, 2010. I hope the pleasure wasn’t all one-sided; I’ve tried to make this newsletter informative enough to be useful, but also entertaining enough to be opened and read in the first place. And I’d feel guilty if I were the only one having fun.
Fortunately, a gratifying number of you take the time to tell us, by email or in person, that you enjoy reading our digital communications. It seems safe to say the Coastal Current has been a welcome sight in your inboxes.
It’s also been a pleasure and a privilege to work for a family business whose owners I’ve known for all of my 43-year career in horticulture. There’s nobody better than the Babikow family at what they do, or at doing it with honesty and integrity.
Thank you, wholeheartedly, readers, for your feedback, for your contributions to this industry we share and love, for your friendship and -- most of all -- for your business. Without that, after all, none of this would have been necessary.
Goodbye. Best to you and yours, wherever you call home.
Sincerely,
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John Friel
Marketing Manager Emeritus
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