John, although I currently live in Europe, my wants have not changed over the years and I still find it very difficult to find an excellent garden centre. The obvious, such as friendly and knowledgable staff, a changing selection of items to keep one interested, special ordering rarer items, nice atmosphere (extremely important!) and a good cup of coffee (espresso, capuccino; may sound silly, but I used this as a major motivator with customers in various locals) are for me a given . A few pet peeves I have with the current gardening industry is the lack of certain products, such a potting mediums or at least the raw materials to mix ones own! All the local centres have ONLY peat based mixes, which, quite frankly, are designed to kill plants as quickly as possible after their first flush! Pure economics! Items, such as sharp sand, perlite, sphagnum, fish emulsion, bone meal have completely vanished from the market on the continent. I see such changes in gardening market strategy as the death knell to gardening as gardeners understand it! The current trend in Europe is gardening for idiots. If they could freeze-dry it and put it in a box, they would! I find it a strange contrast, with the current rush of new cultivars and imports flashing in the pan, that no proper infrastrucutre for dedicated horticulture is being maintained. We are seeing fast food gardening. I find it frightening, not to mention frustrating. I make regular trips to the UK to purchase supplies, at unheard of prices, just to be able to maintain my favourite plants. For me, the real killer is that many of these products are actually produced on the continent, but unavailable in the local market! Even items such as Dutch bulbs are easier to obtain in England than in Holland. I ask you, is this where gardening is heading? Has it been reduced to petunia market shares and window boxes? I realise this is not a direct answer to your inquiry, but it provides a background to what is needed for gardeners, but missing. It's the market niche, so to say. I wish you much success and, above all all enjoyment with your planned endeavour. The trick is to keep your head well above water and still garden. Jamie V. Cologne ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Ingram" <floralartistry2000@yahoo.com> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2003 8:40 AM Subject: [pbs] What gets you to a certain nursery? > I am thinking about opening a retail location and I > would like to pick everyones brain. > Why do you go to certain reatilaers to do your "daily" > purchasing? What extra touches do they give you? > I am looking for input on locations as well. I am very > open to possibilities but there have been many > suggestions/disagreesments. Some suggestions are - > Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Culver City, Venice (Abbot > Kinney), and Pacific Palisades. > My aim is to open a retail store with a garden/nursery > area, and florist with gourmet/gift items. > I know a lot of the Westside is saturated. I want a > young, rich area with clients who would be more apt to > buy things for art rather than the quick fix/instant > gratification color sale. I am very traditional in > design but forward thinking too and I want to push the > limit of possibilities with the art in the garden as I > have shown in my articles in "The Bulb Garden". > So, what does everyone think? I welcome everyones > feedback. You can email me privately if you wish. > Thanks. > > > ===== > John Ingram in Sunny warm, L.A., CA but pining to go home to Ohio to see the fruits of my labors this summer. > jjingram@adelphia.net, Floralartistry2000@yahoo.com > http://www.geocities.com/floralartistry2000/ > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >