landscape ontario - november 2011

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November, 2011 www.horttrades.com

Planting HONOURS heroesLondon Chapter and Grant Harrison bring Veterans Memorial Highway to life Page 7

2 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO NOVEMBER, 2011

WWW.HORTTRADES.COM 3

Landscape Ontario’s mandate is to be the leader in representing, promoting and fostering a favourable environment for the advancement of the horticultural industry in Ontario.

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Views expressed are those of the writer concerned. Landscape Ontario assumes no responsibility for the validity or correctness of any opinions or references made by the author. Copyright 2011, reproduction or the use of whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Published 12x per year. Rates and deadlines are available on request. Subscription price: $43.51 per year (HST included). For subscription and address changes, please e-mail [email protected]





November, 2011 • Volume 29, No. 11 www.horttrades.com

Publisher Lee Ann Knudsen [email protected], 416-848-7557

Editorial Director Sarah [email protected], 647-723-5424

Editor Allan [email protected], 647-723-5345

Graphic Designer Mike [email protected], 647-723-5343

Sales manager Steve [email protected], 416-848-0708

Communications coordinator Shawna [email protected], 647-723-5305

Accountant Joe [email protected], 647-724-8585





By Lee Ann Knudsen CLP

Your old friend Horticulture Review is sud-denly Landscape Ontario magazine. I know this comes as a shock.

It might help to know that every change to your magazine was made for a reason.

Team members Mike Wasilewski, Allan Dennis, Sarah Willis, Steve Moyer, Shawna Barrett and I, as well as our vol-unteer advisory com-mittee, hope the new

brand and redesign strike you as a breath of fresh air. It was not undertaken lightly; hours of back-to-the-drawing board thought went into the transformation. Research shows magazine readers are conservative, and dislike change. However, the old mag-azine was a loosely organized patchwork. It

Old friend, new namewas not a review of horticulture, and did not reflect LO’s Green for Life identity.

Where to start?First step in the rethink was to recognize the magazine’s importance as a communi-cations hub that helps LO succeed. Under-standing that fact, association features and news now take their rightful place up-front. The news is followed by service informa-tion, including events and new members.

Industry news follows association news; information about Ontario’s green industry that does not fall under the LO umbrella.

Finally, columns bring up the end.

Updated lookWith the organizational bones in place, it was time to address the magazine’s look. Our Green for Life brand was the logical spin-off. Beyond the brand, we selected typefaces and other format details to pro-mote easy reading, foremost.

It is clear that Ontario’s green indus-try has a sophisticated design sense. I will never forget the statement made by a block of orange snapdragons in LO’s Blooms 2010 garden ... just one of countless examples. The industry brings high style alive through living palettes, water, light, all changing through the seasons. And the elegant spaces are all created by customer demand in an open, competitive market. Amazing. Your editorial team’s modest hope is that the redesign lives up to your industry’s standards.

living legacy Next year will mark this publication’s 30th birthday. To founder Rita Weerdenburg, we respect the magazine as a living commu-nity, and hope you approve of its renewal.

So once the shock wears off, with any luck Landscape Ontario magazine will reflect the vibrance of its readers, Landscape Ontario’s proud members.

FroM the pUBlisher

Formerly Horticulture Review

4 FeatUres Renewed energy at Expo London highway project Greenroof success

9 association neWs Greening Toronto streets Invasive plants Helping cancer unit Upper Canada transforms grounds van Wissens 50th

14 indUstry neWs Safety blitz Retail guru LIEP to 2012 Germans tour nurseries

20 colUMns 20 OMAFRA 21 Smart about Salt 22 The Underground World 22 Contractors’ Column 23 Prosperity Partners 24 Systems for Success 25 Membership 26 Education 27 Public Relations 28 Executive Desk 29 President’s Message

30 classiFeds31 ad index

LANDSCAPE ONTARIO STAFFCarla Bailey, Rachel Cerelli, Paul Day CDE, Lexi Dearborn, Tony DiGiovanni CHTR, Rob Ellidge, Denis Flanagan CLD, Sally Harvey CLT CLP, Helen Hassard, Lorraine Ivanoff, Jane Leworthy, Kristen McIntyre CHTR, Kathy McLean, Linda Nodello, Kathleen Pugliese, Paul Ronan, Ian Service, Tom Somerville, Martha Walsh

ISSN 0823-8472Publications Mail Agreement No. PM40013519


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A renewed energy greeted horticulture and floriculture professionals visiting Canada’s premier garden and floral trade show, Expo 2011.

This year Expo moved to a new build-ing at the Toronto Congress Centre, where the two-day October event included not just the popular trade show, but also education seminars, award presentations for Ontario garden centres and municipalities, a new product showcase, design shows and more. Over the two days, more than 2,000 visitors attended Expo.

“Every year Expo strives to be better than it has ever been, and with the help of top notch exhibitors and innovative new products, we succeeded this year in keep-ing the show fresh and exciting,” says show manager Lorraine Ivanoff.

Although attendance numbers were slightly down from last year’s, a real sense of a positive business atmosphere was found throughout the trade show.

Expo 2011 is a kick-off event for the industry preparing for the 2012 season, showcasing all the hot new products to

attract consumers looking to create some-thing new in their home gardens. It also allows garden centre operators to learn new ways to grow their business through product selection, customer service, guest relations and marketing.

great startWell over 120 garden centre owners came away feeling fortunate to have taken advantage of the opportunity to hear Sheri-dan Nurseries president Karl Stensson share his experience and philosophy on how to build a garden centre’s brand. His keynote presentation featured Stensson’s policy of referring to customers as ‘guests.’ He noted, “When we invite guests to our home, we ensure that they are comfortable and enjoy the experience. It should be no different in your store.”

Noted industry expert JPaul Lamarche said that Stensson’s presentation was “likely the most informative seminar I have seen, period!” He went on to say, “It is said many times, that you should take in as many lectures, seminars and presentations as possible, as you may get one or two things that can transform your business. Karl Stensson delivered a passionate, well thought out seminar on the little things you can do, to not only stay ahead of the box stores, but to move them out of your radar! Personally, I saw approximately 20 things I would implement tomorrow if I had a garden centre. Most would cost only hun-dreds of dollars and generate thousands in return. Most could be done by staff, thereby improving attitude and enthusiasm.”

At the end of this presentation, the Gar-den Centre Sector Group presented a $500 cheque to Stensson towards his company’s

New plants and new products continue to draw attendees to Expo.


favourite charity, The Children’s Wish Foundation.

exhiBitor aWardsJudges had a tougher time than usual this year deciding the winners of the annual best booth and best promotion awards at Expo. Two categories for the best booth award were less than 200 sq. ft. and over 200 sq. ft. The first award went to Jill Jen-sen Botanical Specialties of Newcastle, while the latter award was won by Maple Leaf Nurseries of Jordan Station.

“Choosing the winners is always a tough decision, because there are so many deserving booths at Expo, but Jill Jensen and Maple Leaf stood out for the attention to detail and crisp layouts,” said Ivanoff.

John Neofotistos, ceo of Exhibitor Insur-ance.com, Concord, Tracy McKnight and Dave Brown, show managers, Seasons Christmas Show, Midhurst, were the 2011 judges.

Westbrook Floral of Grimsby won the best promotion award at Expo for the work put into engaging customers to attend the show. “Westbrook exemplifies the market-ing savvy that we look for in our exhibiting partners. Our exhibitors are the best con-duit to reach out and engage our industry,” said Beth Edney, chair of Landscape Ontar-io’s show committee. The best promotion award winner is determined by the commit-tee after a careful review of the promotion efforts by exhibitors prior to the show.

For the first time in the show’s 12-year history, the volunteer members of the show committee selected their top three best booth winners, based on seven criteria: signage, flooring, circulation in and around the booth, innovation, use of lighting/spe-cial features, clarity of products bring sold

and staff attire. All exhibitors, regardless of booth size, were included in this evaluation. The overall winner was Westbrook Floral. Second place went to Aquascape and third place to Floral Express.

To view results of the Communities in Bloom Green for Life Awards, see Denis Flanagan’s column on page 27.

neW prodUct shoWcaseMore than 100 of the latest industry prod-ucts were featured in the New Product Showcase. Winner of People’s Choice for best new product or plant introduction was Jalisco Imports’ flat tire baskets.

sUpporting a good caUseA heartfelt presentation at Expo’s welcome reception was Willowbrook Nurseries’ cheque presentation to the Canadian Can-

cer Society. Willowbrook has branded its one-gallon pots of perennials pink and yel-low. For every perennial purchased with the cancer pot wrap, five per cent of the sale is donated to the Cancer Society.

John Langendoen, president of Willow-brook, presented a cheque of $5,380.04 to Canadian Cancer Society representative Angela Daley during Expo’s opening reception.

ideal ForUMThe induction ceremony for new Canadian Academy of Floral Art (CAFA) awarded members for participating in a competition entitled A Tribute to Things Canadian.

“Expo is the ideal forum to showcase the artistic talents of floral designers,” said CAFA president Derrick Foss. “We are pleased and excited that we have once again been able to be part of this wonder-ful event.”

Attendees heard author Rory Sheehan provide an informative discussion on final-izing a sale and building your business. He was the star attraction at the Landscape Designers’ networking and breakfast event.

Attendees enjoyed the fragrant and eye-catching displays created by ten leading Ontario growers, Bayview Flowers, Cosmic Plants, Floral Dimensions, Northern Inno-vators, Pioneer Flower Farms, Prins Grow, P. Ravensbergen and Sons, Slappendel Greenhouses, Westbrook Floral and West-land Greenhouses.

expo 2011 partnersSponsors continuing to support the industry include: Canadian Academy of Floral Art, Communities in Bloom – Ontario, Flowers Canada (Ontario), Pick Ontario, Dig, Drop, Done Foundation, Global Arch, Greenstar A heartfelt presentation took place when a ceremonial cheque was presented by Willowbrook

Nurseries Angela Daley of the Canadian Cancer Society.

The best booth award was won by Jill Jensen Botanical Specialties of Newcastle. In photo, from left, Lorraine Ivanoff, show manager, Randy Ball and Henri Piersma, both representing Jill Jensen, and Beth Edney, chair of the trade show committee.


Plant Products, Fafard et Freres, Canadale Nurseries, DeWitt Company, Langendoen Nurseries, Valleybrook Gardens (Ontario), Horta-Craft , Ambius, Plants in Design, Ada’s Flowers, CMC Wholesale, Floridus Design Images, Mex Y Can, Westbrook Floral, Flowers Canada Retail, LO’s Land-scape Designer Sector Group, Connon Nurseries – NVK, Gib-San Pools, Teleflora, Tradewinds International.

The display garden, designed by Jack VandeRee CLT, with help from Boot’s Land-scaping and Maintenance, and Connon Nurseries - NVK Holdings (plant material), Permacon Group (stone), Dinstinctive Rail (pergola) and Westbrook Floral (flowers), attracted a great deal of positive response.

The next big event for Landscape Ontario is the 39th annual Congress on Jan. 10 to 12. For more info on one of North America’s largest horticultural, lawn and garden trade shows and conference, go to www.locongress.com.

After the keynote, LO’s Denis Flanagan announced the Awards of Excellence win-ners in the Garden Centre and Grower categories.

“The Awards of Excellence program is a great opportunity to acknowledge the workmanship, quality and commitment each of the winners invest into their compa-nies and products,” said Flanagan.

The following are the winning entries announced at the Expo presentation: Angelo’s Garden Centre, Concord: Display of plant material — annuals and/or perennials. Bala Garden Centre, Bala: Display of plant material — annuals and/or perennials. Canadale Nurseries, St. Thomas: Merchandising techniques — Outstanding promotional event; Display of plant material — deciduous shrubs and/or trees. Connon Nurseries/CBV Holdings, Waterdown: Display of plant material — annuals and/or perennials; Display of plant material your business is noted for. Cudmore’s Garden Centre, Oakville: Display of plant material — annuals and/ or perennials.Mori Gardens, Niagara-on-the-Lake: Display of goods — hardgoods. New North Greenhouses, Sault Ste. Marie: Display of goods — giftware; Mer- chandising techniques - outstanding promotional event. Parkway Gardens, London: Display of plant material — your specialty, plant mate rial your business is noted for; Permanent display gardens - over 500 square feet. Sheridan Nurseries, Georgetown: Merchandising techniques — outstanding promotional event; Display of plant material — annuals and/or perennials; Dis- play of goods — seasonal; Display of plant material — deciduous shrubs and/ or trees; Merchandising techniques — creative POP area; Merchandising techniques — print advertising; Display of goods — giftware; Merchandising techniques — outstanding website development.

The 2011 list of Growers Awards of Excellence winners was published in the August issue of Horticulture Review.

Awards of Excellence

Expo 2011 created a great atmosphere for business networking opportunities.

Garden Centre Sector Group chairman Michael Van Dongen presents awards to Pauline Intven-Casier of Canadale Nurseries and Karl Stensson of Sheridan Nurseries.


By Carla BaileyLondon Chapter coordinator

A highway in London, Ontario has become a living memorial to Canada’s war veterans.

Veterans Memorial Parkway runs for 10 kilometres, beginning just north of the 401 up to the airport. Along the way, large gran-ite rocks are engraved with words to honour veterans, such as courage and sacrifice.

Now, thanks to members of Landscape Ontario’s London Chapter, 8,000 trees will provide a living honour guard along the parkway.

On Sept. 30, a unique and historic agree-ment was signed between the City of Lon-don and Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association by Joe Fontana, mayor of London, and Grant Harrison CLT, London Chapter president

Attended by prominent Londoners, rep-resenting businesses, government, press and the private sector, the cafeteria at 3M Canada on Tartan Drive was filled with peo-ple who want this coalition to succeed and prosper.

“It is unique. This is the first time that the city has given up control of a project. More and more, governments must be prepared and willing to work in collaboration with part-nerships,” said Fontana. “Partnership agree-ments have some risks, but we need to get over that and make it happen, as opposed to getting caught in the weeds.”

The mayor continued his positive com-ments on the project, stating, “While recog-nizing our veterans with this living tribute, we expand the tree canopy coverage, engage and involve the community, and at the same

City and London Chapter join to createliving memorial to Canada’s war veterans

time bring social, health and environmental benefits to our community.”

He concluded his talk by stating, “Imag-ine inspiring a community daily to remember not the battles won, but the power of people

who knew that they needed to do to and did so without complaint. This growing monu-ment honours hope and legacy as well as the many sacrifices made.”

While the speeches were taking place inside, the hardworking teams from Clintar Landscape Management — London, Eden Gardenworks, Escapes Outdoor Living Designs, Haven Landscapes, Kimmick Landscaping and Rural Roots Landscape were hard at work outside drilling the holes and moving the trees into place. Many com-ments were heard about how amazing it was to see volunteers not only donate their equipment, but their time and labour as well.

“This is a huge project. It represents for us, as a horticulture association, an oppor-tunity for members and associates to show our pride and involvement in the commu-nity,” said Harrison.

Site preparation took about seven hours, which allowed for a very smooth plant-ing event on Sat., Oct. 1, when over 100 volunteers from a number of community groups joined with members of Landscape Ontario’s London Chapter to plant and stake 200 trees in just three hours. All enjoyed a thank-you barbecue after the last tree was installed.

The signing ceremony on Sept. 30 was a real sight to behold. The room was filled with prominent Londoners representing business, government, press and the pri-vate sector.

The ceremony lasted just over 30 minutes and Grant Harrison (Chapter presi-dent) spoke eloquently about LO and its participation in the Veterans Memorial Parkway Community Initiative Program (VMP CIP).

While the signing ceremony progressed, various London LO companies and staff could be seen preparing the site for Saturday’s planting. The participating companies were quite impressive with their professionalism and donation of time, labour and equipment to this project. The two planting areas provide us with a suc-cessful template we can sell to the businesses and people of London.

Grant Harrison is a real testament to LO and has gone above and beyond the call of duty for this project. When I needed his advice/support, Grant has been there for us, workong tirelessly for months implementing the VMP CIP. His partici-pation has exceeded his role as the president of the Chapter, and this project would not have succeeded without his efforts. His level of dedication and effort to LO astounds me, and I believe he deserves special recognition.

Barry Sandler (member Area Special Projects Committee – Scouts Canada) has also worked tirelessly for this project for many years and he should also be recog-nized for his efforts. There have been many hurdles to the success of the VMP CIP, and Barry has kept the project focused and on schedule. It should be noted that Barry and LO’s London Chapter organized all the various components of the cer-emony and planting day in just over 14 days.

The VMP CIP is a great example of the values and foundation of LO. Land-scape Ontario is a tremendous trade organization and the staff members in Milton and London have been quite instrumental in the success of this project.

On behalf of the VMP CIP, thank you! Michael D. Martins Kimmick Landscaping, London

London highway project is example of LO values

London Chapter president Grant Harrison and London mayor Joe Fontana plant the first tree as part of the Veterans Memorial Parkway project.


By Allan Dennis

The concept of green roofs has quickly become the fastest growing reality within the green industry. Landscape Ontario member Kees Govers of LiveRoof Ontario in Mount Brydges has become one of its driving forces.

“I began actively in the green roof industry in 2006,” says Govers. Previous to then, he was involved in the perennial nursery business selling to garden centres. The rising Canadian dollar and depressed prices were making the wholesale peren-nial market difficult. “I saw where the green roof industry was heading, and changed my focus towards it.”

In 2009 the industry grew by 16.1 per cent, and last year was up by 28.6 per cent, according to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which gathers data on the industry.

Govers says his company has increased its production and sales three-fold, while its labour force grew five-fold.

The public sees the major benefit of greenroofs as a method to improve the environment through air quality, and reduc-ing the urban heat island effect. Govers says the vast majority of his business comes from clients who are looking to solve stormwater issues and increasing the lifespan of roofing systems.

Kees Govers on the ground floor of fast-growing green roof industry

Govers estimates that green roof sur-faces absorb up to 99 per cent of a one-inch of rainfall, reducing runoff, lessening the risk of sewer overflows and flooding. He says, “Many cities have no room to handle the stormwater runoff, so they are looking at greenroofs to handle the prob-lem. It’s a way to eliminate digging up streets and installing expensive systems to deal with stormwater.”

The other selling factor is the exten-sion of a roof’s lifetime anywhere from 100 to 200 per cent, by protecting the rooftop from ultraviolet rays, large temperature fluctuations, drying winds and punctures.

Govers’ company provides unique ser-vice by growing all its plants at LiveRoof Ontario’s facility in Mount Brydges, near London. “As far as I know, we are the only ones to do this,” says Govers. Plants such as sedums, alliums, Sempervivums and Delospermas are used with media in a depth of four inches. When fully vegetated and saturated, each container weighs around 30 pounds.

Once the plants have become estab-lished in the containers, they are delivered to the site. And, there’s no random placing of the containers on the roof. Long before the plants have begun growing, LiveRoof creates a design for the project, so that each module is placed in a very specific

pattern. Govers says the system allows a quick installation of the modules, as staff members know exactly where each unit goes.

Another advantage of delivering mature plants, according to Govers, is that instal-lation can take place anytime from Apr. 1 to Nov. 15. “With new plantings, you can’t complete the process in the dry months,” he says.

He says the Toronto by-law that was passed in 2010, has already resulted in more than 1.2 million square feet of new green space planned for commercial, insti-tutional, and multi-unit residential develop-ments across the city. He foresees more municipalities such as Mississauga, Ham-ilton, Vaughan, and Richmond Hill pass-ing similar by-laws. He doesn’t see the provincial government placing similar laws across Ontario. “It tends to be an urban focus right now.”

Since he began in the greenroof sector, Govers says he has seen many changes. “At the beginning, it was a bit of a wildwest show, but one of the best things to happen was the establishment of standards. He credits Green Roofs for Healthy Cities for developing its Professional Accreditation Program.

Govers says the future is bright for the industry. His company is currently grow-ing plant material in the nursery for 17 to 18 projects. Some may begin this fall, depending on weather, while the majority will be ready to start in early 2012.

A past president of the LO London Chapter and chapter rep on the provincial board, Govers says he now has a ‘periph-eral’ relationship with Chapter activities.

Horticulture Review interviewed Kees Govers at Fanshawe College in London. The Oxford Street campus building has most of its roof covered in plants, installed over a year ago by LiveRoof. In mid-October the green roof was still lush and healthy.

It has been maintained by a private company, but soon Fanshawe College horticulture students under Michael Pas-coe will take over the program, perform-ing maintenance, while learning something about this fast growing industry service.

Pascoe says he thinks Fanshawe is the only college in Ontario offering a greenroof program. “It’s a great opportunity to have this major greenroof canvas on one of our (college’s) buildings,” says Pascoe.

Kees Govers is proud of his involve-ment with Fanshawe College. He is opti-mistic about what’s ahead for the green roof industry, and believes educating stu-dents will ensure that the industry will be in good hands down the road.

Kees Govers’ horticulture background helped him create a unique installation system for his company LiveRoof Ontario.

MeMBer proFile


association neWs

By Allan Kling CLP

You remember Mel’s moose? Those brightly coloured plastic beasts scattered throughout Toronto.

Green Streets! is a similar concept, but think living gardens instead of synthetic animals. Imagine 50 pocket gardens stra-tegically placed throughout downtown Toronto, creating the perfect lunch-hour walking tour. Each garden will be the result of a partnership involving Toron-to’s arts community, our local landscape industry and downtown businesses.

These will be small gardens — some no bigger than a bathtub — but each utterly unique. They are meant to be head-turning, the result of imaginations running wild. The design theme is sustain-ability, although loosely defined. Think of everything from re-purposed junk to inner-city agriculture. Think of what happens when nature, innovation, and imagination meet on the street.

Green Streets! is an initiative of Land-scape Ontario’s Toronto Chapter. Those

of us working in the city’s core believe that gardens do belong downtown, where they can amuse, inform and inspire the hundreds-of-thousands who live and work there.

Landscape Ontario members are ide-ally positioned to deliver these gardens. Our designers, contractors, growers and retailers have the tools, materials and know-how to create and maintain them. In doing so, these members will have an opportunity to tell the LO story and to showcase their work. The net result will be that Torontonians get a living lesson in gardening and some exercise while tour-ing the gardens. Landscape Ontario gets an opportunity to promote the horticultural industry to the urban consumer and mem-bers are able to demonstrate their ser-vices to a very large market.

Green Streets! is open to anyone with an imagination! We are looking for teams with wild ideas and the skills to build them. If you are a contractor or mainte-nance provider, consider partnering with a landscape design professional, florist,

architect or student. Landscape Ontario is securing sites in Toronto’s business dis-trict, which will be assigned to those with the most exciting ideas. The project will launch in May 2012 and the gardens will be maintained through September of next year.

This is a competition. Selection crite-ria and guidelines are under development now and will emphasize designs that speak to sustainability innovation, educa-tion and imagination. Winning entries will be announced in January, giving selected teams five months to turn ideas into reali-ties.

LO’s Toronto Chapter will launch a website shortly that contains all the details. In the interim, contact Allan Kling at [email protected] for more infor-mation.

invasive plant coUncil expects regUlations

By Peter Scholtens

There are over 400 species of plants con-sidered invasive in Ontario.

These plants affect a wide range of ecosystems and crops, from farmland to riverbeds. Control of invasive plants cre-ates a huge drag on the economy, includ-ing $2.2 billion in weed control and lost production.

On Oct. 13 and 14, I attended the annual Ontario Invasive Plant Council (OIPC) annual meeting and conference in Prince Edward County, rep-resenting Landscape Ontario. As attendees, we had the opportunity to take field trips to see how local ecosystems are affected by inva-sive species. Discus-sions took place on the implications of action, or inaction, against the alien invaders. Work-shops outlined current work in the field against invasive species and strategies to fight inva-sive plants.

Conservation author-ities, responsible for management of natural areas, struggle to main-tain biodiversity against invasive plants. It’s a complicated issue with so many different inva-

Toronto Chapter plans to Green Streets

Green Streets! will feature small gardens with head-turning results.


sive plants from different sources, and problems in the field. It’s difficult for gov-ernment departments and agencies to determine who is responsible and where to put efforts.

Some work has taken place in the province in the fight against invasive plants. OIPC, a non-profit, multi-agency organization founded in April 2007 to coordinate a provincial response to the growing threat of invasive plants, consists of conservation authorities, academic institutions, private consultants, industry and environmental non-government orga-nizations, as well as all levels of govern-ment.

Of interest to the nursery and land-scape trade were workshops discuss-ing current government programs to fight invasive plants. These workshops high-lighted gaps that government agencies identified in the quest to control invasives. The strengths identified were good pro-grams that monitored existing invasive species and searched for new problems.

The gaps included a lack of clear responsibility, as the current roles are not clear. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) need to clarify which agency is respon-sible for specific problems in the field. Legislative and regulatory gaps were also identified, allowing the entry of new spe-cies and the spread of invasive plants once they’ve entered the province.

The MNR is currently undergoing a review to determine the strengths and weaknesses of current legislation and regulation. This report will be released at the end of March 2012. It will be used to establish the need for new legislation and regulation to control the entry and spread of invasive species.

During the conference, there were numerous opportunities to network and discuss issues with other attendees. Sev-eral people spoke about their plans to send staff to educate retail garden cen-tre employees regarding invasive plants. They hope garden centres could educate the public about growing the right plant in the right place.

Invasive plants in home gardens have become an issue for people who own property adjacent to natural areas. Retail garden centres that sell water plants will be a particular focus (along with aquarium and pet stores). This is because at least

two Eurasian water plant species have recently escaped into the wild and are the subject of eradication efforts in the Trent and Ottawa Rivers. The source of these escapes is thought to be local retail gar-den centres. MNR staff hopes to reduce the risk of this happening again, so they plan to reach out to retail outlets selling these plants and others like them.

It was evident at the conference that government agencies consider invasive species a special concern, and they plan to address the problem. The nursery and landscape trade is currently being iden-tified as a source for the introduction of invasives into natural areas. The land-scape and nursery trades need to take some ownership of and responsibility for this issue. Some believe it is to our benefit to be aware of these issues, educate our-selves, and our customers, and perhaps even to begin to regulate our own behav-iour before the government begins to do it for us.

Peter Scholtens of Verbinnen’s Nursery in Dundas serves on LO’s Environmental Committee.

pathWays to perennials raises $3,000 For cancer Unit

For the eighth consecutive year, LO mem-ber Pathways to Perennials in Kettleby, hosted its Annual Art and Jazz Char-ity Garden Party to raise funds for the Southlake Regional Cancer Unit.

The event collected $3,000, which brings the eight-year total to over $21,000.

Attendees at the Sept. 29 event enjoyed a beautiful evening of delectable food donated by Summerfresh, and an interactive menu prepared by Absolutely Fine Foods, while enjoying the incredible sounds of The Trilogy Jazz Project.

Visitors were also able to view the fragrant perennial beds and lifestyle dis-plays enhanced by outdoor lighting. International sculptor, Brett Davis of Age of Bronze Studio in King Township, dis-played his work.

The evening was capped off by a raffle in which many companies came together to donate prizes to such a good cause. The raffle featured more than two dozen fantastic pieces of interior and exterior décor, plants, trees and garden acces-

sories. Angie Mennen, garden centre man-

ager, noted that statistics show that by 2014, York Region alone will see as many as 4,500 new cancer cases diagnosed each year, almost double the provincial average increase.

Upper canada BeaUtiFies residence

By Dan Clost CHTPast president, Upper Canada Chapter

Upper Canada Chapter is pleased to have created a long-term relationship between community members and the horticulture industry.

The Chapter was approached by Starr Olsen, executive director of Community Living in Quinte West, requesting help to transform the grounds of the Joan Scott Development Centre, a home for disabled adults.

The grounds were typical of a 1970s industrial area, with no plants except a lot full of weeds, surrounding a concrete path that was designed to move people from the street to inside the building with mini-mum delay. There was no reason to stop along the way.

The vision was to create a pleasing array of gardens, a pathway, patio, and raised planters for teaching purposes. The theme was a sensory garden. A unique feature is a thousand-square-foot patio with 12 distinct areas surrounding the three large planters. Each area has either a different pattern, such as bas-ket weave and herring bone, with differ-ent coloured pavers. As well, a variety of pavers with different profiles were used. Grateful acknowledgement is given to the inventor of poly-sand that filled the inter-esting gaps where patterns met.

The level of support within the Upper Canada Chapter was exceptional in terms of donated materials and bodies work-ing on the ground. Over the course of two non-raining October weekends, 40 volun-teers toiled away. In total, 21 companies were represented as suppliers of either materials and/or labour, and more than 99 per cent of the material was donated.

Just before the ribbon cutting cer-emony, one LO member informed the mayor that the project was completed on time and under budget.

Visitors and students at 11 Canal Street are now treated to a pleasing view of swaying ornamental grasses, lilac hedges that define without segregating, trees and shrubs with foliage selected for colour, movement, texture and fragrance,

association neWs


a new path and a patio with some ground level surprises. Next spring, the teaching beds will be filled with all manner of

interesting plants that will provide beauty and instruction. How cool is that, eh?

It must be noted that all of the folks from Community Liv-ing Quinte West administration, board members, students, and the agency’s own group of volunteers pitched in to make their presence felt. This was a complete community effort, bringing together LO members, potential members, individuals, city and provincial administrations, as well as quite a few on-lookers.

The landscaped grounds are adjacent to the entrance to the local conservation authority waterfront trail, which is travelled by many people. They, too, can now enjoy the beauty created by members of the Upper Canada Chapter.

the van WissensMark 50th anniversary

Hendrika and John van Wissen celebrated their 50th wedding anni-versary on Oct. 7, in Brampton, surrounded by family and friends.

John van Wissen was always proud to have been involved during the beginning of Landscape Ontario. He believed firmly in a trades organization that represented his industry. Today, John Jr. operates John van Wissen Nurs-eries and Garden Cen-tre in Brampton.

John van Wissen suffered a stroke while battling cancer about three years ago, paralyzing him and leaving him without the gift of speech. The couple still maintains an apartment, and their dedication to each other continues after 50 years.

Immigrating to Canada from Holland when he was 19 years old, John van Wissen came from a market-gardening family of nine kids. It was natural process that his first job in Canada was at a garden centre, Goodison’s on the Queensway in Missis-sauga. A wonderful mentor and trainer, Harold Goodison taught John in all aspects of retailing.

After establishing himself in Canada, John placed an adver-tisement in the Dutch newspaper wishing to correspond with a girl back in Holland. Hendrika van Spijk, from a market gardening family of 14, came to Canada and married John van Wissen.

In 1979, the couple purchased a two-acre property in north-west Brampton, where John van Wissen Nursery and Garden Centre began. It started with apples, tomatoes and a few peren-nial plants and grew to include three separate businesses: van Wissen Perennials, van Wissen Cut Flowers and John van Wis-sen Nurseries and Garden Centre.

van Wissen recognized early in his market gardening career that he was not only selling plants, but knowledge. The buying public craved plant information and knowledge, and the couple became extremely helpful and giving with their time and knowl-edge. The business grew, and soon they became supporters of the vision that is Landscape Ontario.

Hendrika and John van Wissen


volUnteer proFile

Keith Osborne: From the ground upKeith Osborne is a familiar face to many LO members, especially those involved with growers’ issues and the trial gardens.

Over the past few years, the sales representative for Gro-Bark (Ontario) has served on LO’s Environmen-tal Stewardship Committee, the Trial Gardens Commit-tee at LO home office and the Growers Sector Group.

He says he was inspired to join Landscape Ontario because everyone on the committees and LO staff were so friendly. “I thought it would be great to be part of that atmosphere,” he said. “I was right then, and it gets better with time.”

Working to help improve the trial gardens with in-kind donations of soil from Gro-Bark is one of Osborne’s favourite volunteer activities. He has also been a guest speaker at the August trial gardens open houses the past two years.

The annual growers’ group bus tours to nurser-

ies are always special events for Keith Osborne. “It is such a good time seeing everyone together, meeting new friends and renewing with past friends.”

He says he has become much better known within the industry from his volun-teering work at LO. “Another benefit from volunteer for the association is the real satisfaction that results from helping oth-ers and promoting the entire industry.”

Asked if he had any suggestions to improve the association, Osborne said, “We need to practice what we preach. Let’s plant more material at our own offices and sites; including Landscape Ontario’s home office site.”

Along with his volunteer work at Landscape Ontario, Keith Osborne is also involved with the Canadian Green-house Conference and International Plant Propagator’s Society.

helps With research projectsOsborne has also worked with Dr. You-bin Zheng and his research team at the University of Guelph on a project enti-tled Development of Sustainable Grow-ing Systems for Nursery, Greenhouse Ornamental and Vegetable Production. Landscape Ontario’s Growers Group and Gro-Bark (Ontario) helped fund this three-year project. The project tested the performance of newly developed grow-ing substrates in producing some of the common and important nursery and greenhouse species. Keith Osborne was a contact person for the project.


lo staFF proFile

Mike WasilewskiGraphic designer

What is your job description at LO? I am the graphic designer. I help produce

Landscape Ontario (formerly Horticulture Review), along with various print and web-based media items. I also help maintain horttrades.com and facilitate advertising production.

What is your background before com-ing to LO, and when did you begin work at LO? I was a student at Sheridan College,

where I received my certification in art. I studied graphic design at York University for one year, finishing my post secondary

at University of Toronto, where I received my HBA. I went through a couple of intern-ships before finally settling with LO in Sep-tember of 2008. While attending school, I worked as a landscaper for roughly seven years, so I think that helped solidify my position at LO.

When not at work, where can you be found? I’m a gym rat, a rink rat, and a homebody.

After work, you can find me at the gym, one of my favourite hobbies. Having been born and raised in this country, I always found there were two important rules for being a Canadian: maple syrup is king and hockey is everything! Ever since I was five years old, and my dad laced-up my first pair of skates, you couldn’t keep me off the ice. To this day, you still can’t. I guess that’s why winter’s my favourite season (I always get dirty looks for saying that). Other than that, I’m usually enjoying the comforts of my home where I spend time in my man-cave watching movies or hang-ing out with friends and family.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Out of the numerous phases I went

through as a kid, I always wanted to be a comic book artist. When I was younger, comics were my inspiration. When I began my high school years, I found out I could make a career from art and figured my

best bet was graphic design, considering the comic book industry was really difficult to get into at the time.

What inspires you during your time at LO? Working with the great staff at LO and talk-ing to the enormous group of volunteers. It’s unbelievable how an industry such as ours, knowing the lifestyle of landscapers, designers, growers, etc., can still be able to set aside time from their busy schedules to help out LO. The industry is just incredible.

Name your all-time favourite movie, musical group and TV show. I love this question. I am a huge movie

and music buff, so it’s really hard to pin-point one for each. My favourite movies are John Carpenter’s The Thing and Cam-eron Crowe’s Almost Famous.

I love rock music; everyone from Led Zep-pelin to Queens of the Stone Age, but one band has always stood out from the rest: Tool.

TV show would be Firefly. It was cancelled prematurely, which was sad (How can you not like a western in space?). The show had such a large fan-base that it spawned a movie, Serenity, which was also great.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? The U.K. I want to explore castles.Tell us one thing about you that few of your colleagues know about you. Years ago when I played hockey for York

University, I received an invitation to play pro hockey in Europe, but never accepted the offer. Having a career in hockey was never my goal, as I wanted to stay in school and focus on my studies. Although, at times I somewhat regret not taking the opportunity. In the end, I think (hope) I made the right decision.


events

Bookmark www.horttrades.com/comingevents for up-to-date event information.

Golden HorsesHoeElizabeth Craig290 John St E, Niagara on the Lake, ON L0S 1J0Tel: 905-328-0321Membership Type: HorticulturalRooms ‘N BloomsRichard Vernon29 Hamilton St S, Waterdown, ON L0R 2H4Tel: 289-925-5587Membership Type: Active

londonTotal Facility SolutionsJohn Moore540 Wharncliffe Rd S, London, ON N6J 2N4Tel: 519-690-1075Membership Type: Active

neW MeMBersToronToAileen Barclay302 - 30 Prospect St, Newmarket, ON L3Y 3S9Tel: 416-550-4154Membership Type: HorticulturalAjoi Landscape Design IncJulie Jeannotte375 Salisbury Lane, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8A4Tel: 905-853-2564Membership Type: ActiveBuxton Grounds Maintenance LtdJoseph Racippo6 Buxton Rd, Toronto, ON M3M 1Y5Tel: 416-243-2674Membership Type: ActiveHarsha Stones IncDharamveer PandyaP3A - 1703 McCowan Rd, Scarborough, ON M1S 4L1Tel: 416-439-9703Membership Type: Associate

Manulife FinancialJason Rawhut200 Bloor St E, Toronto, ON M4W 1E5Tel: 416-926-3000Membership Type: HorticulturalMuskoka in the City IncAl Seymour7178 Ridgeland Cres, Mississauga, ON L5N 1Y9Tel: 905-812-8872Membership Type: Activeb sq Design Studio IncRobert Boltman27 St. Paul St, Toronto, ON M5A 3H2Tel: 416-723-1959Membership Type: Active

landscape ontario and indUstry eventsdecember 5 - 6icpi concrete paver installation courseLandscape Ontario, 7856 Fifth Line South, MiltonThe Interlocking Concrete Paving Institute (ICPI) is holding its Concrete Paver Installation course at the LO home office in Milton.

january 10 – 12, 2012congress 2012 trade show and conferenceToronto Congress Centre, 650 Dixon Rd., TorontoLandscape Ontario’s Congress is Canada’s largest green industry event for landscape pro-fessionals. Engage with energetic industry pro-fessionals to sharpen your skills and increase your expertise. Details at www.locongress.com.

chapter eventsnovember 15ottawa chapter meetingRoyal Canadian Legion Branch, 641- 3500 Fallowfield Rd., Ottawa Join the Ottawa chapter for its November meeting, with speaker Terry Lussier of Action-Coach discussing the process to growing a successful business.

november 17Windsor chapter meetingDominion Golf Course, 6125 Howard Ave. OldcastleGear up for the winter at the Windsor chap-ter’s snow and ice meeting. Robert Roszell will present the new salt applications research done through the University of Guelph and LO.

november 18

Waterloo Fall Freeze-UpWaterloo Inn Conference Hotel, 475 King Street North, WaterlooCome out and enjoy a season-ending event at the 32nd annual Waterloo Chapter’s Fall Freeze-up dinner and dance. Cocktails start at 6 p.m. with buffet dinner at 7:15. The event will include D.J., door prizes and large draw prizes. Tickets cost $130 per couple. Order your tick-ets early to be entered into a draw to win a free night at the Waterloo Inn. Draw to be held at the November general meeting.

december 13ottawa chapter winter socialRoyal Canadian Legion Branch, 641- 3500 Fallowfield Rd., OttawaThe Ottawa Chapter Winter Social begins at noon. Pre-registration is required for the free lunch and to qualify for Sen’s ticket giveaway.

january 17ottawa chapter agMRoyal Canadian Legion Branch, 641- 3500 Fallowfield Rd., OttawaJoin the Ottawa Chapter for its Annual General Meeting with speakers, the executive director and president of Landscape Ontario. Pre-reg-ister for a free lunch and to qualify for the Sen’s ticket giveaway.

February 1519th annual green trade expoC E Centre, 4899 Uplands Drive, OttawaNow in its 19th year, Green Trade Expo moves to a new location. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bookmark the website for up-to-date information, www.greentrade.ca.

Congress, where the industry comes together. Starts Jan. 10


indUstry neWs

Any workplace with pallet racking is a potential target for inspectors during a month-long blitz, which began Nov. 1.

“If you have lift trucks and pallet racks,” says Don Brown, a provincial specialist with the Ministry of Labour’s Industrial Health and Safety Program, “we’ll be interested in having inspectors visit your workplace.”

Inspectors will focus on issues that can lead to worker injuries when working with or near racking systems. The most serious racking hazards involve a total or partial collapse of a rack, and loads fall-ing from the rack or lift truck used to load or unload the rack.

During the blitz, ministry inspectors will pay particular attention to ware-houses, distribution centres, retail opera-tions, and manufacturing plants where pallet racks are commonplace. “If rack-ing has the potential to collapse,” says Brown, “we want to make sure it’s recti-fied and properly maintained. Otherwise, it represents a significant hazard that could seriously injure or kill workers.”

Brown identified two likely inspection priorities. “Inspectors will be checking on whether employers are maintaining equipment in good condition, which is a requirement under section 25(1)(b) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. I think another important component will be the employer duty to provide infor-mation and instruction to workers (sec-tion 25(2)(a)). For example,” continues Brown, “where workers are loading racks and working around racks, it is important that they understand the loading speci-fications and understand and be trained on how and when to report racking dam-age. Safe operation of lift trucks is also important.”

“If you don’t have the paperwork and drawings to show that a racking sys-tem was built and installed according to the manufacturer’s specifications,” says Leon, “you’ll need a Pre-Start Health and Safety Review conducted by an engi-neer. If you’ve modified a racking sys-tem, you’ll need an engineer’s report on the system.

“A lot of people don’t realize this. They think it’s a grandfathered thing: ‘The racks were here before I started so I must be exempt.’”

A racking structure installed prior to

Pallets targeted in November blitzOct. 7, 2000 is exempt from a Pre-Start Health and Safety Review unless it has been modified, he explains. Further-more, if racking was installed in accor-dance with current applicable standards, then no PSR is required. However, the employer should have documentation to support this.

For additional information on racking and storage, go to http://bit.ly/vWMqiF.

stanley shakes Up retailers at greenhoUse conFerenceNow in its 32nd year, the Canadian Greenhouse Conference moved to the bright, new Scotiabank Convention Cen-tre in Niagara Falls this year.

Held on Oct. 5 and 6, the trade show floor featured both familiar exhibitors and new ones. A well-planned conference offered plenty of educational opportuni-ties for greenhouse growers and garden

centre operators, as well as students. The popular pre-show bus tour vis-

ited a hydroponic operation, herb grower, cut flower and vegetable growers and enjoyed a luncheon stop at a Niagara-area winery.

For garden retailers, the marquee speaker was John Stanley, of John Stanley Associates. A renowned retail consultant, Stanley travels the world speaking with store owners. At the Cana-dian Greenhouse Conference, he pre-sented three sessions for garden centre owners, and packed a lot of information into each one. Stanley addressed chal-lenges facing the garden centre industry, and helped retailers set out a plan for their future, saying that today’s stresses include climate change, increased box store penetration, changing consumer habits and expectations as well as social media marketing.

Today’s consumers are looking for what Stanley calls “The Latte Factor.” He says shoppers want more than a plain coffee — they are looking for an experi-ence when they shop: something new every day. If they see the same old, same old, they will go somewhere else.

As an example of the changing face


Botanical Name Qty. 1 Gal Qty. 2 Gal Qty. 3 Gal Avail. Price Avail. Price Avail. Price

VINESAmpelopsis glandulosa Elegans 432 8.00 Campsis radicans Balboa Sunset 462 8.00 Celastrus orbiculatus Diana 210 8.00 Celastrus orbiculatus Hercules 260 8.00 Celastrus scandens 460 8.00 Hydrangea anomala petiolaris 152 6.00 453 13.00Lonicera brownii Dropmore Scarlet 205 8.00 Lonicera heckrottii Goldflame 200 8.00 Lonicera japonica Halls Prolific 320 6.00 270 8.00 Parthenocissus quinq. Engelmannii 242 6.00 844 8.00 Parthenocissus quinquefolia 1,000 6.00 Parthenocissus tricus. Veitchii 1,000 6.00 Polygonum aubertii 1,000 6.00 Vitis riparia 365 8.00 EVERGREENS Azalea Golden Lights 266 13.50Azalea Mandarin Lights 251 13.50Azalea Orchid Lights 474 13.50Buxus Faulkner 246 5.00 934 11.00Buxus microphylla 556 5.00 42 11.00Buxus X Green Gem 844 5.20 1,000 11.20Buxus X Green Mound 1,000 5.00 1,000 11.00Buxus X Green Mountain 1,000 5.00 1,000 11.00Buxus X Green Velvet 1,000 5.20 774 11.20Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Pygmaea’ 230 15.00Chamaecyparis pisifera Aurea Sungold 6 5.00 311 11.00Chamaecyparis pisifera Filifera 172 5.00 284 11.00Chamaecyparis pisifera Filifera Aurea 325 11.00Cotoneaster dammeri Coral Beauty 1,000 5.00 752 7.00 Cotoneaster dammeri Major 599 7.00 Cotoneaster salicifolius Repens 716 7.00 Euonymus fortunei Canadale Gold 723 7.00 Euonymus fortunei Coloratus 1,000 5.00 Euonymus fortunei Emerald Gaiety 1,000 5.00 1,000 7.00 Euonymus fortunei Goldtip 333 7.00 Euonymus fortunei Sarcoxie 443 7.00 Ilex X meserveae Blue Prince 500 6.00 275 13.00Ilex X meserveae Blue Princess 840 6.00 623 13.00Juniperus chinensis Gold Coast 160 5.00 495 11.00Juniperus chinensis Gold Star 310 5.00 350 11.00Juniperus chinensis Mint Julep 390 5.00 401 11.00Juniperus chinensis Pfitz. Compacta 205 5.00 383 11.00Juniperus chinensis San Jose 41 5.00 312 11.00Juniperus communis Repanda 386 5.00 223 11.00Juniperus conferta Blue Pacific 550 5.00 180 11.00Juniperus horizontalis Andorra Compacta 277 5.00 432 11.00Juniperus horizontalis Bar Harbor 289 5.00 298 11.00Juniperus horizontalis Icee Blue 989 6.00 821 13.00Juniperus horizontalis Lime Glow 205 6.50 74 13.50Juniperus horizontalis Prince of Wales 419 5.00 106 11.00Juniperus horizontalis Wiltonii 445 5.00 668 11.00Juniperus horizontalis Yukon Belle 355 5.00 300 11.00Juniperus media Armstrongii 122 5.00 308 11.00Juniperus procumbens nana 53 5.00 420 11.00Juniperus sabina 276 5.00 93 11.00Juniperus sabina Buffalo 41 6.00 152 13.00Juniperus sabina Calgary Carpet 131 6.00 132 13.00Juniperus sabina Skandia 150 6.00 191 13.00Juniperus squamata Blue Carpet 96 5.00 254 11.00Juniperus squamata Blue Star 360 11.00Metasequoia glyptostroboides 1,000 7.00 Microbiota decussata 55 5.00 275 11.00Myrica pensylvanica 1,000 7.00 Picea abies 279 7.00 135 11.00

Picea glauca Conica 541 13.00Picea omorika 201 7.00 Picea pungens glauca 230 7.00 Picea pungens Globosa 40 5.00 267 22.00Pieris japonica Mountain Fire 200 11.00Pinus mugo var. mugo 1,000 11.00Rhododendron ‘Nova Zembla’ 200 Taxus cuspidata Aurescens 403 15.00Taxus cuspidata Monloo 400 18.50Taxus cuspidata nana 56 6.50 290 15.00Taxus X media Densiformis 1,000 6.00 854 13.50Taxus X media Hicksii 1,000 6.00 1,000 13.50Taxus X media Hillii 630 6.00 209 13.50Taxus X media Wardii 648 6.00 846 13.50Thuja occidentalis 613 11.00Thuja occidentalis Nigra 738 5.00 597 11.00Thuja occidentalis Smaragd 851 5.00 1,000 11.00Thuja occidentalis Wintergreen 1,000 5.00 592 11.00Thuja plicata Spring Grove 680 11.00Tsuga canadensis 206 5.00 207 11.00Tsuga canadensis Jeddeloh 386 13.50Tsuga canadensis Pendula 250 13.50

DECIDUOUS SHRUBS Acanthopanax sieboldianus 392 7.00 Acer ginnala 292 7.00 30 8.00Acer rubrum 856 7.00 Amelanchier canadensis 104 7.00 200 9.50Amelanchier humilis 442 7.00 Aronia mel. Autumn Magic 219 7.00 Berberis thunbergii Aurea nana 140 6.00 300 13.50Berberis thunbergii Concorde 75 6.00 99 9.50 100 13.50Berberis thunbergii Rose Glow 270 6.00 299 9.50 Berberis thunbergii Royal Cloak 601 6.00 82 9.50 70 13.50Berberis x Emerald Carousel 287 9.50 Betula alleghaniensis 200 7.00 Betula nigra 465 7.00 Buddleia davidii Black Knight 275 7.00 Buddleia davidii Ellens Blue 450 7.00 Buddleia davidii Ile de France 704 7.00 Buddleia davidii Nanho Purple 337 7.00 Buddleia davidii Petite Plum 400 7.00 Buddleia davidii Pink Delight 460 7.00 Buddleia davidii Purple Prince 773 7.00 Buddleia davidii Royal Red 336 7.00 Caryopteris clandonensis Dark Knight 246 7.00 Caryopteris clandonensis Grand Blue 417 7.35 Caryopteris clandonensis Worchester Gold 344 7.00 Celtis occidentalis 578 7.00 Cercis canadensis 460 7.00 Chaenomeles speciosa Nivalis 412 7.00 Chaenomeles speciosa Rubra 956 7.00 Chaenomeles speciosa Texas Scarlet 495 7.00 Chaenomeles sup.Crimson and Gold 243 7.00 Clethra alnifolia Hummingbird 223 7.00 Clethra alnifolia Pink Spire 580 7.00 Cornus alba Elegantissima 293 7.00 Cornus alba Red Gnome 460 7.00 Cornus alternifolia 1,000 7.00 Cornus amomum 891 7.00 Cornus kousa chinensis 300 7.00 Cornus racemosa 1,000 7.00 Cornus sanguinea Midwinter Fire 354 7.00 Cornus stolonifera Kelseyi 439 7.00 Cotinus coggygria Royal Purple 371 11.00Cotoneaster apiculatus 292 7.00

RR 2, Mount Brydges, ON N0L 1W0 • Tel: 519-264-9057 • Fax: 519-264-1337



Cotoneaster horizontalis 643 7.00 Cotoneaster preacox Boer 1,000 7.00 Deutzia crenata Nikko 773 7.00 Deutzia gracilis 910 7.00 Diervilla lonicera 556 7.00 Euonymus alatus 255 5.00 764 8.00 Euonymus alatus Compactus 1,000 5.00 550 8.00 967 10.00Fagus sylvatica Purpurea 533 7.00 Forsythia Kumson 477 7.00 Forsythia ovata Ottawa 930 7.00 Forsythia X inter. Northern Gold 1,000 7.00 Forsythia X intermedia Goldtide 443 7.00 Forsythia X intermedia Lynwood 420 7.00 Fothergilla gardenii ‘Mount Airy’ 300 1.00Genista tinctoria Royal Gold 314 7.00 Gymnocladus dioica 169 7.00 180 9.50Hibiscus syriacus Aphrodite 319 5.00 70 10.00Hibiscus syriacus Diana 450 5.00 312 10.00Hibiscus syriacus White Chiffon 72 5.60 197 10.60Hibiscus syriacus Woodbridge 390 5.00 200 10.00Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle 882 7.00 1,000 10.50Hydrangea macr. Nikko Blue 211 8.00 Hydrangea paniculata Pink Diamond 399 7.00 Hydrangea paniculata Pinky Winky 376 7.60 Hydrangea paniculata Tardiva 345 7.00 Hydrangea paniculata Vanille Fraise 288 9.00 Hydrangea serrata Bluebird 440 7.00 Ilex verticillata 351 7.00 Ilex verticillata Afterglow 1,000 7.00 Ilex verticillata Southern Gentleman 507 7.00 Itea virginica Henrys Garnet 791 7.00 Kolkwitzia amabilis Pink Cloud 818 7.00 Ligustrum ovalufolium 278 7.00 Ligustrum vulgaris 333 7.00 Lindera benzoin 400 7.00 Liriodendron tulipefera 335 8.50 Lonicera tatarica 231 7.00 Lonicera tatarica Arnold Red 1,000 7.00 Lonicera xylosteum Claveys Dwarf 548 7.00 Lonicera xylosteum Emerald Mound 1,000 7.00 Lonicera xylosteum Miniglobe 555 7.00 Magnolia stellata Royal Star 307 15.00Magnolia X Butterfly 238 15.00Magnolia X loebneri Leonard Messel 331 15.00Nyssa sylvatica 240 7.00 Philadelphus coronarius Aureus 607 7.00 Philadelphus Innocence 863 7.00 Philadelphus Minnesota Snowflake 341 7.00 Philadelphus Natchez 238 7.00 Philadelphus X virginalis 295 7.00 Physocarpus opulifolius 1,000 7.00 Physocarpus opulifolius Dart’s Gold 1,000 7.00 Physocarpus opulifolius Diabolo 1,000 7.60 Physocarpus opulifolius Seward 657 9.85 Populus deltoides 450 7.00 Potentilla fruticosa Dakota Sunrise 793 7.00 Potentilla fruticosa Gold Drop 1,000 7.00 Potentilla fruticosa Goldstar 268 7.00 Potentilla fruticosa Mango Tango 503 7.00 Prunus cistena 399 5.00 1,000 7.00 23 8.00Prunus virginiana 426 7.00 Quercus macrocarpa 393 7.00 41 8.00Quercus robur Fastigiata 633 9.00 Quercus rubrum 720 7.00 Rhus typhina 1,000 7.00 Rhus typhina Tiger Eyes 15 10.50 239 16.50

Ribes alpinum 1,000 7.00 Rosa Bonica 465 7.00 Rosa J P Connell 252 7.00 Rosa John Cabot 335 7.00 Rosa rubrifolia 310 7.00 Rosa rugosa 552 7.00 Rosa rugosa Alba 249 7.00 Rosa x Champlain 430 7.00 Rosa x George Vancouver 265 7.00 Rosa x Royal Edward 314 7.00 Salix bebbiana 806 7.00 Salix caprea 1,000 7.00 Salix eriocephala 212 7.00 Salix exigua 1,000 7.00 Salix gracilis Purpurea Nana 880 7.00 Salix nigra 288 7.00 Salix repens 263 7.00 Sambucus canadensis 997 7.00 Sambucus canadensis Aurea 1,000 7.00 Sambucus nigra Black Lace 75 9.50 100 13.50Sambucus pubens 225 7.00 Sorbaria aitchisonii 495 7.00 Sorbaria sorbifolia 1,000 7.00 Sorbaria sorbifolia Sem 125 8.00 298 9.50Spiraea alba 1,000 7.00 Spiraea arguta 276 7.00 Spiraea betulifolia Tor 255 7.00 Spiraea bumalda Gold Mound 1,000 7.00 Spiraea japonica Anthony Waterer 568 7.00 Spiraea japonica Crispa 922 7.00 Spiraea japonica Dakota Goldcharm 511 7.00 Spiraea japonica Flaming Mound 725 7.00 Spiraea japonica Froebelii 1,000 7.00 Spiraea japonica Golden Princess 688 7.00 Spiraea japonica Goldflame 1,000 7.00 Spiraea japonica Magic Carpet 1,000 7.25 Spiraea japonica Shirobana (Genpei) 386 7.00 211 8.00Spiraea japonica White Gold 478 7.00 Spiraea nipponica Snowmound 346 7.00 Spiraea vanhouttei 406 7.00 Stephanandra incisa Crispa 1,000 7.00 Symphoricarpos albus 1,000 7.00 Symphoricarpos chenaultii Hancock 251 7.00 Syringa meyeri Palibin 1,000 8.00 Syringa patula Miss Kim 1,000 8.00 Syringa vulgaris 833 7.00 Tilia americana 328 7.00 Viburnum dentatum 489 7.00 Viburnum dentatum Chicago Lustre 642 7.00 Viburnum lentago 1,000 7.00 5 8.00Viburnum nudum Winterthur 359 7.00 Viburnum opulus Nanum 380 7.00 Viburnum plic. Summer Snowflake 446 9.00 Viburnum plicatum Mariesii 408 9.00 Viburnum plicatum Shasta 340 9.00 Viburnum trilobum 1,000 7.00 Viburnum trilobum Bailey Compact 685 7.00 Weigela florida Bristol Ruby 265 7.00 Weigela florida Bristol Snowflake 337 7.00 Weigela florida Elvira 199 9.60 Weigela florida French Lace 343 9.60 Weigela florida Java Red 200 7.00 Weigela florida Minuet 299 8.00 Weigela florida Nana Variegata 932 7.00 Weigela florida Rumba 546 7.00 Weigela florida Victoria 212 7.00

Many More Cultivars and sizes available

RR 2, Mount Brydges, ON N0L 1W0 • Tel: 519-264-9057 • Fax: 519-264-1337




of retail, Stanley spoke about Kidzania, a Mexican chain of family entertainment centres where children pay for the oppor-tunity to work in adult jobs. The concept has been dubbed ‘advertainment’ as the children can bottle Coke, work at McDon-alds, or fix Chevrolets. Stanley noted that through Kidzania, other industries are attracting children to their trade while entertaining them.

Hot retail trends to follow include a children’s garden category. Stanley noted that children’s tools, boots and water-ing cans are often scattered through-out a store, and recommended creating an area just for children. He said that

for some retailers, fairy gardens have become a good seller. Edible landscap-ing is leveling off in some areas, but is still a large category that should receive attention, and also recommended pro-moting colour in the garden. Stanley said that as the economy slips; it’s been shown that people surround themselves with brighter colours.

Stanley spent a lot of time on the subject of social media, encouraging everyone to devote some resources to it immediately. He noted that smart phones have changed the marketing game. Shoppers now trust information that comes from their social media con-

tact — or a supplier — more than your in-store salesperson. Shoppers will fol-low recommendations from their friends, snap smart tags to learn more about products in your store, and will soon expect to checkout and pay through their cell phones.

Stanley predicted that traditional advertising will continue to decline as people invest in Facebook Places, Google Circles and phone apps to spread their message to customers.

Stanley’s list of recommended read-ing for retailers includes: Spend Shift by John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio, Signs that Sell by Sonja Larsen, The Experience Economy by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom and The Soul of the New Consumer by David Lewis.

John Stanley’s White Paper, Vision

indUstry neWs

A group of 26 nursery people from Germany began a tour of Ontario at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

It was an ambitious itinerary for even the most seasoned of travelers. In late September and early October, a group of 26 nursery people from Germany travelled throughout Ontario and B.C.

The visitors had a first-hand look at the operations of the Canadian nurseries. After visiting a number of B.C. nurseries, the tour landed in Ontario, starting off with a meet-and-greet at Vineland Station, co-hosted by CNLA, Landscape Ontario, and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

After a tour of the research projects currently underway at Vineland, the group met with some Ontario nursery col-leagues. Presentations on the current state of the industry in Canada and Germany revealed that growers in both countries are dealing with many of the same challenges.

Ontario nurseries visited by the delegation included JC

German visitors tour Ontario nurseries

Bakker Nurseries, Mori Nurseries and Willowbrook Nurs-eries in the Niagara area, and Connon NVK Nurseries in Waterdown, Winkelmolen Nurseries in Lynden and Pieper Nurseries in Dorchester. With the intent of heading north to glimpse Ontario’s famous fall colours, the group made its way to Somerville Nurseries in Everett and Bradford Greenhouses before heading to Algonquin Park.

The wide-ranging tour was concluded with visits to Dutch-master Nurseries in Brougham, Uxbridge Nurseries in Brook-lin, Brookdale Treeland Nurseries in Schomberg, and Sheridan Nurseries in Georgetown.

The tour was organized by Dr. Heinrich Loesing, director of Versuchs- und Beratungsring für Baumschulen, a member-ship-supported nursery research and consulting organization. A tour is organized to a different country each year.


20/20 The Next Decade for Indepen-dent Garden Centres is a strategic docu-ment co-authored by Stanley and Trevor Cochrane with contribution from Malcolm Scott. It provides their view of the chang-ing retail scene and encourages garden centres to prepare business plans for the changing retail climate. The white paper sells for $1,995 on John Stanley’s website, but Garden Centres Canada is offering it to members for $399. Con-tact garden centres’ priorities manager Renata Triveri at [email protected] for details.

execUtive prograM looking to rUn in 2012A collaborative effort between the Cana-dian Nursery Landscape Association and the George Morris Centre, an inde-pendent think tank, the Landscape Industry Executive Program (LIEP) was developed specifically for executives, managers, and owner-operators in the landscape, nursery, retail garden centre sectors.

Unfortunately, LIEP 2011 was post-poned as the number of registrations did not warrant running the program this year. It was close, but not close enough, but there will be one more opportunity to implement the program in 2012.

The program’s developers ask, “Do you spend too much time putting out fires running the day-to-day activities in your business?” They say LIEP will resolve problems of not having time to work on your strategic business plan, recruiting and retaining good people, and help-ing to resolve issue such as competition from big box stores.

Funding opportunities are available for those members with a Farm Business Registration Number (FBRN) in Ontario’s Growing Forward Program. The link to the policy and procedures manual of the Growing Forward Business Development for Farm Businesses program is http://bit.ly/s8Aikx. Eligibility criteria are on page 4 of the document.

Included in the LIEP are training for strategic planning, succession planning, operations planning, and information sys-tems management.

New dates for the fall 2012 program will be announced in the coming weeks. Watch for updates in LO’s e-newsletters.

For more information on the program, contact Karen Bilton, education coordinator, George Morris Centre www. georgemorris.org, 519-822-3929, ext. 205, or [email protected].


oMaFra nUrsery report

Bio-based pots

By Jen Llewellyn, OMAFRA Nursery Crops Specialist, and Mahendra Thimmanagari, OMAFRA Crop Bioproducts Specialist

The Ontario nursery industry is the largest in Canada, representing 44 per cent of the total farm gate sales

of nursery stock in the country, with a total growing area of around 23,525 acres.

Estimates show one-third of this area is devoted to container production.

The Ontario nursery industry has actively participated in plastic recycling programs for containers, poly films, trays, wraps, bags, etc., in an attempt to reduce the amount of waste plastic in landfills. Some wholesale nurseries, horticultural suppliers and garden centres are also pro-viding collection depots.

Several growers are presently experi-menting with bio-based containers to reduce the impact of production on the envi-ronment. Fibre-based materials such as coconut coir and rice hulls are used to man-ufacture biodegradable containers for the nursery and greenhouse sector. Several pot suppliers offer biodegradable pots that are really catching on in some product lines.

Let’s take a moment to review the termi-nology for various bio-based products in the industry: • Bio-based refers to products made with

some component of biological, or organic renewable materials, such as crops and cropresidues,grasses,andwoodfibres.

• Biodegradable container material is broken down through a biological microbial process (bacteria, fungi). Under natural conditions, it can take several months to years to break down.

• Compostable is a process similar to biodegradation,butitoccursunderspecificcomposting conditions (temperature, O2, CO2) and therefore takes a shorter time (six to eight months in commercial operations). Compostable plastic products must meet the standards, ASTM D6400, or ASTM D6868, to be labeled as compostable.

Some nursery growers have been trial-ing coconut coir pots (imported from Asia). These coir pots can last two to three years in outdoor production and still maintain their

integrity and natural look. One of the advan-tages of the porous coir pot is the additional air in the root zone. Growers have seen a significant increase in the amount of fibrous roots for several species of trees grown in coir pots, compared to smooth-walled plas-tic pots. This increased root mass is a huge boost for plant quality and out-planting suc-cess and can make up for the added cost. Make sure the pot you choose is appropri-ate for the length of time that crop will be in production.

Most of the biodegradable, bio-based pots out there are geared towards short pro-duction cycles in the greenhouse (three to six months), after which they may become brittle, or fall apart when handled. Typically they are made out of rice hulls, corn or coir.

higher costsAlthough bio-based pots function very well, they often cost significantly more than plas-tic pots. With continuously rising input costs in nursery and greenhouse production, profit margins have been reduced. During these tough economic times, the nursery industry is looking to reduce costs.

Some Canadian researchers are exam-ining bio-based pots that can be manufac-tured here in Ontario.

Locally grown, locally processed and locally manufactured products can reduce the carbon footprint of the product. The energy required for manufacturing bio-based pots is usually lower, along with emissions, compared to petroleum-based plastic pots. When blended with recycled plastic materials, bio-based materials reduce the need for the virgin polymer in the manufacturing process. However, plastic pot manufacturers are already using some recycled plastic in their products.

A University of Guelph research project led by Dr. Amar Mohanty, Bioproducts Dis-covery and Development Centre, BDCC, and funded by OMAFRA, has recently been commercialized. Through Ontario busi-nesses, biocomposite “bio-bins” are being retailed by Home Hardware and Canadian Tire stores across Canada.

In this biocomposite product, switch-grass was blended with oat hulls and used plastic. The composite was a process devel-oped at BDDC, University of Guelph and

then molded to produce the bio-bin prod-ucts. Manufactured by companies in the Cambridge and Kitchener region, there is a license agreement between the Uni-versity of Guelph, Evolution Biopolymers/ Green Ripple Innovations, Waterloo. It has been estimated that the bio-bins will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent. Since local switchgrass, oat hulls and recy-cled plastic (agricultural bale wrap, plastic mulch, greenhouse plastic film) were used, the cost of the final product was actually 10 per cent lower than a comparable plas-tic pot. The BDDC’s goal is to manufacture 100 per cent bio-based products at a com-petitive price.

Dr. Mohanty also has an additional research project looking at biocomposites from proteinous co-products and natural fibres containers. Corn gluten meal and soy meal are plasticized with low grade glycerol (a byproduct from biodiesel) into bioplas-tic. The bioplastic will be reinforced with Ontario-grown switchgrass and miscanthus.

At this time, there are only a handful of companies manufacturing biodegradable polymers in the global marketplace. These are made from corn, potato and other plant starches. Because of the high cost, it has been difficult to justify their use in place of traditional plastic products. Composites made from biodegradable polymers that are byproducts of corn gluten meal, dry distill-ers’ grains, glycerol, and plant fibres from perennial grasses, agriculture residues, can help reduce the cost and environmental footprint of these products. Another goal of Dr. Mohanty is to develop bio-based mate-rials and other biocomposites that can be blended with waste plastic films from green-house production.

There is no question that developing bio-based materials for pots in nursery and greenhouse plant production is extremely challenging. In particular, it is challenging to meet the needs for a long term, woody nursery crop. The much longer cropping cycle, irrigation method, long-term outdoor exposure and handling practices (pot spac-ing, inventory shifting) can have significant implications on the feasibility of using bio-based materials for nursery pots.

Research indicates that crop fibres, recycled plastics and agricultural byprod-ucts can all be sourced from Ontario and manufactured into various biocomposite products. These ventures may open new markets for manufacturers, suppliers and growers, while reducing the volume of plas-tic waste in Ontario.

Jennifer Llewellyn may be reached at 519-824-4120, ext. 52671, or by email [email protected].


By Bob HodginsSmart about Salt executive director

Recently, I was walking around a property with mainte-nance staff to review a site for Smart about Salt designa-tion. At the time, I had a revelation. It was raining that day

and, as a result, it was very easy to see the areas on the prop-erty that would present the highest risk for slip and falls in the winter, and would con-sequently become high demand areas for salt. All you had to do was just look for the puddles.

We also saw poorly designed buildings that directed roof drainage onto walkways, rather than having rain gutters take the water to a safe location.

These are areas that site owners and managers should be fixing during the off-winter periods. This action not only reduces their slip-fall risk, but also saves money and infrastructure/environmental damage by reducing the need for excessive salting.

If you are the contractor who maintains these areas in the winter, then you will want to flag them as high risk/high attention areas and notify the owner — preferably in writing.

I was talking with a gentleman this past week about this prob-lem. He is responsible for maintaining a LEED-certified building and recognizes the benefits of becoming Smart about Salt certi-fied. He knows that it will ensure that the company has appropri-ate salt management practices. When he and his staff see these puddles, they get out their leaf blowers and blow the water away before the next cold spell hits and turns it into ice. By being pro-active in this way, he reduces the risk and cuts his salt costs.

Another high risk and high salt-use practice is plowing snow to the high side of the pavement. This stockpiled snow will even-tually melt and flow back onto the pavement, where it can freeze and create sheets of ice. Again, these are high risk and high salt-use areas. The simplest solution to this problem is to place the snow where melt water will not flow back onto the pavement. One contractor makes it his practice to have the curbs showing (where curbs exist of course), thus ensuring that the snow is out-side the paved areas.

It is not always possible to relocate the snow. One shopping mall proposed small asphalt humps to intercept and redirect the water before it could create a hazard. The other option is to remove the snow to a proper snow disposal site. Although more costly, it does reduce the risk.

The problem is best addressed at the time when the park-ing lots are designed. By using more perimeter catch basins and proper parking lot grading, the water is removed before it has a chance to create large skating rinks. Let’s treat the causes and not just the symptoms, and be Smart about Salt!

Bob Hodgins may be contacted at [email protected].

sMart aBoUt salt

A rainy day is a risk management opportunity


contractors’ colUMn

How much to spend on landscaping

By Arthur Skolnik

Once, at the end of an initial meeting, a client asked me if $2,500 would be a realistic estimate to build a

deck, lay several hundred feet of flagstone and create a water feature. He wasn’t jok-ing.

Most people don’t know what their land-scaping dollar buys. Yet, most homeown-ers have a sense of the cost and a good idea of what they’ll receive when it comes to kitchen renovations, bathroom tiling, dry-wall, painting, etc.

A few homeowners are willing to spend big money on the landscape, but most remain bound with trepidation and uncertainty. We seem to be in an era when dream landscapes are more avail-able, but the cost to realize those dreams remains largely unknown. I think it’s par-

tially because the homeowner needs to place much more trust in the contractor who works outside. Outside, the thrill of the realization of the work is untested and un-experienced, compared to the inside guy. Here everyone has seen the transforma-tion within their own home, or at a friend’s home. They are unsure if that same thrill will be there at the end of the outside job.

After a typical one hour initial meeting with potential clients, the first FAQ is, “How much should I spend on my landscaping?” That’s a good and valid question.

A simple formula I lay on the table is for them to consider a dollar amount equal to roughly ten per cent of the value of the home. That means a million dollar home might have $100,000 as a starting point for a discussion about a client’s needs and wishes, and what it will cost to deliver. Does that include the front and the back? Where

does a swimming pool figure in the overall dollars? What if the majority of the work is wet-laid flagstone and tall stone walls? Or, what if the client wants an instant collection of mature and rare Japanese maples?

That’s why the 10 per cent of the value of a home is only a starting point; a thresh-old for homeowners to wrap their minds around what landscaping can cost. The answer to how much should I spend on my landscaping, is open for interpretation, negotiation and plenty of explanation, but at least ten per cent of the house value is a starting point.

When your clients ask how much they should spend on landscaping, offer dollar amounts for different materials, and explain your fees regarding hourly rates and daily equipment usage,

Drop me a line to Arthur Skolnik [email protected], and I may include your comments in an upcoming Contractors’ Newsletter.

Thanks to Alica Dusil of Dusil Design and Landscape, Burlington, for her com-ments regarding the last newsletter.

Arthur Skolnik owns Shibui Landscaping in Toronto and is a member of the Land-scape Contractors Sector Group.

the UndergroUnd World

Reducing utility hits

By Terry Murphy CLP

Last year the landscape industry reduced underground utility hits by 36 per cent. Why? Mainly, because land-

scapers are now calling ahead for locates and being extra careful when digging.

Can we further reduce these numbers? I think so, but it may depend on the next few months. In October and throughout November, everything depends on the due diligence of landscapers, as to whether we can reduce our hits for 2011. We need to remind our landscape construction crews of the responsibility to obtain locates before digging.

Remember, if you hit a small gas line going into a residential property, the Tech-nical Standards and Safety Authority will

invoice you $750 to $1,000 for its investi-gation and the gas utility will charge repair costs anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500, depending on the circumstances. The aver-age total cost per hit is around $2,500. Fines are virtually eliminated if you have obtained locates. A utility underground hit also could trigger a WSIB Workwell Audit, which will cost dearly in time and potential fines.

We sometimes have a mental or fatigue lapse as we approach the year’s end. Please bring this important subject up in your company’s tailgate safety sessions. The fourth quarter is no time to relax your damage prevention efforts.

811 telephone nUMBer soUghtThe Ontario Regional Common Ground Alli-

ance (ORCGA) is continuing to work hard to convince the authorities that a national 811 telephone number for locates will not only reduce accidents, but make business more efficient and eliminate other risks. I will keep you up-to-date as to what prog-ress is made towards implementing this goal. Once the number is installed, com-panies would require only one call and your locates would arrive automatically on schedule.

ORCGA will hold a damage prevention seminar for your company. This seminar was developed for the landscape industry to train employees on damage prevention con-siderations. You may want to consider this seminar for one of your winter educational programs. Contact Jim Douglas at [email protected] to book this seminar, which takes about three to four hours to complete.

Please talk it up at industry meetings. The more we mention locates, the greater the visibility. This will help get the message to the non-members of Landscape Ontario. Talking it up will help our whole industry.

Please send your comments, suggestions and ideas to [email protected].


prosperity partners

Managing the experience

By Jacki Hart CLPProsperity Partners program manager

Two years ago, I stepped back from the day-to-day operation of my busi-ness, and made the final steps of

delegating my role to a team of three man-agers. The goal was for the management team to look after 90 per cent of the opera-tions, sales and administrative functions, and for them to come to me for help with the exceptions.

The exceptions ranged from things like special services or procedures, which had developed over time with long-term cus-tomers on one end of the scale, to deal-ing with wrong-fit customers, unusual work requests, or service failures at the other end.

The biggest challenge I faced was feel-ing as though I didn’t have my finger on the pulse of these exceptions, and lacked context to understand the problems which needed my attention — without going bal-listic. We developed a set of tools which proved very helpful. The Prosperity Pil-lar Customers for Life is all about using this type of management tool (or your own similar invention) to track who says what to whom, when and why.

The insight that comes from this is huge and helpful. It’s a great way to bridge the gap between the owner and customer, when there’s just no way to be in more than one place at one time.

client experience tracking sheetA simple Excel spreadsheet stored elec-tronically in a central place (i.e. on a server, or as a shared Google document) was cre-ated. See Fig. 1

By using this document, every time a customer called or emailed, and required follow up, we each would quickly post on this shared doc so that I and everyone else on the team knew what was happening with each client.

Another document which proved very helpful, as the number of moving parts and distance between them and me grew.

client email/call

date discussion/topic

action item /comment

outcome/notes

Mrs. Provan

Called John at office

Oct. 23/11

Wants us to store all planters empty in garage. Wants front garden renovated in spring

Arranged for garage key. Meeting her Oct. 31 to discuss renovations for pricing this winter and spring booking (John Oct. 25)

Nov 2: Met with her. Pricing reno for Jan. discussion. She’s leaving for holiday until Jan 10. (John).

creW/cUstoMer discUssion sUMMaryBy having this document available to all of us via laptop, or mobile device, we are able to ensure onsite comments from customers onsite are translated into action behind the scenes, so that no one has to remember every little detail later on. The changes or requests are followed through, immediately. See Fig. 2.

One of the most important parts of run-ning a successful business with customers

who trust you, and repeat business with you for life, is to create a high level of communication. In my experience, a high level of communication equals a high level of trust. When you have a high level of trust with customers, you are able to navigate snags in service delivery, and use that trust both ways, thereby ensuring you are paid for your services each and every time.

Take a moment to go to www. horttrades.com/prosperity and see what the Prosperity Partners Build Your Prosperity Seminar can do to help build better tools in your business.

The next seminar takes place in Milton on Dec. 7.

Jacki Hart may be reached at [email protected].

name date lead hand comment on daily log sheet

Management comment/follow-up

date complete

Mrs. Smith

Sept. 1/11

(Jane) Mrs. Smith loved her planters, except next year doesn’t want German ivy. We agreed on Millar’s wife, instead.

(Jacki) Pls. Change on 2012 flower planting notes, and grower order spreadsheet.

(Karen) Changes complete on both crew planting notes and grower order. 9.4.11.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2


By Mark Bradley

While sitting having a coffee, Dan said to Bill, “I just need three or four more good field staff.” Bill

wanted to sub some snow work to Dan. They’d just returned from a site visit and now sat down to talk some shop. “One more really good supervisor and a couple of really good supporting staff and we could take off next year.”

“Start looking soon,” advised Bill. “It’s never too early; especially now, as some companies are laying off for the winter. You’ve got some snow work to keep people busy, so it’s a good time to be hunting. In fact, it’s always the right time to be hunting.”

“Do you have an interview form you could send me?” asked Dan with a smile. “I especially need some questions I can use to find those superstars.”

“We do,” said Bill, “But people who are a lot smarter than you or I have been trying to solve the interview problem for years, and nobody has found those few questions that are going to turn you into a hiring machine. So forget the magic bullet, but get better with a hiring process.”

“What’s your process?” asked Dan “Spend a little more time hiring, and

you’ll spend a lot less time hiring.”“What?” asked Dan.“Spend more time hiring when you have

to hire, and won’t be hiring nearly as often. When I started out, I hired and fired fast, but I was always hiring/firing, or frustrated. This way, we spend more time doing the actual hiring, but we hire/fire a lot less. It’s found us better people, and saved us a ton of time. And it’s not a big deal. You don’t need an HR staff to run this. Anyone can follow the three simple steps.”

application and pre-screen“One of the best things we ever imple-mented was pre-screening our applicants. We respond to every interesting resume with a pre-interview form. It’s ten basic

systeMs For sUccess

Steps to better hiring practices

questions are about past work history, where they heard about the job, and why they are interested in it. We’re looking for interested answers that show some effort, and the right attitude and approach to the pre-interview. Only about 45 per cent of the pre-interviews come back to us.”

“That’s it?” asked Dan. “Not even half?”“That’s right,” answered Bill. “All the

employees who don’t show up on the day they’re hired, or who work for three days until they find something easier, or who drag their boots around because they could care less are not going to bother to fill out and return ten questions to us. They’ll go work for the other guy, who brings them in and throws them out there.”

“I don’t have to waste my time on with them. Actually, with the pre-interview, I don’t spend any time at all. Our office manager can do the pre-screening and filter out the best for me. I don’t have to look at 50 appli-cations, only at the best five.” said Bill.

Face-to-Face intervieWBill said, “I don’t know if there’s any magic to an interview. It’s more of art, rather than a science. All I used to care about was whether they had a driver’s license, types machines they’ve run, and when they could start. But I burned through a whole lot of people, and a whole lot of time and money.

“Then I wrote a more formal interview with standard questions — some easy and some tricky — and I stuck to the script. It was better, but I still ended up with too many wrong hires. So we made some sim-ple changes, and it seems to work.

“We start with really informal conversa-tion, like I do with you. We talk about their past job, what their typical day was like, what equipment and tools they’ve used, etc. This drops everyone’s nerves — mine and theirs. It’s not a test anymore; we’re just getting to know each other. This is where the art comes in. You need to pick up on little things and zero in on them; ask more questions. For instance, I like to ask about things they could have run better at their old company. Once they are relaxed, they’ll open up more about this kind of stuff. Then take their side, agree with them, build rapport. Ask more questions, and soon, they’ll be telling you almost everything you

need to know about their attitude. And we hire attitude. We can train anyone on skills, but we want to hire people eager to learn, to build a career, and who work well with others. And, I learn more about this in con-versation, rather than any standardized interview questions.

“I do move on to some standard ques-tions. I put them in situations that are a little trickier: ‘Your foreman tells you to dig eight inches instead of 12, because you’re going over on this job. What do you do?’ Or, I’ll ask, ‘Tell us about a rule or policy at an old job that you didn’t agree with.’ I try to get a little more attitude by putting them in some past scenarios, to see how they handle themselves.

“When we find our man, or woman, we move to the final step; the working inter-view.

Working intervieW“The terms of the working interview are simple. You start with a two-week, paid working interview. There are no strings attached, and we both re-assess at the end to see it’s working out for us.

“The working interview allows the most important persons to get involved in the hir-ing process, my foremen. They’ll evaluate the new employee over two weeks, and if they haven’t proven themselves by then, we know we have to start over.

“For those who are the right fit, it also helps us assign the right wage. We have a pay scale for the different positions, based on things like years of service, training, certifications, etc. We might have a new hire believe they should start at Equipment Operator – Level 3. No problem, we’ll start you there for the two-week working inter-view. But, our expectations are going to be that you can work effectively at that level, and if you don’t, we’ll either re-assign your pay grade after the two weeks, or we’ll agree to disagree and part ways.

“On the flipside, we might hire a Land-scape Tech at Level 1 who proves they can read plans, layout sites, finish their health and safety training courses. The working interview helps ensure that staff lives up to the expectations we share during the inter-view and that their compensation is fair and accurately reflects the skill set.”

Dan was jotting some quick points as Bill explained the process. “I like it,” he said. “It’s simple, and it’s a whole lot better than what we’re doing now.”

“I don’t think hiring will ever get to an exact science,” said Bill.

Mark Bradley is the president of The Beach Gardener and the Landscape Management Network.


By Helen HassardMembership coordinator

Now that I’ve been working at Land-scape Ontario for a year-and-a-half, I’ve really come to think of the chap-

ters I work with as family. If you’ve ever received the type of four-page letter which my mom sends out around the holidays, then you know some families like to brag about their accom-plishments. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to give

you an update about the great things each of our chapters is doing. Unlike my mother, I can’t go on with four pages per chapter, because the editor won’t let me have more than one page per issue for my article.

dUrhaM chapterThis year the Durham barbecue was a complete success. It was well attended, well promoted and everyone had a great time. But since Carol Fulford from the Chapter board has already told you all about the barbecue in the October issue of Horticulture Review, I want to talk about something different. This chapter not only ran a successful event in August, but meet-ing dates and topics were selected in June. This chapter is on the ball and the line-up they selected is both informative and enter-taining.

golden horseshoe chapterThe Golden Horseshoe Chapter has always prided itself on the annual chicken roast. It’s an event that is unique to the area and has a long and shining history. But I think with all the focus on the chicken roast, the members may not realize that the golf tournament has also become quite A force with which to be reckoned. This year’s golf tournament, on Aug. 18, was once again a sold out shotgun tournament with the highest attendance of any LO tour-nament. Next year’s event will surely be as successful, so to guarantee a foursome, better sign in early.

MeMBership

Bragging about the Chaptersgeorgian lakelands chapterThe Georgian Lakelands Chapter runs a number of great events, including the annual Christmas party that combines a dinner, casino night and live auction in a way that I’ve never seen before. The way it works is when you attend any of the chap-ter events over the year, you accumulate LO dollars. At the Christmas dinner, you are given a certain amount of LO dollars just for registering, plus the LO dollars you earned during the year. You get to use this fun money to gamble at casino night and then at the end of the evening there is a live auction that accepts your LO dollars.

london chapter Carla Bailey, London Chapter coordina-tor, tells us of a unique and historic agree-ment between the City of London and LO, which was signed on Sept. 30 by Joe Fon-tana, mayor of the City of London. This agreement provides the authority for the Veterans Memorial Parkway Community Program to begin operations. The pro-gram will plant 8,000 large trees over the next five years, which will stand as living sentinels. As well, 15 commemorative fea-tures will be built to remind us of the values inherent in service to our country and our communities.

ottaWa chapter Ottawa Chapter coordinator Martha Walsh provided us information on the 2011 golf tournament, which raised $3,000 for the Ottawa Food Bank. The membership has an ever-increasing philanthropic philosophy of prosperity through engagement, which continues to serve the National Capital Region. The members collectively decided to increase the percentage of proceeds donated. This is just one of the community engagement activities that unify and moti-vate the membership toward building a bet-ter Ottawa.

toronto chapterThis chapter also has a number of suc-cesses of which I can brag about, but the one I’m going to tell you about is truly unique. They have started a project

entitled Green Streets. This program will bring industry leaders together next sum-mer to install 50 urban gardens in down-town Toronto. Gardens will be conceived in partnership with artists, landscape pro-fessionals, floral designers and students. The high-visibility gardens will be linked by a walking tour and widely publicized across many media platforms. There are still opportunities to get involved, so con-tact Allan Kling 416-805-0703, or [email protected].

Upper canada chapterUpper Canada Chapter is another group with many strengths. The one I’d like to talk about is the Chapter’s focus to give members in Upper Canada the educa-tion that they want. Each year the chapter hosts a few one-day seminars on issues such as safety training, skid steer certifi-cation, etc. The Chapter determines what the members want by distributing an online survey in the winter (look for that in an upcoming e-news). Last year’s educational days booked-up fast, so the Chapter has decided this year to hire more instructors. I still would book early to ensure your space.

Waterloo chapter The Waterloo Chapter does many things extremely well. Meetings are always well organized, fun, educational and well-attended. Organizers also run a number of great social events and carry out a lot of work in the community. The fall freeze-up dance is unique to this Chapter, and com-ing up soon. Get your tickets before it’s too late to enjoy this event, which consists of dinner, dancing, large prizes and door prizes. Go To http://bit.ly/q12plm to pur-chase tickets online.

Windsor chapter I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Land-scape Ontario Awards of Excellence, but did you know that the Windsor Chapter has its own awards program? Each sum-mer, members are invited to submit proj-ects to the Windsor Chapter for judging. The awards are presented at a ceremony at the end of October. This event allows members to gain recognition at the local level, while being recognized at an event by their peers. Even though this article is in the November magazine, I’m writing this mid-October, so I don’t know who the win-ners are, but keep your eyes peeled for the results.

Helen Hassard may be contacted at [email protected].


By Sally Harvey CLT, CLPEducation and Labour Development Department

I had the pleasure of travelling throughout the province this fall, meeting with sev-eral industry-related program teachers,

instructors and program coordinators. We discussed opportuni-ties for Landscape Ontario to provide stronger support and industry connection.

We are privileged to have such dedi-cated teachers and instructors. The chal-lenges they face are

many, and include generating industry awareness to fill classes, budget restric-tions, and students with a wide range of skill and experience levels. I left each

saFety and training

Future workforce needs your supportschool feeling a greater appreciation for teachers and instructors. They have their work cut out for them.

If we want to sustain our business, we must look to the future for our next gen-eration of skilled labour. Many of us have survived fairly well by hiring unskilled or inexperienced staff, however, we would likely have accelerated our business growth had we taken the opportunity to hire skilled staff from college, university or apprentice-ship programs.

It is our duty as employers, and industry to support the teachers, instructors, pro-grams and schools who provide our indus-try with skilled labour for our future. I urge you and/or your staff get involved with your local high school, college, or university program to engage youth by sharing your passion and love for this industry. Become a positive influence. Remember back to when you entered the industry? Who men-tored you? Those memories remain posi-tively vivid for me. I was blessed with the opportunity of being trained by three won-derful industry members over my career. They took me under their wing, taught me, trained me and most importantly inspired me. Our young people have many choices today, however, they also need the opportu-nity to understand the possibilities to make smart choices. I encourage every employer to introduce at least one young person to our industry this winter: • Hostaclassfieldtriptoyouryard,siteora

recently completed project.• Offertoworkwithaclassonaproject,or

demonstrate a skill that they can try out.• Offertotakeastudentoraclassto

Congress 2012. • Providethemwithrelevantco-op/work

placements to give them a taste of what we love to do every day.

• Donatematerialsandsuppliessothatstudents may gain experience.

• Offertojointheschool’sprogramadvisorycommittee, offering your guidance and leadership so that they remain relevant and connected.

The sky truly is the limit. Please write to let me know how you have introduced our industry to youth and become involved in supporting our programs, sharvey@ landscapeontario.com

have yoU registered yoUr apprentices yet?This is my last chance to remind employers to register employees for the apprentice-ship program for this winter. The program focuses on occupational skills, landscape construction and landscape maintenance.

Our industry apprenticeship teach-ing delivery agents are starting programs this November, December, or January. Apprenticeship is expected to be offered at Fanshawe College (London), Humber Col-lege (Toronto), Loyalist College (Connon Nursery, Trenton), Mohawk College (Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington), University of Guelph, Kemptville College.

For more information on the program go to: http://bit.ly/pE5JtC for a fact sheet, or www.horttrades.com/apprenticeship and scroll to bottom of page and click on ‘Apprenticeship pre-Registration Form, Incentives and Employer Training Tax cred-its; http://bit.ly/qIVDzs employers’ guide. To register: www.horttrades.com/apprentice-ship and scroll to bottom of page and click on apprenticeship pre-registration form.

red seal trade designationAs with all training programs, there is good value in achieving the Red Seal Trade designation in the landscape horticulture program for you and your staff. Benefits include:• Employees/apprenticesexpandtheir

knowledge, skill, ability and experience thatwillbenefittheiremployerswhentheyreturn each spring.

• Employeesareinschoolonly12weeksover two winters, so they can still work for employers and gain valid experience during the season.

• Sponsoringemployerscanbecomementors and trainers and contribute to theirapprenticestraininginthefieldandbysending them to school.

• Employerswhosupportapprenticesgain loyal employees who contribute to business growth and success

• Financialincentivesareavailabletobothemployers and employees.

If your employees will be laid off this winter, or are interested in extra training in a program as described, and eventually want to achieve their Red Seal designation, then apprenticeship is the right fit for them. Register now to avoid delay and disap-pointment.

Contact Sally Harvey should you have any questions at sharvey@ landscapontario.com.


pUBlic relations

Green for Life Community AwardsBy Denis Flanagan CLDDirector of public relations and membership services

The Ontario Communities in Bloom awards ceremony held at Expo was well-attended, with over 30 different

municipalities represented from across the province.

The Green for Life entries were submitted with digi-tal images and a 50-word description of the project. These were judged by Tom Somerville and Bruce Warren, both expe-

rienced industry representatives and also judges for Communities in Bloom program.

The judging criteria are based on inno-

vative ideas, community spirit and sustain-ability. Liz Klose from CNLA did a wonderful job hosting the event, keeping things mov-ing in a timely fashion. She made a special presentation to Martin Quinn from God-erich, recognizing the difficult times that community has faced after a devastating tornado.

Twenty-six communities were recog-nized with certificates and a winner for each of the three categories:

Green for Life School Award, City of Niagara Falls for Schools in Bloom, Green for Life Parks Award, Municipality of Cha-tham-Kent for Kingston Regional Park project, Green for Life Community Award, Owen Sound for Scenic City Order of Good Cheer, The Judges’ Choice Award for 2011 was presented by Caroline de Vries from Tradewinds International of Mississauga and Mark Cullen to Kettle and Stony Point

First Nations for Hillside School Green Thumb Gardeners project.

Mark Cullen commented during his congratulations, “Kettle Point, near For-est, Ontario, gets its name from the unique round kettle-shaped rock which formed naturally and slowly in the shale.”

Landscape Ontario members who submitted entries and received certifi-cates were Parklane Nurseries of Beaver-ton for the Courtyard of Learning project, The Scott Wentworth Landscape Group of Picton for Come Alive Outside project, and Brydges Landscape Architecture of Galt and Ground Effects Landscapes of Hanover for Hanover and District Hospital Garden of Fond Memories project.

The afternoon concluded with our gen-erous sponsor Caroline de Vries handing out a box of bulbs to each community that entered.

The Green for Life Community Awards is an initiative of The Landscape Ontario Garden Centre Sector Group and was suc-cessfully organized and administered by Lee Rozon, executive director of Commu-nities in Bloom — Ontario.

Denis Flanagan may be contacted at [email protected].

www.stihl.ca

Thank you

Stihl is the proud sponsor of theLandscape Ontario

2011 Certification testing

For more information, on certification, go to www.horttrades.com/clt


Tony DiGiovanni CHTRLO executive director

Sometimes life gets so busy with meetings, emails, phone calls and projects, it’s easy to forget, overlook

or take for granted really important things. A couple of painfully sobering experiences last month made me stop to reflect on those issues.

I love working for a membership com-prised of amazing, hardworking, pas-sionate, dedicated,

positive and contribution-oriented individu-als. My fellow staff members are equally inspired by the countless hours members devote to the organization. President Tom Intven describes this unique membership trait as the “Landscape Ontario Gene.”

I often think about Landscape Ontario as a family, church or club for mutual improvement. However, sometimes it is easy to forget that families, churches and clubs are made up of individuals. Our focus must always be to listen, serve, provide value, support and appreciate individual members.

At the October board meeting, a mem-ber I greatly respect and admire remarked that in 25 years no one picked up the phone to ask how he was doing. The com-ment struck me hard. I felt saddened, and a little ashamed.

Coincidently, the day after the board meeting, I received a call from a long-time

member (who is now a teacher) telling me that a recent interaction with the office made him feel we had lost some empathy and compassion. He had missed a regis-tration deadline for his students by one day, and we were being inflexible.

During our discussion, he revealed that he let his membership lapse because of a previous interaction. He felt we had lost our ‘family’ culture. I was again saddened and felt guilty. I did not even know he had quit the membership a year ago. I should have. It was also interesting to hear he felt guilty for quitting. This reveals how much members care about the organization. All it would have taken was a personal phone call from me to iron-out a misunderstand-ing. As it turned out, I am pleased to say he has now returned as a member.

Another incident last month also got me thinking that Landscape Ontario is really a lot more than a business organization. I was privileged to be invited to John and Ricky van Wissen’s 50th wedding anni-versary (see page 11). John is now in a retirement home, after suffering a stroke a number of years ago.

There were many other LO members at this event to celebrate the wonderful occasion with the van Wissen family. Years ago, John called to tell me that the former Shemin Nurseries site was for sale and that the association should purchase the prop-erty, because it matched the description in our Strategic Plan. We did. I reminded him about this. His face lit up. He is still proud of his Landscape Ontario community.

Early this month, we hosted a think-tank featuring an industry consultant from Cali-

fornia named Judith Guido. She described branding as the sum total of all the inter-actions that an organization has with its stakeholders. Branding is much more than a logo or advertising campaign. It is the culture of the organization. She challenged members of the group to reflect on their own businesses and come up with one word that describes the desired culture.

It got me thinking about the one word that describes the culture of Landscape Ontario. The first word that came to mind was ‘help’ in that every interaction with the membership should be helpful. One of our members Kristin Ego MacPhail sug-gested that the word should be ‘supportive.’ I agree.

If you have any ideas, comments, advice, or suggestions on how we can be more supportive, please email me at tony@ landscapeontario.com, or call me at 800-265-5656, ext. 304. If I or any of our excellent staff have ever reflected a lack of empa-thy or support, please let us know. We are always striving to do better, but sometimes we may not be aware. If any of our pro-cesses or policies appears callous, insen-sitive or inflexible, please tell me. If you feel like your contributions are not valued, I would love to hear from you.

As the years go by, it has become evi-dent that the association is really about community building in its human sense. Horticulture is the excuse. We exist to sup-port each other’s growth personally, finan-cially, socially and spiritually. We exist to because our members care.

a thank yoUSo many members contribute so much to this organization that it is very easy to for-get to thank people. I want to thank Pat Lamanna of G and L Group, Bill McKague at Gro-bark, Connon Nurseries NVK, M. Putzer Hornby Nursery and Sheridan Nurseries for the recent landscaping contributions at the Landscape Ontario home office site.

I also want to highlight the amazing con-tributions made by Grant Harrison, Mike Martins and Barry Sandler. They took on a huge responsibility to complete London’s Veteran Memorial Highway Project. This is a very large and important multi-year proj-ect. They recently completed a planting of 200 trees on the highway site with the help of many volunteers (see page 7). Their efforts reflect well on everyone in the asso-ciation and industry. We are very proud of their accomplishments and leadership. Well done!

Tony DiGiovanni may be reached at [email protected].

execUtive desk

The important things


Tom IntvenLO president

Recently Landscape Ontario, in its continuing effort to help members, hosted business consultant Judith

Guido to address leading garden centre owners and manag-ers. Her talk, held at the LO home office, was about how to deal with the chang-ing retail climate.

One of her take-home comments included the three most dangerous

words in business today, “Business as usual.” She said that due to the recent rapid changes in economics, climate and social media, there is no such thing as business as usual, and that the ability to adapt to change is a key element of suc-cess today.

Her advice, while focused on retail, pertains to all of our ten sector group members. The consumer climate, along with the world, is changing faster now than ever before. Change is the biggest fear for many, but those who face it and do adapt to the change, are the success-ful ones. In Judith’s opinion, we all need to get out of our comfort zone — take a real hard look at ourselves and our busi-nesses and develop a plan. I, too, am a firm believer in developing a business plan, executing the plan and then evalu-ating the plan.

eleMents oF the planGuido explained that the stronger and clearer your brand, the more it will reso-nate with your customers, who are more likely to come to you with confidence. The most important step in defining your brand is to spend the time canvassing your staff and customers, and evaluating yourself.

Guido had an interesting exercise in respect to brand definition. She asked participants to define their company brand in one word, and then focus all their activities around that one word. This

exercise works for all businesses, no matter to which sector you belong. Try it, and see if you can define your business mission in one word.

lo exists to helpOur executive director Tony DiGiovanni defined LO’s brand with a single word, help; LO exists to help our members. Your business plan going forward should include a clear definition of your brand. Another big picture dimension of your plan should include understanding the new dynamics of consumer demand.

Today’s customer demands are changing and evolving. First, the cus-tomer is a she — 88 per cent of buy-ing decisions are made by women. She insists upon transparency, corporate responsibility, the human touch, eco-friendly products and services, loyalty rewards, innovation and an authentic experience. If you are not providing those dynamics, she will not spend her dollars with you.

Another important element in the development of the plan is to survey the market for trends that, in Guido’s words, “have traction.” In her opinion, these trends include goods and services that are natural, affordable and innovative.

innovation is keyAt the recent Great Lakes Conference, which brings together the governance leaders and directors of the horticultural trades associations in the states that bor-der the Great Lakes, the focus of discus-sion was on innovation.

The analogy was drawn to the lessons from the movie Moneyball. The movie documents an unconventional way of looking at player recruitment and line-ups based solely on statistics. The approach used by Billy Beane enabled baseball’s Oakland Athletics, with the lowest payroll in the league, to become a winning team and earn an all-time record 20-game win-ning streak in the 2002 season.

The point is that we have to take risks and try new things, and look at our busi-ness in unconventional ways, in order to innovate and adapt to survive in these

changing times. We have to get out of our comfort zone to be innovative and let our creative juices flow.

FUndaMentals still needed In developing a plan to survive in the new economy, let’s not forget the fundamen-tals of sound business practices as laid out in the Prosperity Partner program. While Guido’s presentation focussed on adapting our marketing plan to today’s customer and business climate, it’s essential to review how change affects the other Pillars of Prosperity: The Financial Component — Watch your

costs, set a budget and stick to it. The basicsofsoundfinancialmanagementdoNOT change. Pay your bills on time and stay within your budgets. Changing times may mean you need to visit your budget more than once per year.

The Operational Component — Keep training and retraining your staff, continue to invest in your equipment, improveefficiencyandstrivetowardleanmanagement.

Leadership — An important part of the leadership piece is to be an innovator. Ensure that you do what is needed to get your creative juices going, whatever that is for you. Be open-minded, especially to your staff’s ideas. Focus on creating an environment of excellence and innovation for all your staff.

Sales — Focus your marketing campaign on over the top personalized service. Know your customers and tailor your plan to their needs. Today’s consumer expects excellence in service. In order to succeed, we need to not just meet, but exceed, customer expectations. This means attention to the little things that mean so much, the extra phone call, personal touches, and focus on detail specifictotheclient.Payattentionhereand you will have a Customer for Life.

My final contribution to the elements of your business plan is the most diffi-cult to execute in today’s economy, and that is to stay optimistic and be positive. The longer I am in business, the longer I appreciate the power of positive thinking to determine one’s success not only in business, but in all aspects of life.

Tom Intven may be reached at 519-631-1008, or [email protected].

It’s not business as usual

president’s Message


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COMPANY PAGE PHONE WEBSITE

Braun Nursery Limited. 19 800-246-6984 www.braungroup.com

Canadale Nurseries 31 519-631-1008 www.canadale.com

Draglam Salt (G&L Group) 30 416-798-7050 www.draglamsalt.com

Dutchmaster Nurseries Ltd 32 905-683-8211 www.dutchmasternurseries.com

Hillen Nursery Inc 16-17 519-264-9057

Kobes Nursery 13 905-263-8814 www.kobesnurseries.com

Landscape Safety 11 877-482-2323 www.landscapesafety.com

Legends Landscape Supply Inc 15 905-336-3369 www.landscapestore.ca

Limestone Trail Company Ltd 19 905-563-8133 www.limestonetrail.com

Newroads National Leasing 31 416-587-1021 www.newroadsleasing.com

Nisco National Leasing 12 888-634-9559 www.niscocanada.com

Oakville Dodge Chrysler 4 289-644-2250 [email protected]

Potters Road Nursery Inc 26 519-688-0437 www.pottersroadnursery.com

Riverbend Farms (Ontario) Ltd 23 519-765-2130 [email protected]

Sipkens Nurseries Ltd 6 866-843-0438 www.sipkensnurseries.com

Stam Nurseries 21 519-424-3350 www.stamsnurseries.com

Uxbridge Nurseries Ltd 28 905-655-3379 www.uxbridgenurseries.com

Winkelmolen Nursery Ltd 19 519-647-3912 www.winkelmolen.com

Zander Sod Co Ltd 21 877-727-2100 www.zandersod.com

landscape ontario - november 2011

Documents

new members

trade association logonovember

garden centres

association news information

association features

team members mike wasilewski

industry news

ontarios green industry