Viticulture “strange”; social media for the green industry; Lucas wins award

Good morning! And welcome to Ear to the Ground Pro. I will be taking next week off, so prepare to be uninformed and have no idea what’s going on in the world of horticulture. Kidding! But I am taking the week off. Not kidding about that.

• The Huffington Post names viticulture a “strange college major.” Not in the Finger Lakes. Do you ever think the Huffington Post comes up with stupid things to write just for attention? It’s like the joint is staffed only by cackling little boys. HuffPo also puts packaging in said category. Well I know a few people in packaging, and let me tell you, they make some serious coin. How’s that for “strange”?
• From my ever-reliable source @donnabanach: The best flowers from the Organic Gardening 2011 test garden. She and I both dig that ‘Coconut Ice’ sunflower.
• WHO-cheras: WHO can resist ’em? Terra Nova, far from being a marketing slouch, has made its new line of heuchera even less resistible by naming it Little Cuties™ , on display at the OFA Short Course next week. Have a look. This one is called Blondie. Gah.

• There is so much going on right now in Buffalo, it makes the head swim. One particular thing for professionals to note is the Front Yard Contest—this year on Crowley Avenue near Riverside Park. Landscapers donate their time and equipment in a test to see who can make the best-looking landscape on the street. It’s a low-income area, and these garden transformations make a big difference in the looks of the place, and in how residents feel about their homes. The Buffalo News, as per usual, does a bang-up job with this story.
• Congratulations to Cornell Cooperative Extension on winning the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals Webpage Gold Award for its New York Invasive Species site. 
• Are you a member of the New York State Nursery & Landscape Association?  Summer social events are just around the corner in regions 4, 5, and 6. Western New York’s is July 19. The GardenScape Pros meet on July 18. And in CNY, the clambake is today! Not a member? Join! It’s too late to register for these events, but you could always crash one.
• From Landscape Leadership via Today’s Garden Center, “The 11 Most Important Social Networks For The Green Industry.” [Infographic] You might have to give your name and email to download it, but it’s interesting. I agree with the first two, Facebook and Twitter, but what follows may be out of order, in my opinion, as far as usefulness goes. Worth a look. There is further analysis of how we in the industry use social media on the site as well. Boiled down, according to Chris Heiler we’re not blogging enough. I wholeheartedly agree, but know as well as anyone that the content generation needed to keep a blog going is very time consuming.
• Lucas Greenhouses has won an Excellence in IPM award for their leadership in promoting the practice to greenhouse growers statewide as well as to their customers. They will receive their award at Cornell’s Floriculture Field Day, July 24.

7:30 am – 11:30 am: Enjoy free coffee and a slice of Special Touch Bakery pie from School of the Holy Childhood. Sarah’s Scones will also be available.
11:30 am – 6 pm: Have a hotdog, a hamburger, some chicken or a veggie burger and a cold drink. After the store closes we will break open some beer and wine! Join us!

Meet the Country Way and Broccolo staff and find out what we can do for you!

• Wholesale Pricing, Deep Discounts on Select Items, and Delivery
• Mowing & Plowing Customer Referrals
• Subcontractor Work: Maintenance & Construction

Hope to see you then,
Laurie and Albert Broccolo
Country Way Garden & Design Center
2755 Penfield Rd.
585-377-9810

Tagged as: Buffalo, Buffalo News, CNYSNLA, Cornell CALS, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Front Yard Contest, GardenScape Pros, heuchera, Huffington Post, ipm, Landscape Leadership, Lucas Greenhouses, national garden festival, NYSNLA. WNYSNLA, OFA, organic gardening, social media, Terra Nove, Today's Garden Center, viticulture