PLANT WNY award winners, a floating garden for the Hudson, more

Start your week off right—with a kitty.

—Jane

Congratulations to Larry and Francis Grossman on the write-up in the latest IGC Retailer. Interesting stuff, and a must-read if you own a garden center.

Well, hey! Horticulturist: One of the ten best jobs for men. (Via Green Profit.)
You’ve heard it from me before: Pinterest this, Pinterest that, bla bla bla. But seriously, if you have customers and you’re not using it, you are missing something. From Today’s Garden Center: Pin It To Win It: Using Pinterest In Your Business.

Danger? They can pry my leaf blower from my cold, dead hands. But it’s electric. Possible Health Risks Of Leaf Blowers.
Trending: Really expensive public gardens in odd places. Yes, I am a proponent of the GardenAerial. I’m crazy about the High Line. And I really don’t have a problem this this new concept, either. It just seems…excessive. But it does involve Diane Von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, so chances are good it’s going to happen—and be fabulous. Two stories: Heatherwick designs $170m floating park for Hudson River and $130 Million ‘Pier55′ Park Looks Like Something Out of Avatar.

While we’re on the topic, how about this idea for a “High Line” of sorts at JFK? Nifty!

Recently, there’s been a dust-up over contaminants in NYC soil, which Jennifer White did a great job of covering in her newsletter. Here in Rochester, planting food crops in City-owned soil is prohibited (raised beds are ok) for this same reason, but the ambitious Green Visions program is trying to change that. (Disclosure: I am on the board of the parent organization, Friends of the GardenAerial, see above.) You can read more about Green Visions in a recent UGJ.
We have WINNERS! Congratulations to Phil Colarusso, Woodstream Nurseries, Menne Nursery, Beautiful River Landscape, and Restorff’s Landscape on well-deserved awards from PLANT WNY. Check out the pics here or on facebook.

Congratulations to Dave McIntyre (who happens to be in the photo above, far left) on his retirement November 17 from Unilock after 40 years. FORTY!
On a related note, Unilock is looking for a territory manager.
Fun with fungi!

Much controversy over the Frick’s plan to get rid of a historic garden it had promised not to. Best line: “Permanent meant a garden that would last…until the museum could build the building that was needed.” (That’s actually not the definition of permanent.)