Be That Champion

Ellen C. Wells

I so enjoyed working on the profile of Jonathan Bardzik (“From Farm to Flavor Town"). I’ve known Jonathan for many years and he’s become not just a good friend but also a role model for folks who are looking for change in their lives. He’s a great guy—and makes great food, too!

Jonathan had a lot of great things to say about and to the garden center industry. He should—he’s been in horticulture his entire life. While he is still connected to the industry through his work with Overdevest Nurseries, All-America Selections and National Garden Bureau, he is walking the edges of the hort industry just enough to have an outsider’s perspective. It’s a new perspective, to be sure, and one not untouched by his 40-plus years working in the weeds. Still, I feel this outside-in vantage point will serve him—and us—well as he helps to put our edibles front and center in the minds of our customers.

One of Jonathan’s suggestions for retailers struck me as not only doable but vital: Have a champion on staff who is passionate about edible gardening. Or shrubs. Or landscape design or ... It doesn’t matter what focus we’re talking about here. If it’s a line beyond your core products, having someone passionate about that topic will go a long way in helping your customers who have a smidge of an interest in it become gardeners who are themselves knowledgeable and excited about it.

“But the information is out there in the Interwebs,” you’re saying. Reading information and seeing something on YouTube are completely different from interacting with a live person. Jonathan sees that both in garden centers and at Eastern Market when he’s doing cooking demonstrations. “The average person walking into a garden center or a cooking demo doesn’t know the basics—and these are the basics we all take for granted,” Jonathan said in our interview. “We are critically stepping into that role [of champion] and it’s one that our adult customers aren’t always comfortable with us being in. We’ve got to find a way to get in there and be friendly, accessible and non-threatening so we can share that basic information with people. It’s important for us to respect where our customers are and meet them there; to help them be successful and to find that joy of discovery in taking that first step both in gardening and in the kitchen.”

Here’s another example. I recently taught a free yoga class at a local Lululemon store. As folks were rolling out their mats before class I asked about any injuries and previous yoga experience. At least two had been practicing yoga for a year with the aid of online videos and this was their very first class with an in-the-flesh instructor! I kept my eye on one gal in particular and made several alignment adjustments to her during the class. We talked afterward. She was grateful for the adjustments because as she put it, she can’t see what her pose looks like compared to the video instructor. The video also can’t speak to that specific person’s body, which in her case was hyper mobile.
 
Video killed the radio star and the Internet may have mortally wounded print newspapers. But nothing existing now or in the future will make one-on-one human communication obsolete. That’s because we exchange more than just words when we’re in the presence of another human being. We silently pass on human emotions that connect us in time and space to information that makes our lives better. Our ancestors taught each other how to plant seeds, harvest crops and cook meals in order to survive. And while most of us now don’t need those survival skills, learning the basics of planting and cooking still go a long way in making our lives better.

Be that champion. GP