Foreseeing the Future

Jennifer Zurko

Even the most cynical person wishes they had a crystal ball to help them see what’s ahead. Admit it—if Tarot cards could tell you the weather conditions for, say, the next 10 years, you’d be making a mad dash to Madame What’s-Her-Name’s (you know—the one between the tattoo parlor and the pawn shop).

Alas, there is not a reliable method to predict the future. But the people who continually look ahead and plan for the maybes and possibles will have a better chance of surviving the worst and excelling in better times.

Diane Blazek has been the executive director of All-America Selections and the National Garden Bureau for just under two years, but in that short time, she’s moved AAS rapidly forward. Her efforts to improve AAS have helped re-invent the organization to make it more relevant to the industry. She’s made strides to reaffirm how valuable AAS is to every horticulture segment and to discontinue the idea that it should be pigeonholed as something that only breeders and growers should care about.

“The AAS Winners are important for all segments,” said Diane. “An AAS Winner, if properly promoted, can help all of us sell more product. If a breeder wins an AAS award, but never tells anyone, it doesn’t do anyone much good, right? Or if a breeder does do a good job telling the story of their AAS Winner, but the broker lets the story stop with them, then the rest of the chain loses out. So, everyone from the breeder down to the consumer needs to understand the trialing process and why an AAS Winner really can be called a winner.”

One of those ways is to give AAS an entirely new look with a logo that relates more with what the organization is all about—the best plants our industry has to offer. Diane and other members of AAS unveiled the new logo during this year’s Summer Meeting in Monterey, California. Here’s a peek of it for your viewing pleasure. (Look for more details about the AAS Summer Meeting that was held August 9-11 in the October issue of GrowerTalks.)

Another industry professional whose plans to propel her business forward is GrowerTalks 2011 Young Grower winner Nancy Gambino, owner and head grower of Arte Verde Garden Center in Poplar Grove, Illinois. I spoke with Nancy about how she became part of the horticulture family and her goals for the future of Arte Verde.

Speaking of the future—what about yours? Well, we’ve got highlights from this year’s OFA Short Course that includes new tools and technology developed to support your business. Many of the people we had the pleasure of speaking with at Short Course were wearing smiles despite the gloomy spring. Hopefully, it will carry over into next year.

So, should we be glad our industry isn’t as predictable as a romantic comedy? Well, it certainly keeps us on our toes. If anything, we can certainly say that the future will not be a dull one.