MEMBER PROFILE 



lobelia — all are displayed. Purple 

 wave is a big seller; scavoia's popu- 

 lar: "People like blue — but they need 

 to know it's a heavy feeder." 



In the shop this year, there will 

 be two cash-out centers ("our goal 

 is to have no lines on Saturday") 

 and a central display island ("for 

 better traffic flow") 



Information is offered in a vari- 

 ety of ways. He puts his sun-loving 

 plants on the south side of the 

 greenhouse and the shade-loving 

 ones on the north. Customers are 

 aware of this fact when making their 

 selections. 



He classifies marigolds (he grows 

 sixteen varieties) according to height 

 in two-inch increments, from Boy Yel- 



low, Boy Orange, [anie Spry, [anie 

 Harmony (8"- 10") to Galore Yellow 

 (16"-20"| and makes a sign — "People 

 always ask about height — height and 

 color — if you get a lot of questions, 

 you make a sign." 



Although production and service 

 are still evolving — and probably al- 

 ways will be, Bill sees no change in 

 size. Large enough to be a full-time 

 business and small enough to be 

 run by him and his wife with occa- 

 sional help from members of their 

 families, "it's just about what the 

 local market can support." 



Barrett's is open 9-6 seven days 

 a week until October. On |uly 4, Bill 

 has a half-price sale on all annuals 

 and the greenhouses are closed 



down. For the rest of the summer, 

 the emphasis is on perennials and 

 nursery stock and, when time per- 

 mits, landscape construction. In late 

 fall, stock in the nursery yard is 

 laid in two rows — 12'xlOO' and 

 24'x50' — and covered with micro- 

 foam. The perennials go into the 

 cold frame. Bill covers them with a 

 foot of straw and one layer of plas- 

 tic and puts down mouse bait ev- 

 ery ten feet. In winter, he works in 

 his woodlot until lanuary, when the 

 season begins again. (B.P.) 



Barren's Greenhouse and Nursery is on 

 Route 32, 694 OM Homestead Highway, 

 Swanzey Center, New Hampshire 03446- 

 2312; the phone number is 603-352-8665. 



y/Notcs 



Will there be an overproduction of bedding plants 

 and summer annuals? Will we be seeing $5.00 

 flats? Boy, I hope not any time soon. 



The greenhouse Industry has had steady growth — 

 a 5% annual Increase of production space for the 

 last seven-to-ten years. This may not seem like 

 much, but simple math tells us that we've Increased 

 production by 50%. Where the big growth has taken 

 place Is In the large growers. (1 classify a large 

 grower as anything over one-to-two acres — 80,000 

 square feet.) In many Instances, these growers have 

 doubled their production size overnight. After this 

 massive expansion has come mechanization. From 

 seeding to shipping, machinery has entered our in- 

 dustry to reduce costs and our dependence on 

 physical labor. What all this means Is that at some 

 time there may be a market correction — demand will 

 slow and pricing will either flatten out or drop. 



I'm beginning to realize that growing the plant 

 may soon be the easiest part of our business. Figur- 

 ing costs, knowing how to market, streamlining our 

 shipping dilemmas, finding new markets, extending 

 our season — these are the real challenges. 



Every Industry goes through these growing pains; 

 the issues are building long before they emerge. 



(A note on myself — I've had a promotion within the 

 Scotts Company: to Technical Manager of the Northern 

 Horticultural Croup. So my comments in the future may 

 be on a scope larger than that of |ust the Northeast.) 

 ]im Zablocki can be reached at 603-224-5583. 



Rolling Green 



Landscaping & Nursery 



400 varieties of perennials ■*> Annuals & herbs 



Ornamental trees, shrubs & vines -^ Trellises 



Wholesale prices available ♦> Call for 19% listing 



64 Breakfast Hill Rd., Greenland, NH (Next to 1-95) 

 603-436-2732 



Perennials, Plugs, Geraniums, Prefinished Mums 

 Bulbs, Holiday Crops, Flowering Plants 



Joseph Giannino Co. 



Representing Fine Growers 

 of Quality Plant Material 



P.O. Box 757, Rowley, Massachusetts 01969 

 Telephone: 888/948-2001; Fax: 508/948-8167 



THE PLANTSMAN 



