few cyclamen, and sell crafts, Chris- 

 tmas trees, and decorated wreaths, but 

 the one crop is basically what they sell 

 at Christmas. 



He also specializes in Fisher 

 geraniums, a type that was developed 

 in the Canary' Islands. He likes the 

 colors and the compact habit. The 

 growth pattern is useful from a 

 production standpoint as well — they 

 grow slowly for a long time, then put 

 on a sudden flush of heavy growth, so 

 he can keep them pot-to-pot longer 

 than other geraniums, making better 

 use of his production space. He grows 

 15,000 4 1/2 "pots. 



And New Guinea impatiens is a 

 specialty' — he buys in over 6000 for 4 

 1/2 and 6 1/2" pots and 10" hanging 

 baskets. 



The year is orderly — well-defined. In 

 winter, a core of three houses is kept 

 running. On Valentines C)ay, some 

 potted tulips — from the bulb cellar — 

 are offered. And primroses and 

 cineraria — both cool temperature 

 crops. 



On Easter, the bulk of the bulbs — 

 daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, crocus, 

 miniature iris — are sold. Crops of 

 hydrangeas, miniature roses, and 

 Martha Washingtons are for sale then 

 too. 



Mothers Day sees geranium sales and 

 the start of the summer business in 

 annuals. (A spectacular garden of 

 annuals just behind the garden center 

 should insure strong sales. ) There arc 

 hanging baskets of lantana, verbena, 

 fuchsia, heliotrope — all "old- 

 fashioned." And there is vinca and 

 German ivy. Kathan Gardens does a 

 lot of business with the summer people 

 at Lake Sunapee and in the 

 Woodstock/Norwich area and their 

 tastes tend toward material that is 

 traditional, but very well-grown. 



Armuals sales last until the end of 

 July. August IS quiet. Then there are 

 3,000 mums in September. 



If there is an "old-fashioned" aspect 

 to the overall tone, it may he some- 

 what calculated. Kathan Gardens is 

 also a business with a very pragmatic, 

 unsentimental side. 



To help dry out the houses, hori- 

 zontal airflow fans help circulate the 

 air. (These are also useful when fum- 

 igating.) Equally important, l>nnis has 

 connected the air exchange system to a 

 time clock in order to have the end 

 vent louvers open for twenty seconds 

 every ten minutes around the clock. 



It took him a long time to decide to 

 let in twenty seconds of cold air every 

 ten minutes all winter, but Dennis 

 makes two points: ( 1 ) he saves money 

 on chemicals that would be used to 

 combat various moisture-caused 

 diseases and (2 ) dryer air is more easily 

 heated — so he may not be increasing 

 his oil costs. 



Each of the eleven houses has its own 

 alarm. An electrical panel with 

 switches for all alarms is in the work 

 area. If the heat goes off somewhere, 

 the alarm sounds at Dennis's home and 

 a light on the panel indicates which 

 house is in trouble. The alarm system 

 also dials a local security service that 

 will phone either Dennis or his father, 

 whoever is at home. And if Dennis is 

 going to be away, he lets the security 

 service know — "we like to be 

 thoroughly covered." 



Choices have been made. From 1978 

 until 1988, Kathan Gardens was a year- 

 round business. Dennis was buying in 

 foliage from Florida after the spring 

 crop, finishing it off and re-wholesaling 

 to flower shops and grocery stores from 

 the Upper Valley to as far south as 

 Milford. But he gave it up: he threw 

 away $50,000 in business. But he feels 

 It was worth it. He was able to let one 

 full-time person go; he saved on gas 



and vehicle wear, time and oil. So 

 there are lulls between crops. It's quiet 

 for a long stretch from mid-September 

 until Thanksgiving. And from 

 Christmas until Valentine day. But 

 there's plenty to do — just maintaining 

 quality may be enough. 



In marketing, Dennis — who majored 

 in business at UNH — has also made 

 choices. With the help of a small 

 advertising firm in Newport, he's 

 created Kathan Gardens' own news- 

 letter. It's a two-color four-page 

 quarterly full of information about new 

 crops and tips for caring for them at 

 home. (How much light do primroses 

 need' What can you do to get rid of 

 mites?) There are pictures of OUie and 

 Anne and of Dennis and his family. 

 We see children Kristie and Andrew 

 planting their vegetable garden and 

 wife Jill decorating wreaths. Relent- 

 lessly cheerful, the newsletter seldom 

 asks you to buy — it merely makes 

 Kathan Gardens appear to be the only 

 place you'd ever want to go. And of 

 course there are coupons — usually a 

 back page full of them. 



Outside of word-of-mouth and "a 

 good sign on the road," this is Kathan's 

 only advertising. L3ennis feels it's best 

 to aim toward a known market. It 

 seems to work — he has a mailing list of 

 over 2000 and gets lots of coupons 

 back. 



So underneath it all is old-fashioned 

 business sense. Again, another choice 

 has been made — to grow slowly and to 

 develop a large and loyal local market. 

 But "old-fashioned quality" — what 

 custcimer — anywhere — doesn't want 

 that? Kathan Gardens should continue 

 to do well. (B.P.) 



For more in/orma:ion , write: Kathan 

 Gardens, RFD#3, Box 214, Newport, 

 NH 03773, or call Dennis at 603-863- 

 1089. (^ 



