Nursery Notes Nov-Dec 2011 - The Paginator

President’s Message
Tod Williams
Worthington Farms
Be Careful What You Wish For!
While writing the last message
for Nursery Notes in late July,
we had received very little rainfall
for the summer and the heat was on.
That all changed on August 26 and 27
when Hurricane Irene made landfall here
in the east. I was hoping for some rain,
but not 13 inches in a 24-hour period and
50 mile-per-hour winds. That combination
of heavy rains and strong winds
spelled trouble for nurseries here in the
east. The cleanup has taken weeks and
the loss of trees and large evergreens in
the field are worse than any hurricane in
recent history.
Our state has been hit with a record
number of tornadoes and a hurricane this
year, not to mention an earthquake. These
events along with extended drought
across much of the state have made it
very challenging for many of us in the
green industry. Combine all of this with a
soft economy, WOW, this is getting
depressing. I have always heard when the
going gets tough, the tough get going.
Our members have weathered these
Welcome New Members! – as of October 5, 2011
Dawn Adkins-Hurley – Gov’t/Edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fayetteville, NC
Fertileeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hendersonville, NC
Sheldon Galloway – Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Durham, NC
Harvest Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sanford, NC
Landscape Unlimited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilmington, NC
Alberto Lagos – Student. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fayetteville, NC
Marshallberg Greenhouse Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marshallberg, NC
McMakin Farms, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lyman, SC
Summerfield Farms Nursery & Landscaping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summerfield, NC
Techo-Bloc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clayton, NC
Jonathan Thacker – Student. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stokesdale, NC
Thompson Landsape Professionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tyron, NC
Encourage Collegues to join NCNLA to get your 2012 Membership FREE!
See details on page 7.
tough times which has made us
stronger.
Let’s talk about a more positive topic;
the summer trade shows. The ones where
I exhibited were very upbeat. Buyers, as
always, were looking for deals, but also,
seemed to be looking for new and different
plants. Quality at a good price, how
many times have you heard that The
buyers all seem to agree that the fall looks
encouraging after a sub par spring. If we
can all get a break and some good weather,
the fall should be better than last year.
The Summer Green Road Show in
Raleigh was great. Thanks to everyone
that attended and helped make this year’s
show the best in recent years. The educational
tracks were well attended and beneficial
to those needing CEU’s. The trade
show floor was beautiful with a new look
without curtain dividers between booths.
Thanks to all of our exhibitors and sponsors
for making this show a success. The
tours were also well attended and
enjoyed by all. Thanks to our tour hosts,
this added a new dimension to the show
and a great way to end the week. My
favorite event was the networking dinner
held at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum.
What a fun event it was, with great food,
music and a cornhole tournament. A special
thanks to the Johnston County
Nursery Marketing Association who was
See President’s Message – continued on page 7
November-December, 2011 • 5