Cary's Garden Supply

Not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
I brought home some pictures of some of the items we’ll be offering for 2013. Fairy Gardens continue to trend, so we will have some really cute pixies that will make any miniature garden a charming piece of work. These will be available for Spring 2013.
Behind these pixies are a couple of new Woodland Gnome Musicians – Filbert on his Fiddle, and Hickory on his Horn. These expand the Woodland Series of Gnomes from Terrapin Trading.
Here’s a close-up of a few of the pixies:

I am enjoying a few days of R & R in San Diego, Pacific Beach Area before heading back to winter. Cary and I had a Gro Group Conference in Phoenix earlier in January and, since we were already in warmer climes, decided to visit San Diego. We love the area but haven’t had occasion to spend a lot of time here in the past, so this was an opportunity not to be missed again. Cary is back in Winnipeg now, but I am still here – vacationing with my friend Pat from Nanaimo for a couple more days.

We don’t have a car, so we are walking everywhere. But it’s easy – because everything we need is within walking distance!
Daily walks here are a joy. The ocean is half a block away and is always interesting and mesmerizing. The unexpected surprise is the neighbourhood. The area is replete with wonderful landscapes – most using succulents in artful abundance. Look at the re-purposed fountain in the image above. Who needs water when you have this amazing cascade?

We are seeing succulents in window boxes, in ceramic pots, in plastic, in place of bushes, in landscapes and “potscapes” everywhere!

This is a boulevard planting. My friend Pat in the picture is about 5’8″, and she’s dwarfed.

I don’t know the names of any of the plants but I am going to find out! I have already ordered a couple books on succulents from Amazon.ca and am anxious to start some container gardens for my own enjoyment. I have no clue what I can get at home and what will grow – but I’m going to try.

Can you see the bee enjoying the nectar from this dramatic blossom?

If you are reading this and can advise me on Prairie Hardy succulents or have suggestions for this purple thumb – please comment!

Wouldn’t you know it? The first day of the Green Industry Show arrived amid snow flurries and treacherous driving conditions. So a big THANK YOU to all who braved the weather and attended the show and conference. It was a pleasure meeting with those of you who visited our booth and placed orders with us. We appreciate your business.

If you visited our booth, you would have seen our “Fairy Gardens” or Miniature Landscapes upon entry. Our examples were hastily assembled – but we wanted to capture your imagination. We created 3 miniature gardens in a variety of containers to illustrate that anything can be used! A number of you saw the potential in this growing category and placed orders with us. Thank you! Now we have to expand the variety of products we offer to support this trend.

I put together a little Fairy Gardening Resource booklet which I’ll be happy to e-mail a pdf on request. It contains information I’ve found: suitable plants, ideas for containers, and general “How-To’s. E-mail me at mariony@carys.com for your copy.

Over the next little while, I’ll share more pictures from our Trade Show Booth – a refresher for those who attended, and a chance for those who missed the show to see what we were exhibiting.

Our catalogue and booking programs for 2012 are completed and I have just updated our vendor listing along the side of this blog. You will see at a glance who is NEW for 2012. Where I was able to, I have attached a link to a pdf of their catalogue for your viewing convenience. We are finding that manufacturers in general are resorting more to electronic versions and less to print. (Some no longer create a printed catalogue!) It makes sense from a cost saving / distribution perspective and appeals more to today’s tech savvy buyer.

The “model” on our front cover is Rob Hunter, our son-in-law, busily beautifying the back yard. Thanks to our daughter Sara and Rob for allowing us to share this with you. (Well – we didn’t actually ask them…….)

If you are a Retailer in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta or NW Ontario and would like our catalogue in pdf version e-mailed to you, please send me an email – mariony@carys.com OR a comment. Just click on the “Comments” above the article to open the comment box.

Fairy Gardening – or Miniature Landscape Gardening – is a quickly growing hobby. Just google and see the evidence of this statement. There are numerous blogs and web-sites devoted to the subject!
This was in evidence at the recent Independent Garden Center show in Chicago. A number of vendors are now offering garden decor in miniature to attract the fairies! And Cary’s is no exception. One of our new suppliers has jumped on the bandwagon and is importing great new miniatures to enhance the landscapes of discerning fairy gardeners. We are pleased to offer these to our dealers for Spring 2012 season. These items offer great tie-in opportunities with planters and bowls (even re-purposed birdbaths) and low growing, miniature plants.

I’ve requested samples and Audrey (our talented in house gardener/office manager) and I are looking forward to creating a few of these for our showroom and upcoming trade shows. I will post pictures on our blog. To look at the full catalogue from Austram, please click on the link at the right of this post – Austram.

Will you be attending “Summer School” this year? The IGC (Independent Garden Center) Show is offering professional development seminars – and the trade show will blow your mind! You will be stimulated and motivated in anticipation of the next gardening season. Read on…….

This comes directly from the IGC Web Site -

World’s Largest & Best Garden Center Education Event

IGC is the industry’s only must-attend event – and this year, there are even more ways to take your garden center business to the next level. On top of newly extended trade show hours for shopping more than 1,000 vendor booths across 5 acres of Navy Pier, this year debuts the IGC University Educational Conference – the world’s most comprehensive garden center seminar program, featuring 40-plus sessions of actionable ideas for profit in seven focused tracks led by the leading minds in their fields: Ernest Wertheim – Store Layout & Site Development; Kyle Lacy – Social Media Savvy; Judy Sharpton – Visual Merchandising; Jim Bradley – Retail Maverick; John Stanley – International Trends; Robert Hendrickson – Best Practices; and Tom Shay – Dollars & Sense.

Find out more by visiting the site: IGC Show

Will we see you there?

I am writing this on the 25 of July – only 5 months until Christmas. Time for dealers to plan for the fall and winter selling season. It seems like we are always trying to rush the season, but lead times are necessary for distributors like ourselves to order in product and ship it out to our dealers in a timely fashion.

This June at our supplier meetings, Dalen Products introduced a new Christmas tree stand called the WonderStand®. This is the Rolls Royce of tree stands. It has a separate cup and base so there are no bolts to secure, and there’s a straightening  feature that allows a 10° adjustment.

Stringing lights will no longer be a problem, as this stand allows a 360° rotation. (I didn’t say untangling – that’s still a problem for most!)

The sturdy base has a locking foot pedal to secure the tree  - No tipping! And it has a 1 gallon reservoir with an overspill feature. It will allow less frequent watering – spillage will be a thing of the past.

Check it out at The Wonderstand!

 

Creepy, huh? Who hasn’t had concerns lately about these critters? Strange how they tend to occupy one’s thoughts when travel is planned.

We recently attended the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, and pre-trip planning including checking the bedbug registry to confirm that bedbugs would not be sharing our hotel room.

As I walked the show floor, it was clear that numerous manufacturers have jumped on the bedbug bandwagon and are offering products for monitoring or control. The “catch” unfortunately, is that unless the product has PMRA (Pest Management Review Agency) registration and makes claims on the label to kill or control, it cannot be sold in Canada.

But I did see a few products that were strictly for monitoring for bedbugs, so there would be no problem offering these for sale.

At this point in time, Cary’s Ltd. does not yet sell any of these, but the products are under consideration. Please give me your comments on which of these monitors would be your choice if you to use or , if you are a retailer, to sell.

One such product by Bird-X® is called “Bed Bug Alert®”. It is a business card sized device that you insert between the mattress and box spring in the corners at the head of the bed. It contains a special gel that lures and captures adult bedbugs and immature nymphs if they happen to be lurking. These should be checked daily – and if an unwelcome visitor appears, you should notify a pest control company for treatment.

For more details, please check this out:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/5/prweb8438216.htm

Another monitoring device was introduced by AP&G Co. Ltd.  This devise is called  Catchmaster® BBeds® – Bedbug Early Detection System. The pack consists of 6 monitors – enough for a single room.  Each monitor is placed in a discreet location where bedbugs tend to hang out – behind pictures, between mattress and box spring, in flooring gaps, in bed frames – and the location is written on the monitor. Again, finding the critters is a signal to call in the experts.

More: http://www.catchmaster.com/bbeds/bbeds.php

The last item I found was called ClimbUP® Insect Interceptor. The theory behind this product is to prevent insects from climbing into bed with you! It is a shallow bowl-like device with a moat around the outside. It is designed to fit under the legs of the bed. The inner walls are dusted with talcum powder so the bedbug – once it has climbed into the saucer – is trapped in the moat because the walls are too slippery with the talc for it to get out. It is prevented from climbing up the bed legs.

Here’s the scoop on these: http://www.insect-interceptor.com/

Let us know what you think!

Dimex Corporation, our supplier of the best landscape edging in the market, has recently introduced two new products that will help to revolutionize hardscaping.

TechniSoil® Pathway Stabilizer is a ready to use liquid stabilizer. It  is specifically designed to bind with crushed stone and decomposed granite to create a natural surface.

NanoPave® joint stabilizer and sealer is used to stabilize the joints of pavers, bricks and flagstone. It will also seal and protect the top surface of these products.  NanoPave® creates a durable bond throughout the joint, preserves the natural look of paving material, resists degradation by water, and is durable in extreme temperatures.

For more information, browse the Dimex – Nanopave Brochure or the Technisoil Brochure to the right of this post.

Soon we’ll be ringing in the new year.

2011!

Where does the time go?

Do you remember all the anticipation of what might happen to our computer systems when the century was turning to 2000! That was 11 years ago!  So hard to believe.

We at Cary’s Ltd. would like to thank you all for your patronage over the year(s). We appreciate your business and hope to continue to serve you well for the coming years!

The best of the season to you all, and here’s to

A Happy, Healthy and prosperous New Year for everyone!

Cary, Marion and Staff