The 2005 catalogs were mailed at the end of December, and we hope you have received your copy by now. If not, send an e-mail to office@plantdelights.com and we’ll get another copy on the way. Please don’t blame us if your catalog doesn’t arrive. Did you know that the Post Office expects to lose 5% of the catalogs that we mail? I don’t know many other businesses that could operate with that kind of efficiency.
We’d like to announce some staff changes here at PDN. Petra Schmidt, who headed our research division for the last four years, has departed to return home to Wisconsin to take care of family matters. Petra has agreed to monitor her e-mail for a while so be sure to send best wishes. We thank Petra for all her contributions to Plant Delights and wish her the best of luck in this new chapter of her life. Petra’s replacement is Lynn Butler, who joins us from Pennsylvania after finishing her studies at Penn State. Lynn has begun her crash course as we prepare to head into spring.
We’d also like announce the hiring of a new Production Supervisor, Brie Gluvna. Brie comes to us from Montrose Gardens in Hillsborough, NC, where she spent the last 2.5 years after finishing her studies at Purdue University. Brie will oversee the propagation and potting all of the plants that we produce. Joining us in the garden as an assistant curator is Anna Mabie. Anna is a recent graduate from NCSU in horticulture and comes to PDN after finishing her hike of the entire Appalachian trail. Gardening should be a piece of cake after that.
If you haven’t entered our Top 25 contest, what are you waiting for? There is no entry fee, no signing up for anything, no strings attached…just a chance to win a $250 gift certificate to Plant Delights. So, don’t wait any longer…the deadline is February 15, 2005. Visit the Contest Page
In the catalog, we mentioned that the Horticulture Magazine Symposium will be held in Raleigh again this year. Well, the lineup has now been announced. On Friday, June 3, Ken Druse, renowned author of many wonderful gardening books and Tom Hobbs, owner of Southlands Nursery in British Columbia and author of “Shocking Beauty,” will be featured. Rounding out the speakers’ lineup will be Tennessee’s Carol Reese, the first lady of horticultural comedy and yours truly. Additionally, Dr. Mike Dirr has agree to give a special tour of the JC Raulston Arboretum. If you love plants, this is simply not to be missed! On Saturday, June 4, the group will have a private shop ’til you drop; explore and ask questions about the gardens here at Juniper Level, then enjoy a relaxing lunch at Plant Delights Nursery. For more details or to sign up, call Horticulture Magazine at 877-436-7764. -tony