2009 Floriculture Field Day Schedule

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

3:00 – 9:00 p.m. Optional Garden Tour
Join a garden tour the afternoon and evening prior to the seminar. Take a look inside some of Gainesville’s private gardens, tour the Lubee Bat Conservancy and the University of Florida’s greenhouses. The tour will end with dinner and an evening bat tour immediately following dinner. The tour will depart from the main lobby of the Best Western Gateway Grand at promptly 3:00 p.m. Transportation will be provided. Pre-registration is required.

Thursday, MAY 14, 2009

7:30 - 8:15 a.m. Registration Opens

8:15 – 9:15 a.m. Tough Plants for Tough Times - Katy Moss Warner, President Emeritus, American Horticultural Society, Garrison, NY
Katy’s passion for connecting people to plants and her goal to spread the message that plants can improve everyone’s quality of life, is definitely why she has been a key player in the America in Bloom® program. America in Bloom® is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting nationwide beautification programs and community involvement through the use of flowers, plants, trees and other environmental and lifestyle enhancements. Katy will not only highlight the activities of America in Bloom®, but will share important industry connections and how tough plants could be used to open new markets.

9:30 - 10:15 a.m. Back to Bok – David Price, Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, FL
Bok Tower Gardens is one of 28 gardens that participate in the Center for Plant Conservation. Through an integrated conservation program of propagation, reintroduction, monitoring and management, the Sanctuary has helped to conserve 38 rare Central and North Florida plant species, part of the National Collection of endangered and threatened plants. This session will take a look at how the gardens are designed, how herbaceous perennials are selected and how they are maintained.

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. Exhibit Break

10:45 - 11:30 a.m. A Quiet Joining of Hands Between Art and Nature – Christine Todd and Sara Millar, Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC
Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark with the most significant collection of figurative sculpture, in an outdoor setting and has the only zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the coast of the Carolinas. The team from Brookgreen will share the design elements and maintenance program of the gardens.

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Luncheon- Building of Epcot Flower and Garden Festival – Eric Darden, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, FL
Walt Disney World’s Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is a special spring event filled with a colorful array of flowers, gardens, topiaries, live music and educational events. This session will take industry members on a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. New Plant Showcase
This fast-paced presentation will feature a wide palette of new plant varieties from breeder highlights to growers with specialty plants. Come see how you can incorporate new industry introductions in landscape designs and retail operations.

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Exhibit Break

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. It’s All About Getting the Word Out - Ray French, Floragem, Inc., Vista, CA
The role of Floragem is to create consumer live goods gardening products. The first company of its kind in the world – their goal is to make gardening more successful for home gardeners. As product manager/grower technical support, Ray French seeks out unique plant with the world’s best genetics. He is here to share what he has seen at trials all over the country, offer a look at the trends and the plants he has seen that are sticking out as winners.

3:45 – 4:30 p.m. Marketing New Plants and Concepts to Your Customer – Kimberly Bird, Calloway’s Nursery, Fort Worth, TX
Founded in 1986, Calloway’s Nursery, Inc. operates 18 retail garden centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. With Texas being the third largest market in the United States for “Green Industry,” Kimberly Bird, Vice President of Retail Marketing, will look at how Calloway Nursery is approaching marketing in the traditional Texas “Big” way.

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Selections for Tomorrow’s Market – David Judge, Syngenta, Tampa, FL; Barry Ruta, American Takii, Inc., Sun City, FL; Terry Howe, Ball Horticultural Co., Palmetto, FL; Doug Parkinson, EuroAmerican Propagators, Bonsall, CA
This panel discussion will address reasons why breeders choose particular cultivars to trial and release. Is it science or a little voodoo? Is it market driven or are there particular characteristics that are sought out? What causes the change in those characteristics? Each panelist will have the opportunity to discuss their philosophy. Breeders are orchestrating the products that the end-consumer is ultimately buying so come see what makes a breeder change the trends.

For further information regarding this annual seminar, contact Julie Markowitz at the FNGLA office, 800.375.3642.