The FNGLA Short Course at The Landscape Show

The FNGLA Short Course is held in conjunction with FNGLA's The Landscape Show each year. The two-day format offers programs on garden center management, grower management, landscape design and landscape management.

To add to the educational experience and limited to Short Course participants, the FNGLA Short Course at The Landscape Show typically offers a guided tour of a premier Orlando-area resort or garden area. Designed to excite even the most seasoned landscape professional, this tour offers unique and cutting-edge plant palates!

Who Should Attend?
Retail Garden Center Professionals, Landscapers, Landscape Designers, Woody Ornamental Growers

Continuing Education Units

• FNGLA Certified Horticulture Professional (FCHP)
• FNGLA Certified Landscape Contractor, Technician & Designer (FCLC, FCLT, FCLD)
• Restricted Use Pesticide Applicator Licenses (FDACS)

For details on how to become a sponsor of the 2009 FNGLA Short Course, click here.

Schedule and Pricing

Save money! Register for the Complete Seminar Package.
Includes show badge, Thursday seminar options, General Sessions, and luncheons.
$225 before Sept. 11 or $285 after Sept. 11.

GENERAL SESSION

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.   Keeping Customer Service at its Best When Money is Tight (G1)
Gene Marks, small business owner, author, speaker, and columnist for Forbes.com and BusinessWeek

It’s another recession?  History’s full of them.  For thousands of years, smart business owners have successfully navigated around political, economical and financial panics.  This time around, like before, some people will keep their heads and prosper. Others will fall by the wayside. The key will be not just in attracting, but keeping your best customers happy...and profitable. Smart business owners who succeed in these times know the best tools and techniques for customer service.  And there are many great and inexpensive weapons at our disposal to provide the best possible service.  In this presentation, Gene Marks will share his insights on how nursery and landscape businesses can stay afloat without jeopardizing the quality of customer service they offer.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

LUNCHEON

11:45 – 1:00 p.m.     The Power of Edibles in Today’s Landscape Industry (L1)
Rosalind Creasy, Los Altos, CA

In a world where the sayings “Home Grown” or “Buy Local” are common themes in conversations, there is power in edible landscape designs. Edible landscaping is more than just planting edibles. Without the backbone of an integrated design, an edible landscape can become just another scraggly vegetable patch. The popularity of today’s edible gardening offers customers great design alternatives and is a great marketing tool for the nursery and landscape industry. Come hear how Rosalind’s work has revolutionized the way many of us think about garden designs.
$45 before Sept. 11/$60 after Sept. 11

Choose one:

1:15 – 2:15 p.m.     Create a “Civilized Jungle" (S1)
Jorge Sanchez and Phil Maddux, Sanchez and Maddux, Inc., Palm Beach, FL                  

The elegance of classic gardens immersed in lush foliage is a picture that Sanchez and Maddux, Inc. strives to integrate into their landscape designs. Sanchez & Maddux, Inc. is a landscape architectural design firm specializing in residential landscape architecture and will share tips on how to incorporate the right mix of natives and exotics into a landscape design to create cutting-edge results.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

1:15 – 2:15 p.m.        Updating Your Irrigation Systems (S2)
Spencer Phillips, Research Irrigation, Inc., Lake Park, FL and Jim Spratt, FNGLA, Tallahassee, FL

From new irrigation regulations to cost-effectiveness, is retro-fitting your customers’ irrigation systems feasible?  This session will provide an overview of the regulatory policies across the state of Florida as well as the technologies and methods used when updating current irrigation systems. Come find out about state-mandated rain sensors to drip irrigation.         
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11                              
           
1:15 – 2:15 p.m.        Timeless Leadership for Challenging Times (S3)
Mark Russell, Worlds of Discovery Horticulture, Orlando, FL

In a tough economy, what are the key things that will motivate and inspire your team?  Contrary to some thinking, leadership is not a collection of learned techniques, but an attitude of the heart – a heart that cares for people, believes in them and in the vision of the organization. The real challenge is we simply cannot learn and act out “leadership techniques;” we really need to change our way of thinking. Come hear how Mark Russell inspires his team to meet the challenges of fast-paced public gardens like SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica and the steps they have taken to cultivate winning performance within their team. 
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11
                                 
1:15 – 2:15 p.m.   Greening Your Business for the New Eco-Savvy Shopper; What You Need to Know that They're Not Telling You (S4)
Joe Lamp’l, The joe gardener® Company, Mount Airy, NC

As customers continue to rely on independent garden centers and nurseries for trusted information, now more than ever, they're looking for guidance in creating a greener and more sustainable outdoor environment. With increased concerns on environmental stewardship, it’s important to position your business as progressively connected to conserving the environment, and to provide your customers and community the products, services and ideas that also protect our planet. The purchasing decisions by your environmentally sensitive customers are changing. Find out what they want and expect from you and how you can best help them create greener outdoor gardens, landscapes and lifestyles. 
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

Choose one:

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.     Designing With Water Features (S5)
Bob Dews, Xstream Ponds, Cashiers, NC

Owner of Xstream Ponds, Bob Dews, understands the elements needed to design and build natural-looking water features. He is considered a leader in the water feature industry.  This session will take you on a visual journey that will show you how to design and install streams, cascades and ponds of remarkable beauty and extraordinary realism.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11
                                                                                                                                  
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.          So You Want to Know About Biologicals? (S6)
Dr. Chris Hayes, Bioworks, Land O Lakes, FL  

With an increase in resistance to current chemistry, the nursery and landscape industry continues to seek products that will be both safe and effective in the landscape. If you want to put biologicals into your current control regime, let Dr. Chris Hayes educate you on how to ask suppliers the right questions. Learn how to know which ones work, what is compatible with existing chemicals and which ones have environmental diversification.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.         Managing Your Financial Risk (S7)
A. Anthony Giovanoli, A. Anthony Giovanoli, P.A., Winter Park, FL

In a recessionary time, the dollar is stretched tighter and sometimes there are hard decisions made as to where it goes.  This session will take a closer look at the legal tools available to effectively manage your company’s accounts receivables.  Find out how your company can proactively manage customer accounts while maintaining strong customer relationships
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11                                                                                                                                  

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.       The Tropical Paradise Garden – Bulbs Fitting for Florida (S8)
Brent Heath, Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, Gloucester, VA

From the tropical rain forest and the sunny shores of the Mediterranean to the veldt of South Africa and the slopes of the Andes, summer bulbs offer bold, lush leaves and a myriad of stunning, diverse flowers. This seminar will provide ideas on how to weave these spectacular bulb plants into your own relaxing, tropical garden getaway. You will see how to integrate summer bulbs with annuals, perennials, ground covers, trees and shrubs to create your own ultimate patio planter, window box, living sculpture or jungle. You will also gather ideas on how to build the ultimate Evening Garden including luminescent, light-colored, fragrant flowers. Let's plan and plant something different this summer!
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

Choose one:

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.            It’s All About Bamboo (S9)
Jim Thompson, Thompson’s Bamboo Farm, Haines City, FL

Bamboo can serve multi-purposes in the landscape whether it is for privacy, wind protection, shade or to create a great wildlife habitat. Jim Thompson will share his expertise on what varieties work well and where they can best be placed in landscape designs to make them a successful part of the plan.               
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11    

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.            Turf Maintenance Magic for Beauty and Protection of Our Environment   (S10)
Dr. George Hochmuth, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

This session will look at how to implement a careful fertilization plan to maintain beautiful turf and, at the same time, protect our environment.  Come find out how to use the Green Industry’s BMPs of proper fertilization and irrigation to achieve both goals and put magic in everyone’s hand.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

3:45 – 4:45 p.m. Raise Your Bottom Line by Boosting Your Safety Program (S11)
Lenise Zika, Closson Insurance; Tommy Aiello, Aiello Landscaping, Vero Beach, FL                  

Developing a strong safety program and securing the right workers’ compensation coverage are important steps to protecting your assets. A strong safety program is imperative.  See how to safeguard your employees so one claim does not become devastating to your business. Both an agent and an industry member will show you the key elements needed to develop a safety program and how to build a solid relationship with your provider. 
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.            Is Sustainability Really a Consumer Trend? (S12)
Joe Lamp’l, The joe gardener® Company, Mount Airy, NC

Believe it or not, sustainability is a trend that is here to stay. It is becoming a way of life that we all need to grab hold of. The big boxes and famous brand retailers have recognized the trend and have positioned their product line and marketing messages to incorporate sustainability. Hear this perspective on what the true “green” industry needs to be doing.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

2009 FNGLA Short Course Attendees can choose between a tour or workshop on Friday morning. 

7:00 – 9:30 a.m.        Joining Nature with Adventure - Tour of Aquatica (T1)
Presented by the Worlds of Discovery Horticulture Team

Aquatica is SeaWorld's newest water park and is open year-round to the public.  As a newly built theme park that opened in Spring 2008, this experienced horticultural team is meeting the challenges of a public garden while working to accommodate the unique challenges of a South Seas themed landscape.

This visit will take attendees on a private guided tour through the park to showcase signature plants and theming, highlight the initiatives their team has taken to reduce maintenance demands while enhancing the landscape presentation, and share the challenges related to their site and those specific to water park landscaping. Come see how Aquatica is combining a signature landscape with nature to create an encounter integral to the guest experience. Space is limited and pre-registration is required by September 11 (not included in complete seminar package).
$60 before Sept. 11

8:00 – 10:30 a.m.      Digital Photography Workshop (W1)
Ian Adams, Ian Adams Photography, Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Because the nursery and landscape industry produces such a visually compelling product, digital photography is an essential marketing tool for all segments of the industry. Over the past 15 years, Ian Adams has conducted more than 150 nature and garden photography seminars and workshops across the country. This workshop will provide you with many garden photography tips; show you how to select and use digital point-&-shoot or SLR cameras to take sharp, colorful, well-composed photos of gardens and landscapes to  enhance your company’s image and help market your products or services; how to store and manage these important digital assets; and how to fine-tune your digital garden photos and share them via e-mail, slide programs, brochures, self-published books, color inkjet prints or your business web site.    Space is limited and pre-registration is required (not included in complete seminar package).
$80 before Sept. 11/$95 after Sept. 11

GENERAL SESSION

10:45 – 11:45 a.m. New Varieties Showcase for Today’s Low-Water Reality (G2) Turf: Laurie Trenholm, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Groundcovers: Sam McCoy, Celebrated Plants, Mount Pleasant, SC; Natives: Brightman Logan, All Native, San Antonio, FL

With a continued increase in water restrictions and ordinances affecting the type of plant material that can be installed and maintained in the landscape, it’s important to showcase the new or re-discovered plant varieties that will survive and meet the needs of today’s water-regulated times.  Turf, groundcovers and natives will be highlighted in this year’s session.
$35 before Sept. 11/$45 after Sept. 11

LUNCHEON

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.      Sustaining Brilliance in Times of Change™ (L2)
Simon T. Bailey, Orlando, FL

In times of recession or change, it is imperative that individuals and businesses understand how to adapt a resilient mindset and remain relevant in the midst of uncertainty. This luncheon will show that YOU are the solution you and your company have been waiting for. Now is the time to be equipped with tips, tools and techniques that will enable you to increase your performance and productivity.  Come let Simon T. Bailey share with you how to leverage your own assets whether it is your education, experience, energy, or relationships to create your future instead of having it created for you.  When you release your brilliance, you uncover ways and means to be the difference that makes a difference. 
$45 before Sept. 11/$60 after Sept. 11

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