May 2001

Everything under the sun to do or grow!

Now that the holidays are over it’s time to begin thinking about spring garden chores and starting seeds for spring planting.  Churchill’s has all your spring gardening needs in stock.  We’ve got all the necessary supplies for starting your seeds in starter plugs and moving the plugs to growing packs.  All the seeds for flowers and vegetables are here for your selection.  Please stop by and we will be happy to assist you in getting started on your spring planting and planning now.

“Plant Knowledge” is a new feature that connects you to the PlantAmerica Plant Knowledge Database.  This storehouse of plant information can be searched using user criteria for various plant characteristics to aid in the selection and care of plants for your garden.

PlantAmerica introduces the onlinegardener, a new, affordable web site solution that puts you in control of your image, your time, and your brand. For only $69.95 per month with no setup fee, you’ll have a state of the art web site that is highly flexible, easy and inexpensive to maintain. Best of all you’ll create an inviting, easy to use, and valuable gardening and landscaping resource for your customers.

Do you need a web site?

Do you know the true cost of your web site?
What does the onlinegardener cost?
Why is the onlinegardener the best web site solution for independent garden centers?
What is different about the onlinegardener?
How long does it take to set up a site?
How can I learn more about the onlinegardener?
Features and benefits

Do you need a web site?
The short answer is, “yes!” According the Grapevine Survey, published by the American Nursery & Landscape Association, over three quarters of all gardeners own a personal computer and nearly 70% of these households have Internet access. Put simply, your customers are online and you need to be there with your name, reputation, and goods and services. PlantAmerica believes that the goal of a web site should be to increase in-store purchases, where you receive full profit and have the opportunity to generate add-on sales.

Do you know the true cost of your web site?
The true cost of a web site includes not only the initial design and setup, but also annual maintenance costs, such as hosting, copy and graphics changes. Some web designers even recommend budgeting an annual maintenance amount equal to your initial design (for example, a $2,500 design and set up fee would generate $2,500 in maintenance fees. That’s $5,000 added your bottom line in the first year!) The online gardener costs just $69.95 per month and can be easily maintained-at no cost-by the garden center. If you’re spending $1,800 per year on your website, you could literally cut your costs in half with the onlinegardener.

What does the onlinegardener cost?
The onlinegardener is the industry’s best-value web site solution. It costs only $69.95 per year and, if you opt for a three-year subscription, setup is free. While there are other optional features that you may choose to select, at additional cost, the basic package is loaded with essential and valuable features that your customers will appreciate. For a complete summary of costs, click here.

Why is the onlinegardener the best web site solution for independent garden centers?
The onlinegardener is the best combination of price, features, and ease of maintenance and was created by independent garden center marketing experts for independent garden centers. It requires no purchase of additional products or commitments or dependence on suppliers-it’s all about you and your brand.

What is different about the onlinegardener?

• Most web site solutions are expensive-both in terms of initial design and setup and ongoing maintenance. The onlinegardener is highly affordable at a predicable and modest $69.95 per month.
• Most web site solutions are time-consuming to maintain. The onlinegardener can be updated in minutes using a web browser. No special tools or training is needed.
• Most “affordable” web site solutions come with strings attached. The onlinegardener is all about you and your brand. PlantAmerica does not want your customers or a piece of your sales revenue-you won’t even find our name on your web page.
• Most low-cost web sites are not garden-center oriented. The onlinegardener was developed by independent garden center experts for independent garden centers. Other low-cost web sites available are built very generically for any business-from homemade crafts to specialized videos.

How long does it take to set up a site?
The onlinegardener will take approximately one week to set up following receipt of order.
How can I learn more about the onlinegardener?
To learn more about the onlinegardner, contact Andreas Walter at 1-703-312-2836 or [email protected]

How do I place an order for the onlinegardener?
You can order online or download a copy of the onlinegardener order form.

• To order online, click here.
• To download a copy of the order form, click here.

If you have any questions, call Andreas Walter at 1-703-312-2836.

Features and benefits

Domain Name Registration and Transfer
Registering or transferring your domain name can be a confusing and sometimes time-consuming process. You can do it yourself or PlantAmerica can handle for a modest fee.

Seasonal Graphics Changes
Your Onlinegardener features six seasonal graphics changes that recognize the unique product mix that garden centers offer at different times of the year. This gives your site a fresh look all year round.

Fresh Content Supplied by Sunrise Marketing
The retail garden center experts at Sunrise Marketing will provide fresh content to your Onlinegarder web site on a regular basis. Your customers will enjoy reading interesting and informative pieces on children’s gardening, gardening getaways, gardening news, how-tos and more. Best of all, this material is specially created for independent garden centers not generic, “re-purposed” information.

Unlimited Ability to Add Pages, Text, and Graphics
Your Onlinegardener gives you the ability to add as many pages as you want. You can also add your own graphics and make text changes in minutes. Think of the Onlinegardener as your “canvas,” ready for your unique information, graphics, and photos.

World’s Largest Plant Database
Through the onlinegardener, you’ll have access to a growing database of photos and information on over 38,000 plants. This useful tool will help you establish your website as a premier information destination for your customers. For a small additional monthly fee, you can customize the database to make an even stronger brand statement.

Daily Photo and Tip Changes
Your site will be updated daily with a high-quality, attention-getting plant photograph and a gardening “tip of the day.” Your customers can also scan a library of these exquisite garden images. These two features will keep your site fresh every time your customers visit.

Best Value Pricing
At just $69.95 a month with no setup fee (with a three-year subscription), the onlinegardener is easily the best value in the industry. The onlinegardener enables you to establish-or re-establish-a professional web presence at a tiny fraction of the cost of a customized site. Click here to view fees.

E-mail Addresses
Need e-mail addresses? Not a problem. PlantAmerica will provide you with up to 10 e-mail addresses ([email protected]) at no charge. Additional addresses are available for an extra fee.

Branding Exclusively to Your Garden Center
The onlinegardener, like all PlantAmerica products, is designed to build your brand-not ours. We want you to keep your customers, earn full margins on your sales, and gain all the benefits of a professional web site.

Easy Self-updating
No more costly, time-consuming edits and, best of all, no more out-of-date web site! The onlinegardener offers a simple editing tool that requires no special Internet knowledge or tools. Anyone who can use a word processor can add, delete, or edit your web site-anytime, anywhere. All you need is a browser.

Personalized Set-up Assistance
The experienced garden center marketing experts at Sunrise Marketing will personally assist with the setup of your site. They understand your unique needs as an independent garden center and have real experience in helping garden centers with their web site needs.

Visitor Tracking

With onlinegardener, you’ll be able to track the number and frequency of visits to your web site. This will enable you to track your success and learn about what works and what doesn’t.

onlinegardener Pricing
The onlinegardener costs only $69.95 per month. Set up fees range from $495 for a one year contract to $0 for a three year contract. Up to 10 e-mail addresses are available at no charge; additional sets of 10 e-mail addresses for $10 per month.

Come grow with us!

Please see the manager for further information.

Buyer
FT Buying
Procures product at advantageous pricing, establishes purchasing quanitities and product flow to maximize sales and inventory turns and to achieve budgeted net profit.  Related degree, and minimum of two years retail buying experience or minimum five years retail buying experience.

Driver
FT Retail
Delivers product to customers or store locations.  High School degree or equivalent, 1 year related experience, minimum age 21, valid driver’s license – no points.

Inside Sales Specialist, Garden Shop
FT Retail
Sell Garden Shop merchandise, supplies and related accessories, responds to complex customer inquiries.  High School degree or equivalent, 2 years related experience.

Receiver
FT Retail
Inspects all delivered merchandise to ensure correct items and quantities, adherence to standards and proper entering of receiving information.  High School degree or equivalent, 1 year related experience.

What’s New for Spring

We invite you to visit our newly re-decorated store—complete with exciting new introductions—in both plant material and garden gifts.

Beautiful life-like silk flowers and plants Scented candles, lotions, and soaps.  Expanded lines of pottery, planters, and great garden accessories.

Great selection of annuals to include new colors in geraniums, exotic coleus, great new verbenas, abutilons Expanded selection of perennials and introducing our Perennial Club Card (see below).  ‘Ready to Grow’ perennials—bigger plants that will make an immediate impact in the garden Don’t miss out on our Perennial of the Year Train that will showcase this year’s winner, Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’, as well as past Perennial Plant Association Perennial Plant Winners.

We have expanded the Memories, Milestones and Miracles and renamed it Plant for the Cure™

Click the COMMON button, type in a common name or scroll to the desired name, click on the common name, then click on the scientific name, …..OR…..

Click the SCIENTIFIC button, type in a scientific name or scroll to the desired name, click on the scientific name, …..OR…..

Click the FAMILY button, click on a family name, then click on a genus, then click on a species, then click on a cultivar, then click the image.

Click on the image to advance to the next image in the sequence using the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON (i.e., move forward in the sequence). Click on the image using the RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to display the previous image in the sequence (i.e., move backward in the sequence).

Turn off your screen saver, Insert the CD you want to view, Click the SCIENTIFIC button, Click on the scientific name you want to start with, Click the AUTO button, click OK, and enjoy the show, Click the AUTO/END button to end the show.

Plant asparagus crowns in a sunny spot in soil that drains well. You will need to dig a trench about a foot deep and add large amounts of compost, planting the crowns 1 foot apart and deep enough so that they will be 3-5 inches below the soil line.
Tip Library

PlantAmerica introduces the onlinegardener, a new, affordable web site solution that puts you in control of your image, your time, and your brand. For only $69.95 per month with no setup fee, you’ll have a state of the art web site that is highly flexible, easy and inexpensive to maintain. Best of all you’ll create an inviting, easy to use, and valuable gardening and landscaping resource for your customers.

Do you need a web site?

Do you know the true cost of your web site?
What does the onlinegardener cost?
Why is the onlinegardener the best web site solution for independent garden centers?
What is different about the onlinegardener?
How long does it take to set up a site?
How can I learn more about the onlinegardener?
Features and benefits

Do you need a web site?
The short answer is, “yes!” According the Grapevine Survey, published by the American Nursery & Landscape Association, over three quarters of all gardeners own a personal computer and nearly 70% of these households have Internet access. Put simply, your customers are online and you need to be there with your name, reputation, and goods and services. PlantAmerica believes that the goal of a web site should be to increase in-store purchases, where you receive full profit and have the opportunity to generate add-on sales.

Do you know the true cost of your web site?
The true cost of a web site includes not only the initial design and setup, but also annual maintenance costs, such as hosting, copy and graphics changes. Some web designers even recommend budgeting an annual maintenance amount equal to your initial design (for example, a $2,500 design and set up fee would generate $2,500 in maintenance fees. That’s $5,000 added your bottom line in the first year!) The online gardener costs just $69.95 per month and can be easily maintained-at no cost-by the garden center. If you’re spending $1,800 per year on your website, you could literally cut your costs in half with the onlinegardener.

What does the onlinegardener cost?
The onlinegardener is the industry’s best-value web site solution. It costs only $69.95 per year and, if you opt for a three-year subscription, setup is free. While there are other optional features that you may choose to select, at additional cost, the basic package is loaded with essential and valuable features that your customers will appreciate. For a complete summary of costs, click here.

Why is the onlinegardener the best web site solution for independent garden centers?
The onlinegardener is the best combination of price, features, and ease of maintenance and was created by independent garden center marketing experts for independent garden centers. It requires no purchase of additional products or commitments or dependence on suppliers-it’s all about you and your brand.

What is different about the onlinegardener?

• Most web site solutions are expensive-both in terms of initial design and setup and ongoing maintenance. The onlinegardener is highly affordable at a predicable and modest $69.95 per month.
• Most web site solutions are time-consuming to maintain. The onlinegardener can be updated in minutes using a web browser. No special tools or training is needed.
• Most “affordable” web site solutions come with strings attached. The onlinegardener is all about you and your brand. PlantAmerica does not want your customers or a piece of your sales revenue-you won’t even find our name on your web page.
• Most low-cost web sites are not garden-center oriented. The onlinegardener was developed by independent garden center experts for independent garden centers. Other low-cost web sites available are built very generically for any business-from homemade crafts to specialized videos.

How long does it take to set up a site?
The onlinegardener will take approximately one week to set up following receipt of order.
How can I learn more about the onlinegardener?
To learn more about the onlinegardner, contact Andreas Walter at 1-703-312-2836 or [email protected]

How do I place an order for the onlinegardener?
You can order online or download a copy of the onlinegardener order form.

• To order online, click here.
• To download a copy of the order form, click here.

If you have any questions, call Andreas Walter at 1-703-312-2836.

Features and benefits

Domain Name Registration and Transfer
Registering or transferring your domain name can be a confusing and sometimes time-consuming process. You can do it yourself or PlantAmerica can handle for a modest fee.

Seasonal Graphics Changes
Your Onlinegardener features six seasonal graphics changes that recognize the unique product mix that garden centers offer at different times of the year. This gives your site a fresh look all year round.

Fresh Content Supplied by Sunrise Marketing
The retail garden center experts at Sunrise Marketing will provide fresh content to your Onlinegarder web site on a regular basis. Your customers will enjoy reading interesting and informative pieces on children’s gardening, gardening getaways, gardening news, how-tos and more. Best of all, this material is specially created for independent garden centers not generic, “re-purposed” information.

Unlimited Ability to Add Pages, Text, and Graphics
Your Onlinegardener gives you the ability to add as many pages as you want. You can also add your own graphics and make text changes in minutes. Think of the Onlinegardener as your “canvas,” ready for your unique information, graphics, and photos.

World’s Largest Plant Database
Through the onlinegardener, you’ll have access to a growing database of photos and information on over 38,000 plants. This useful tool will help you establish your website as a premier information destination for your customers. For a small additional monthly fee, you can customize the database to make an even stronger brand statement.

Daily Photo and Tip Changes
Your site will be updated daily with a high-quality, attention-getting plant photograph and a gardening “tip of the day.” Your customers can also scan a library of these exquisite garden images. These two features will keep your site fresh every time your customers visit.

Best Value Pricing
At just $69.95 a month with no setup fee (with a three-year subscription), the onlinegardener is easily the best value in the industry. The onlinegardener enables you to establish-or re-establish-a professional web presence at a tiny fraction of the cost of a customized site. Click here to view fees.

E-mail Addresses
Need e-mail addresses? Not a problem. PlantAmerica will provide you with up to 10 e-mail addresses ([email protected]) at no charge. Additional addresses are available for an extra fee.

Branding Exclusively to Your Garden Center
The onlinegardener, like all PlantAmerica products, is designed to build your brand-not ours. We want you to keep your customers, earn full margins on your sales, and gain all the benefits of a professional web site.

Easy Self-updating
No more costly, time-consuming edits and, best of all, no more out-of-date web site! The onlinegardener offers a simple editing tool that requires no special Internet knowledge or tools. Anyone who can use a word processor can add, delete, or edit your web site-anytime, anywhere. All you need is a browser.

Personalized Set-up Assistance
The experienced garden center marketing experts at Sunrise Marketing will personally assist with the setup of your site. They understand your unique needs as an independent garden center and have real experience in helping garden centers with their web site needs.

Visitor Tracking

With onlinegardener, you’ll be able to track the number and frequency of visits to your web site. This will enable you to track your success and learn about what works and what doesn’t.

onlinegardener Pricing
The onlinegardener costs only $69.95 per month. Set up fees range from $495 for a one year contract to $0 for a three year contract. Up to 10 e-mail addresses are available at no charge; additional sets of 10 e-mail addresses for $10 per month.

Plant for the Cure – An Important Fight

The numbers are staggering: During the 10 years of the Vietnam War, 58,000 American men and women lost lives. During that same 10-year period, 330,000 women in America died of breast cancer. This year, some 180,000 women,-wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends-will be diagnosed with breast cancerÖthat’s almost 500 women every day. One in eight women will get the disease at some point during her lifetime.

Life is precious. We’ve always felt that flowers help to celebrate life, giving us a glimpse of the potential for life and the beauty that exists all around us. We feel as though our mission is so much more than growing and selling plants. Rather, it represents an opportunity to communicate our passion for living. For us, gardening is a passion, and the plants we grow, the gardens we design, the landscapes we plant are all expressions of that passion – that special creative vision.

In growing this vision, we’ve witnessed – almost on a daily basis – the miracle of life. We’ve also come to believe that the miraculous is possible. This had led to our support of the Plant for the Cure campaign. This program was initiated by Plant for the Cure website to find a retailer in your area.

Your support of this promotion – through the purchase of the Accent impatiens in hanging baskets, containers and pots will help support a very worthwhile cause. Participating garden centers will donate 10% of all sales of this exclusive mixture to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We encourage you to remember a friend or loved one, or celebrate a survivor through the growing of these plants in your own garden. For more information about the program or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, please visit the website.

This is a wonderful opportunity to help fight against a disease that claims the lives of almost 44,000 American women annually. This not just about frightening statistics – this about real women with real lives. They are our wives, our mothers, our daughters, and our friends.

BUG OFF! Nature’s Way

Not all insects are harmful to your garden; in fact, many are beneficial and are an important part of the ecosystem. Chemicals used to eliminate insects do not discriminate between the good bugs and the bad ones, so you can limit the damage done to beneficial insects and, at the same time, keep harmful chemicals out of the environment by practicing organic pest control.

Here are a few simple and effective ways to eliminate bugs and other pests naturally:

Handpicking: Insects can be handpicked from plants, and pests like potato bugs can easily be shaken from plants into a box. Use a butterfly net to capture white cabbageworm butterflies before they lay their eggs on your crucifers.

Traps: Slugs love to slurp beer from cans strategically placed in the garden, but don’t open the tops all the way lest the openings become two-way streets. Sticky traps hung in apple trees attract and trap apple maggot flies. Brush-on insect trap coating can be applied to small boards on stakes and used throughout the garden. Painting the boards a bright color will make them even more effective. Pheromone traps draw insects like Japanese beetles to their own hormonal scents and safely capture them in boxes away from prized roses and peonies.

Covers: Using lightweight floating covers on crops such as blueberries keeps those pesky birds, rabbits, and deer from eating you out of house and home. Of course, don’t install them until after pollination so that bees can do their job first.

Biological Pest Control: Releasing beneficial bugs into your garden to feed on bad bugs is a fine way of eliminating pests. Ladybugs love aphids, and certain wasps lay eggs on the eggs of other insects, such as cutworms and cornborers; when the wasp eggs hatch, they feed on the pest eggs. The bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is found in spray form and is used to control cabbageworms and their cousins.

Botanical Pest Control: Natural insecticides made from plants like the pyrethrum daisy (Tanacetum coccineum) are used very effectively and are a major force in the bad bug patrol. Pyrethrum, rotenone, and sabadilla are a few of these botanicals, which disperse quickly and do not leave residues.

Fertilizing Your Lawn

A greener lawn just seems to make you feel better.  It makes your home and gardens more beautiful.   But how do you keep it green?  Just as you and I need our three square meals a day, utilizing all the food groups (of course), a lawn has similar nutritional needs.  Your lawn’s needs are simple…it needs nitrogen for lush, green grass, phosphate for strong, deep root development and potash for growth and drought resistance.  These elements are known as N-P-K for Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash.  To keep it straight, just remember N (for nitrogen) is for everything above ground (grass leaf)-P (for phosphate) is for everything below ground (roots) and K (for potash) helps the lawn interact with the soil.  These elements are present in most balanced fertilizer products.  The percentage of each element might differ, but these percentages are listed on every fertilizer product.  They are the three numbers listed in the formulation; i.e., 25-5-5 would 25% of the bag weight would be available nitrogen, 5% phosphate and 5% potash.

If you were to buy a 50 pound bag (10,000 sq ft coverage) of 25-5-5 fertilizer, then 25% or 12.5 pounds would be nitrogen, 2.5 pounds would be phosphate and 2.5 pounds would be potash.  To finish the equation, you then divide the total pounds by the coverage area.  In this case you would apply about 1.25 pounds of nitrogen.  An average lawn needs 4 pounds of nitrogen (per 1000 sq ft or M), 2 pounds of phosphate (/M) and 1 pound of potash (/M) annually.  Your lawn might differ from the average, but if you are looking for a “green-up” then look for high nitrogen fertilizers.  If your lawn seems to wilt under the stress of summer heat waves, consider a fertilizer higher in phosphate and potash.

Now you know how to fertilize like a pro.  There is an easier way.  Most fertilizer companies now offer “four-step” programs for your lawn.  It is usually sold as a set of four bags in 5-10,000 or now even 15,000 square foot sizes.  It pre-packages everything your lawn needs for the year.  Simply apply at rates shown on the bag at the times recommended.  This ensures the proper amounts of nutrients are applied at optimum timing.

Most folks like to see a quick green-up, but be careful, as too quick a top growth can occur at the expense of good root development.  A good solution to this problem is WIN or W (ater) I (insoluble) N (itrogen).  It allows the nitrogen to be released over a longer period of time.  It is usually coated so that it is broken down over natural weathering process.

A great lawn is in the bag…literally.  Knowing what’s in the bag should keep you and your lawn in the green!  Stop by with any questions.