Whether choosing from standard or custom designs of any motif, KOBE is now offering a stunning copper hood series from KOBE Range Hoods. These hoods create a total sense of kitchen style and address the popular trend of customized kitchen décor.
The Habersham Gardens landscape design team created this decorative vertical garden. The simple yet elegant design consists of an aged wood trellis surrounding the homeowner’s favorite wall statuary, complete with climbing fig. The effect is a softened wall façade on a trend-setting roof top garden. OFA: Let’s Start from the Beginning
The ECPR team just arrived home after three days attending the prestigious OFA Short Course, where our minds were filled to capacity with new trends, new friends and new products. Because there is simply too much information to disclose at once, I’ll just start from the beginning by sharing a few important announcements from trusted breeder and grower, Terra Nova Nurseries.
With 54 brand new plant introductions, five new breeding breakthrough collections, a brand new catalog, and an entirely new grower / IGC support system, I’ll surely be posting more Terra Nova Nurseries information and photos in the coming weeks. But, for now, I’ll just give you a quick overview regarding the latest growth changes to the company.
Terra Nova Nurseries is listening to what growers, landscapers and independent garden centers want and need to set themselves apart. In a lagging market, companies want to bring in profit as much of the year as possible – not just during those epic weeks of spring. They need alternatives to mums and poinsettias; they need plants that will not fail during unpredictable weather; and they need additional marketing and educational support.
Terra Nova Nurseries deemed this a “personal” challenge, and spent months (and in many cases, years) breeding, trialing and brainstorming to solve problems for these folks. This company is unique in that it has the breeding technology, staffing and resources to actually accomplish a feat this large.
This year at OFA Short Course, Terra Nova Nurseries announced its brand new Web site with a plethora of information for growers, retailers AND consumers. The company also has a brand new catalog that easily spells out where plants will thrive and how they compare to previous breeds. 
The staff at Terra Nova Nurseries has introduced dozens of new plants that have been specifically bred to solve problems wholesale growers encounter throughout the cultivation season. An example of this would be the brand new line of Winter Jewels™ Hellebores and the novel selection of Cyclamen forced to bloom in winter – all excellent, unique options that contribute to year-round retail. Terra Nova Nurseries is also now offering grower-customers free tags on shipments. Can you imagine how helpful these extra savings might help a grower looking for an edge?
So, it seems there is a lot more available here than just incredible new plants. In these times, Terra Nova Nurseries is a positive and supportive partner to its customers. It’s an invaluable trait to have in an industry where working together is imperative.
~ Leslie
It’s Official! Eberly & Collard Public Relations
We are thrilled to announce we have officially started a new era here at Eberly & Collard Public Relations (formerly Eberly Public Relations). We have a new name, new brand, new online presence, and a new outlook on communication to the masses!
First off, let me just say that an overarching component of the new brand is the company’s name. We have added Jeff Collard’s last name as an obvious and necessary change. Even though Don Eberly, president and CEO, founded the firm nearly eight years ago, Jeff Collard, vice president and CFO, joined the firm only six months after its original inception. Jeff’s work background and education in horticulture and design always have been, and continue to be, the perfect match to complement ECPR’s service structure. Combine that with Don’s career history and degree in public relations, journalism and education, and we’ve got a well-suited mix of expertise and readiness to meet the needs of our clients and friends in the media. And, we are proud of the fact we have a staff of writers and marketers that understands the industry…and the many products and services of industry companies.
With the introduction of our new name, we are expanding to include a range of online and Social Media devises to enhance communicative activities for the firm and our clients. Please feel free to friend, follow, reply, tweet, and comment on all our new online aspects via the following channels:
Web site: www.eberlycollardpr.com
Blog: www.eberlycollardpr.blogspot.com
Twitter: @eberlycollardpr
Fan Page: Facebook
We’re excited about all the new conversations to come!
~Leslie
Plants on the roof
The Epsten Group, an architecture and building consulting firm, partnered with Live Roof to install a pre-vegetated invisible-modular green roof system on the company’s office roof. Live Roof is an integrated system designed by growers in conjunction with experts in the fields of architecture, roofing, logistics, and ergonomics. The Live Roof system is designed to grow green roof plants, such as sedums and succulents, to address the particular design and climate needs. Live Roof systems, because they are pre-vegetated at the nursery, require minimal maintenance. If there is ever a need to make changes to the roof, Live Roof modules are easily moved aside and replaced after the work is done.
To learn more, visit http://www.theepstengroup.com/ & http://liveroof.net/
Ovation for Orchids
And, as always, check out the best of Phalaenopsis orchids from Silver Vase, Inc. Silver Vase, Inc. is an innovative orchid and bromeliad producer that is based in Homestead, Fla. Since 1988, the owners and staff have dedicated themselves to growing and expanding consumer demand for high-quality, exotic plants. In its environmentally controlled greenhouses and through its now 10-year-old Clean & Green Integrated Pest Management (IPM) 
program, the operation guarantees its customers quality, proven varieties of Phalaenopsis orchids and a wide array of bromeliads in a spectrum of color. One of the many things that sets Silver Vase, Inc. apart from other orchid and bromeliad growers / brands is the company’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Silver Vase, Inc. created its IPM program 10 years ago to ensure a clean environment and to deliver a fresh, healthy product line. Today, the company delivers amazing orchids and bromeliads to retailers that end up in homes and businesses in all corners of the country and in parts of Canada. The owners of Silver Vase have an incredible passion for growing, and it shows in every plant they ship.
Silver Vase, Inc. did a beauitful job of displaying orchids, bromeliads and gardens (planted home-ready decorative containers) at the Super Floral Show (S.F.S.) in Atlanta this June. Andrew Bartha, owner / CEO, and sales representatives Christian Maldonado and Carmen Perez were on hand to meet with customers and the media.
At the S.F.S., we talked with the folks from Just Add Ice Orchids. Knowing (and enjoying) orchids as well as we do, and after writing about orchids many times, their brand name made us smile. This is because it 
does a lot for helping people understand just how easy it is to care for orchids. With so many consumers afraid to use orchids in their homes – due to the fact they think care is time-consuming and difficult – this name says a lot, for sure. They recommend adding just three ice cubes to orchids in containers once a week. No more, no less. The results will be months of longevity. They created a consumer Web site to provide high-level information regarding orchid care and an interactive orchid community. Enjoying orchids is really this easy, and these plants are rewarding in ways other houseplants usually cannot provide.
~ Don
Distracted By Shiny Objects
Upon my arrival at this year’s Super Floral Show in my own backyard of Atlanta, GA, I was dumbstruck by all the breath-taking flower displays and irresistible sweet scents engulfing the entire hall. While looking around, wondering which booth to visit first, Don, Jeff and I noticed an eye-catching floral merchandising object … hundreds of square feet away on the OTHER side of the showroom.
We headed in the direction of the mysterious, blinking product, and found ourselves in the Floral-lites booth. It was there we discovered that the objects which caught our attention were the company’s line of fiber optic and LED-lit ornamental products designed to enhance the natural beauty of floral arrangements and bouquets (fresh OR silk).
Kajira Roseby, the CEO of Floral-lites, was kind enough to tour us through her booth and share the Floral-lites vision with us. Floral-lites is a system of interchangeable heads that attach to LED-lit, battery operated stems. The stems are discretely concealed within the arrangement while the heads gently glow or blink with the flick of a switch. From twigs to butterflies, Floral-lites are available in hundreds of shapes, colors and sizes to suit any arrangement. They also have two brand new lines of diverse Party Dots and Stickylites for small, fun ways to spruce up a floral gift.
Floral-lites is the result of 2 years of research, working with select florists around the globe to create a product line that enhances the natural beauty of flowers and adds an entirely new, creative dimension to floral displays. Floral-lites last the life of the arrangement, so florists can be confident about their customer’s satisfaction.
Talk about market potential! It drew us across an entire show hall… what could it do for your retail center to lure customers? To learn more about the Floral-lites system, feel free to visit the Web site at www.floral-lites.com.
~Leslie
Silver Vase, Inc. Gives Back to Its Community
Silver Vase, Inc., a leading grower of orchids and bromeliads, has recently reached out to non-profit, philanthropic organizations as a way of giving back to the community the company’s employees call home. Here are just two recent sponsorships worth mentioning…
A recent event sponsored by the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) in Tallahassee, Fla., hoped to boost recognition 
for the horticulture industry through education and political leadership. Silver Vase, Inc. donated hundreds of exotic plants to help decorate the event as a way of supporting the importance of beautifying the Earth through the floriculture and horticulture industries.
Silver Vase, Inc. was also a proud sponsor of this year’s 7th Annual FedEx / St. Jude Angels and Stars Gala for the St. Jude Children’s 
specialist, Paola Cassana, and helped keep Danny Thomas’ dream alive that, “No child should die in the dawn of life.” St. Jude Children’s
During a tough time for many of us… it’s nice to hear a few heart-warming stories.
~ Leslie
Never Too Late for a Good Thing
So, it was spring… and then you blinked your eyes (It’s okay, I did, too), and now it’s practically summer.
You’ve probably added a few new plant delights to the garden, watched a few of your perennials re-bloom, and maybe added an accessory or two. But, all of a sudden it’s mid-JUNE (what exactly happened to May, I wonder?), and the garden is just not quite yet where you want it to be. I know mine is definitely not.
Well, don’t worry. There’s still plenty of plant material available at your local garden center that will survive the heat of summer. In fact, some plants can still provide blooms for months to come and even bring you a burst of fall interest.
A theme with me lately is selecting plants that are bred and trialed specifically for my region. It’s just a good indicator that the plants you purchase will really flourish in your unique climate. Some national plant brands do test their products all over the U.S. and can be trusted to offer quality plant material that will thrive in multiple climates. Oftentimes, a local grower is a great way to go when purchasing reliable plants just for your garden.
Garden Splendor is a regional plant brand that selects and grows only the best plants for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions available at local independent garden centers. I know them well, since I help assess and write about these plants.
Garden Splendor even has a special yearly plant line it identifies as Showcase Varieties which epitomize the best of breeding and beauty in a plant for their region. This year, the horticulturists have selected eight such plants deemed worthy of this title:
1. Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’
2. Dicentra ‘Candy Hearts’
3. Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’
4. Penstemon ‘Red Riding Hood’
5. Phlox paniculata ‘Peppermint Twist’
6. Salvia ‘Eveline’
7. Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’
8. Veronica ‘Purpleicious’
The two images above are my favorites, the recently award-winning Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’ (Left) and a hardy variety that provides colorful interest nearly all year, Sedum ‘Angelina’ (Right). However, they are all beauties, so definitely check them out. And, if you’re in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, listen-up for Garden Splendor on radio gardening programs such as WOR / Garden Hotline with host, Ralph Snodsmith, and Paul Parent Gardening Club with host, Paul Parent!
~Leslie
Relating Plants to Spa Treatments
You know how it feels when you walk into a spa or nice restaurant, and you are instantly turned into the belle of the ball (or prince, as the case might be)? All the selections are suddenly tailored per your tastes and preferences.
What skin type are you? – “No problem, we’ll find the perfect treatment.” What type of food do you enjoy? – “Oh, might I suggest the perfect wine with your seared tuna?”
I’m like most women … I love to be spoiled. And, if I find a product or retailer that does it particularly well, chances are, I’ll go back – a lot. For example, I have been with my bank for 10 years and my hair stylist for six because they are always reliable. Yet, I have owned three cars from three separate companies and will never buy from any of them again. I simply haven’t been satisfied.
It’s always a pleasant surprise when you find a new product that has both superior customer service and quality. We all know how profitable it is to retain current customers as opposed to constantly searching for new ones, and many businesses have made it their goal to tailor products so consumers do not have to guess whether a product or experience will be positive.
J. Berry Nursery, a professional plant grower based right outside of
Here are just a few of J. Berry Nursery’s high-quality plants available to those of you who may be planting a garden in
‘Crown Jewel’ Gardenia – Possesses an extremely compact, dwarf, spreading habit and is hardier than most gardenias. Heavy June flowering will cover this plant in soft, fragrant, white, double blossoms that require little to no pruning. It works well in mass, in containers, or as a low accent plant in the garden.
‘Petite Rouge™’ Photinia – ‘Petite
Rouge™’ is the most compact photinia, ideal for small spaces or mass plantings. It is also highly resistant to the leaf spot disease that plagues most other photinia varieties. New growth is vibrant red. This plant is very low maintenance due to its compact growth habit and disease resistance.
‘Déjà Bloom™’ Hydrangea – ‘Déjà Bloom™’ is a compact, re-blooming
hydrangea with dark green leaves. It is a beautiful plant perfect for many uses and applications in the landscape. This hydrangea is the only re-blooming hydrangea with double flowers!
Alright, all this talk has made me want to garden… and get a pedicure.
~ Leslie
