Garden Splendor® Announces New Showcase Plants for 2008

Garden Splendor® by Overdevest Nurseries Introduces 2008 Showcase Plants at Fashion In Bloom, Sept. 19-22, 2007.

BRIDGETON, N.J. – Sept. 1, 2007 – The Garden Splendor® brand by Overdevest Nurseries will present its new 2008 Showcase Plants at this year’s Fashion In Bloom event, held Sept.19-22, 2007. The Garden Splendor® plant selections will be on display at the Homestead Growers site in Davidsonville, MD.

Overdevest Nurseries / Garden Splendor® management will be present and on-site to share information about the brand and new additions to the product line in person and in the form of a take-home meia kit. The kit will include an Associate Press-ready Frequently Asked Questions page regarding the Garden Splendor® brand, a sample Remember Me® plant identification marker, detailed plant profiles, and high-resolution close-up and landscape application images.

“We look forward to sharing the new 2008 Garden Splendor® Showcase selections with the independent garden center community at this year’s Fashion In Bloom event,” said Ed Overdevest, president of Overdevest Nurseries / Garden Splendor®. “The plant material on display has been chosen and incorporated into the product line for its quality, innovation and reliability, which represent the Garden Splendor® concept of outstanding genetic qualities with a proven record of performance under various garden conditions.”

Individual interviews with Overdevest and David Wilson, director of marketing for Garden Splendor®, are welcome, and may be pre-scheduled by contacting Eberly Public Relations at 866-574-2906 or seeing Sally Credille at the event.

Post-event media kits and interviews will also be available by calling the aforesaid number.

The new Garden Splendor® 2008 Showcase Plants will include the following:

• Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’
• Coreopsis ‘Pinwheel’
• Echinacea ‘Pink Double Delight’
• Geum ‘Mango Lassi’
• Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’
• Heuchera ‘Peach Flambe’
• Mukdenia ‘Crimson Fans’
• Silene ‘Rolley’s Favourite’
• Veronica prostrate ‘Goldwell’

Garden Splendor® will be incorporating components of its award-winning PANTS trade show booth design at the Homestead site to display its new 2008 Showcase Plants.

Wilson developed the display to showcase the high level of quality and consistency that the Garden Splendor® plant products possess. By displaying them individually and elevating them on “tree shelves,” the plants are raised to eye-level and above, allowing visitors to view the products at a glance. The display also reserves floor space, which is valuable in smaller garden centers where square footage is at a premium. By adding inventive and low-cost display methods like these to showcase plant material, the retailer can achieve premium prices and higher profit margins.

Ultimately, the display is indicative of Overdevest Nurseries’ innovative and resourceful approach to marketing, and demonstrates how the Garden Splendor® program is based on creative yet realistic and practical objectives for retailers.

Independent garden center managers / owners, landscapers, and growers may contact Overdevest Nurseries / Garden Splendor® for additional information by calling 1-888-842-6567or logging onto the web at www.gardensplendor.com. Members of the media and garden writers may seek supplemental information and interviews by contacting Eberly Public Relations at 1-866-574-2906.

– Sally

As many may remember, Under a Foot Plant Company™ and its STEPABLES® brand, created a point-of-purchase plant display contest this past spring for nationwide independent garden centers carrying the plants.

We are excited to announce that a winner has been selected in the STEPABLES® “Best in Sole” Display Contest and the donation check has been presented to the winning garden center.

A $2,500 donation was given to the winner’s charity of choice, The Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity, on July 10, 2007 on behalf of The Andersons Inc. and STEPABLES®.

– Sally

Overdevest Nurseries, LP and Its Garden Splendor® Plant Brand Receive PANTS “Best of Show” Booth Award.

August 6, 2007 – Bridgeton, NJ – Overdevest Nurseries, LP, founder of the Garden Splendor® plant brand, announced today it has been awarded the Pennsylvania Allied Nursery Trade Show’s (PANTS) “Best of Show” booth award.

The Overdevest Nurseries, LP/ Garden Splendor® booth was chosen from over 600 exhibitors occupying 1,100 booths and representing a variety of horticultural products and services geared toward garden centers and professional landscapers.

By developing an innovative, creative and low-cost way to display its plant products, Overdevest Nurseries, LP/ Garden Splendor® built a booth which can be replicated and recreated to merchandise its products at the garden center retail level, both indoors and outdoors.

PANTS was held in Atlantic City, NJ from July 24-26 and organized by the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA). PLNA is the leading trade association representing Pennsylvania‘s $5.6 billion green industry. Founded in 1904, its 750 members include production nurseries, garden centers, landscape designers, landscape maintenance firms, arborists, interiorscape firms, florists and other private sector companies in the northeast.

More on Garden Splendor®

Garden Splendor® Plants Worth Remembering™ is a premium plant collection that includes more than 500 varieties of perennials, ornamental grasses, patio plants, trees, shrubs and vines. The Garden Splendor® concept successfully merges the efforts of some of the most respected independent garden centers in the country with one of the East Coast’s leading nursery growers to bring quality, innovation and reliability to gardeners of the region.

PHOTO: Overdevest Nurseries, LP/ Garden Splendor® receiving its “Best of Show” booth award at PANTS, which is publishable for your readers. From left to right is David Wilson, director of marketing for Overdevest Nurseries, LP/Garden Splendor®; Peter Kyne, chair of the PANTS committee and vice president of Eisler Nurseries, Inc.; Ed Overdevest, president of Overdevest Nurseries, LP/ Garden Splendor® ; Gail Overdevest, vice president of Overdevest Nurseries, LP; and Donna Stemberger, director of sales for Overdevest Nurseries, LP.

– Sally

The annual Southern Nursery Association’s horticulture industry trade show begins this week at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C. On Thursday, August 9th, I’ll be a participating as a panelist for SNA’s Forum 2007 Media Day Lunch along with several other industry, garden writer experts. I’ve been asked to speak and discuss new/ social media and blogging as it relates to “Trends in Garden Communications”. I’m looking forward to hearing the thoughts and ideas of the other panelists and sharing a few of my own!

Media Day starts at 9 a.m. in room C105-106 with a coffee welcome session and a Regional GWA business meeting. At 9:30, the media will visit the trade show floor to view all the exhibits, see new products and speak with SNA Forum 2007 attendees and exhibitors. The panel discussion will begin at 11:30 and lunch will be served after the panel discussion at 12:30 p.m., followed by another visit to the trade show floor.

The participating panelists are:

Pam Beck, Freelance Garden Writer and Photographer

Bob Polomski, Clemson University Extension Horticulturist

Felder Rushing, Horticulture Magazine Contributing Editor

Linda Askey, Former Southern Living Garden Editor

Walter Reeves, Radio/TV/Newspaper Host and Gardening Expert

Randy Hunter, Agility Marketing

Sally Credille, Eberly Public Relations

SNA Media Day is produced in cooperation with the Garden Writers Association (GWA) and is sponsored by Carolina Nurseries (founding grower of the Novalis consortium/ Plants that Work brand) and McCorkle Nurseries.

Hope to see you there!

– Sally

This week marks another year with the Southern Nursery Association’s annual horticulture industry trade show. Eberly PR will be on hand to support clients and mingle with media and industry representatives this Thursday-Saturday at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C.

On Thursday, August 9th, I’ll be a participating as a panelist for SNA’s Forum 2007 Media Day Lunch along with several other industry garden writer experts. I’ve been asked to speak and discuss new/ social media and blogging as it relates to “Trends in Garden Communications”.

Media Day will begin at 9 a.m. in room C105-106 with a coffee welcome session and a GWA business meeting. At 9:30, the media will visit the trade show floor to view all the exhibits, see new products and speak with SNA Forum 2007 attendees and exhibitors. The panel discussion will begin at 11:30 and lunch will be served after the panel discussion at 12:30 p.m., followed by another visit to the trade show floor.

The participating panelists are:

Pam Beck, Freelance Garden Writer and Photographer

Bob Polomski, Clemson University Extension Horticulturist

Felder Rushing, Horticulture Magazine Contributing Editor

Linda Askey, Former Southern Living Garden Editor

Walter Reeves, Radio/TV/Newspaper Host and Gardening Expert

Randy Hunter, Agility Marketing

Sally Credille, Eberly Public Relations

SNA Media Day is produced in cooperation with the Garden Writers Association (GWA) and is sponsored by Carolina Nurseries and McCorkle Nurseries.

In a few short weeks, Don Eberly will be speaking at Ball Publishing/ Green Profit magazine’s Retail Experience in Cleveland, OH (September 8th and 9th) and has prepared an excellent presentation for garden center retailers entitled “Marketing & PR: Getting It Right”. As a green industry public relations and marketing specialist, Don will show garden center owners, managers and employees how to create successful PR campaigns, draw up an effective advertising budget, and plan and promote the garden center’s business in a rapidly changing world of media and consumer relations. Be sure to check it out at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday the 8th if you’ll be in town for “the experience”.

We look forward to seeing you at both of these industry events!

– Sally

Well, what can I say? It was a GREAT show. I had hoped to update/ post happenings and news each day while there, but as you can see (now two weeks past post-show), that didn’t happen. But, because I waited, I’ve got some great photos to share! Let’s do a visual re-cap of OFA 2007. Go!

Eberly Public Relations Honored with Garden Writer’s Association Media Award

June 29, 2007 – Atlanta – Eberly Public Relations, a public relations and advertising firm specializing in the home, garden, horticulture, agribusiness and design industries, was awarded a 2007 Silver Award of Achievement by the Garden Writer’s Association (G.W.A.) for the firm’s development of a hardcopy and electronic media kit. The media kit was created for Novalis®, a national grower consortium specializing in breeding, cultivation, and distribution of perennials, trees, shrubs, and annuals under the brand auspices of Plants that Work®.

The G.W.A. Silver Award for “Best Trade Press Kit” will be presented to Don Eberly, president and chief operating officer of Eberly Public Relations, during G.W.A.’s annual awards banquet on Oct. 1, 2007. Eberly Public Relations utilized the media kit as Novalis®’ primary communicative means for interfacing with garden writers, radio program hosts / producers, and other members of the media during the first half of 2007, an effort that has resulted in hundreds of published articles, online plant profiles and radio interviews.

The winning Novalis® Plants that Work® media kit consists of marketing and Associated Press-ready materials collaborated on by both Novalis® and Eberly Public Relations. Contents include various outdoor living, plant trend and garden solution articles that feature Novalis® and its Plants that Work® brand as well as a press release and biographical story on the history and founding of the grower consortium. Plant profile information coupled with high-resolution and captioned photos were also included for all plant programs.

The award was granted to the firm by a panel of G.W.A. judges based upon the accuracy, content, organization, style and originality of the media kit, which was selected from an assemblage of over 250 others.

The G.W.A. media awards are given annually to recognize excellence in gardening-related communications and have been a tradition in the gardening media community for over two decades.

– Sally

Today’s Washington Post features garden editor Adrian Higgins’ column entitled, “Dear Adrian, Where Do I Start When I Know Nothing at All?” In the article, Adrian advises a young WP assistant on the trials of novice landscaping and how to begin her first garden with her husband. Adrian also addresses the changes in today’s trends regarding DIY and DIFM (Do It For Me) gardening by saying, “…younger homeowners have neither the time nor the interest in the types of domestic pursuits enjoyed by earlier generations, gardening among them. It seems that the current mantra is, pay somebody else to do it. But that is expensive, and not nearly as satisfying or enriching. So the conventional wisdom about the demise of gardening may not be so wise.”

As many already know, addressing the future of gardening is a widely discussed industry topic. At Eberly Public Relations, we understand the value of having the latest information on industry trends and changes, and we’re glad to share it with consumers and other industry leaders/ educators.

Today’s Washington Post features garden editor Adrian Higgins’ column entitled, “Dear Adrian, Where Do I Start When I Know Nothing at All?” Don Eberly, president / ceo of Eberly Public Relations, was quoted in the column regarding focus groups conducted by the company which show an increase in the number of younger homeowners who are buying and using plants and other gardening/ home products as part of a lifestyle practice.

In the article, Adrian advises a young WP assistant on the trials of novice landscaping and how to begin her first garden with her husband. Adrian also addresses the changes in today’s trends regarding DIY and DIFM (Do It For Me) gardening by saying, “…younger homeowners have neither the time nor the interest in the types of domestic pursuits enjoyed by earlier generations, gardening among them. It seems that the current mantra is, pay somebody else to do it. But that is expensive, and not nearly as satisfying or enriching. So the conventional wisdom about the demise of gardening may not be so wise.”

Hey Everyone. I wanted to list a few good links, articles, tips, etc. that have caught my eye recently. I hope you enjoy reading them. Leave feedback or recommend any others. Thanks!

Gardening Basics from HGTV
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/pac_ctnt_nobanner
/text/0,,HGTV_10680_21995,FF.html

Interesting article entitled “Website Offers Plan to Plant Trees to Help Reduce Global Warming” http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-09-25-voa44.cfm

All About Lawns
http://www.allaboutlawns.com/

An Excellent Guide to Latin Pronounciation. Thanks Taunton!
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/spg017.asp