In years past, at the tail end of the Holiday Season, some ‘Scapers have been known to throw "Poinsttia Bashing Parties".  Not only that but they often referred to points as the "devil plant".  Why, you might ask?  Why such animosity toward such a beautiful, red, vivacious harbinger of the Season?  Well, friend, poinsettia are beautiful, yes, but they are very testy.  They require almost perfect watering,need to be replaced midseason, and, often, are the reason a client will call.  And this need for attention always, always happens at the worst possible time..when staff is super busy, when weather conditions are abysmal, and when traffic is rushed.  So it is that the interiorplantscaper has a love/hate relationship with the Poinsettia.

AN END TO ALL THAT IS NEAR   It gives me great pleasure to announce a new product from TOPsiders, the Joey Pouch for Bloomers and Poinsettia (JPPT).  These little beauties work for all your blooming needs, broms, orchids, mums, kalanchoe, and, of course, poinsettia.  They stretch the  watering interval from days to weeks, keep the plant at consistent moisture and oxygen mix, and so, the plant lasts and lasts.  This past season, Joey Pouch inventor Joe Byles got 12 weeks from his Joey’ed poinsettia!  Now, we don’t promise 12 weeks but they should go beyond the 6-7 week season thus eliminating the need for an expensive, labor intensive replacement mid season.  This means that, per poinsettia "spot", you will save lots and lots of dollars and stress.  Yep, just think.  A poinsettia in a JPPT, one for the whole season, once a week or longer between "fill ups" depending on the amount of water available to the plant,  reusable over and over again, and no client complaint calls.  A "scapers dream come true.

ONE IMPORTANT WORD.  And that word is "reservoir".  Place the joey pouched bloomer in a very deep saucer or watertight liner (old decorative etc).  The more water the plant is sitting in, the better.  It cannot be overwatered even if it is up to the top.  The more water availble, the longer between waterings.

HOW?  Well, we are asking that you review your past history of Poinsettia use, come up with the number and place orders NOW.  We will only bill you once they ship in early October.  We are only producing TO YOUR ORDER and not keeping tons of these on the shelf in advance.  This means that if you do not order by late August, you will not be able to receive product.  This is how we can save dollars and keep both our costs down.

SO HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH?  JPPT is available be the case (72 per case) at $3.80 apiece ($273.60 per case) plus shipping costs.  Figure out how many you will need and let us know at TOPsiders (800) 533-7661.  For questions, you can call me at (513) 205-8195 between 9-6 EST before May 15th and after that, between 12-7 EST.

In the past, if someone asked who you are and what you do, you might have answered, "I’m an interiorplantscaper.  I take care of plants in offices and homes, hotels and shopping malls".  Well, that was then and this is now.  May I repectfully suggest you take a monent or two to rethink this.  It just might be that in todays world, most have evolved to be a lot more.  Today, we are horticultural service companies, and provide a wide range of services, from interior to exterior, floral to Holiday, Special Event to theme plantings.  And that’s just today.  Tomorrow we might be Green Roof companies or do Living Walls.  It’s all out there.

Along with "who" we are, "what we do" ,"where we do it", and "how", are also changing.  Yep, the world she is a changin’ and we are as well.

So, take some time and look back to where you were, then consider where you are today, and then, dream with me, about where you might just be in the future.  Just keep all your options open and the possibilities are endless.  Now go out there and get ‘em Tigers.

Banks? Nope.  Wall Street?  Not hardly.  But, even in this crazy economy, some businesses are growing and that is where the potential lies for new Sales.

Unemployment Equals Job and Career Training     With the Unemployment rate rising, many people are going back to school.  Couple this with the world of the Computer and I’ll just bet you will find classroom settings and offices for the Colleges and Universities helping people get degrees and retrain.  Call on these folks.  They have to want to keep their offices inviting to new potential students.  Check it out.

Ditto, temp agencies, Non-government job services, and the like.  And, Healthcare continues to seem impervious.  This includes not just Hospitals, but rehab centers, Sports Medicine facilities, Assisted Living and Higher end Long term care.  Yes, I know some of them have opted for artificial.  In fact, one assisted living facility in Cincinnati solve their "foilage problem" by going to Sam’s Club and buying 60 of the same 6′ tall artificial Ficus Tree in a wicker basket.  They are everywhere in the facility.  Clones, Soldiers, Same Old, Same Old.  Ugly!  Now, it has been some time since they were installed.  Maybe places like this are ripe to present the live Green/Health/Cleaner Air/Happiness scenario.

And, it is never a good idea to lose contact with former clients.  Periodically, call and touch base to get a pulse reading of when things might pick up.  Now, go out there and………

For the past 3 weeks I’ve been moving stuff from OH to NV.  That’s right, I’m finally going to get out from the two house, two gas bills, two electric bills and so on.  Now, anyone who has ever had to make a move after a long time, knows just how difficult it can be.  It is also nostalgic. 

I came across some paper work my Mom, now deceased, left in a plain folder.  Inside was a strange mix of lists of bric a brac and what she had paid for each item.  I still have her list, the bric a brac is long gone.  Shuffling through was a strange mix of longing and deja vu.  Then I found IT. 

IT is the bill my Mom got from the Hospital for when I was born.  Now here’s where it gets really bizarre.  Want to guess how much it cost for my Mom to have me?  Well, she was in the Hospital for 13 days.  Yep, 13.  That was a common practice back then.  Nothing was unusual about the birth, 13 days was customary.  Very different from today’s overnight and you are OUT. So, whats your guess?How much was the bill?

The Hospital Room charge, including meals was $5.50 per day.  That’s not a typo folks.  Five dollars and fifty cents per day!  Add to that the 2.50 for lab work, 10.00 for "baby care", and a couple of other items including ten cents for a "baby book", and the grand total?  $101.00!!  Yep, I cost my folks 101 bucks to be born.  Probably one of the cheaper times of my life.

I tell you this ’cause, in comparison with costs for everything today, healthwise or any otherwise, it is a shock.  Its also very funny.   So, don’t toss all those old bills.  Save a few for this time capsule we call Life.