Are you interested in boosting your sales and barely break a sweat? How about adding decorative lighting the easy way? Idea: add lighting to a patio, an outdoor kitchen, pergola, gazebo, deck or any outdoor living area. Here are two products that can enhance just about any project you have going - or refresh a completed one.

Decostrand from Halco Lighting Technologies is an LED-friendly weatherproof decorative lighting strand that can create a distinctive look to nearly any outdoor space. It operates from a standard, 3 prong 120 volt electrical outlet, so there’s no need to splice into an existing landscape lighting system, and is available in two lengths: 26’ with 12 lamp sockets, and 50’ with 25 sockets.

They are 100% LED compatible. You can lamp them with our 2 watt 150 lumen Halco lamps in either 2700k (natural white) or 2200k (warm white). Other lamps are available as special orders.

A variety of reflector options are available in antique brass, silver, copper, as well as textured bronze and black and multiple strands can be connected end-to-end up to ten strands, based on 4 watt LED lamps.

DecoStrands qualify to receive our current lighting tier discounts for additional savings.

Click here for the manufacturer fact sheet.

From Alliance lighting we bring you the iTimer (Intelligent Astronomical Timer). This little device can make something old seem new again, or satisfy a techie’s hunger for the next latest and greatest doo-dad to show off to the neighbors.

Through the IT app, the unit synchronizes with the time in your region through the global astronomical clock. You may set up your device to turn on and off from sunset to sundown, or to operate for a set amount of hours per day, but in my opinion, the BEST option about this is that you can have it operate at specific times of the day, on whatever day you choose.

For example, let’s say that you want your device on at 7pm and off at 11pm Monday through Thursday, but you want it on from 8pm to 3am on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday you'll take it easy on the neighbors and have it on at sunset and off after 6 hours. Yes, you can easily set up your iTimer this way. Another neat option: you can have turn your connected device on and off a little bit before sunrise and sunset, without ever updating the time. And of course, you can also control the power manually from your phone, regardless of what day or time it is.

But there is one more benefit that I’d like to add: if you have an existing landscape lighting system, you can still use the iTimer - simply set your system to the always ON setting, and plug the transformer into the iTimer.

These two products will have an immediate impact on both new projects and previously completed jobs. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to install and set up. Both of these products are set up on display and for demonstrations at our Hardscape Center, so please stop in and check them out.

The new season brings new projects, landscape designs and the opportunity to bring new plants to your landscape plans. One of the best things about working for a large wholesale nursery supplier is the spring, and seeing all the new plant varieties we are bringing in. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Aronia melanocarpa Low Scape® Mound: White spring flowers followed by purple berries. Glossy foliage and compact mounding habit make it ideal for mass planting, edging, or groundcover. Bright red fall color make it a full season winner. Grows 12-24"h x 18-24"w.

Deutzia x rosea ‘Nikko Blush’: Compact, low growing form with soft pink flowers in the spring and deep burgundy fall color. Perfect for foundation plantings or a low hedge.

Hydrangea serrata Tuff Stuff ™ and Tiny Tuff Stuff ™: Hardy, re-blooming reddish-pink lacecaps that bloom on old and new wood, from early summer to frost. Blue color with acidic soils, and pink with alkaline. Bud hardy, bloom reliable and a real beauty! 

Spiraea Double Play® Candy Corn™: Bright candy apple red foliage emerges in spring and matures to a bold yellow. New leaves the rest of the season are blaze orange. Great for mass planting, borders or hedges. Grows 18-24"h x 18-30"w. 

Physocarpus Little Devil™ ('Donna May'):  This compact Ninebark has dark burgundy-green foliage. Small purplish-white flowers in late spring. Low maintenance and mildew resistant.

New Knock Out® and Drift® landscape roses:

Coral Knock Out® ('Radral'): Good bloomer, unique deep coral color. Upright to rounded habit. New foliage is bronze red. Blooms spring through fall.

Peachy Knock Out® (Radgor'): Pink petals with yellow centers, giving a peach effect. Blooms abundantly from spring through fall.

White Knock Out® ('Radwhite'): Single flowers are crisp white. Dark green foliage, new growth almost black. Blooms spring through fall and maintains a compact habit.

Lemon Drift® ('Meisentmil'): Newest addition to the Drift® series. Compact, rounded groundcover rose. Bright yellow flowers. Grows 1.5' h x 2'w. Great disease resistance and drought tolerance.

These are just a few of the new woody shrubs available this year. So before you draw up your new landscape designs, consider these new offerings for 2018.

In early February, my wife and I traveled to Mexico on our honeymoon, to a resort just about an hour south of Cancun. Ladies and gentlemen, I have to tell you that it is an absolutely beautiful region to vacation in. If you have never stayed in an all-inclusive resort, I highly recommend doing it at least once during your lifetime. Want breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You’re covered.  Want a drink or 12? Oh yeah, covered again! Whatever it is you need, the staff is there to accommodate you to the best of their ability, which will more than likely exceed one’s expectations. And all with a smile on their face and a hand on their heart.

Which leads me to the point: How good are we at Customer Service?

That trip opened my eyes in regards to servicing customers. Personally, I feel like I’m pretty good at it, as is all of our staff, but this resort operates at an entirely different level.

To me, it’s the accumulation of the little things that can turn someone’s day around and make them feel welcomed and looking forward to patronizing your business. I’m sure that we all started out that way at the beginning of our careers, but maybe we’ve strayed away from our roots and the principles that got us to where we are today.

Thank you to our friends south of the border for helping me remember that we can all be better at what we are doing, whether it’s been three days or three decades.

Did you hear? The Pantone color of the Year is "Ultra Violet". Interestingly, both the Landscape Perennial of the Year and the 2018 Shrub of the Year feature violet tones in flower or leaf. Take a closer look, you won't be disappointed!

Purple, violet, lavender, or wine - this color brings in a whole new concept to plant choices and themes for spring. You can work this color into bold designs with yellows, whites, or reds, or create a soothing palette using grays and cream to soften. The choices are abundant when incorporating textures, shades, and different heights to the landscape.

2018 Perennial Plant of the year - Alium ‘Millenium’

What a smart choice for spring. Deer and rabbit resistant but loved by butterflies and bees, this mounded compact allium is a beautiful addition to any landscape. 'Millenium' offers glossy green foliage and rosy purple 2” globe flowers with a maximum plant size at 20” x 15”. It is a perfect size to be a border plant, blend into rock gardens, or alone in a clump to offer texture and color. Easy to grow in moist soils, happy in part shade to full sun, and requires low water needs.

2018 Landscape Plant of the Year- Weigela Spilled Wine^®

This petite delight is a beauty in most landscapes. Dark wine-colored foliage pops against other plantings and structures. From the first leaves of spring the foliage remains dark and intense all season long. Not preferred by deer but enjoyed by butterflies and hummingbirds, the. tubular magenta flowers bloom for a long period beginning in late spring. Easy to grow, this compact bush measures 2-3’ tall x 2-4’ wide. This is an improved, compact version of the popular Wine & Roses^® Weigela and the wide, low habit can be useful almost anywhere in the landscape.

Simple, large and easy. Three words that never seem to happen together. How many of your larger-scale projects end up in backyards that have little or no access? How often do you have the ability to stage your product right next to where you are working? Of course the small walkway or front porch is easy, but typically not very profitable. Wouldn’t it be great to have a large project with easy access, something with a simple design but yet with options for creativity and style? What if I told you that you could have all of this... Have you thought about a driveway?

Most driveways have easy access, areas nearby to store and stage the materials and typically have a simple design. You might say that’s a hard sell and that most of your customers are looking for outdoor living areas, patios with fire pits or attractive spaces for outdoor entertaining. Who would want to spend a lot of money on “just” a driveway? Consider this: I have a large patio, and if I get to use it once a week, it was a good week. How many people are on their patios every day, sitting around bonfires and entertaining?  Now, how many times in a day does a driveway get used?

Selling a driveway paver job can be difficult. For most, a driveway is a necessity like a washing machine, refrigerator or cell phone. But when you are out shopping for that “necessity”, do you go to the least expensive with no features? Or do you look at the brand new, fully loaded and really cool product? Maybe the customer who has the touch screen console on their refrigerator, or uses their state-of-the-art smartphone to control their landscape lighting or a remote controlled fire pit might be interested in a custom made driveway. Come visit us at Christensen’s Hardscape Center and let us help you drive up your success.

Those two words have lots of meaning here in Michigan.  Our very own Detroit Tigers' opening day, and the day that Christensen’s Plant Center opens for the season.  Well, guess what - they have both happened!!

Christensen’s has opened for the year, and boy are we stocking up already!  Plant material is flowing in from all over the country, and brick and mulch are here and ready to go. And, all of your favorite sales team members are back to make sure that you get taken care of in the best way possible.

In the off season we also made improvements to our already awesome lineup. Our CPC ​App has had adjustments to make sure that you have the best tool possible in your hand at all times. We have made some personnel changes to our lineup as well. Most notably we got John Mollon off waivers, so he will be in our starting lineup this spring.

Christensen’s has put together a championship team to serve you.  Make sure to come in and see what we are all about this spring. We will knock it out of the park for you.

The title is a reference to the movie “Finding Forrester” starring Sean Connery. I find myself drawn to this movie lately, maybe because once again I am writing, maybe because I enjoyed watching the Astros win the World Series. Or just maybe it is a combination of both of these things and many more.

Each season in the nursery and landscape industry presents unique challenges, much like those in a baseball season. The weather, plant shortages, players on the disabled list, fuel costs, or not having the home field advantage in the Series. There is always something interesting happening, inspiring us to keep moving. Having that drive to move forward is what separates the champions from everyone else.

This season has been different than the others, just like the season the Astros had. For the first time in many years we have had to make adjustments as our staff has evolved. Staff members have moved on with opportunities in their lives to pursue new and exciting possibilities. We also made trades to pick up late season players to add to our roster that we are counting on taking us to our own series. Clint Rasch came to us this April, bringing with him over 30 years of industry experience, moving quickly to develop the commercial landscape market for us. This October we brought to our team Jeanne Mogielski and Amanda Igrisan, two talented sales people, who have years of industry experience from the landscape side as well as the grower/distributor side.

This season has also brought a lot of successes. We have had the pleasure of watching some of our younger players develop and take on new roles here at the Plant and Hardscape Center. Having that next generation learn from our veteran members is something that I treasure. Our yard operations team leaders Rigo and Dave took some very green prospects and turned Steve, Adam, and Tom into some of the best yard operations people we have had in several years. Luke Joerin has moved from our yard operations staff, to our yard sales staff, and next year he will be learning from our most experienced sales person, Bill Ten Eyck. A bit like Carlos Beltran, Bill will be teaching his replacement during his final year before retirement. Having champions like this willing to impart their years of knowledge to others is just part of what makes Christensen’s, Christensen’s.

I am a child of the eighties, growing up with "hair bands" like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe, shredded jeans and yellow kitchen appliances. The invention of the VCR was amazing, and everyone had a Walkman. I even had multi-colored striped shag carpeting in my basement! That’s where I would play my Atari while drinking Yoo-hoo.

There are many things I like to reminisce about that now seem totally ridiculous. They say what goes around comes around, and what once was old is new again - but I believe some things should stay in the past. So... I have been amazed at how many orders for the “old stuff” keep coming in!

Now some of these older products have been around for a long, long time. They are simple to install, reasonably priced and readily available. Many companies make these products their “go to” choice. But as times change, so do customer preferences. Cost and durability is still important, but today's customer wants to hear about cutting edge, stylish, eco-friendly products.

On trend right now are the larger formatted paving stones, and most of our vendors have several varieties and styles to choose from. These types of pavers install much faster than your traditional smaller-stoned styles. Finding a reliable source should not be an issue and the cost will not be unreasonable.

Speaking of new and shiny, when was the last time you installed a halogen light bulb for a path light or flood? The days of needing a transformer the size of a Chevette have long since passed. You would be amazed at how many lights you can put on a 200 watt transformer and still have room for expansion - if you use LEDs. The most common complaint I hear about LEDs is the price of a bulb. Well, you are correct, they do cost more than incandescent bulbs. But consider this: the average size of a 900 watt transformer is the size of a 24pk of Coke, and will run you upwards of $450. A 200 watt transformer is the size of a box of tissues and is more like $100. Then factor in how much the homeowner will save in electricity and the choice is clear.

Many of us at Christensen’s are still children at heart. We like the “new” and get excited to learn what, when, how, and why they do what they do. We got guys that love new trees and shrubs, we got the Cap’n who gets exuberant over a light fixture, and I love to play with concrete Legos. We can help you become familiar with what’s trending, and be comfortable with the new. Let us collectively share our excitement with you to inspire you in new directions.

We all know that finding and keeping good employees can be challenging. Jobs are easy to find right now and anyone that wants to work most likely already is working. I wish that I had a magic solution for you; but I don’t.

Recruiters, trade magazines, internet services, craigslist and word of mouth seem to be the standard methods of reaching out to find new employees. The people I have spoken with, that have the most success staffing their business, are using all of these methods; consistently and constantly.

“But isn’t it expensive hiring through a head hunter?” I’ve asked them. The answer is; what is the best use of your time? And how much is that worth?  Good recruiters provide services to the process that streamline it for you: searching, qualifying, background checks, and others that all add value. I don’t believe this is always the best way to go, but for a certain level of employee that needs a specific skill set, it can be a great option.

Running "help wanted" ads in magazines, on internet job sites, and craigslist can generate activity, but not always produce results. Candidates call and schedule interviews but never show up. You wish the candidates that do show up hadn’t. The candidate that you do hire is not what you expected at all, and not in a good way. This is where patience comes in; you will need to sift through many candidates, but eventually the right person will come along.

I have found that retaining good people comes down to a few important factors; treat them fairly and honestly, allow them to earn a living wage, and offer opportunity for advancement. Not one of these is any more important than the other.

The opportunity for advancement does not necessarily mean a promotion. In any growing business, there is expansion and new opportunities within to learn and grow; even at a personal level. Staying at a job that offers nothing but doing the same thing with no opportunity to grow and achieve more is not very attractive to most people. Keeping your business growing and challenging your employees to keep up and grow with it will keep them engaged and excited to work.

It’s difficult to find good people and demanding to hold on to the people you have; the labor market is tight and it doesn’t look like it will get better any time soon. It’s a challenge we all face and is compounded by how busy we all are these days. So, if you know any good people looking for a job, please send them my way! No, really, we’re hiring; good pay, benefits, and great people!