52 years of dreaming about seeing the tulips!

I'd heard of the gardens in the Netherlands most of my life: the colors, the amazing variety of flowers. I dreamed of being there!

Then I chose a seasonal, spring-dependent career and devoted many years to that beautiful business. Supporting my clients and my staff (that had become used to eating regularly) required time, toil, worry, and stress!  But how rewarding to know that Christensen’s had (indirectly) planted thousands upon thousands of perennials, shrubs and trees over the span of my work-life.

Then came the day I decided to exit Christensen’s. To this day, I struggle to say "retired". But, the nursery was well established, the staff very competent and experienced. It was time.

Retirement allows my wife, Penny, and I to thoroughly enjoy traveling. It was finally time to live my dream and travel to Amsterdam in April of this year. We chose a river cruise with day trips to different sights. One of our first visits was to Floralia Brussels. It is a spring flower show at a private estate, Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden, which opens during tulip time for visitors.  It features 14 hectares of daffodils, tulips and other minor bulbs planted in beds or in naturalized settings. There are one million bulbs planted annually with 500 different varieties.  We were stunned by the beauty of the estate and the dazzling colors.

The highlight of the trip was the Keukenhof Gardens!  We arrived by bus and the first thing we saw from the bus was the fields of production tulips, hyacinths, and minor bulbs planted in mass. Think acers of one color of tulips in full bloom! Reds! Yellows! Blue hyacinths! There had to be 150 acres of color!  Fantastic!

Keukenhof is a park like setting covering 70 acres. Walking paths lead you through bed after bed of color. There are ponds reflecting brilliant color. It is truly a horticultural park where they plant 7 million bulbs annually. There are over 800 varieties of bulbs! I was impressed with a display of blue grape hyacinths planted as a meandering stream of color. It was stunning! 

You've got to go and fill your eyes!

In all bad things, there is good.

COVID-19 has caused havoc in many industries. It has closed many businesses, some never to reopen. Covid has sickened people and some have died from the illness. This is the bad.

Here is the good for the Green Industry:

• People were forced to stay home so they improved their homes
• Money issues were mitigated by a $1200 stimulus payment
• Businesses utilized the Payroll Protection Plan to keep their employees working
• The unemployed received $600 weekly from the federal government
• State unemployment checks continued to be paid
• Many people planted a vegetable garden for the first time or the first time in years
• Less travel meant fewer expenses for fuel, auto insurance
• Vacations were postponed or cancelled so with time and money available home living conditions were improved
• Landscaping and gardening are not impacted by crowds or social distancing
• Landscapers are remarkably busy because of limited staffs, no immigrant workers
• There is pent up demand within the green industry to hire additional staff

So what does the future hold for the Green Industry?

Here’s my view thru a slightly cracked crystal ball:

• Working from home will stay with us into the future
• Zoom meetings will replace much business travel
• Education will transition from the classroom to ??????
• Plants will occupy more of people's time and attention
• Embrace the change - it is happening!