On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA April - May 2017 | Page 22

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Green Industry News

Plants Nouveau ’ s The Weeding Gnome Returns

Plants Nouveau ’ s email newsletter and blog The Weeding Gnome is back in business . Angela Treadwell-Palmer , founder and co-owner of the company and writer of the e-letter / blog , took a yearlong hiatus because she was spending all of her time growing the business .
Since 2012 , Plants Nouveau has gone from about 50 to 190 new plant introductions on the market , with many more still in trials . That ’ s nearly quadrupling the number of plants , and each plant or group of plants is a whole new project , which means a whole lot of work . No excuse though , with all of these exciting new plants , she has a lot to say . The company is overflowing with cultural and consumer information , so why not spread the information to the people who crave and need it most ?
Angela says she will try her best to write often , but promises at least once a month . Topics include new introductions , worldwide trends , breeder profiles and adventures in marketing and gardening . She promises to keep it interesting and even a little spicy at times . If you like to learn more about her plant hunting travels , the new plants and breeders they work with , her obsession with garden gnomes or her new 20-foot backyard greenhouse , you can sign up at the bottom of the Plants Nouveau home page .

AAS , Crescent produce how-to videos

AAS Announces 24 New Winners

After a year of trialing to determine superior garden performance , All-America Selections , the North American non-profit trialing organization , has announced the impressive list of 24 new , award-winning varieties for the 2017 garden season . To see the newest AAS Winners , go to the newly launched AAS Website and search by year .
All-America Selections and Crescent Containers recently collaborated on a container garden project that has just been released to the media and home gardeners . AAS and Crescent decided to work with two GWA members to create a combination container using AAS Winner plants and a Crescent Garden Black Juno self-watering container .
Please share the videos from Allison Zeeb at No Farm Needed and Niki Jabbour of Savvy Gardening with your readers , listeners and viewers . For questions , please contact Diane Blazek or Barbara Wise .

Gaiety Hollow Dressed for Spring

Lindsey Kerr , curator at the Lord & Schryver Conservancy , shares that the newly opened Gaiety Hollow Gardens in Salem , Oregon , is looking lovely this spring . Come witness ( and photograph ) the beauty of the gardens and learn about the restoration process .

Philly-Area Gardens Contribute $ 256 Million in Annual Tourism

The Greater Philadelphia Gardens is made up of more than 30 public gardens , arboreta , historical landscapes and support groups . Econsult Solutions , a consulting firm , added up the digits and found these gardens have an economic impact of $ 256 million a year , a big boon for the tourism industry . It provides the evidence for the group ’ s moniker for the region : “ America ’ s Garden Capital .”
• Spanning an 11-county area in a 30-mile radius , the nature sites attract an estimated 2.5 million visitors annually . That ’ s on par with other Philadelphia-area attractions , such as the Liberty Bell ( 2.2 million visitors ) and Valley Forge National Historical Park ( 2.1 million visitors ).
• Almost 30 percent of these flora and fauna lovers self-identify as “ out-of-towners ,” having driven more than an hour to get to the destinations . And two-thirds of them then stay over , spending an average of $ 145 a day on food , accommodations and other expenses , in addition to what they spend at the gardens .
• The study suggests that garden visitors tend to be of higher income and education compared with the general population , representing a highly valuable demographic that “ impacts broadly across the tourism sector .”
• Public gardens also grow jobs , employing more than 1,500 people with total earnings of $ 79 million , and generate $ 3.6 million annually in business , sales and income tax revenue for the state , the study found .
• Capital investments enhancing the facilities have also been significant of late . In the last three years , GPC members have spent about $ 116 million on construction projects , with the well-endowed Longwood Gardens leading the way . Its “ New Heights : The Fountain Revitalization Project ,” set for completion this spring , replaces 83-year-old fountains and adds splashy water choreography .
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