That would be a lot easier if we could define what it means without having to spend $5000.00 for a workshop.

Well, I think if anyone is going to be sustainable, the Green Industry SHOULD be, but I think we're really far off that mark. until biodegradable pots are inexpensive enough and used predominantly, I think we produce a lot of waste. for big nurseries it's not cost effective to wash and reuse pots or liner trays. I've gotten a lot of stuff for free because I was willing to put the time into sterilizing used items (what else am I gonna do in january?:)

In another thread, either here or in the landscaping forum, someone pointed out that it's not enough just to encourage customers to 'be green' or do the right thing. sometimes you have to actually take it out of their hands and walk the walk yourself. In my own gardening and nursery business I don't use anything 'unsustainable'. I don't let clients talk me into doing anything harmful to the environment and I advertise the fact that I don't use junk that's going to harm them, their kids, their pets, or their groundwater. When I do work or designs for clients, I am already thinking of what is best for the planet--I don't ask them, "would you like an environmentally friendly garden?".

another example:
the garden center I frequent (when I have to buy retail) took the step years ago to stop selling anything chemically harmful/non organic. no one has to read labels when they go in there - you know whatever you buy is going to be safe for the land. the fertilizer they use in-house is organic (fish & seaweed emulsion), though I know where they get their plants and those wholesale nurseries aren't organic. I love this model because all the people who shop there who don't really care whether they're polluting or not end up not harming the environment by proxy, simply because they neem oil for their roses instead of some chemical fungicide. this garden center is thriving, so I don't think the change has hurt them any.

so that [sort of] answers your question about what *I* do. If you've asked this question on another forum, I'm curious about what the consensus is. if you want to draw people in, you could offer "green seminars" or something, that helps people understand what sustainability is and how they can do their part. And don't forget to mention how it will HELP them. It was pointed out to me recently that for many people it's all about their bottom line. This guy said to me: You environmental people don't know how to talk to everyone else; you just expect people to "do the right thing" but most people don't really care. The only way you are going to effect any change is if you talk to people about how it will affect them financially."

Yes: as long as economic costs and benefits are used as the basis for all decisions the current situation will continue in all areas, not just commercial horticulture.

ok, this is funny: I just opened the latest copy of GPN and the second page add says "Let's talk to same talk - Defining Sustainability: At it's most basic level, sustainable mean meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." Then it gies Merriam-Webster's definition, Sierra Club's definition, a quote from Thomas Jefferson about no generation contracting "debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence".... and the old farmer's proverb: Don't eat your own seed corn.

This is an ad for rice hull pots from Summit Plastic Co. It pisses me off when people try to capitalize on fad causes (because their heart is not in the right place), but at least the green movement is causing people to be innovative about our own waste.

Rachel, thank you for your thoughtful response.

One of the editorial writers in a trade magazine said you can look at this business of Sustainability as an opportunity, or as just another buzzword. I would like to see it as a opportunity, but I have been doing this for many years and one day at a time I am turning into a grumpy ole nurseryman. It seems to me so self evident that growing plants is a "good thing", now I'm supposed to explain the obvious to my customers?

Here's what one of the "big boys" is offering the independent garden centers. Greenleaf nursery has a promotion with tags, POP displays, customer activity plans, all promoting the fact that plants give us oxygen. Its a well planned, well intentioned effort to engage your customers, inform them, and make them feel good about planting stuff.

Well I kinda like this idea in one way - it doesn't take up any retail square footage to sell oxygen! And, perhaps as retailers, we actually do need to make some noise about the benefits of plants. I do remember an actual United States president once making the comment that trees are one of the planet's biggest air polluters....

Certainly our industry has been woefully backward in recycling all those dam black plastic pots. I know many nurseries will accept used pots from their customers. I have to wonder about the logistics of that - do any of us really have time in April and May to deal with a towering pile of dirty pots? Yet, some businesses have made that commitment.

I admire the decision to eliminate all non-organic pesticides from the garden center shelves. That is a business decision that, as well as being environmentally thoughtful, is probable economically defensible. And unfortunately, any sustainable practices we practice or promote are going to be economically scrutinized.

My own small contribution to this very broad initiative is the advice I give, one on one, to my customers. They come to me all season long with their woeful plant problems, wanting to know what to do. I get a pretty good idea of the problem, and I tell them to do nothing, other than proper watering. I tell them hardly any problems in our area justify pesticide use. I tell them to prune out affected foliage. I tell them to be patient, to accept a somewhat lower level of plant perfection for the time being. Or, I tell them to rip it out and try something else...

When the frenzy begins again this spring, I will have very little time to think about this topic. A nurseryman in the spring is a guy (or gal!) running 60 miles per hour with their hair on fire.

Hi again, I'm sorry if my above post sounded like sour grapes, maybe it is? Anyways, I'm still not sure I understand what the word means, other than using a little common sense.
So with reargs to a little common sense, When I worked at a gardencenter in Denver, they housed their annuals in a greenhouse. The fucshias, ivy geraniums and other shade loving plants were located next to the cooling pads, both in the sales and growing areas. Sun loving plants were located farther from the pads.I guess you could say that because we grew most of our plants, we had more invested in maintaining the most ideal conditions for our plants. Unlike the big boxes that will happily scarifice watering for the bottom line. All the individual plant signs told the customers the ideal growing conditions for said plant, again pretty common practice for the smaller grower/seller, while the only truely important thing for the big box is that the product has a barcode.
Anyways, once I understood the method to the plant arrangement on the sales floor, I always pointed that out to the customers so they could make wise choices for their garden.
I don't think our problem is selling our customers on sustainability (preaching to the chior) but putting the energy into educating them in making wise choices.
As to promotional activities, we used to have an expo that was always well attended, we could have had booths devoted to such education, or the coop extension master gardeners could have had such a booth.
Again I'm still a little confused on the term, partly because much of the movement seems to be focused on large scale operations, translating that to our backyard gardener seems to be a challenge. I don't imagine that taking the responsibility of decision making from our customers (i.e. removing non-organic products from the shelves) actually promotes responsible decision making. Is sustainable interchangable with organic? I was under the impression that it's more of an umbrella term that includes organic concepts but isn't necessarily restricted by them? LOL! it's propably obvious that I haven't forked out that $5000.00 for a workshop.

So, to add a twist to it,....

Is using energy for heating and cooling in order to produce these plants sustainable?

Is shipping these plants near or far sustainable?

Does it take more land and energy to produce organically grown plants than others sustainable?

It is all a matter of perspective. Wasteful is wasteful, but sometimes we over elevate things from our own perspective because we either don't think it through, don't know the whole story, or want to feel good of ourselves.

I hear a commercial for an online insurance company that proclaims itself as an environmental hero because they transfer documents electronically. What, we don't print out a hardcopy and they don't either?

A trash hauling company brags about how they are the biggest recyclers in America. Actually, they just haul what the rest of us have separated.

I see plastic buckets with the product claiming itself green with a big recycle diagram. You look further and see that it is because the bucket can be repurposed.

It is starting to get a little old.

Sustainability is not all that complicated. It simply means gardening in tune with nature and with minimal adverse impact on the environment. It's a very easy concept to adapt for a home gardener, but is certainly encouraged by education. My experience in the retail nursery industry and as a consultant is that the vast majority of home gardeners know really very little about gardening so the more we as professionals can provide by way of education and sustainable enlightentment, the more informed choices these folks can make.

It's a matter of right plant, right place, conserving the use of natural resources (encouraging drought tolerant/native plantings), understanding the soil, the benefits of mulching, recycling whenever possible (composting, reusing materials), discouraging the use of chemicals, increasing biodiversity and attracting beneficals and other wildlife. In other words, replicating natural growing conditions as closely as possible and minimizing the impact on the environment....treading lightly, as it were.

I think the retailer can contribute mightly in this regard. Certainly through educational classes and seminars, but also through the choice of products they choose to offer and the plants they promote. It does no one any good to continue to carry disease or pest prone or potentially invasive selections when there are so many other better and less environmentally disruptive choices available. Same with pesticides and fertilizers - there are so many more natural choices available now that we can keep the Orthos and Scotts of the world off our shelves and still adequately service the customers' needs.

I think labelling and informative signage and handouts are of great value as well. And grouping plant product by growing requirements can help as well. At my nursery, we featured and promoted a selection of "green thumb" plants that were extremely hardy, durable, adaptable to a range of growing conditions and required such little aftercare that even those who typically displayed black thumbs when it came to gardening issues would have success. Often this translates to very low maintenance gardening, where additional input of water, fertilizers, pesticides and the use of power tools to maintain is minimized. And who doesn't want a low maintenance garden that once established is pretty much self-sustaining, so they can sit back and enjoy rather than fussing with constantly?

I agree with Andrew that the "Sustainability" term is overused, diluted in impact, and used too often for promotion or self-aggrandizement.

Lookat the word "sustainability:" it is descriptive of something that can be continued in its current state in perpetuity.

Things or objects cannot be "sustainable" if the system in which they operate is not.

- Audric

bluesky, "sustainable" is just the new buzzword that represents the less kitschy side of "going green". lots of people will try to capitalise on this, but you don't have to look at it as just a buzzword: it can be a trend. you're right, in the hands of the non-educated or untrained it is an extremely vague term. To answer your question, "Is sustainable interchangable with organic?" - no, I don't think it is. I do most everything organic, but if I have a choice between 'organic' and 'local', I choose local, because it's generally the more 'sustainable' choice. Eating organic berries from Chile are probably better for our bodies, but not for our planet, if you live in New York. The number of farmer's markets and CSAs have rapidly increased in recent years due to this awareness. It could be the sustainability movement that gives the small garden center the edge over the box stores. but that would mean people were carrying about something more than just their pocketbook.

laag - I agree, it's getting old. But I was just reminded of discussions back during the height of 'no animal testing'. sometimes the only way to know our shampoo wasn't tested on animals was to look right on the bottle. if the company didn't test on animals they had the right to put that happy little rabbit on the packaging. ditto now for certified organic stuff. maybe soon we'll have a 'sustainable' certification so we know the provenance, packaging and production methods are all above board and it's not just a marketing gimmick.

came across this site when looking for info on HIP's new ecotags: http://www.projectgreenindustry.com/ on the left hand side under Green Links there are TONS of links ... The Alliance for Sustainable Horticulture, The Sustainability Institute, etc.

tell me to shut up if you've gotten all the info you need :)

I am a small garden center manager and everyday I look at ways to reduce waste, recycle, minimize toxic imputs, and this is what I also offer to my customers on a one to one basis where possible. Will I change the world no? But in my small part of Texas many a gardener has a place that offers cardboard for weed suppression and to help hold moisture around their new or old plants bought from me or otherwise. They know of many home kitchen cabinet options for some common problems that arise from time to time with their plants. They know there are multiple organic options and more controlled and less leaching fertilizer options. Many know alfalfa grows more than big happy cows. That xeriscape means 'dry'scape not zero maintence. More and more now know that the local food banks would love to offer out their extra fresh produce that they have in season for those less fortunate than themselves. Many know they don't have to drive 20 extra miles round trip because I have what they are looking for or a viable option or will be getting it soon if possible.
I am a small garden center retailer, I want to help folks and myself to leave this planet less harmed from our time here. I don't have all the answers but I am using all I can do here right now. It is not a movement, this is real life and I am just trying to be smart and not have people spend more money than they need to and to help them to do the best with what is already here. I love natives and well adapted plants but I sell all kinds of other blooming and colorful plants. I offer choices, I offer opinions and information to help all that walk in whatever way I can with a sincere heart and 20 years of experience in the
Green Industry.
Happy Growing to all David