As a recent graduate from the Department of Horticulture at Colorado State University (CSU), I have just begun my transition from the world of education into the green industry. While I once managed a greenhouse for the university’s horticulture club that grew up to 500 plants at a time, I am now working for Welby Gardens in Arvada, where...
Working at an independent garden center is both challenging and rewarding. Here at Osuna Nursery, we strive to be environmentally focused while offering exceptional service, accurate advice and the best quality selection of plants and products. Our wish is to enrich the lives of our customers, staff and community through all things green.
We want our employees to succeed
and be...
Move over Pokémon Go, houseplants are quickly becoming the latest collectibles for millennials. Social media has the millennial generation in a frenzy over the latest “rare” houseplants and succulents. The question is: how can we in the green industry capitalize on this generation’s gardening trends?
Millennials are a whole new type of customer who is semi-plant aware. What I...
I have been involved with horticulture organizations
since I was a young professional in my early 20s, and have benefited greatly. I
received scholarships to travel to conferences and exchange fellowships to
travel abroad. I made connections with other members that have led to career
advancement, and gotten free food while discussing the finer points of growing
plants. Here are several recommended organizations and...
The horticulture industry is full of great ideas and bright young inspiration. Young Hort Professionals (YHP), a group organized by members of Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association (CNGA), has shown me just how much potential our industry holds. We are a group of individuals, beginning our careers, with a shared passion and desire to grow. We come together to...
Do you have trouble hiring employees for your business? Are
you understaffed because you just can't find people with the right skills? You
are not alone. The average age of horticulture employees is climbing as fewer
and fewer people of the next generation enter the field.
Lack of awareness is a huge issue facing our industry today.
Many people don't even know what...
Green roofs can provide many benefits to urban communities, including reduction of urban heat island effect, reduction in building cooling costs, improvement in air quality and habitat for winged wildlife, and enhancement of urban biodiversity and urban aesthetics. Green roofs are gaining popularity in Colorado, thanks in part to the Green Buildings Ordinance, which took effect in Denver in...
Thank you to all who donated to the Colorado Horticulture Research and Education Foundation (CHREF) at the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association Industry Celebration Happy Hour in February. This year, the foundation received $7,200. Also, thank you to Ron Brown from Alameda Wholesale Nursery who purchased Gus the Gnome at the auction. Gus’s path started when Gary Epstein, former...
Each year at the annual Industry Celebration, the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association (CNGA) recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to CNGA and the industry. Also at the celebration, the Colorado Horticulture Research and Education Foundation (CHREF) awards scholarships to outstanding college students studying horticulture. The following individuals were presented awards in each category by CNGA Board President...
Michelle was born on December 13, 1973, in Clay Center, Kansas. She attended Lincoln and Garfield Elementary, McKinley Junior High School and Clay Center Community High School in Clay Center, Kansas.
Perhaps Michelle's best work came in the form of having two amazing children – Jordan was born in 1991, and Jacob was born in 1993. As a single mother,...
