Buy your advance tickets for the 2009 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show so you don’t have to wait in line. The 2009 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show will be at the San Mateo Event Center from Wednesday, March through Sunday, March 22.

Come and meet some of the Wegman’s Staff at Booth #1423 in Fiesta Hall North. Sign up for a chance to win a $200 Gift Card, a $100 valued house plant or a gift basket of garden supplies. We will also have a bag full of coupons and values for your spring gardening needs.

Early bird prices are $16 for adults through Tuesday, March 17th. On Wednesday, March 18th the price goes to $20 for adults. Youth tickets are available for $4.

Locavore is another of those trendy new words that have evolved during the present downturn of the economy. Locavore was even named by the New Oxford Dictionary as the 2008 Word of the Year! Loca comes from the first part of the word local and vore from herbivore and carnivore (and omnivore). So, locavore means a person who consumes food or other products from a local source. The word has found its way into our use because we are being encouraged to maximize local resources. When we buy locally produced foods, products and services, the money stays in the community. Locally may be San Mateo County or the state of California. Have you noticed lately that much of our produce boasts a sticker "Grown in California"? By circulating our money locally, we support each other and a number of small businesses and we help each by stimulating the local economy.

Mr. Ed and his wife didn't realize the significance of this trend originally, but recently while enjoying dinner at a local restaurant their host explained that the restaurant was a "locavore." For example, the Old Fashioned cocktail before dinner sported a locally grown peach slice and bing cherry rather than the traditional orange and maraschino cherry. Small change, but it kept even garnishes in the cocktails local! The fish came from Princeton by the Sea and the lamb from a ranch on the Coast. It was a delightful meal and caused us to think about the wider implications of consciously being a locavore.

Wegman's Nursery has been a locavore since its beginning almost 50 years ago. We have always searched for the best growers in the immediate area. Most of our stock comes from about a 100 mile radius of the nursery. Wegman's believes not only in sustainability for the environment but also in the impact that dealing with local, small suppliers has on the overall economy. It also gives us the opportunity to stock harder to find varieties and obtain special orders quickly. The downside is that there are countless occasions when our employees are asked to explain why a cell pack of petunias or marigolds or whatever costs more than a similar product at a big box store.

The best response we've seen that speaks to being a locally owned and operated business which also uses local suppliers was printed in the April issue of Horticulture Magazine. We want to share with our readers the Question and Answer which they provided their readers:

Question: I’m not an expert gardener, and I recently attended a lecture by a noted speaker who spoke in derogatory terms about the plants available at the big box stores. I confess that I did not know anything about this. Why are these plants not as good?--S.V. Broken, Arrow, OK.

Answer: Truth be known, some very good nurseries grow plants for the big box stores, but buying from national chains can be a complicated issue, and bears examining.

These stores have a pay-by-scan policy where the grower is not paid for the plant until it sells, which often means the store suffers no loss if the plant dies from lack of water. This has led to many growers hiring field representatives to go into stores and care for their nursery stock. This keeps up the quality of the plants, but as it becomes more expensive for growers to serve the big stores, the temptation is to simplify the inventory to the most profitable. Already the big chains require that the growers deliver the plants in easy-to-handle racks, pre-fitted with labels and growing information, to put the onus on the grower and not the store.

While some of the chains have knowledgeable personnel that do the ordering and provide customer service, many do not. Plants may not be regionally appropriate, and you may not find anyone to answer your gardening questions.

Advantages to the big box stores include the long hours open for shopping, and the unquestioned plant guarantee. Most local garden centers have been forced to provide the same guarantee to stay in business, which is patently unfair, since in most cases the customers have taken the plant home and killed it. Big chains pass the loss on back to grower, so they are once again not accountable, while the local proprietor must eat the loss.

Besides, shouldn’t we apply the locavore concept to the plant industry as well as the food? We should hope that money spent locally stays in local circulation and the community will benefit. Besides, it’s usually the small, individually owned nursery that has the coolest, newest, weirdest plants, not just the most profitable. It’s up to gardeners to ensure that these places stay in business.

Wegman’s wants to thank Horticultural Magazine for saying it so well. While we can’t match the reduced prices of the big box stores our commitment to our customers has always been to provide value and quality along with superior customer service and professional expertise. So Wegman’s will continue to provide our community of gardeners with the coolest, newest, weirdest plants, not just the most profitable!

Thanks for supporting all of your locally owned and operated business and being a locavore!

In 2000 Dieringer Nursery became the exclusive grower and distributor of the INKARHO™ System Rhododendrons. Developed in Europe 24 years ago, the INKARHO™ System promises to elevate an already versatile and renowned species to a new level. The INKARHO™ understock provides several features such as higher pH tolerance, disease resistance, enhanced vigor, salt tolerance, increased longevity and the ability to withstand clay soils to a much greater extent.

The Holden Inkarho System rhodie is a stunning pink with fuchsia ruffles. Come in a look at all the exciting colors from whites to reds to pinks and purples.

Bedding plants are starting to roll in from our growers.

New arrivals include marigolds and zinnias. Strolling through our bedding area is like walking through a candy store!

Tuberous Begonias are usually grown in containers. Most gardening books will suggest a very complicated soil mix using leaf mold. However, leaf mold is no longer available so you have to modify your recipe. We find that a portion of Gardener’s Gold to which one-quarter portion of Mini-Mulch and a bit less than a one-quarter portion of perlite has been added works very well. The shoot and top one-quarter of the begonia bulb is left above ground when the bulb is planted. Water as needed and fertilize in June. In fall stop watering and let the foliage dry completely. Store the soil and dormant bulb in a cool dry area until the following March and then repeat the process.