The Weekly Dirt, for 04 Feb. '03
An e-mail newsletter from Garden Center Merchandising & Management
editor Carol Miller

* Did you receive your Economic Census last December? The government
conducts this survey only once every 5 years. To make it easier on
business owners, the Census Bureau is allowing you to file your census
online. http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ2002.html

* Gordon Bailey Jr. is at it again. The chairman of the board at
Bailey Nurseries will pedal 1,200 miles for the 3rd annual Tour de
Hort. This year he will ride his bike from Cleveland to Boston, where
the ANLA Convention will be held in July. The funds raised from the
Tour de Hort will benefit Horticultural Research Inst. Last year's
tour raised $550,000. 202.789.2900.

* The World Trade Center in Dallas is playing musical chairs. The
location where the Dallas Gift Show and Holiday Expo takes place will
acquire the apparel vendors that lost their home at the nearby Apparel
Mart, which is closing. The temporaries space for the gift show,
normally on the 14th and 15th floors, is moving to the 12th and 13th
floors. The Garden District will remain in its present location. World
Trade Center management expects a significant increase in traffic due
to the changes. http://www.dallasmarketcenter.com/dm...D=10155&stab=7

* Petitti Garden Centers in Ohio joined ECGC Distributors, a limited
liability company of independent garden specialty retailers. ECGC
members combine their resources for purchasing, marketing and
professional development. "We are pleased to be joining ECGC and are
excited about the learning that our staff will be able to take
advantage of, as well as provide our own contributions," Petitti CEO
Angelo Petitti said. ECGC Distributors now has 30 stores members with
more than $200 million in sales. http://www.petittigardencenter.com

* "Cactus poaching" sounds like a punch line to a joke, but it's
actually a serious problem, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Rare
and endangered cactus species are disappearing rapidly from the
Chihuahuan Desert. The likely culprits are unethical cacti suppliers,
landscapers and avid collectors.
http://www.worldwildlife.org/news/he...cfm?newsid=466

* The green roof movement will have its 1st annual trade show. The
Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference will take
place in Chicago at the Congress Plaza Hotel on May 29-30. Green roofs
is a system that allows homeowners and business to grow plants on
their roofs to conserve energy and runoff water.
http://www.greenroofs.ca/grhcc/register.html