The Flower Press
Late Fall 2005
by Claire Roorbach Olson
I missed a few months this fall - wasn't it just summer?
We've been busy with plans to reinvent ourselves - sort of - here at Roorbach's. Our greenhouses in Manitowoc have always been a flexible space which we adapt for the various seasonal uses. Now, the space is full of Poinsettias turning daily to their bright red, white, pink, and novelty colors. As soon as Christmas is over, the benches fill with spring plants - cuttings of Geraniums, Begonias, and many others - for sale to other garden centers in Wisconsin as well as for our garden center next spring. Then, when our spring garden center time comes, benches are removed or repositioned to make the space into a customer-friendly retail space.
This isn't an easy task. So, with the advice and assistance of a nationally recognized garden center consultant from Atlanta, we are planning a remodeling of our greenhouse space. The plan will be broken down into several manageable projects to be completed over the next few years. The first area to be done will be our plant department; this is the area immediately adjacent to the flower and gift shop. We will still have the best and most unique selection of tropical/house plants in the area, only now, it will be a "Container Gardening" department as well. Here you can have a dish garden planted, an orchid repotted, a green or blooming plant trimmed for a gift.
In May and June, we will do the special planting of spring containers for our customers in this area. We are planning to expand this service next spring to include a "plant it yourself" area where customers can bring in their container and have the enjoyment of planting it themselves; they will be able to choose their own plants and make a mess, all to their heart's content. At various times throughout the year, our workshops will be held in this area. (See the "Workshop/Event" section)
In order to make this transformation, we will be pouring concrete, installing lights and removing, and rearranging benches. The next step - and, it's a huge one - will be "adding" more parking immediately in front of the garden center entrance on So. 29th St. If you've tried to park here in May and June to shop in the garden center, you know what a horrible situation was created when the angle parking was eliminated . Wish us luck on this one.
We'll keep you posted - better yet, stop in to watch our progress.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
