Good riddance 2021 – on to 2022!

Let’s be real here: It’s going to feel freakin’ fantastic to wave goodbye to 2021 in a few weeks.

Travel restrictions, beloved local businesses faltering en masse, horticultural supply chain collapses precisely when you needed that sleeve of plastic 10” pots the most — it’s been a dredge and a slog and whatever other word you can toss around to describe such a depressing stretch of time.

That being said, I like to mostly keep it positive here (and in life), so let’s go ahead and state the obvious: it feels like the worst of it is now mostly in the rear-view.

Society is opening back up — the U.S. is now allowing (vaccinated and COVID-free) international visitors, a boon for our very much globally-connected horticulture industry — and people are getting comfortable doing business again the way we did it back when Corona was merely the brand name of a skunky-tasting, mass-produced Mexican lager.

I’ve just returned from a quick visit to local mega-greenhouse Green Circle Growers in Oberlin, Ohio, which is just under an hour away from our headquarters in the Cleveland metropolitan area. It was refreshing and exciting and mentally stimulating just to do what used to be so very routine — getting out of the office, away from the endless emails and Zoom meetings, and learning from the talented growers and impressive operations that make this industry so special.

Conventions and grower workshops and greenhouse tours are all returning in full force over the next year, and I’d encourage you (if you’re comfortable with it, of course) to get back out there and get some of that sweet, sweet travel #inspo back into your life. You never know where or from whom that next big idea that will transform your business will come from.

So, from our team to yours, Happy Holidays, and a very merry New Year to all!