G&S Nursery Spring 2016 Newsletter

Insider
SPRING 2016
WHOLE FOODS:
When
Your Fans
Become
Your
Critics
WHAT’S INSIDE | THIS ISSUE
WWW.GSNURSERY.COM
386.754.0161
CHAD STEWART
BILLY WALKS
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

Monarchs on the Rebound
Monarch butterflies make an amazing
2,500 mile migration from Canada
to Mexico every year. It hardly seems
possible that such delicate, meandering
creatures could propel themselves
in any purposeful way for 100 miles in
their lifetime, let alone 2,500. Yet this
is the well-documented life cycle that
monarchs have hewn to since time immemorial.
In recent years, the numbers of monarch
butterflies have been declining.
The reference indicator for monarch
population is how much area they
occupy every winter in the forests of
Michoacan state in Mexico. In 2013,
the butterflies concentrated in just 1.7
acres of territory, which is the lowest on
record.
The highest recorded concentration of
monarchs was 1996, when they occupied
44 acres.
The good news is that the numbers have
been increasing since 2013. This winter,
the trees of Michoacan are loaded down
with enough butterflies to cover 10 acres,
which is an increase of almost four times
the population from the year before!
Pinpointing the reason for the resurgence
of the species is almost as tricky as
explaining what has caused their decline.
Deforestation, climate change, pollution,
and loss of habitat are all plausible
reasons to explain the deterioration of
numbers, but what’s so different now that
they seem to be coming back? Weather
certainly plays a role, and the El Niño effect
has translated into butterfly-friendly
conditions this year. Butterfly advocate
groups such as Monarch Watch believe
that their conservation efforts are also
contributing to the resurgence, most notably
from an initiative to plant milkweed
along the migratory routes.
Monarch Butterflies cluster on fir trees in Michoacan
2
2
AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File

SNEAKING INTO SPRING
Greetings friends!
I wonder if you feel the same way I do about the
end of winter. I know it’s odd, but I’m feeling a little
guilty. I can’t remember another winter that had
so little discomfort. My typical winter reginmen
consists of endless routines of putting down frost
cloth in the evening and taking it up the next morning;
dealing with cold damage to our more sensitive
plants; and facing at least a handful of days so
miserable that the only way to get through is to reassure
yourself that spring is on the way. Then when
spring finally does arrive, we can usually count on
that one last blast of unseasonable cold that shows
up for a day or two in late March or early April.
This year, our frost cloth stayed rolled up in the shed as many nights as we
took it out. Dogwoods bloomed early and I’m not expecting to get kicked in
the butt with any late season frost. It’s like we’re getting to advance to spring
without having to pay the cost of admission. That’s why I’m feeling guilty. Am
I the only one who feels this way?
We had another good show in Jacksonville this winter. I’m grateful to be a
part of a group of people in North Central Florida who care so much about
the lanscape plant industry to invest their time and resources into promoting
it.
2016 has been a busy time at the nursery for a number of reasons. We said
a good-bye to our long-time bookkeeper Mary Kock, who has decided to
retire, and are pleased to have added Chad Stewart to our staff who is going
to handle our financial affairs and direct our marketing efforts. You can read
about him on page 6. We have also just added a new bookkeeper/office
manager, Nikki Knotts.
Also Charlie Lacey just returned from his trip to Acapulco. He and his wife
and baby went down to visit family for the first time since they were married.
You may recall that storied Mexican city is Charlie’s wife Carolina’s home
town. I look forward to learning more about his trip in the days ahead,
To Your Succes!
Zack Kirsch
General Manager
G&S Nursery
3

Whole Foods Struggles to Stay in the
Good Graces of the Activist Customers
Who Made Them Mighty
Whole Foods, the socially conscious
grocery chain has risen
to great heights partly because it
has carefully cultivated an image
of being more concerned about
sustainability, quality of life, and
other values that resonate with their
customer base. They are just one
of an elite
group of
large corporations
that have
convinced
a cynical
public that
they operate
on a
different moral plane than traditional
corporations.
A company that enjoys an affinity of
purpose with its shoppers usually
has less concern for the traditional
checks and balances of the free
market, like price competition or
convenience. There are a lot of
shoppers out there who don’t mind
driving across town and paying
more—sometimes a lot more—because
they feel like they are supporting
the good guys when they
shop there.
But the socially conscious corporation
has to know that their connection
to their adoring customers
can be a mile wide but only an inch
deep. They have to live in fear of the
day the breeze blows in a different
direction. The culture that so
enthusiastically supports business
percieved as progressive tends to
hold an “all or nothing” attitude. If
you fail any of a bewildering array of
litmus tests, the angry internet mob
can mobilize in an instant. It must
be fairly unnerving to know that at
any time you could go from hero to
goat because of some faux pas that
a clerk at one of your locations might
happen to commit.
Whole Foods has had to learn this
the hard way. Founder and Chairman
John Mackey learned a few years
ago what would happen if he shared
his thoughtful and well-reasoned
views on health care policy from the
perspective of an employer when
Obamacare was being debated.
Many customers felt shocked and
betrayed to learn that Whole Foods
was run by someone who cared
about costs when the neediest
among us had inadequate healthcare.
Last year, a Maryland Whole Foods
store tweeted out a photo of some
smiling National Guard soldiers holding
a large satchel of sandwiches
from the store. They were in the mid-
4

Exhibit A in the case against Whole Foods commitment
to the environment: Oranges in plastic
dle of peace-keeping duties during
the Baltimore riots and were pleased
to partake of the generosity of a local
merchant. Bad optics, Whole Foods!
The Twitter critics slapped their wrists
for making it seem like these soldiers
(of dubious merit on the politically
correct scorecard) were more important
than at-risk kids who were
being deprived of their lunch when
the unrest closed the schools. It did
not matter that they were feeding the
schoolkids, too, what mattered was
what they tweeted.
With so much on the line, it’s no wonder
the chain was quick to reverse
course and apologize when the Twitter
thought-police took them to task
for offering peeled whole oranges
for sale in plastic containers in the
produce department.
It started with a tweet from @awlilnatty:
“If only nature would find a way
to cover these oranges so we didn’t
need to waste so much plastic on
them.” Several retweets and comments
including the disapproving
epithet SMH (shaking my head) later,
the company caved. In no time at all,
the oranges were off the shelves and
the company twitter feed was sheepishly
repentant.
Looking at this situation from a detached
perspective, the free-market
businessperson will have a different
take on the whole tempest in a
teapot. How are peeled oranges that
far different from pineapples that
are sold without their husks? Others
raised the valid point that there may
be people with disabilities who would
appreciate buying an orange that
was peeled for them. In a traditional
market situation, new ideas are tried
out all the time, and the ones that sell
get to stay. The ones that don’t get
the boot. Is it good for society that
these decisions be made instead by
fickle social crusaders? But when a
company rises to greatness on the
wings of social consciousness, that
company had best beware lest this
vague concept of social consciousness
demand to be made chairman
of the board of directors.
5

Featured Plant
Knock Out ® Roses
Rosa ‘Radrazz’
William Radler ought to be a celebrity,
but he doesn’t even merit his
own page on Wikipedia.
What—you’ve never heard of him
either?
Why, William Radler is the Wisconsin
horticulturalist who took the aggravation
and disappointment out
of roses. Radler is the man who first
bred the Knock Out ® rose.
Knock Out roses are roses that
behave themselves without needing
constant attention. They bloom
constantly and profusely throughout
spring, summer and fall. They make
a wonderful hedge and respond well
to hedge trimming.
Radler has been interested in
roses all his life. His life’s mission
is to “breed the maintenance out of
Knock Out® Roses
3 gal...................... $12.50 $11.50
roses.” The Knock Out was his first commercial
success, introduced by the Conard-Pyle
Company in 2000.
G&S offers Knock Outs in pink and red, both
for the same price. Plant them in full sun for
best results.
PRICES GOOD THROUGH MAY 15
Introducing: Chad Stewart
Joining the staff here at G&S is our director
of finance and marketing, Chad
Stewart. Chad has worked in small
business and the real estate sales
industry before joining G&S Nursery.
We happy to have him on board as
we continue to grow and increase our
ability to serve our customers.
Chad was born in South Dakota but
has lived in Lake City virutally all of his life. He and wife Joni have a
5-year-old daughter, Francesca. Chad enjoys spending time with his
family and traveling.
6

Tales from the Road
WOUNDED KNEE: RECOVERY ROOM
By Billy Clements
EDITORS NOTE: This is
the conclusion of a twopart
story about Billy’s
knee injury which he
suffered in 2015.
I groggily regained
consciousness in a
room full of other
zombies; all coming
out of their anesthetically
induced
naps as well. Several minutes later
I was rolled into a recovery room
which was to become my home for
the next three days. With the St.
Johns River flowing gently past my
window, I set my sail towards the
warm tradewinds of recovery.
You have NO dignity in the hospital.
Doctors and nurses coming into
your room all hours of the day and
night. Physical therapists marching
you around the halls in nothing
but your apron, specialists drawing
every fluid the human body can
produce... I will say this—Count
Dracula has nothing on a night shift
nurse! The dietician comes in and
tells you that you have to watch
your diet and lose weight! Then, he
holds the door open for the lunch
lady bearing trays full of mashed
potatoes, gravy, and chocolate
pudding! Someone has it all figured
out, but it sure isn’t me.
Upon release, I spent the next seven
weeks shackled in a full length
leg brace unable to bend at the
knee for any reason. This somewhat
perplexed my home physical
therapist as she had me listed as a
SHOULDER injury! I still have follow up
appointments with the doc and during
the last one, I noticed that there was
an autographed jersey mounted on the
wall of a former NFL quarterback. This
was undoubtedly a reward of gratitude
because this facility treats a variety of
sports injuries as well. I offered to sign
an old t-shirt and donate it to them but,
they assured me that they were “good.”
AS I hobble closer to the light at the end
of the tunnel, I must say thank you to
everyone who has helped me along the
way. From the crew of landscapers at
the scene to Zack, Jorge, and Gabriel at
G&S who stepped up in more ways than
I could imagine. Then, of course, there’s
my loving wife. Through it all, she never
left my side. Thank God for His neverending
love and mercy. It’s great to be
once again grinding gears and coasting
through intersections; anxiously searching
for my next delivery destination.
7

P.O. Box 215
Lake City FL 32056
www.gsnursery.com
RIDDLE OF THE MONTH
You are in a room with 3 chimpanzees. One has a banana, the other has a stick; the
third chimp has nothing. Who is the smartest primate in the
room?
Send in your answer to sales@gsnusery.com before MAY
20. All correct answers will be entered into a drawing
to win one of three Supreme home cook oven and grill
wireless thermometers!
LAST MONTH’S RIDDLE:
Name a seven letter word from which, if you take away four letters, you will have
one left. Hint: the word means to allow or give permission to something that is
controversial or wrong.
ANSWER: CONDONE
Last Month’s Winners:
Zen Silva
Barbara from Reed’s Weeds & Flowers
Devin Casha