Looking Back

Edward Traynor
John Mini Distinctive Landscapes
Congers, NY

In preparing to go to Florida this year, I came across an old notepad from my first buying trip to Florida back in1977 ….thirty years ago.
I visited a dozen nurseries: Hoffman, Costa, Kraft, Michaels, Tropical Ornamentals, East Marsh, Super Brothers, National, Berneckers, Leaf Nursery, Hoaks, Okomo
If you don’t recognize a few names, that’s because they don’t exist anymore. Across the bottom of the notepad were scrawled four items:

• Find at least 1 new potential plant supplier
• Learn about the Industry
• Meet people
• Have fun

And so that is what I did, that year and almost every year since.

Typically, I would go to Florida and TPIE for 3-4 days every January.
It was always a break from the New York weather and a nice ending to the hectic Holiday Decorating and Takedown epic.
Rules that I came to live by:

1. Always take pictures (Nurseries started to look similar by day 2)
2. Never say anything bad about anybody (Growers are like a big family and everyone will know what you said the next day)

Best Memories

• Joe’s Stone Crab – compliments of National Nurseries
• Drinking beer at 10:00A.M. looking at 200 gal. triple ficus at Hoffman’s
• Staying out late with George Patterson (City Gardens/Okomo)
• Getting advice from Dave Fell(Kraft)
• Costa Nursery buyers trips (Dominican Republic / Key West)
• Jimmy Connata’s Wedding
• Learning about Florida with Bill Lyden
• Looking at Big Trees with Lynn(East Marsh)
• Shooting the potato launcher with Bob McQuillan
• Having lunch with Bruce Jenson
• Having a cocktail with Gerry Leider.
• Having dinner with Debbie and Laurie
• Comparing notes with Fred Briese
• Talking about New Jerseys Tropic Greenhouses with the Cialone brothers.
• Having dinner with Don and Suzanne(Sunshine Tropical Foliage)

And so I decided to pack the old notebook with the four familiar items highlighted

• Find at least 1 new potential plant supplier
• Learn about the Industry
• Meet people
• Have fun

Hope to see you at TPIE !