The Independent Garden Center Show is an annual trade show put on by Nursery Retailer magazine.  Attending the Hardware Show and the IGC Show help me keep up-to-date on the newest trends in lawn and garden and aware of new products that can help my clients be more successful.

The magazine invites owners and managers of independent garden centers to come to the show to visit with key suppliers to their channel in a trade show environment.  These buyers are treated very well...one of the gifts was a great carryall that is just the right size for a laptop and all the assorted brochures, etc. that one accumulates at shows like this.  There were two free evening parties (including a concert by the band "Kansas") sponsored by exhibitors to add to the fun.

The positive energy at the show was extraordinary.  Even though the doors opened 1/2 hour late the first day, my guess is that all of the attendees were delighted they came.  On the whole, high quality products were offered and many exhibitors offered special pricing at the show.  The aisles were not too wide...one felt that there was a good crowd as people moved from booth to booth. 

The exhibitors saw great traffic and they were ready to take orders.  Several of the exhibitors that I talked with said that the show paid for itself and in this business, that is not always the case.  I talked with many old friends and formed some new connections both for Johnstone Advantage and my company Have Green Thumb.  And it was great to see so many members of the Mailorder Gardening Association there looking for new products for their businesses!

Even though I was there for all three days, it wasn't enough time to talk with everyone that I wanted to.  I left excited but a little frustrated because I wasn't able to see everyone that I would have liked to see.  Oh well, there is always MANTS and the MGA meeting in January!