What cut flowers and wordle have in common

Added on 25 April 2022

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What cut flowers and wordle have in common

I have written for years. It is a little scary to write something that many others will read, and even scarier to do it every month. For content, sometimes I will purposefully seek ideas at trade shows and industry gatherings, listening to people's comments on issues, problems, and successes. I go out of my way at California Spring Trials, Cultivate, MANTS, and other gatherings to share new plants and trends.

And then sometimes without my even being aware, realities just wash over me. In this space, I have watched the evolution of the houseplant passion by apartment dwellers (they even name their fiddleleaf figs). I have been astonished at the passion for succulents, and I have watched people embrace the joy of plants and gardens to reduce the misery of COVID-19. I realized, without doing anything, that we are essential. It took something dreadful like COVID to truly expose our value to others. Sometimes filling this column can be easy.

Now, I have been blindsided again. As I have been simply minding my own business, two more events are washing over me without my asking. One is rather silly to share with you, but it shows nothing stays the same. The other just keeps growing.

Two Popular Trends

I will ask you three questions. First, what do the following words have in common:

Skill
Elder
Watch
Humor

They are all five-letter words and that's about it. However, many of you will immediately recognize these as recent answers to a new phenomenon called Wordle.

Likely at least one member of your family has gone quiet (or loudly cursed) for 15 minutes while trying to come up with the word of the day. I enjoy puzzles, but the popularity of this has gone through the roof I had no idea.

Here's my second question: What do the following people have in common?

Judy Laushman
Nicole Pitt
Erin Benzakein

These are but three people, of many I am sure, who are true innovators and influencers of one of the lesser talked about aspects of our business: domestic cut flower production. Judy is the Executive Director of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG). Nicole is the owner of Flower Hill Farm in New York, and Erin is the Founder of Floret, a cut flower operation in Washington State. These are amazing people, who I have gotten to know vicariously through the many people who sing their praises every day.