The Big Show was BIG

They call it “the masterpiece of trade shows™”, and it delivered on that. Several of our team spent the first week in January at MANTS in Baltimore, Maryland. Last year, more than 11,000 people attended the show, and this year felt bigger and busier.

We had a wonderful time and saw tons of friends and colleagues. After full days on the floor of the trade show, we dived into after-show activities and dinners with some of our favorite people. We bring you the highlights and a few photos to share the experience.

• Part of our team attended a get-together of “Emergents.” This Facebook-based group consists of young professionals in the horticultural industry who network and share information with each other. We had a great time mingling and seeing familiar faces in person.
• Marketing Director Shannon Currey talked about green infrastructure with Brie Arthur, who was conducting interviews for Nursery Management. After the interview, they talked with editor Kelli Rodda about the growing importance of this trend in our industry. See the video.
• We visited with folks from several botanical gardens, including Andy Cabe from Riverbanks Zoo & Garden and Todd Lasseigne and Jenny Mangan from Tulsa Botanic Garden. Both gardens make smart use of grasses, and we love hearing about their expansion plans!
• Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the US National Arboretum, spent time with us. He discussed plans for the Arboretum, which include forging stronger ties with the industry and increasing their research efforts.
• The crowd loved our two newest grasses, Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Smoke Signal’ and S. scoparium ‘Twilight Zone’. These Little Bluestem show unusual colors and habits, making your choices for this species even more exciting. Check them out!

Of course, we saw many more of you who buy grasses from Hoffman Nursery. Thanks for spending time with us. It’s one of our favorite ways to get to know you better. And we love hearing how your grasses are going!