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News News News Friday, May 16th, 2008 Things are always changing around the Garden Center & Nursery. If you've been here before, you've probably noticed... 18th Open House Pictures. Here are a few pics of that very busy day, with over 1,500 people enjoying the weather, new plant material, food and music. Do we put on a great time or what? 18th Open House pics "Ongoing Projects" Website Page, Revised. The revised Ongoing Projects Page is now re-organized by category, into 11 distinctly-separate page topics, and made easier for you to simply browse the page's index/contents, and make a choice. The pics of our work, are impressive. Be sure to take a sandwich and iced tea along, as you'll be there for quite a while. Drip Irrigation Systems. Now in our 6th year of The Unending Drought From Hell, I've mandated that Drip Irrigation Systems be included on all new Landscape Installations, during that period, or there is no 5-Year Warranty for the plants. We can also easily and economically retrofit your existing gardens with highly-effective, Drip Irrigation Systems, to allow you to care for your plant material at a minimum of muss and fuss, while dutifully-conserving water, whether you're on a private well, or a city water utility. With an investmdent of thousands in your residence's plant material, doesn't it just make common sense. Call us for a free consultation and estimate. A new corporate print ad will be coming-out, sometime in 2008, touting the benefits of Drip Irrigation Systems. Meanwhile, the web ad edition is up, on our Advertising Pages. New Weekend Hours. After 16 of our 18 years of being open on both Saturday and Sunday, I've decided to close on Sunday. In 1991, when I opened John Shelley's Garden Center & Nursery, I was opposed by several local Church groups, for being the first and only GC&N to be open on Sunday. I simply told them all that, "God's Gardens needs tending 7 days a week", and they dropped the issue. Since then, almost all of the local retail garden centers and retail nursery operations have followed me, and adopted Sunday hours, with several being open more than the simple, Church-accomodating, 5-hour shopping schedule, which I originally adopted. As of Sunday, May 6th, 2007, I closed on Sunday. Please adjust your visitation and shopping schedules, accordingly. Nursery Retailer Article, Nov-Dec 2007. One of the most respected trade magazines in the Horticulture Industry — Nursery Retailer — has featured JSGC&N's Water Gardens, in their November-December 2007 issue, expertly-written by freelance writers, Suz & Steve Trusty. Their online archive unfortunately omits 7 of the 8 pics, shown in the print version, which we digitally-shot and submitted to Suz for her article about us, which I then edited prior to the article's publication. But nice job, anyway. "Media Reviews" Page, Revised. The Media Reviews Page, is now re-organized it in descending order, by date, and the quotes are clarified, by media organization. It makes more sense, now, IMO. And it's easier to figure-out who said what, about JSGC&N. We Saved A Hummingbird. Perhaps once in some peoples' lifetime, those lucky enough to be ***in the right place at the right time***, can and do save a helpless creature's life. I was in ***that place***, on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 8:15am. The full story and pictures, are here. Great Restaurants In The York Area. If you're visiting my Garden Center & Nursery Complex, from afar or anywhere in-between, and need culinary sustenance and refreshing libation, after a day of shopping and purchasing rare, unusual and hard-to-find nursery stock, we've put together a comprehensive Restaurant Reviews section, near the bottom of the Visitors Page, for you to choose a great evening meal and refreshing drinks. The establishments are ordered, rated and ranked, according to the criteria listed in the introductory paragraph. Enjoy. Landscape Design Help Is Available. My Staff Landscape Designer, James, is readily-available to help you make the right decision and choice, the first time. We do not do free landscape plans. We do charge first-time customers for their detailed landscape plans. A detailed, installation cost estimate automatically follows its completion, and you own the plan. If all you require is a simple, on-site sketch, by James, he can do that for a flat $50/hr fee. His first site visit is free, and from there, he can give you an estimate of what your project's total design estimate will cost. Please keep in mind that he does not provide full landscape installation cost estimates; he provides landscape design estimates. I will provide the full or phased installation cost estimate, after you and James have finished the design phase. Without a landscape design, there can be no full-project, cost estimate. So let's take the "first step" together, by doing a landscape design plan, and then the estimate, in that order. You may call James directly on his GC&N Cell Phone, at 717.891.6174, and arrange an appointment with him, at your convenience. New StoneWorks Display Yard. An almost 1 acre display of irregular flagstone patios and walks, brick walks, stacked stone walls, stacked boulder walls, dry stream beds, boulder steps and mortared stacked-stone columns, is finished, and it's called The StoneWorks Yard . It's just below the main parking lot and is fully-landscaped, to give you some ideas for work we can do around your residence. There are also pallets of standing flags, stacked stone and boulders, for sale, so you can do your own work. Stop by for a visit, and a materials' price quote, when you're in the area. RIP Pickle, 1990 - 2005. My little friend and companion of 15 years, and Garden Center Icon, Pickle, died on Wednesday, August 17th, 2005 at 3:45pm, and is buried at the top of the Garden Center front steps, on the left side. I've put together a montage of Pickle Pics, over the years for you to see and enjoy. And here's that week's sad Friday Journal entry, which details more about Pickle and me, over the past 15 years. To say 'hi' to Pickle; just rub your browser; he'll know it's you. McGraw-Hill-Irwin Co Textbook Mentions www.gdnctr.com The 7th edition, publish date yet to be released, of Introduction To Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy, features www.gdnctr.com in Chapter One, page 3. Here's a mock-up of the galley-proof I received on Thursday, for my approval. Quite an honor, to be sure. If it's linked online, I will also link to it. Otherwise, I've requested a hard-copy when it's due out. People, Places & Plants Magazine Story. Both the print and online edition featured yours truly and www.gdnctr.com in their April issue's "Garden Centers 2003" story about us, Madison Avenue Retreat. Check the Reviews Page for the link. York Daily Record "White Roses and Thorns". Over the years, we've done a lot of community service work for Central Pennsylvania, specifically the York County area. This Summer, we donated thousands of dollars of trees to the Borough of New Freedom to enhance the Heritage Rail Trail (bicycling and hiking trails), as well as to the Borough Facilities & Parks Dept, to the New Freedom Garden Club to also beautify the Trail for bikers and hikers, and to York Vo-Tech School to assist their students in the study of horticulture, and we donated used computers, faxes and copy machines to the Stewartstown Historical Society offices. We're always glad to lend a hand. Getting a "mention" in the YDR Roses & Thorns column is quite an achievement. Entrepreneur Magazine Story. Both the print and online edition featured yours truly and www.gdnctr.com in their May issue, Entrepreneur's Netpreneur. Check the Reviews Page for the link. Planning To Visit Us? A new, easier-to-follow York County map has been added, with mileage figures from numerous starting points to York. We're just a few miles south, and the spot is designated by a red (X). Check the Visitors Page for the link. USA Today Newspaper Story. Both the print and online edition featured yours truly and www.gdnctr.com in their June 30th story on "high end water gardens". Check the Reviews Page for the link. Employment Opportunities. Really good people, dedicated to the horticulture industry, are hard-to-find. And when we find them, we pay them well and keep them happy. Check the Employment Page for details. "Roots & Shoots" Newsletter, Back Online! After a two-year hiatus, we're back online, now! You can read the current issue of Roots & Shoots, browse past issues going back to '95, and sign-up for the print version. Re-Designed Awards Page. Well, not another first in the region: we're online now, same old link, after weeks of evaluating formats, design, content, graphics, et al. Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Another first in the region: we're using "good" insects to control "bad" insects. Read how and why we do it. Here's the local newspaper's story on our use of IPM. Marketing Speeches. In June, 1998, I was in Greenville, SC, to give a marketing presentation on the evening of the second day in the regional, 3-day SGCTS Conference. How To Do Business On The Web was the topic. The speech text is posted here. The full story is in this Journal entry. In February, 1997, I spoke at the PLNA Conference in Hershey, PA, and delivered a talk on How To Position A Garden Center In A Local Market, using a simple outline. MS-PowerPoint failed and I had to give the speech impromptu. If my outline online doesn't make complete sense, buy Jack & Al's books. The bibliography and purchase information are listed at the end of the speech text. And if you ask nicely, they'll inscribe them for you. Corporate Advertising. A vast, major remake is also completed for the Advertising Pages; specifically the individual ads, which have run in local and regional media for the past 16 years. Gardening Questions? Winter is here. If you, your family or friends have any problems or questions that you'd like a straight, honest answer to, send me some mail and I'll have an answer back to you right away. I know how impatient Gardeners can be. I'm one too. Houseplants, the outdoor planted garden, a water garden, trees; whatever you're interested in having some quality help with. If you have any special requests, send me some mail. The sign-up box for our quarterly newsletter, Roots & Shoots, is here. FAQs and Mail. I get a lot of mail. On some days, well over 500 email and letters from people who have pressing gardening and horticulture-related questions which they need answered. And I really enjoy answering all the questions. If you want to send me a note, please read my FAQs first. It will probably answer some of your questions. But please feel free to send me mail if you've got a question on horticulture or anything else. Media Reviews. The new Reviews Pages are up, with some very nice things said about our Website. Several were a complete surprise to me. Read what the pundits are saying about www.gdnctr.com. ©1996 - 2008. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. John Shelley's Garden Center & Nursery, Inc. 13579 Winterstown Road, Felton, PA. 17322-8522 vox: (717) 246-1414 & 1-800-828-3405 (Pa-Md),  fax: (717) 246-2170, Last updated 5/16/08. 163,078,332 visitors since 1/26/96.