Redesigning women

Most people have been lucky to have women who inspire us in our lives. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, wives – the list goes on. Personally, I wouldn’t have developed into the person I am today if my mother hadn’t instilled a love of reading in me. One of my favorite old family photos shows my parents and me outside Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West. I’m about nine years old, wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates t-shirt and carrying my worn paperback copy of the “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” I don’t remember much about the house, other than the astounding number of cats roaming the property. But it was a place where a great author had lived, and books were important to my mom. She showed me their ability to transport the reader to another world or time. It’s just one of the many gifts she gave me, but it’s one I’m most thankful to have received.

March is Women’s History Month in the U.S. and March 8 is International Women’s Day. So we thought it was fitting to focus our March magazine on the excellent women doing great work in our industry.

We’re excited to bring you a series of articles, podcasts and videos with the Leading Women of Horticulture. We’ve been interviewing women at all levels of the nursery and greenhouse business about their work and experiences in the green industry. Their stories are amazing and inspiring. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about their journeys. In many ways, they’re redesigning the horticulture industry.

You may have noticed I mentioned “podcasts” a few paragraphs ago. That’s right, the GIE Media Horticulture Group has started a podcast. Each month on The Growth Industry podcast, our editors will share insights, interview experts and get to the root of issues that impact the entire green industry. In our first episode, Greenhouse Management magazine Editor Patrick A. Coleman joined me to dig deep into data of our State of the Industry reports. Future episodes will explore the latest horticultural trends and innovations.

We’re proud to feature so many Leading Women of Horticulture in this issue. But there is so much more than we could fit in these 52 pages, so watch for even more of this series online and in future issues of Nursery Management. And if you know someone we should shine this particular spotlight on, please let us know. Send me an email or give me a call.