November and December was a busy time for Severts Tree Farm.  After the trees are cut , numbers are tallied, presents are purchased a week before Christmas – we look forward to a change in January.  It is the best time to find out how our customers did this season.  We had a great time at the tradeshows in January.  We started out with MANTS 2011 – the “Masterpiece of Trade Shows”, held January 5-7.  It was our first time attending the show in Baltimore, Maryland.  There was a total of 10,432 registered attendees and 969 exhibiting companies with 1,530 booths. The buyers in attendance represented 3,298 different companies.  Next on our list was the CENTS Show January 25-27 in Columbus, Ohio.  I was very impressed to learn that Ohio is a big horticultural state.  I found it was a great place for networking and marketing.  Met alot of great people in the industry.  We finished up at the Mid-States Horticultural Expo, held in Louisville, Kentucky, January 28 – 29.

Since we have just started attending shows (in 2010);  it was very exciting to see familiar faces and meet up with some of our customers.  I love to ask how their Christmas tree sales were in 2010 along with getting feedback about what sizes sold well, what wreaths were hot.  It gives me great ideas for the 2011 season.  And for the record, our customers said they did better in 2010 than the previous year.  It might be a small increase in numbers, but I will take it.

 Our next scheduled tradeshow is The Penn Atlantic Nursery Trade Show August 2-4.  I’m very excited about incorporating new wreath ideas into our double-booth this year.