OFA Short Course Was Incredible

OFA Short Course was again beyond anything we could have expected. Hort Couture® was one of the busiest booths at the show and we more than doubled our customer count on brochures from last year. The Sunny Succulent™ Sampler boxes at the registration drew many visitors to our booth.

Our new Culinary Couture™ program was very popular. We had many growers and retailers interested in the concept. This is a whole new way to look at selling herbs and vegetables that is really exciting! The eco-friendly packaging looks great as well. This should be available in most major markets next Spring.

The new Taste of Thailand™ Caladium Collection was also of great interest. Barry Yinger was with us to explain the program in more detail and the new varieties are really beautiful. These new Caladiums are perfect for mixed containers and are unlike anything ever seen in the market.
The new header for The Fashion Plate™ box was also a big hit. Also, the new “Dressed for Success” Paper Doll dresses for Lady Couture were the source of many photos. This allows the retailer to create wonderful endcap displays with our silhouettes for dramatic merchandising.
New plants in the booth such as Vinca ‘Angel Tutu’, Cordyline ‘Mocha Latte’ and Salvia ‘La Crema’ were among the best new plants in the entire show. The Chris Baker Signature™ Coleus varieties are really nice and many of the growers will pick them up for 2009. We are quickly becoming a company with a great arsenal of proprietary plants for our high fashion brand.
Check out our website at http://www.hortcoutureplants.com/, or contact me at jim@hortcoutureplants.com. Please call 866-955-HORT or 304.890.6565 to discuss HORT COUTURE® anytime!

Culinary Couture Makes Its Debut

Long before Hort Couture hit the market, we had a great idea that we felt would change how garden retailers sell herbs and vegetables. Culinary Couture gives consumers ideas and direction on how to use these products. By offering these products in collections, it educates and inspires the shopper. Collections such as Thai Restaurant, Salsa in the City and A Zest for Garnish are funfilled boxes of quality plants that can be merchandised in our "Trunk Show Box" in many non traditional ways. We also offer a Culinary Couture three-pack carrier with collections as well.

“Gen X consumers are looking for information and ideas. This program delivers that with great plants and modern packaging. It has tremendous potential in the market.” says Jim Monroe, Hort Couture CEO. “We have several growers that are already on board. They plugs are all certified organic as well so the grower has the option of following through with an organic program if they wish.”

Hort Couture® brings you a great selection of connoisseur vegetables and herbs in our CULINARY COUTURE™ Collection for Spring 2009. This program is exclusive from our Hort Couture Grower Network and features packaging with earth friendly black rice hull pots with our fleur de lis embossed in the pots and biodegradable tags with our Lady Couture decked out in a Hort Couture apron. All liners are produced by certified organic vendors so the grower can offer the program organic if they want. Eco Chic!

There are many exciting new plants in the line with the highlight being our new Salvia ‘La Crema’(tm) that is a wonderful new variegated form of the very popular Berggarten Sage and the wonderful variegated Citronella Plant ‘Frosted’ (pictured above) that is not only a great way to beat the mosquitos but is simply gorgeous in mixed containers.

Creating this program has really been fun to work on. We hope you will enjoy it at your business in 2009!