Over the past 10 years outdoor trends have shifted from preening sprawling lawns to now providing habitats for wildlife, reducing turf, and using native plants in the gardens. Christie Dustman & Company has been growing gardens for 16 years and has witnessed many trends, fads, and changes in common practices based on research. If we didn’t stay current, the cutting edge would leave us buried in the dirt!
Part of staying up to date and expanding our knowledge base is participation in continued education, gaining professional certifications, attending industry trade shows, and networking with other professionals. By taking a quick look at our ABOUT page, you can see what each of us brings to our team. We are a diverse group of educated professionals. But it is our relationships with our green industry colleagues that keeps us fresh and forward thinking.
Five of our team recently went to the 2014 Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association Summer Conference held on the turf fields of Savage Farms in Deerfield, MA. Typically these events have vendor booths set up so that you can connect with plant suppliers/growers/product manufacturers and then hear a series of lectures from various professionals in the industry. This July though was a special event because the keynote speaker, Michael A. Dirr, a Professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, is a LEGEND in the horticultural world. Imagine hearing the guru of your profession. Dr. Dirr has tremendous energy for teaching, writing, and growing plants. Normally just basking in a guru’s shadow can be satisfying – but one of our team, Jim Lynn, actually knows Dr. Dirr. They had a wonderful handshake and hello, connecting again about plants and what’s on the cutting edge.
There is pride amongst our team knowing that as we connect and learn from these green industry power players, you, our clients benefit. We look forward to continued education and networking so that you no longer have to imagine loving your garden, because you do love your garden!