#57 CHOOSING THE LAND* #1 (revised 6/4) "find the rabbit"

For the others, selecting the property for green garden gates will be meticulous and straight forward. The checklist is thorough and the search could be narrowed quickly.

Nick had another task, a process that he used over the years that never let him down in choosing land for a business. He walked the land many times, in the dead of night, at rush hour, during shopping times, and on the weekends. He listened for sounds that could disturb his gardeners as they picked flowers from the outdoor tables. He felt the direction of the wind moving across the property, he watched the path of the sun as it would be traveling on the business day. He dug at the soil. He smelled the air for unpleasant odors that would cause his gardeners to hesitate in visiting green garden gates.

Nick wanted the store to mirror the atmosphere of a backyard, the peace and solemnity that his gardeners yearned for in their private worlds. These unnoticed details, these potential “rabbits” could only be discovered by standing quietly, silently on the land.

The four had little time to get settled in their new home in Tulsa. The exploration for the perfect property site needed to begin immediately.

First, they looked for more talent. In keeping with their plan of hiring local, an attorney, with a longstanding presence in the Tulsa area, was interviewed and retained. An accountant was hired who was familiar with Oklahoma laws and who possessed the technology used at green garden gates for data communication and management. The four also brought into their group, a Tulsa area real estate company specializing commercial properties as well as a consultant in land use and zoning laws for the area.

They split up and scattered in all directions in and around the city of Tulsa dragging with them the commercial property experts familiar with the plans and needs of green garden gates. After four days of running the wheels off the Plymouths, they settled on five locations as possibilities. Again, the checklist that Nick had developed long ago in his notebook proved essential to making the correct choice for the store. They gathered each evening, went down the checklist and narrowed their search, driving back again and again to the location to find the “rabbit” that was hiding which, if not discovered, would haunt them forever.

During the years when Nick volunteered in making zoning decisions for his town, he would remind new members of that group about the rabbit and their responsibility to find the rabbit.

“When builders and land developers come before us to get a zone change on land, there will be a rabbit that they will try to hide, some problem that could cause harm to the surrounding neighborhood or to new owners of the property. The rabbit will always be buried neatly out of sight in the pretty pictures and fancy words. It is our job to find the rabbit and fix it before it is too late”

Eight days after their plane landed in Tulsa, the four completed the checklist and decided on the property. It was a 2.5 acre parcel located on the outskirts of the eastern border of the City of Tulsa near the rapidly expanding residential suburbs of Broken Arrow, Owasso, and Catoosa, Oklahoma.

Describe the current condition of the property.

Land that is free of buildings and other structures is ideal for new business development. The costs of removal and reclamation can be extremely costly. There is a tendency to find value in buildings that are already on the site, but soon those structures become a liability and will be removed for additional open space or further development of the business. Look for open vacant land.

These 2.5 acres are part of a large older farming business that is currently operating. The farm owners plan to retain the farming business, but placed for sale the front part of the property located on a frontage road which is being commercially developed. There is a small hay barn on the northwest corner of the parcel. The area is fenced in barbed wire, part of the entire acreage that is fenced. There is an active and licensed well on the parcel drilled to about 100 feet and yielding high quality drinking and irrigation water free of iron or other minerals. The land is entirely grazing pasture at the present.

A property must have these vital elements for VALUE.

V An outstanding and appealing visibility for our customers.

A An easy no hassle access to our store

L A location near the gardeners and on the shopping path with other businesses

U Using the property wisely

E Purchasing the property as economical as possible

Without question, these features of a business property are the crucial issues in locating a garden store business. At the least, if you are lucky, a bad choice will only severely limit the opportunities for growth. But the odds are overwhelming that with an excessive money investment, poor access, bad visibility a remote location, and wasting the use of the property, you will fail big time very soon after the doors are open. Be honest with yourself. Don’t make excuses. If you do not have this VALUE, walk away.

V A L U E

L means Location

Is the property located near a commercial retail shopping area as well as the major residential areas of the City of Tulsa and Tulsa County?

The site is on the eastern borders of the city of Tulsa. This eastern area can be described as having the majority of higher income residential properties. The suburb is Broken Arrow; a fast growing high end community is located minutes away from the site. Additional emerging suburbs as well as manufacturing and industrial businesses are very close. The site, which was until recently mostly farmland, is on an emerging corridor of retail businesses, governmental buildings, entertainment venues, schools and religious institutions.

Near the site is a new Lowes home improvement center and a large furniture store. A new post office is slated for development within the next 18 months in this corridor. A combination middle school and high school is located near the site. A large non denominational “mega church” with a 1000 vehicle parking area is on the property to the immediate south and bordering directly on the land. A new Edwards Cineplex movie theater is within a half mile from the property. There are additional numerous parcels of farmland scattered in and around this commercial corridor.

#56 LEAVING THE GULF/ (revised 7/22)

The rays of the morning gulf sun crept up to the old wooden window and passed through the blinds onto his little yellow table as they did every morning along the Texas gulf coast. He would stick to his routine; a shower and a shave. He would reach for clean socks, underwear, shirt and shorts, sweetly warmed and fresh from the dryer. He would have his usual breakfast at the cafe, glance at the newspaper, then shed his sneakers for a slow barefoot walk along the cool sand.

Today, once more in this squiggly line of his life, it was another beginning. He was restless, eager for the start. He dug out the “nursery box” and carefully examined all those things he had put away in another life; two pairs of pruners, his hand made weeding trowel, long rubber gloves, hooks and straps for the trees and shrubs, and the tattered Sunset garden book filled with his hand written notes. He reached from the shelf and grasped the brown notebook, placed it in the box, snapped it shut and set it by the door. He packed the worn hooded blue Carhart coat for the cold days, the full army issued rain parka for the wet days, and plenty of old work shorts for the Oklahoma heat.

He had tossed all night thinking about what was ahead. He was older now. The muscles just did not work as well. The knees hobbled under the weight. The shoulders ached from the thrusts. There would be awful painful days of moving and lifting when all he would have left was to lunge forward and fall to his bed. He remembered those days when he was young and wondered if he had it in him to do it again. Sometimes, in those early struggles, he would just drift away asleep in a warm bath waking hours later to cold water and another morning.

Nick decided to keep renting the shack for a while, leaving everything just how he liked it. He was sure and unsure of it all. In his youthful days of confidence, he would have burned the bridges and never looked back. Now he wanted, now he needed this shack, this house, this home. He must lean on familiarity, if it all went bad.

He hesitated as he stepped on that bus that would take him those many miles to the Tulsa bound plane. He turned and faced the gulf waters and looked once more at this life he was giving up, the sun, the mornings and the quiet.

The cold fear of uncertainty gripped him; Do I have worth? Will I have value? Will I succeed in this grand plan that I dreamed and wrote about over these so many years? Can others, the young ones, make this dream come true better than I? What will this gray hair , this weathered face and this unsteady movement mean to them as we begin the real work? Will I just be in the way?

Nick took a seat near the back facing an opened window and the ocean breeze. He wanted again to see the light in the gardener’s eyes at what he would create. He wanted their laughter, their curiosity, to bring back his gift to learn again and teach others. He wanted green garden gates.

Nick Hudson slumped down in the seat, propped his knees up and let the afternoon sun push deep into his closed eyes. He smiled. He was ready.

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes and blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile ravaged in the corn
"Come in" she said
"I'll give you shelter from the storm".

Bob Dylan

“Shelter from the storm”

#55 OUR FIRST STORE* (revised 6/4) "packing up for tulsa"

It was now time to gather in Tulsa….


Bringing the group to Tulsa would be a large expense for their little company. Renting motel rooms, eating out, vehicles and transportation would strain their finances in short order. Every effort must be made to conserve and be efficient.

Twyla had been there several weeks preparing for their arrival. Because her responsibility is acquiring, permitting and building green garden gates, she would be there permanently for the next year. Nick would also move to Tulsa, consulting with Twyla in the building and equipment needed, setting up the operational guidelines and later helping to hire the employees. Both Sammy and Sarah would commute to and from Tulsa as needed. Lists had been drawn up for the needs of the group; medical, dental, eye care, vehicle repairs, shopping locations, economical grocery outlets, entertainment, and child care if their families were in Tulsa occasionally



Twyla leased for one year, a four bedroom vacant house in a quiet residential neighborhood near Tulsa International Airport and a major freeway leading in and out of the city. The house had been for sale for a period of time. However, because of the large amount of properties listed at the time, the owners agreed to pull it off the market and lease it for 12 months. It was a short distance by airport taxi as the group would be traveling back and forth. The house had a full two car garage, a large kitchen, three full baths and a half bath. She arranged for a lawn maintenance company to take care of the yard and plants on a weekly basis. She installed televisions in each bedroom and the living room with satellite feeds. She had broadband Internet installed and provided several desktop computers.

The house had a large den that was configured and outfitted into a meeting room, complete with a desktop telephone for conference calls as they meet. Another unexpected surprise was that the house had a small lap pool and hot tub! Nick and Twyla would manage all the operational needs of the house. The four would cook and eat together, plan together, and socialize together during the next long 12 months incubating and birthing their baby, green garden gates.



The group chose vehicles for their use in Tulsa. Two vehicles were purchased so the group could have access to transportation at any time. Both were white, used Plymouth Voyager minivans, with less than 75,000 miles. Twyla bought them for 3500.00 each and She had installed trailer hitches. They would be the type of vehicles for use in all of the stores. They were able to carry a number of passengers, they can haul items and inventory and a trailer could be rented when larger items were needed for the operation of the stores. The gas mileage was reasonable, the price was right, the insurance was moderate, the maintenance was simple, and they were pre-owned; fitting into their model of a sustainable, re-use business.



Both vehicles would announce green garden gates to Tulsa. Twyla hired a design company to create a bold statement on the Plymouths, “Hello Tulsa, Here We Come” “greengardengates” “The gardener’s store”. Together with the website address, the letters were clearly visible wherever they traveled for the next year. The address of the store and other information would be added later. Once the store was operational, one minivan would be left and the other would be driven to the next prospective site.



Since the house was unfurnished, a plan was devised outfit it. All of the furniture would be purchased at second hand stores or rented if some items were not available. Following their extended stay in Tulsa some of the furniture would be returned or donated for the tax deduction. Purchased kitchen items, bedding, mattresses, miscellaneous household items and retained furniture would be moved with the Voyager, rented trailer and another rented truck to the next site. After the store opens or if the lease expires, arrangements would be made for the group to stay at a moderately priced motel near the store at a flat rate.



The house was ready. The beds were made, the food was on the shelves. The Voyagers were painted and shiny as Twyla waiting outside the terminal for Sarah, Sammy and Nick.



Part of Twyla’s assignment over the past several months in Tulsa was to become a part of the gardening community in the city and surrounding suburbs. The group wanted to “build the buzz” early, long before the first shovel was in the ground. A series of advertisements would be routinely placed in the newspapers and on the websites to chronicle the building of green garden gates.. A number of representatives of the different gardening clubs were invited to join Twyla at the airport to welcome them and later attend a reception at the house.



The first newspaper ad was placed with the welcoming photo.

Hello Tulsa!
Here We Come!

greengardengates

#54 COMMENTS* (revised 6/4) "the orphans"

We found this sign welcoming gardeners at a store in Arkansas.

Do ya think that those Hibiscus orphans are going to get out of that store any time soon?

Do ya think the other plants on display will become orphans very soon?

Do ya think it is all over for the season?

#53 OUR FIRST STORE * (revised 6/4) "why tulsa?" part five

“I have, just down the road from my little garden store, a huge category killer superstore that has a large garden department. I just love it being there. You see, that lady has a bunch of money in her hand and she wants those geraniums for her spring flower boxes. Those big full color newspaper ads bring her to that huge superstore past my little gardening business. When she gets to those cheap geraniums, there they are, all puny and yellow and hanging down starved for just a drop of water. She turns around and walks off shaking her head. But she still wants geraniums and she still has the money in her hand and she still is going to drive right past my little store. And she sees my geraniums and she hands me the money and we both are happy

garden store owner

New Mexico

What is the competition in this area for the sales of plants and plant care products?

Competing stores that offer plants and plant care products are generally beneficial to a green garden gates. Surprisingly, locating a green garden gates near these competing businesses can be even more successful for us, rather than being out there alone somewhere.

Sometimes, however, there are just too many stores in too small a marketplace for any business to be profitable. We are very concerned about the quantity of these competitors and the quality of the products that they offer to the gardening public.

Competitive stores and outlets that offer plants and plant care products can be classified into several groups; large superstores, hardware stores, specialty landscape and outdoor living stores, seasonal tent corner stands, wholesale greenhouses and wholesale operations that also sell to the retail customer, farm supply and grocery stores, backyard home growers and retail garden stores.

Tulsa and the Tulsa area has a number of large superstores, 5 Home Depots, 7 Lowe’s Home Stores, and 20 Wal-mart stores. All of these have garden departments of various sizes. The quality of the plants and plant care products is directly related to the type of management of the operations, but they are typical of those corporations throughout the United States. There is a spring binge of plants that arrive, several refresher deliveries in the season and a low ball sellout towards the end of spring gardening in Tulsa. The plant quality and selection is excellent in the early spring, moving to awful and disgusting toward the middle to end of the season. The majority of the gardening sales in Tulsa are made through these stores regardless of the plant quality. This is because of the low margin pricing of these items. We would estimate that 75-80 percent of the market is controlled by these stores in the Tulsa market.

Tulsa has a number of moderately sized hardware affiliate stores with plants and plant care products. They do a better than average to very good job in presenting and caring for the inventory. Some move into their parking lots with large scale operations complete with checkout stands in the lots.

They are well respected by the Tulsa gardener and shopped heavily during the season. Their prices are targeted to be between the large superstores and the specialty garden stores in the area. Their selection of plant care products is often better than the specialty garden stores.

There are only a limited number of specialty landscaping and outdoor leisure stores in the Tulsa market; stores that sell items such as bulk soils, landscape rock and pavers, statuary, imported pottery and wire art, ponds and pond supplies. One store on the outer edges of the Tulsa city limits has a complete and excellent selection of landscape materials and pond supplies and has the majority of customer sales. All of the other outlets are difficult to find and not promoted heavily or even at all.

Tulsa does have a number of corner tent plant outlets in the gardening season. They are old and tired in their appearance, the plants are baking in the sun, and there is not much traffic to these outlets.

These outlets, however, return year after year with some moving to fruits and produce after the gardening season.

There is very little competitive exposure with back yard hobby growers who sell to the general public. Many, we would suspect, are concentrating on Internet sales to the region or Saturday markets rather than attempting to draw local customers to their place of business.

There are very few. if any wholesale greenhouses or wholesale growers in the area that sell to the general public. In fact, there are not a lot of greenhouses in this area at all, which may pose a problem for supplying a green garden gates. There is one large tree wholesaler that has captured most of the landscaper market and seems to be thriving and growing.

Grocery stores and “farm” type stores will offer plants and products seasonally in the Tulsa market. None of these stores venture beyond a few racks in front of their stores and are out of the business very soon. They don’t re-stock and their care of the plants is marginal to poor.

Small and large specialty garden stores are the most area of concern for placing a green garden gates in the Tulsa market place. It is the area where we concentrate our most attention in the analysis.

There was a time when there were a number of these stores in the Tulsa area. A national chain had a large presence in this market but closed its door about 10 years ago. Another major garden store that was heavily shopped also closed about 7 years ago and the land was sold to make room for highway construction. Internet garden bloggers have told us that this store was an excellent source for the Tulsa gardener. It had a huge following. There has been no replacement for these stores in the marketplace to meet the demands of a population of nearly 400,000 residents.

There are several small garden stores that are open year round. One store, called “Susie’s Plant House” is a converted gas station located in a mid block on a main arterial of Tulsa. It is landlocked, extremely tight and compact with very little parking. It is inconvenient in all respects with no growth potential. Susie’s does have a loyal following despite these deficiencies and does a fair amount of business all through the year. Another small garden store is located near the city limits of Tulsa, again small and compact with limited offerings. Other small garden stores are located in the surrounding suburbs. However, they too are quite limited and marginal at best.

Tulsa is also the home of a small group of garden stores named “Sun and Blooms”. They have a number of seasonal tent operations in both the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets as well as several year round permanent stores. This company is attempting to franchise these stores and enter other markets in Oklahoma and other regions. They are small and tight for display, parking and access. Their presentation and curb appeal varies from marginal to excellent. They offer primarily seasonal annual plants with no shrubs, trees, roses or other woody plants. The selection of plant care products is either marginal or not at all. The prices for the plants are mostly higher than other garden stores. In their permanent stores, they offer a gift line that has no consistent theme with the exception of an extensive line of religious gifts. They appear to be losing ground in the marketplace at the present and probably will continue to lose market share unless a there is a new direction in buying and presentation. Nevertheless, they could easily be a competitive problem for green garden gates if the strategic model is changed radically.

When we examined the category of modern, well presented, and conveniently located large garden stores, there are only two companies in the entire areas of Tulsa and Tulsa County. We find that fact absolutely astonishing given the large population and the gardening public that shops for plants each season.

The first is called “Shaw's” with two locations just outside the Tulsa County boundaries to the east and to the west. One store is a complete disaster, old and decayed, riddled with dusty paths and hazardous customer dangerous areas. The second outlet is beautiful with a large range of retractable roofs over a clear span display building, with plenty of modern parking and access. Both locations are primary suppliers for the landscape trade in Tulsa County and beyond. The company is owned by a major United States grower of trees and shrubs with their corporate offices located the Tulsa area. The operations could be described in a large part as a “factory outlet” for overstocked plants from the growing operations. Shaw's does a large amount of advertising to the retail market. It has a large and growing following, at least in the more modern location. It is unclear what direction the company will take in developing and expanding these stores. With the considerable assets of the corporation, and a commitment to moving forward, Shaw’s could be a worthy competitor for a green garden gates group of stores in the Tulsa area

The other large garden store, a true retail facility that derives nearly all of its income from the retail customer base is called “Hendricks”. It is a family owned and operated facility and has been since the company began over 25 years ago. It began modestly, like many garden stores, and grew steadily to a large modern business.

Hendricks has several parts; a retail garden store and retail nursery, a greenhouse operation that exclusively services the retail store, and a design and landscape construction operation. This business is a good to excellent operation joining the ranks of other premier facilities across the United States. It is highly regarded by the gardening public and the business of choice for customers in the Tulsa market. It is well run and has new recruited talent outside the family to move higher and faster in the marketplace, if the family chooses to do so.

After careful analysis of the competitive forces in the Tulsa marketplace, several factors lead us to believe that a group of green garden gates stores will grow and prosper in the Tulsa and Tulsa County area.

1. There are simply not enough modern garden stores providing quality plants and plant care products to the Tulsa marketplace. This marketplace continues to expand and the need for other quality garden stores

2. It is doubtful that, given the conditions of the overall United States economy, there will be an outside investment in land, buildings and inventory to develop a similar single location large garden center in the area.

3. It can be assumed that the existing small garden stores will generally remain the same in size and product offerings. It is also probable that a major thrust to upgrade and change directions will not occur with the franchised group of Sun and Blooms. It is also doubtful that either of the two large garden store companies will venture away from their physical boundaries or expand their product lines.

4. There will probably be less expansion of superstores in the area. Further, given the downturn of the national economy, it is likely that the garden department of these stores will remain the same in size and product offering. Moreover, given the attentiveness by management to seek products that return the most profit per square foot, the garden departments of these stores may in fact diminish in size and product offering.

5. Online shopping of garden plants and supplies continues to grow in the nation. However, there will always be a strong need by gardening customers to “feel it and touch it” when it comes to plant material. Local stores have the advantage because of the unique characteristics of plants.

6. New gardeners will continue to locate in the Tulsa marketplace. A familiar green garden gates nearly identical to another in their previous city or town has built in appeal and gravitational pull.

#52 OUR FIRST STORE* (revised 6/6) 'why tulsa?" part four

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa in the 1930’s Cain’s Ballroom is largely credited for being the birthplace of western swing music.

What is the culture of the area?

Gardening and landscaping follow a pattern of diverse leisure activities that are enjoyed by a rich and vibrant community. If the community and surrounding areas support a variety of cultural activities, the residents will be frequent customers to outlets for quality plants and plant care items for their homes and businesses.

Because Tulsa is influenced by the Midwest, Southwest, and Southern cultural regions as well as the large Native American so dominant in the state of Oklahoma, these influences are expressed in the city’s museums, performing arts venues, ethnic festivals, park systems, zoos wildlife preserves and large growing collections of public sculptures, monuments and artwork.

Museums, art, music, and performances

Museums are numerous in Tulsa. The Philbrook, located in the city of the city, is considered on of the top 50 fine arts museums in the United States. The Gilcrease Museum holds the world’s most comprehensive collection of works from the American West. The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art preserves the largest collection of Judaica in the Southwest United States. There is the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, and the Greenwood Cultural Center which preserves the history of the city’s African American heritage.

Public displays of art are funded by 1% of the annual budget of the city of Tulsa. Public art is located in numerous locations throughout the city

Tulsa has a number of permanent dance, theatre, and concert groups; The Tulsa Ballet, The Tulsa Opera, The Tulsa Symphonic Orchestra, The Tulsa Signature Symphony, The Heller Theatre, and Theatre Tulsa. Performing Arts Centers include the Tulsa Convention Center, Expo Square Pavilion, The Mabee Center and the River Parks Amphitheatre.

Music is everywhere in the city of Tulsa. The Blue Dome District of the city hosts its annual Diversafest showcasing independent and emerging artist to the 60,000 people who attend the two day event. Cain’s Ballroom, considered the birthplace of western swing, is hopping with nationally known musicians regularly. The "Tulsa Sound" developed by local musicians including Leon Russell in the 1960's and 70's, heavily influenced songwriter, Eric Clapton. Musicians who have started their musical careers in Tulsa include Garth Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, Gene Autry and David Cook. Ten miles west of the city, an outdoor amphitheatre holds the official title of the world’s performance headquarters of the musical “Oklahoma”.

Outdoor Recreation

There are 140 parks spread of 6000 acres in the city of Tulsa. Along the Arkansas River, there are 20 miles of hard surface bike trails with an additional 30 miles of mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding in the Turkey Mountain Wilderness Area all within the city. The 78 acre Tulsa Zoo was voted America’s Favorite Zoo in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios. In the nearby suburb community of Jenks, the Oklahoma Aquarium is the state’s only freestanding aquarium. The Tulsa State Fair in September attracts nearly one million people and the city’s Oktoberfest was named one of the top ten in the world by USA Magazine.

Sports

Tulsa has a wide variety of sports venues and the professional and collegiate level. The city hosts two NCAA football colleges and five professional minor league sports teams in basketball, arena football, baseball, hockey and soccer. The Southern Hills County Club is one of two of the golf courses in the city that have hosted four PGA Championships and three U.S. Open Golf Championships. The city’s running and cycling communities support events such as the Tulsa Tough cycling race, The Route 66 Marathon and the Tulsa Run which features over 8000 participants each year. Gambling is supported by the community with Indian owned and operated gaming venues. Horse racing events are hosted by the Fair Meadow Race Track and Will Rogers Downs in a nearby city.