Ep. 42: The EPIC Taste Challenge

Seth conducts The EPIC Taste Challenge—with Bill and Mason testing Oreo cookie flavors and ranking them based on preference. Then The Squad discusses the garden mum season and what garden centers should be (or could be) doing in late October/Early November. Mason shares the juggling act of a family wedding, a concert outing and parenting logistics, then the hosts compare concert experiences and reminisce about early-2000s alternative rock. The Plant Wheel of Excitement lands on geranium this week, which leads to plenty of discussion. Follow The Squad on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

The Squad—Bill, Mason and Seth—get into the Halloween spirit (though sadly Seth's connection drops partway through … but we still love him). Mason recaps a family trip to Disneyland during Oogie Boogie Bash. Then comes a round of rapid-fire Halloween questions and a candy debate that gets heated. (Note: Mason is WRONG.) The hosts also talk about what scares them in the horticulture industry and the episode ends with a spin of the plant wheel that lands on Lantana.Follow The Squad on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

Mason Day and Bill Calkins hold down the fort this week and cover a CRAZY amount of topics—starting with life updates and quickly moving into what the horticulture industry should “double down” on. The double-down centers on three big ideas: plant health and wellness, sensory marketing beyond just visual appeal and stronger support for organizations that build the industry’s future.Bill also brings in the broader career pipeline conversation, arguing that horticulture should be promoted earlier and more aggressively as a real career path. Along the way, they swap stories from conferences, compare notes on mums and poinsettias and somehow end up on minivans, truck failures and the KFC Double Down.Key topics:We discuss the behind-the-scenes reality of the show this week, with Seth out for meetings and Mason and Bill carrying the episode.Mason shares a chaotic week of injuries and travel problems, including a wrist injury from a bee chase, a smashed knee and a truck starter failure on I-94 near Gary, Indiana.Bill recaps the Ohio Floriculture and Nursery Conference at Ohio State, highlighting keynote speaker Dr. Mary Hausbeck and the strength of the event.Mason talks about Grower Connect in South Carolina and the value of talking directly with top greenhouse growers about nutrient needs and industry priorities.They debate whether mums are being overproduced in the Midwest, and Mason pushes back on the idea that mums are “easy,” citing disease pressure, nutrient demands and weather swings.The conversation turns to poinsettias, especially painted poinsettias, and how growers sometimes focus too much on the product and not enough on the customer.Bill’s first major “double down” idea is horticulture as a healthy activity and self-care tool, with emphasis on gardening, watering, shopping for plants and mental health benefits.Mason expands that into sensory marketing, especially scent, arguing that the industry underuses smell, touch and tactile experience in plant retail.Bill adds tough plants as another major focus, arguing that breeding should prioritize environmental resilience, weather tolerance and durability over color and novelty.Mason reinforces the need to support organizations like America in Bloom, Seed Your Future, HRI, AmericanHort and Kids Gardening, framing them as the industry’s real version of a “Got Milk” style movement.Bill makes the case for promoting horticulture as a career much earlier, especially in high school, since the field offers science, art, nature and technology without being easily replaced by AI.The episode closes with a hot take on auto start-stop systems in cars, which Mason blames for his truck starter failure during a family travel nightmare.

Katie Dubow, president of Garden Media Group, joins Bill Calkins, Seth Reed and Mason Day for a lively conversation about green industry trends, trends that will NEVER be discussed, selling plants on television (and Mars), why coffee is the only true hot drink and how to market a game named for a man’s nuts. Read the 2027 Garden Trends Report: https://gardenmediagroup.com/trends/ Follow the Squad on Instagram: @GHSquadPodIn this episode: - Katie shares how she found her way from sports broadcasting and PR into horticulture—and how Garden Media Group grew from her mom’s basement startup.- The group explores Katie’s experience selling plants on QVC, including the role of trusted host, late-night shopping and the surprising volume of plant sales.- Katie reflects on Garden Media Group’s trend report and the ideas that helped shape the industry, including houseplant marketing and native plants.- They discuss trends that missed the mark, from robotic weeders to fake plants and consider sustainability challenges around plastic pots and packaging.- The conversation goes interplanetary: the group imagines which plants might suit Mars, with potatoes, kangaroo paw and mangaves in the mix.- Katie explains how a family game called Jason’s Nuts became a side hustle, prompting a conversation about the return of hands-on games and in-person connection.- The Squad talks fall color, mums, industry research and wrap with a spirited hot take about morning tea drinkers.

This episode explores why volunteering in horticulture organizations matters, what America In Bloom is doing to beautify communities and how plants can inspire civic pride while creating value for local businesses. Bill, Seth, and Mason share perspectives spanning association work, community involvement and hands-on horticulture.The conversation covers how industry involvement builds networks and perspective, alongside highlights from last week’s America In Bloom symposium celebrating the organization’s 25th anniversary. (AIB President) Mason explains how communities, garden clubs and local leaders can use beautification to improve quality of life and increase visibility for horticulture businesses.Then the Squad spins the Plant Wheel of Excitement—landing on sunflower. They run through shout outs and hot takes and close with the fun banter you’ve come to expect. Learn more about America In Bloom: https://americainbloom.org/ Check out the Wild Mile: https://wildmile.org/Follow us on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

This episode features a special guest! And dang, he’s a good one. This is a conversation with Jerry Schmitt of Stein’s Garden & Home in Wisconsin. Jerry joined The Squad (Mason, Bill and Seth) to add some intelligence and decades of experience to the usual shenanigans. Jerry brings more than 50 years of retail and livegoods experience, offering a fascinating perspective on how independent garden centers have evolved, what still gets shoppers excited and how the industry keeps adapting. They cover Stein’s history, retail strategy, memorable product experiments and the future of the garden center experience. This is a perfect episode for anyone interested in merchandising, trend spotting and how independents stay relevant alongside big-box competition. They also spin the old Plant Wheel of Excitement and land on calibrachoa. Everyone has thoughts on calis. Follow The Squad on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

Although Mason abandoned them this week, Bill and Seth knock it out of the park with this duo cast (after missing last week), then spend most of the show trading rapid-fire “would you rather” questions—personal, professional and just plain crazy.Along the way, they dig into where ideas come from, how to force better audience engagement when giving presentations and why some plant categories feel more useful than exciting (daylilies). This episode is the usual mix of horticulture industry banter, personal preference debates and practical takeaways for just about anyone … or no one. Seth and Bill close with shout-outs for the upcoming Plug & Cutting Conference and friend-of-the-show Marcus’s new job.Follow us on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

This time, The Squad debates what’s overrated in the plant world and beyond. The three fire off hot takes on everything from mulch and verbena to cherry tomatoes, marigolds, big plant tags and strawberry planters. Heck, they even drop the hammer on manicured lawns, hell strips/parkways/treelawns and sidewalks.Then the crew spins the Plant Wheel of Excitement—landing on hosta. This leads to a deep dive into why hostas are reliable and easy, the beauty of specimen hostas in botanical gardens, the common name “plantain lily” and Mason’s million-dollar concept: Houstas.At the end, the amazing hosts share listener feedback and industry frustrations, including supplier backorders, hipping damage, customer questions in garden centers, product availability and ordering headaches and the impact of BFG’s bankruptcy on the hardgoods side of the industry.Follow us on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

In this episode, The Squad (Mason, Seth and Bill) tackles the everyday annoyances, industry gripes and pet peeves that make horticulture such a love-hate business. The three of them trade stories from greenhouses, garden centers and the road while unpacking what really drives growers crazy.They also discuss the gap between how plants are marketed and how they’re actually cared for, why some industry gripes are fair and others are overblown and which recurring problems seem to unite everyone in horticulture. Along the way, the trio also shares a few personal updates, some school-year chaos and spins the Plant Wheel of Excitement—landing on Angelonia.Follow The Squad on Instagram: @GHSquadPod

Seth and Bill hold down the fort for this one. Maybe Mason did not care for the numerology of episode 33? The dynamic duo discusses some of their favorite garden centers in America and explains exactly why they’ve both been to hundreds of them over the years. Then they share some boneheaded mistakes they’ve made … and learned from. Towards the end, they spin the Plant Wheel of Excitement (Echinacea, which made Seth so happy …) and drop a couple shout outs and hot takes before closing it out. Follow the Squad on Instagram: @GHSquadPod