Calendar

TODAY - CNGA Member BBQ and Mini-Workshop, Nordic Gardens, Carbondale

Oct. 8, 2026 - Women in Horticulture Luncheon, Speaker Anna Ball

Oct. 15 - CNGA Member BBQ and Mini-Workshop, Alameda Greenhouse, Albuquerque

Oct. 21, 2026 - CNGA Fall Workshop: Propagation in Practice

Oct. 27, 2026 - CCNP 2026 Seminars and Exam

Oct. 29-30 2026 - LEVEL UP, Golden, CO

Jan. 27, 2027 - Industry Celebration, Denver, CO

New on the CNGA Classifieds



Potting Machine - Red Truck Farms, Timnath, CO

Prep for Pesticide Applicator Licensure -

Now in Spanish

Pesticide Application and Safety Basics is a CSU course designed to help professionals build essential knowledge in pesticide safety, application best practices, and Colorado-specific regulations. The course is now available in Spanish! This online, self-paced program is ideal for commercial and private pesticide applicators who are working toward licensure as an applicator, supervisor, or operator - and may also satisfy technician classroom training requirements.

With expert-curated content, flexible access, and an electronically issued training certificate, this course is a convenient way to strengthen exam preparation and career advancement. The course is $149 and takes approximately 10 hours to complete. 

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Working on a Career in Horticulture? CHREF Wants to Help.

A career in horticulture can take you in many directions. From growing plants and managing a greenhouse or nursery to landscape design, contracting, and controlled environment production. There are more opportunities for you in our industry than ever before.

The Colorado Horticulture Research and Education Foundation (CHREF) is continuing its investment in the next generation of horticulture professionals by offering scholarships starting at $1,000 for the 2027–2028 academic year.

Scholarships are available to CSU students majoring in Horticulture or Environmental Horticulture, and Landscape Design and Contracting.

CHREF has been supporting horticulture education since 1983, and scholarships are one of the ways we help students build a path into the industry we all care about.

The application deadline is 11:59 PM, Sunday, November 1, 2026.

Finalists will be interviewed online in November 2026.

👉 Apply here for a CHREF Scholarship

Have questions about the application? Contact JP Malik at jpmalik@coloradonga.org.

Education | Horticulture Workforce Development | Research

Mostek Represents the Green Industry, Specialty Crops at Meeting with Federal Reserve

CNGA Executive Director Glenda Mostek joined other ag leaders and producers in Cheyenne September 24 to discuss agricultural conditions with staff from the Omaha and Denver branches of the Federal Reserve Bank.

While the meeting was dominated by discussions of beef and grain crops, issues common to all ag producers such as the cost of diesel, labor concerns, and government programs were all covered. The Federal Reserve considers these meetings with industry as they shape policy going forward.

Have a Fall or Holiday Event? Get it on the Colorado Proud Guide

Colorado Proud is combining its seasonal listings into one new Fall/Winter Activity and Gift Guide, making it easier for people to find local activities, products and holiday shopping opportunities across the state. If your business has a seasonal event, open house, workshop, market, holiday sale or other offering, this is a good opportunity to get it in front of Colorado consumers. Listings are free for Colorado Proud members, and registration is open through November 16. The new guide will launch later this fall. Add your free listing through Colorado Proud.

A Look at SHOP LOCAL. GROW BETTER.

This spring, CNGA tested a new way to promote independent garden centers (IGCs) in New Mexico through SHOP LOCAL. GROW BETTER., a member benefit we were able to provide for the nine IGC members in our New Mexico Chapter.

The campaign, built around the central theme that New Mexico Gardens Start at Independent Garden Centers, drove gardeners to shoplocalgrowbetter.com through a modest investment in Google, Facebook and Instagram advertising, paired with in-store materials and a digital toolkit to help participating garden centers make the most of the campaign.

Once visitors arrived at the landing page, they found messaging about the value of shopping local, along with a reminder that independent garden centers and their knowledgeable staff are there to help gardeners find the right plants and products and set them up for success.

From March through August, the campaign generated more than 400,000 ad views and 11,000+ paid clicks and visits to the landing page and a focused list of roughly 100 consumers who signed up for more information.

While we can’t directly connect those landing page visits to garden center sales, the results give us useful insight into how consumers are finding local garden centers and gardening information online.

We’re gathering feedback from participating businesses now and looking at what we learned in New Mexico and what might make sense to bring to Colorado in 2027.

What Happens After the First Garden Center Visit?

A recent look at summer lawn and garden shopping from YipitData, shared by Ellen Wells in Ball Publishing’s Buzz newsletter, offers an interesting reminder about the customer journey. More than 90% of lawn and garden purchases were tied to projects, and 85% of shoppers who made a project-related purchase returned for a follow-up trip.

Wells suggests that garden centers have an opportunity to help customers plan those next steps through education, product bundles and timely reminders.

For an independent garden center, that might mean helping a customer think beyond the first bag of soil and plants and giving them a reason to come back when it's time to water, troubleshoot pests, harvest or start the next project. Read more here.

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