Our new catalog of grasses is here, and we think you will love it! Find out what's new and see options for accessing the catalog in this post.

This blog showcases our latest resource - The Hoffman Nursery Regional Plant Lists. Not only are these grasses and sedges resilient in the region, they are also customer favorites! It's a win-win for your grass program, your landscape, and your community.

See our Regional Plant Lists in the blog or download a copy here.

After decades of population loss and disinvestment, many small industrial cities are uniquely positioned to become climate-resilient hubs that support green agriculture and industry, says a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report.

How important is sustainability to today's global manufacturers? See the sustainability rankings and the greenest locations in the world in this article from Site Selection Magazine.

More green spaces were associated with slower biological aging, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. People who lived near more green spaces were biologically 2.5 years younger, on average, than those who live near less greenness.

Landscape Architect Pamela Conrad is revolutionizing the way landscapes are designed with the launch of the Pathfinder App.

"We were trying to embrace the idea of being climate positive, where we’re ultimately taking more greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere than we’re emitting through our work,” explains Pamela, principal at CLMG Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, California. “We’ve always held sustainability at the highest priority for our work. And for me personally, I grew up on a farm, playing in the dirt—I very much care about the environment, and around five years ago I just wanted to understand the carbon impact of my projects. We were looking at all kinds of other aspects like stormwater, habitats, plants, but carbon was never part of the conversation."

It is true that finding an available workforce is difficult. Many green industry companies are perplexed about where to seek out new sources of staff. It is also true that over 90 percent of the staffing in the landscape industry is male. Since over 50 percent of the U.S. population is female, there is an untapped resource. Does it not seem like one statement gives rise to a solution for the other?  

Universities with programs in horticulture are filled with women seeking meaningful and equitable employment. Do we mine these programs for future employees? Do we ask our current employees if they can refer female family or friends to our companies to fill empty roles? Often old assumptions about who should and can fill a role are outdated. Expanding our search is one possible step.

Ornamental grass brings year-round texture and color with little maintenance required - but that's not the only advantageous role it plays in your landscaping. See what grasses bring to the landscape in this recent writeup from House Digest.

Forget the fuss. Corporate landscapes are going natural these days.

Rather than planting turf grass that needs constant watering, mowing, and fertilizing, many companies are turning to native plants that pretty much took care of themselves. This shift is mirroring what’s happening at public parks, on university campuses, and in homeowners’ backyards, and is driven by a growing awareness of the environmental costs of installing and maintaining lawns, clipped hedges, and tidy flower borders. And, as the climate crisis has grown increasingly dire, many companies have turned to their landscapes to help them hit sustainability targets and vaunt their environmental bona fides.

In this podcast, Sustainable Futures sits down with Assistant Professor Scott Macivor of the University of Toronto to discuss the critical role of insects in the natural world, how climate change affects insect communities and populations, and the ways in which green roofs and green infrastructure can support and enhance those communities in our urban environments. It's a fantastic conversation on biodiversity and its role in our society, how insects support and influence the natural environment, and how we can develop comprehensive ecosystems.

There are many challenges in the world right now that can seem overwhelming, and it can be hard for an individual to know how they can make a difference. Helping native pollinators is one easy thing that basically anyone can do, no matter how small – or even non-existent – their yard may be. There are numerous resources, books and online, that provide information and guidance on things people can do to help native pollinators. A recent book, Pollinator Gardening for the South: Creating Sustainable Habitats by Danesha Seth Carley, Associate Professor of Horticulture at North Carolina State University, has tips to make supporting pollinators easy to do at any scale, depending on your space, funds, and ability.

This article from a North Carolina-based newspaper discusses Dr. Carley's book and a few suggestions on making your yard and garden a better place for pollinators.