Membership meetings will be held in three major flower-growing areas of California next month in a new effort to reach out to its 600 members by NORCAL, the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers. Dates have changed from those announced in March.

The daylong meetings will be held Aug. 21 at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort by Hilton in Santa Barbara, Aug. 22 at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa in Carlsbad and Aug. 29 at the Monterey Hyatt in Monterey.

California, home of the Gold Rush in 1849, the hula hoop in 1958 and Silicon Valley’s high-tech firms in the 1970s, is also the birthplace of the United States’ commercial cut-flower industry, starting with a woman who began raising and selling lilies in Ventura, CA, in the late 1870s.

Supermarket floral departments can sell more fresh-cut flowers through enhanced understanding of the floral value proposition. This proposition is about engaging customers and providing a great shopping experience for them: Do they feel welcomed? Do they think their needs are understood? Do they enjoy the flowers they buy?

Hair salons have video tools that show the client how she will look in a variety of hairstyles. And an auto dealer can show you the car of your dreams in the color of your choice on a monitor. Now Costa Farms in Goulds, FL, has added a design tool to its website — www.costafarms.com — that lets consumers see how plants will look in their homes. The tool is called “Find Your Style.”

The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative based in Holland (see The Produce News, “Floriculture initiative based in Netherlands aims to easily compare sustainability certifications,” June 4, page 130) has named a working group to develop a tool to eliminate duplication and make it easier to compare programs.

Chrysal International, with U.S. offices in Miami, and MAC Technologies Development Corp. in Richmond, VA, have agreed on a working partnership that designates ChrysalUSA to market the patented Arrive Alive horticultural foam developed by MAC Technologies.

“Our products were selling well and our business was growing,” said Wayne Castleberry, chief executive officer of MAC Technologies, speaking by phone in late June from the Chrysal International offices in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.