Last Wednesday, Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak gave a guest lecture on the Green Industry in Delaware. The Green Industry comprises producers, retailers, landscapers, land managers, golf courses, and suppliers. The Green Industry primarily produces plants and trees for home gardening, among many other diverse things. In 2014, Delaware cash receipts for greenhouses and nurseries totaled around $21 million.

The majority of nursery production, approximately 62 percent, is  devoted to containerized plants or trees. Ball and burlap production comes in second with 28 percent. Bare root makes up a further 13 percent, with field grow bags, balled and potted plants, and in ground containers making up the majority of the remainder of nursery production. Evergreens, deciduous trees, shrubs, and ornamentals, fruit and nut plants and Christmas trees are examples of crops grown in a nursery.

Floriculture crops include bedding/garden plants, cut cultivated greens, cut flowers, potted flowering plants, foliage plants, and others. Floriculture and nursery crops are most frequently used in outdoor home gardens.

Enhancing Delaware Highways was also discussed. This program aims to improve the scenery on Delaware highways by planting meadows, doing nothing, or performing minimal management.