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Why (and How) to Take a Plant Tour

• David M. Upton
• Stephen E. Macadam

By adopting a systematic approach to plant tours, visitors can uncover and communicate a wealth of strategic and operating information.

In recent years, managers have recognized how manufacturing capabilities contribute to a company’s overall strategic strength. The ability to respond quickly to customers’ orders, to customize products to match customers’ exact requirements, or to ramp up production rapidly can be a powerful and difficult-to-imitate competitive weapon. But many corporate managers identify their plants’ capabilities only by accident—as a result of chance conversations with plant managers or operations specialists. Consequently, many managers do not have the information necessary to cultivate, shape, and exploit their company’s manufacturing capabilities. As plants develop, however, they need guidance to build capabilities that meet current and future needs. Plant tours can be a powerful way of providing factories with that kind of direction.

• David M. Upton is the American Standard Companies Professor of Operations Management at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
• SM Stephen E. Macadam is a principal at McKinsey & Company’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office.

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Welcome to the U.S. Botanic Garden!

The U.S. Botanic Garden is a living plant museum. We invite you to return again and again to watch the Garden change through the seasons and explore our  dynamic exhibits . Learn about the many  areas of the Garden  you can visit, and we hope you'll  join us for an educational program !

Admission to the U.S. Botanic Garden is free. No tickets required.

Locations & hours.

• Conservatory

Gated Outdoor Gardens

Bartholdi fountain and gardens, directions and parking.

Find information about arriving at our location, public transportation, parking, and more .

Accessibility

The U.S. Botanic Garden strives to make its facilities and programming accessible to all visitors. Our  Accessibility page  provides more information.

Explore Our Gardens

The Conservatory features plants from across the United States and around the world ranging from desert plants to tropical forests to orchids and is open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Tickets are not required.

Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens are open from dawn to dusk daily. They are located across Independence Avenue from the Conservatory, with access from any of the three bordering streets:  Independence Avenue, Washington Avenue, or First Street SW.

The gated outdoor gardens ("National Garden") are open 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. These gardens have extended spring-summer hours April 1 – September 15, staying open until 7:00 p.m.

Visit our  Hours and Location page  for additional information and directions.

Safety Guidelines

Masks are recommended for indoor spaces, and groups are encouraged to maintain social distance from other visitor groups. Please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for COVID-19, or have been asked to isolate because of COVID-19 exposure. Find more information in multiple languages  on the CDC website .

Photography and Sketching

Visitors are permitted to take photographs of the public areas at the U.S. Botanic Garden for personal use only. Commercial use of such photographs is strictly prohibited.

• Hand-held cameras, video cameras, or lap easels for sketching may be used at any time, as long as they do not affect the public's enjoyment of, or access to, the Garden.
• We do not allow visitors to do photoshoots or video shoots at the Garden.
• Please read the full  Photography and Art Policy  for more details.

Etiquette for Visiting the Garden

The U.S. Botanic Garden is a living plant museum for everyone to enjoy. Please respect the living collection and be mindful of other visitors. As you walk through the gardens,  here are some "do's and don'ts" to keep in mind .

There is no food or drink for sale at the Garden, though a water fountain and bottle refill station is available. Food and drink is allowed in the Garden, and visitors can use tables and chairs outdoors. We ask visitors to gather and pack out their trash, as there are limited trash bins outdoors.

There is a gift shop in the West Gallery run by the Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden and local small business Rewild with plants and plant-themed offerings. 

Special Events

The U.S. Botanic Garden facilities are not available for weddings or other personal or private functions. Policies governing Congressionally sponsored evening events are established by the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library. For more detailed information, see Congressional events .

School Group Resources

For information about school group educational resources, please visit our Field Trip page to plan your field trip.

United States Botanic Garden Campus Map

Photo Gallery

Sunbeams break through the plants in the Conservatory's Tropics house.

Explore the flowers, trees, fountains, and more in our outdoor gardens.

Sunset illuminates the sprays of the historic Fountain of Light and Water in Bartholdi Gardens.

U.S. Botanic Garden Visitor Guide

Read about the U.S. Botanic Garden  before you arrive! Our visitor guide is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Choose your language to download .

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are any spaces air conditioned.

There are several air-conditioned spaces indoors within the Conservatory, including the West Gallery, East Gallery, and South Transition. Please ask a member of the visitor services team upon your arrival for assistance navigating to a cooler pace.

Is there a water fountain / bottle refill?

Drinking fountains and a water bottle refill station are located indoors in the south of the Conservatory near the restrooms.

Are there accessible restrooms and child changing tables?

Accessible facilities and children's changing tables are found in both men's and women's restrooms.

Are dogs allowed?

Leashed pets are allowed throughout the outdoor gardens. Pets are not allowed inside the Conservatory. We welcome service dogs that are trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability in all areas of the garden unless the dog poses a direct threat, is not housebroken, or is not under the control.

Is there a Lost and Found?

Items of value found at the Garden are given to U.S. Capitol Police at the end of the day. If you have lost something and the Garden is closed, please contact USCP at (202) 225-4200.

Can I park at the Garden?

We encourage taking public transportation - the Federal Center SW metro station is just three blocks away. Metered street parking spaces are available within a few blocks of the U.S. Botanic Garden. The Garden does not have its own parking lot or parking spaces. More information

Is there a cafe or restaurant?

There is no food or drink for sale at the Garden, though a water fountain and bottle refill station is available. 

Can I have a wedding / event at the Garden?

The U.S. Botanic Garden facilities are not available for weddings or other personal or private functions. Policies governing Congressionally sponsored evening events are established by the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library. For more detailed information, see  Congressional events .

Explore and Discover

The U.S. Botanic Garden creates and offers extraordinary exhibits that delight, educate, and inspire the public to become more active stewards of the plants that support life on earth.

"Season's Greenings" holiday exhibit 2023

• Outdoor Gardens

• Arid and Desert
• Carnivorous

Site Visit or Plant Tour: How to Maximize Its Effectiveness

• December 3, 2018
• Supplier Assessment , Supplier Sourcing

We’ve talked about why and how you should do a site visit before. Even though you know a site visit is of great importance in assuring you the quality and the consistency of your future products, you may still find it hard to put it to effective use. This is all the more true if you or your team have limited experience in conducting site visits or plant tours.

For some, especially those who are looking for overseas suppliers, site visits are both time and money consuming. Especially when you don’t have a local team to help you with that.

So what can you do to ensure an effective site visit? How can you maximize the effectiveness of the plant tours?

We’ve broken the whole site visit into the following 3 parts, so you’ll have a better idea of what to do in each phase of the site visit so as to make it effective as you hope.

Before the visit

Before going straight forward to the supplier, there are things that you can do to save time for the both parties. Such preparations are of utmost important in that they set the tone for the rest of the tasks that follow.

Prioritize your goals for the site visit

First, you need to know for sure why you want to do the site visit, what accomplishments you want to achieve, who do you think you should talk to if you want to get the problem solved.

Without knowing where to focus the time and effort, it’s almost unlikely that you will see a promising outcome for the site visit.

The last thing you want to do is to make the site visit just a day tour to the factory, only to discover that the site visit is but a tiring and non-effective waste of time.

Gather the right resources

Once you’ve set the goals for your site visit, it shouldn’t be hard for you to gather the right resources to actually going to the site.

For example, you should include a quality engineer in your site visit team if one of your priorities is product quality. And you should definitely include a sourcing professional if you want to make sure the product price is not off the chart.

It is, of course, very natural for you to include as many people who have site visiting experience as you can. Because the more site visits one has done, the easier for them to maximize the effectiveness of the tours. However, with the clear goals and structure set, it’s easy for even the young, in-experienced engineers to get the most out of site visits.

Do a joint preparation

When you have the goals and team set, the next thing you do is to start preparing for the visit. And we suggest doing a joint preparation, i.e. a joint meeting between you and the potential supplier.

In this way, you won’t have to explain to your supplier what exactly are you looking for at the site and waste the precious visiting time. And your supplier can prepare the required information such as data, numbers, figures when you ask for it at the site.

In addition, you can settle down on the detail schedule for the visit and propose changes to items that are of little importance to your visit goals.

During the visit

We’ve covered in the post Select the Ideal Supplier With a Site Visit  about what questions you should as during a site visit.

Here is just a screen shot for your reference. Feel free to give it a read if you’re interested in knowing more.

After the visit

When the visit ends, it’s crucial that you summarize the visit into a form of report and then send feedback to your potential supplier.

On the one hand, the site visit report is a good way to tell how well you and your team have achieved the goals you set before the visit. In addition, the report provides an objective insight of whether the visited supplier is a good fit for your product.

On the other hand, your potential supplier could use the feedback to improve their expertise and capabilities. Even though the supplier won’t be your choice at the end, it’s still good for your business to maintain a nice, friendly relationship with more potential suppliers.

If site visits are almost impossible…

There are many cases where site visits are almost impossible to be done. For example, when your potential suppliers are located somewhere across the world; when you don’t have the right resources to assess the potential suppliers at site; when the suppliers refuse any chance of site visiting from you…

If you’re still bothered by the above problems, feel free to reach out to us, and we’d be more than happy to fix the problem for you.

We have a team of engineers with decades of experience in field; we’re located in Asia so it’s easier for us to get around; we have great relationships with hundreds of suppliers in almost any industries… In a nutshell, we’ve got you covered.

Feel free to let us know what’s bothering you, and we’ll see what we can do to help.

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Visit plant delights nursery and juniper level botanic garden.

Thanks for your interest in visiting Plant Delights Nursery and Juniper Level Botanic Garden . The links below will guide you to our visitation hours, public open nursery and garden days, and where to stay and eat, and other gardens to visit when you are in the area. Safe travels and we look forward to seeing you in the gardens. 

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Four tips to help organize a fantastic factory tour

With good planning, people should be able to organize a memorable factory tour for all visitors..

If someone is looking for a way to draw in new customers or investors, a factory tour might be just what someone needs. It’s an excellent opportunity to show off facilities and equipment and introduce the staff. On top of that, a good company tour will emphasize professionalism and help build a stronger bond with clients.

All that is only possible if the factory tour is successful. And factories typically aren’t particularly suitable for tours — they tend to be loud and full of activity. In such conditions, it can be difficult to deliver a good presentation and ensure that everyone in the audience hears it.

Still, there are ways to organize fantastic factory tours that clients and investors will remember for years. Not sure how to do that? Consider these four tips for making a memorable tour.

1. Try to understand factory tour visitors’ goals

In order to organize a successful tour, start by understanding the visitors. If a company knows what they want to see and hear, they’ll have an easier time satisfying the visitors, and they’ll leave feeling their time was well spent. Ultimately, that’s exactly what is wanted.

Of course, someone can’t be sure what each and every member of the visiting group wants to hear. But someone can understand the whole group’s goals. Both investors and clients will probably want to see that the factory is up to par and the product quality is top-notch. But some of their other objectives might not be the same.

For instance, investors are more likely to be interested in a company’s efficiency and financial performance. After all, they are here to decide whether they should invest their money or not. On the other hand, if the visitors are potential clients, they’ll want to know more about the production process, cleanliness and inventory.

Take that into consideration when planning a tour. And of course, if someone doesn’t manage to answer all of the visitors’ questions, give them an opportunity to ask.

2. Use a wireless factory tour guide system

Factories aren’t exactly quiet — machines and people working with them tend to make a lot of noise. Thus, they don’t make a great setting for giving presentations or tours . After all, what’s the point of showing visitors around if they can’t even hear?

And, of course, someone can’t stop all activity as they’re showing visitors around. That wouldn’t only be a waste of money and time but also counterproductive to the tour. The audience wants to see how the company operates on a regular day, not an empty factory that’s not working.

So, how does someone resolve the noise issue then? Well, someone could use a wireless tour guide system during the presentation. These systems contain earpieces and microphones, allowing everyone to communicate even in less than ideal conditions. So, no matter how noisy it is, the presenter doesn’t have to raise their voice. Just speak as one would normally, and everyone will still hear.

Wireless systems usually come in two forms — one- and two-way systems. If a company chooses a two-way one, their visitors will also be able to talk to the company. Depending on the kind of tour, that may be a good idea. Someone might want to hear the audience’s feedback or allow them to ask questions even as they are being shown around.

3. Warn employees in advance

While the goal is to show visitors a regular day at the company, measures should still be taken to ensure everything goes smoothly. One such measure is telling employees an important tour is coming up and instructing them on what to do. For instance, tell them to be quieter or make more room for the group at a specific time.

Warning employees about the tour also gives them enough time to plan their activities with that in mind. Thus, they can postpone anything that may get in the way of the factory tour, as well as any projects a tour might interrupt. So, let them know at least two weeks before the big day — that way, they won’t feel blindsided.

If someone wants any of their employees to talk to visitors and share their experiences, make sure to let them know on time. They ought to prepare themselves for the part they will play in the presentation. For example, they might need time to gather and organize some information the visitors could ask them to provide. And even the most eloquent people can sometimes get tongue-tied if they are suddenly put on the spot. That is why it is best to notify employees well in advance.

4. Prepare information booklets

If someone wants their visitors to remember their factory tour longer, prepare information booklets for them. Hand them out at the start of the tour or give them as gifts at the very end. That way, the company will come off even more professional and prepared, and this good impression will linger for a while.

People can choose all kinds of information to put in a booklet, of course. But in most cases, someone should include some basic information about the company, financial stats and details about the products and services. Adding a few pictures might be a good idea, too — it’ll make a booklet that much more engaging.

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Make Your Plant Tour a Success!

Update : Due to popular demand i have added a  Lean Shop Floor Visit Checklist .

Surely you’ve visited a manufacturing plant before. As for me, even though I’ve been in hundreds of plants, I always find the experience overwhelming. There is a mass of machines, workers, parts, and tools. Additionally, a guide tries to give you an overview of the plant, usually ripe with technical terms, abbreviations, and local plant lingo that you can barely hear over the noise of the work. In short, the deluge of information easily overwhelms you, and after the tour you only remember that the machines were green (in older plants) or grey (in more modern plants). As for what you could have learned about the plant, it may have been a waste of time.

This offers suggestions to help you get the most out of your plant tour. The key of the tour is FOCUS ! Don’t try to take in everything. Rather, focus on different areas of interest. Decide what you’re most interested in before you visit, and then focus on that topic. Another of my posts talks about how visitors are manipulated during a plant tour in order to keep them in the dark.

One area many visitors are interested in is efficiency —how well does the plant run? This is very important if you’re a high-ranking manager visiting one of your plants, if you want to evaluate a purchase of the plant, or if you’re interested in a joint venture. In these cases you want to know how well the plant is run.

One element to focus on are the workers. How many of them are working productively, and how many are not? This is actually rather easy to do. Just check how many workers you can see, and how many of them are working productively in the moment you look at them. And, by working productively, I mean actually working on a product and creating added value for the customer. Here are a few things that don’t count:

• Walking around

Only true “hand-on-the-metal” work counts as productive. The number of productive workers compared to all workers is a very good measure to quickly get the gist of a plant’s productivity. And these numbers may surprise you. Among the best I have seen is within Toyota plants, where between seven to nine out of ten workers are actually working. This is best of bench(mark).

In an average Western plant, these numbers don’t come anywhere close to Toyota’s performance . In my experience, only around five out of ten workers are actually productive, while the rest may still be busy but not productive. I’ve even seen plants where only three out of ten workers added value to the customer. Imagine the waste if more than half of your workers do not create value for the customer!

In any case, the percentage of workers adding value is a quick and dirty but reliable check of a plant’s productivity. It certainly beats any official numbers you get from plant management staff who mainly want to look good. Hence, official numbers are usually highly unreliable if not outright fudged.

You can repeat the same exercise for machines. How many machines are actually working when you look at them? An average Western plant may have around three to five out of ten machines actually working. Again, being under repair or set up for the next job does not count as work.

While at first glance these numbers are even lower than for worker productivity, this is actually the way it’s supposed to be. Machines are usually highly specialized, whereas human workers are much more flexible. Or, as NASA put it:

Hence, it is better if your machines wait and your workers are busy than the other way around. Overall, counting workers tells you more about the plant than counting machines, but counting machines may be useful for highly automated lines (for example, robotic car body welding lines).

Yet another area of interest for many visitors is inventory . In a Western view, lean manufacturing is often associated with low inventories. While this is an oversimplification, high inventory is an indication of a poorly run plant. It’s a bit more difficult to understand the inventory situation from a plant tour, but it is possible. First of all, check for some obvious signs of dead inventory :

• Look for dates on material sheets or inventory stickers. While the vast majority is naturally pretty recent, try to find the oldest ones. I frequently find lots of boxes in excess of five years of age.
• Look for dust. The thicker the layer of dust, the older the part. Naturally, you have to adjust this for the environment (for example, two days in a foundry will create a thicker layer of dust than twenty years in a semiconductor fabrication).
• Are there any blocked stocks or stocks that are not to be used for quality or other reasons? A key telltale sign is red stickers warning against the use of the material, often giving the reason. Very interesting information!

Of course, the question of what’s good and what isn’t depends on the details of the business. A plant for spare parts or low-volume, high-variety production may  necessarily have much older stock than a high-volume mass-production plant. The value of the product is also of interest. Where lack of hard data exists, size or weight give a rough estimate of value. Hence, a two-year-old pallet with tons of material may be worse than a two-year-old box of screws.

It’s sometimes also possible to estimate the reach of inventory . Look at how often the inventory is moved (for example, how often someone takes out a box or a pallet). Relate this to the total inventory on hand. So, if three pallets were taken out in ten minutes’ time, but the storage holds around one thousand pallets, then there are enough parts for 333 times ten minutes or around seven shifts’ worth of work.

Again, doing this exercise at the incoming goods area at a Toyota plant gives around two hours’ worth of material, whereas in the Western world it may be closer to two weeks’ worth of material. Again, different businesses need different inventory levels.

However, be aware that your observations apply only to the material you see. It doesn’t apply to the material on the road or the material stored elsewhere. Many Western plants pride themselves on their low-inventory reach but conveniently forget to mention the outsourced but still-paid-for warehouse across the street with another two weeks of inventory. And, for the record, carrying your stuff across the street within two days does not count as Just in Time delivery.

Order & Cleanliness

Finally, you can look at order and cleanliness . If you have ever heard of 5S , that’s what applies here. While not a numerical measurement, try to pay attention to the following:

• Does it look orderly?
• Are the machines, parts, and tools clean?
• Are positions of parts, tools, and movable machines marked?
• What kind of signs and markers can you see?
• Are there standard operating procedures on the machines? All of them?

Looking for these kinds of things gives you an impression of the order in the plant. However, since it is not a numerical measure, you would have to compare it with your experience from previous plant visits. Again, for a best of bench(mark) comparison, take a tour of a Toyota group plant.

Miscellaneous

If you’re interested in product quality , there are also a few things you can pay attention to:

• With regard to inventory, are there any blocked stocks or stocks that are not to be used for quality or other reasons? Again, look for the red stickers! Similarly, look for the reject bins. How full are they? How often are parts discarded?
• How are the products treated? Are delicate parts banged around on a forklift?
• Cleanliness on the product itself: Does it look clean? Are there, for example, metal chips on a part that may later damage an internal valve? Are there oil stains where there shouldn’t be stains?
• Do the machines look clean and operate smoothly? Toyota legend Taiichi Ohno tells a story of visiting a potential precision tool supplier only to find that the supplier was located under a train overpass, with everything vibrating whenever a train passed over. Or, in a modern sense, is there a two-hundred-ton press next to the precision milling machine?

You can also look at documentation . Try to find the quality metrics. Most plants have them, usually at the most important stations. How good are they? Of course, keep in mind that you’re looking at a measurement made by someone else and that the definition of what constitutes a problem versus what is “ normal ” may surprise you. If you’re not sure, assume the worst.

Manufacturing Standards

You can also check the manufacturing standards :

• As above, are there standard operating procedures on the machines? All of them?
• What is the date on the standard? Anything beyond six months is questionable, anything beyond one year is next to worthless.
• Do operators follow these standards?
• Look into a standard. Do you understand it? Does it seem easy to follow, clear, concise, and complete?

To judge the teamwork, have a closer look at the team meeting corner :

• Is there a team meeting corner?
• What documentation is there?
• Are there KPIs measured? What KPIs? Are these done by hand or printed out (a sure sign that workers are not involved and don’t care about the measurement)?
• Are there problem-solving sheets?

Final Words

Overall, there a lot of things you can pay attention to. Just make sure you don’t overdo it. Like the young tiger hunting for ducks, if you try to catch them all, you’ll get none. Clearly decide on your focus area and then stick with it . Alternatively, if you’re part of a bigger group, spread the responsibility. Have one person look at workers, another one at machines, and so on.

And finally, read my next post on how visitors on a plant tour are manipulated , and what you can do to see through the ruse.

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Find Your Favorite Green Spot

Native Plant Trust's eight properties throughout New England form a loose continuum of the region's natural conditions, from cultivated to wild. Our six native plant sanctuaries, in particular, offer a sampling of habitat types, where rare plants thrive in the specific conditions in which they evolved, from sandplains to rich mesic forests: You'll find stunning lady's-slippers sprouting from the mire of a Vermont bog, dozens of fern species thriving on the floor of a rich maple forest in New Hampshire, and more than 100 wildflower species thriving in a forest and marsh along the shore of Maine's Merrymeeting Bay.

At Garden in the Woods , in eastern Massachusetts, you'll experience the most cultivated end of the spectrum on a spectacular site—a botanic garden showcasing native plants on a glacial landscape rippling with ravines and ridges. 

Those who visit the seasonal Garden Shop at  Nasami Farm , in Whately, Massachusetts, will find a nursery with expansive views of farmland in the Connecticut River Valley, part of New England's largest watershed.

At all our properties, please leave pets at home. Service dogs are welcome.

For the safety of all visitors and the protection of plant collections and other natural resources, we do not allow bicycles, off-road vehicles, and vehicles or other power-driven devices used for mobility assistance (with the exception of wheelchairs and scooters) on the paths at Garden in the Woods or in our sanctuaries.  Only the entrance plateau at Garden in the Woods is accessible. The natural terrain of the property is too steep for wheelchairs, scooters, and most other motorized mobility devices and presents a safety hazard to visitors using such devices.

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Hobbs Fern Sanctuary Holds More than Fronds

In Lyman, New Hampshire, varied geology underpins the diversity of plant life.

Tucked between the Connecticut River and the White Mountains in northwest New Hampshire, this 260-acre sanctuary is a trove of biodiversity wrapped in the enchantment of a secret garden. Explore groves of beech, birch, and maple; rich sugar maple woods at the base of steep ledges; dense stands of balsam fir and red spruce; swamps of red maple and black ash; and meadows and shrub lands. 

These distinct communities contain the sanctuary’s 500-plus native plant species, including more than 50 different ferns, club mosses, and horsetails. In the moist woods, spring wildflowers abound—sharp-lobed hepatica, Canada violet, wild ginger, bloodroot, blue cohosh. These varied plant communities support an equally impressive mix of wildlife, notably moose, beaver, woodcocks, red-tail hawks, and several species of warbler. 

The secret of this richness lies in the land itself: The geology, topography, and hydrology range from low-lying wetlands to dry, steep slopes. For at least 200 years, human use—farming and timber harvesting—also shaped this land. Its last private owners, Christina and Sturtevant Hobbs, recognized the property’s unique character and asked the Society to continue the conservation they had begun, donating it in 2004. Today, the surrounding area remains rural, and with no major roads nearby, the property offers not only a sanctuary for native plants and animals, but a peaceful refuge for human beings.

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Oct. 5, 2024

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Home » Manufacturing World » Useful Tips for Organizing a Plant Tour

Useful Tips for Organizing a Plant Tour

Visiting a facility during an official tour, be it a factory, an office building, or any other type of company, is extremely important for a wide variety of reasons . As an investor, someone might want to look into potential businesses that can earn them an excellent return profit. And as a potential worker, they might want to get to know a future employer a bit more intimately. Obviously, people can look at feedback, user reviews, quarterly earnings reports, and other details. But in all honesty, seeing the company’s gears turning in person really is the best way to judge whether someone would want to be involved with this company or not, no matter the capacity.

That’s why tour organizing is exceptionally vital. A business owner like yourself will have to put their best foot forward in order to impress the visitors. And it all comes down to proper organization. There are many ways you can host a tour, but finding a list of the ones that work is surprisingly difficult.

Luckily, we’re here to help. In this article, we’re going to provide you with some of the most useful tips for organizing a company tour. These tips are guaranteed to get you new investors and workers, impress your higher-ups, and boost your credibility as a business owner.

Safety First

Let’s say that you own a manufacturing facility that makes a lot of noise daily. Hosting a company tour would be difficult there, but not impossible. So, in order to protect your visitors from excessive noise and allow them to hear you comment on your day-to-day activities, you will need to provide them with high noise communication headsets . On the other hand, if your facility has a lot of overhead risk (like a construction site), your visitors will need hard hats. Some areas might even require a safety suit.

If your visitors feel safe during the tour, you can rest easy knowing that they’ll consider your factory just as safe. However, don’t go overboard with the precautions. For example, a typical office business doesn’t really need noise-canceling headsets or safety glasses for eye protection.

Plan Your Attack

Nothing, it seems, can be more complicated than planning a perfect company tour . Sure, it makes sense to do the basics first, like announce the tour online or print invitations in advance. However, once your prospective clients are there, what should you show them, and how should you do it?

Proper Introductions

It seems like a simple step, but a lot of business owners fail to have the best openers, so to speak. They fail to provide basic, proper introductions to their companies, which can instantly disinterest or outright bore the listener. And that can be incredibly damaging for your business’s future.

Let the Venture Speak for Itself

When the visitors are taking your tour, they will pay attention to three details in particular, whether consciously or otherwise:

• The appearance of your enterprise
• The products on display
• Your employees and staff

Provide for the Visitors

Some businesses offer food and beverages. Others hand out shopping vouchers and/or gift cards. Yet others rely on standard-issue stationery gift packages. And one or two might even opt for an unusual gift, like a short weekend trip somewhere or an company branded toy. No matter what it is, a free gift is always welcome.

Naturally, as a business owner, you don’t have to provide a single thing during the tour. It’s not mandatory, nor is it a guarantee that you will land more investors or employees that way. However, it’s definitely better to be remembered as a generous business owner rather than as a frugal one.

Display Company Issues

Yes, it sounds contradictory, but you will want to be upfront with your visitors. Stating the key flaws in your business the right way will show that you are willing to improve and that you’re not afraid to admit your shortcomings. But even beyond that, it’s a great selling point for the business if you manage to display said issues in the right way. Frame each failure and misfire as an opportunity to learn.

In São Paulo, Brazil, you can immediately recognize the Mahle Metal Leve Tech Center because of how easily it blends with the surrounding environment. It looks like a little hill with all of the natural elements implemented seamlessly with the factory’s architecture. Aerzen’s Coastville, PA facility is also environmentally friendly, with its rooftop garden and a rainwater recycling system. Or how about a pipe rolling factory in Chelyabinsk, Russia, that looks like a pleasant, wood-floored office space with tree saplings and vivid colors? And let’s not forget that Penfield factory in Syracuse with a house on top of it.

You can already recognize the pattern here. If you want your tour to succeed, offer something unique and one-of-a-kind to your tour guests. It doesn’t even have to be something huge, like in the examples above. You can try something as simple as having a gaming room with all the latest consoles, or a small indoor mini-golf course.

The Bottom Line

Company tours can be tricky, even to seasoned businesspeople. So, if and when you decide on organizing one, approach it carefully. However, don’t take small missteps and missed opportunities to heart. Instead, use them as a learning experience and improve your next company tour, as well as all others that will inevitably follow.

Author: Rick Farrell, President, Plant-Tours.com

Farrell is North America’s foremost expert in improving manufacturing group communication, education, training and group hospitality processes. He has over 40 years of group hospitality experience, most recently serving as President of Plant-Tours.com for the last 18 years. He has provided consulting services with the majority of Fortune 500 industrial corporations improving group communication dynamics of all types in manufacturing environments.

Also Read Other Interesting Manufacturing Engineering Articles  Here

Plastics Pipeline Blog

Are you maximizing the benefits of plant tours.

“Almost everyone who leads, works for, or interacts with a manufacturing company can benefit from seeing a factory firsthand,” wrote David M. Upton and Stephen E. Macadam in their article, “ Why (and How) to Take a Plant Tour ” for the Harvard Business Review. “Plant visits allow managers to review a supplier’s qualifications, to share best practices with a partner, or to benchmark performance and practices. Shop-floor operators can assess another plant’s operations and apply what they’ve learned to their own factories.”

It seems like many people agree with Upton and Macadam. An internet search for manufacturing plant tours pulls up announcements of plant tours on websites ranging from the host manufacturing companies to local chambers of commerce to national industry associations.

In the plastics industry, Manufacturers Association for Plastic Processors (MAPP), which according to its website is “the largest grassroots organization in the United States plastics industry,” offers plant tours several times each year to its members. And, according to the following video, its members find the plant tours very valuable.

Featured in the video was Robert Clothier, Human Resources Manager for Team 1 Plastics, a plastic injection molding company for the mobility industry, and a member of MAPP. In a recent interview, Clothier shared his plant tour experiences. He said that Team 1 Plastics has participated in several MAPP plant tours, including hosting one in 2015, and has always found them very valuable.

Upton and Macadam cautioned, “Even people who know that plant tours are valuable can find it difficult to put them to effective use.” They then offered several suggestions of ways to enhance learning, including “make sure the right people are on the tour,” and “to keep an open mind. Much of the learning that occurs on a plant tour is unexpected.”

They also advised that you should “visit plants in different industries and to resist the immediate temptation to visit only plants ‘like ours.’” Clothier said he, along with Craig Carrel, President of Team 1 Plastics, did just that when they toured Cardinal Manufacturing . Cardinal Manufacturing is, according to its website, “a company within a school, where students learn about manufacturing and gain firsthand experience” – something that Team 1 Plastics is trying to develop with a local area high school.

Clothier said that he and Carrel work together to decide which plant tours they believe would be valuable to Team 1 and which Team Members they think would benefit from the tours. The descriptions of the plant tours on the MAPP website help with them with their decision making because the descriptions often highlight the focus of the particular tour.

For example, the description of the MAPP Young Professionals Plant Tour to Thogus Products in June 2018 included the heading, “Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement.” The focus of the event, according to the description, was “on understanding and benchmarking best practices in continuous improvement and employee engagement.”

As a member of MAPP’s Young Professional Advisory Board, Clothier said that he plans to attend all of their plant tours no matter what the theme is. “It’s not as if the tour is completely focused on just that area. Part of the benefit of the plant tours is how they structure them. They always have some time for networking in small groups.”

Clothier then shared that Team 1 has taken its plant tours experiences to a new level of value by participating in plant tour exchanges with two different companies, Plastics Components, Inc.  (PCI) and Viking Plastics . The plant tour exchanges consisted of a handful of Team Members from Team 1 Plastics visiting and touring each of the two injection molding companies’ facilities. In turn, a handful of employees from each of the two companies came to Albion, Michigan, and took a tour of Team 1 Plastics’ facility.

The plant tour exchanges were suggested by Laurie Harbour, President and CEO of Harbour Results , a consultant for Team 1 Plastics. Clothier said that Harbour provided a list of companies she believed would be a “good cross fit between the two companies based on particular areas at which each company excelled.”

Team 1 Plastics reviewed the list and, ultimately, Clothier coordinated the visits with the two companies. “Both Viking and PCI saw the benefit of having a customizable plant tour,” and the tour dates were set up. Team 1 visited PCI in December 2017, and Viking Plastics in March 2018. Viking’s visit to Team 1 also occurred in March 2018. PCI toured Team 1 in August 2018.

Clothier said that the plant tour exchanges were much more customized and tailored than a MAPP plant tour. They built the tour agendas based on who (job titles/functions) from the other companies was visiting.

The agendas also included breakout sessions for networking and discussion. He added that information sharing flowed much more freely than at a MAPP plant tour. “When you’re in a setting of 12 people versus 80, you can be a little bit more candid and laid back. I met one-on-one with Wendi Jay, the HR manager at PCI. We had some good conversation about things that work well for us and what each of our challenges are.”

He then gave an example of a challenge that Team 1 was experiencing with an HR tool that both companies utilize, Culture Index, an employment profile survey. Clothier said, “It was helpful just to understand how they use Culture Index versus how we were using it.” This information sharing led Clothier to change how he uses the tool so that it adapts to Team 1’s culture more effectively.

Probably the greatest benefit to any plant tour is the new ideas that you collect and bring back to your company. Clothier said that when he is on a plant tour, he often snaps pictures of things that capture his attention and spark an idea. “I once took a picture of a training board that was different than mine because I liked some things about theirs and thought that I could add them to mine.”

The Team Members who toured Viking Plastics reported that they were very impressed that the tour was employee led and felt that it was a positive influence on both the company’s employees as well as their visitors. This observation sparked an idea of how Team 1 could implement employee-led plant tours in its facility, and Clothier said that this idea is currently in process of being implemented at Team 1.

Based on the success of these two initial plant tour exchanges, Team 1 Plastics is hoping and anticipating for more in its future. In fact, Clothier said that Carrel and he have discussed having them at least once or twice a year.

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EXPANDING OUR REACH

Building on our history of adaptive and creative reuse, we’re turning this firehouse into a center for circular economy programming. The Firehouse features shared use indoor growing space for plants and fungi, indoor and outdoor classrooms, a teaching kitchen, community composting, and meeting/event space. It also serve as a hyper local center to collect materials that don’t get recaptured in Chicago. 

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Our retail space at the firehouse offers a variety of different products, from food and beverages to home and garden goods, all made locally and/or with circular economy practices!  We also have swap opportunities for plants, puzzles and books!

We "Link match" all food items including honey, bread, produce, spices, seeds and more every Friday and Saturday! If you are still in need but do not qualify for Link, we have sliding scale options for our Local Food Boxes . 

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PUBLIC WORKSHOPS + CLASSES

Plant Chicago hosts and facilitates a wide range of educational programs for the general public, such as aquaponics, fermentation, seed starting, foraging, container gardening, vegan baking, renewable energy, composting,  DIY projects, and more

We also host a variety of events to cultivate local circular systems, from farmers markets to swap events!  

Home kitchen scraps 

Bring your kitchen scraps to the marketplace during our open hours and we’ll send them off to a local composting facility to be turned into nutrient-dense compost for local farms.  See this guide  from our composting partner for details on what types of household organic materials you can drop off.

Household batteries

Don't throw out those AAs! Bring them to us and we will send them to a recycling facility. 

Packaging materials 

Rather than send your broken-down cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, & whatnot to the landfill, bring it to the firehouse! We are collecting used packing materials in decent condition for use by small businesses in our Circular Economy Leaders Network.  

Houseplant cuttings & Seeds

Bring a houseplant cutting or two to swap it for a new houseplant friend. Don't have a cutting to spare? We're accepting pay-what-you-can donations for all houseplant cuttings.

Drop off the one you just finished and swap for another. 

Our Little Free Library accepts free books all of the time! Leave a book and take a book!

• Automotive Coatings
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5 reasons to ask a supplier for a plant tour

How much do you really know about your supplier's processes and practices the best way to find out is to go inside, watch: 5 things to look for when visiting a supplier, 1. confirm their safety process.

Safety is important all along the value chain, down to the end consumer, explains Christina Tarola, Account Manager, BASF. "If we're keeping our people safe, you can bet that we want to make sure that your people are safe when they're handling the products and using them. The people that encounter the product every step of the way need to know that they are touching something that's safe and that we deem it safe."

And a plant tour is the quickest way to assess whether or not a supplier complies 100 percent with its principles of the Responsible Care program.

"You get the sense of the adherence to responsible care, how well the plant is in terms of cleanliness, how well it is organized," explains Roger Haigh, Sales Manager, BASF Printing, Packaging and Adhesives. "You would see a clean, spacious plant where everything is hung up, everything is labeled." Any sign of an unkempt or cluttered plant is a red flag.

Look for how materials flow from railcar or truck, how they move through the plant and how they are stored along the way—all good indicators of safety, Haigh advises.

All hoses in these areas should be properly labeled and stored neatly to prevent tripping hazards. Ask about the safety measures to control or address leaks that might occur from the hoses or transfer pipes.

2. Efficiency

Moreover, how materials flow from railcar or truck—and how they move through the plant and are stored along the way—and not only good indicators of safety, but efficiency, Haigh adds.

Essentially, you'll get a solid grasp of "how good they are at doing what they're going to do." A plant that is run efficiently—and this probably goes without saying—translates to on-time deliveries, consistent product quality, and minimized time and financial waste.

Tip : Look for state-of-the-art control systems and tightly controlled processes that help ensure consistent product quality.

3. Build a stronger relationship to get a fast response to the next 'big ask'

Meeting face-to-face at a supplier's plant creates an opportunity to build a relationship that will result in quick and relevant action when a situation occurs that requires immediate attention.

"You get to know their plant people, you get to know more people in the organization. That gives you an opportunity to build a relationship," explains Haigh. "Bad things happen, and when they do, you can go to them and ask, 'Hey, could you schedule a bulk truck a day or two earlier, because I'm out of material?'"

"Hopefully they feel comfortable," says Tom Turnbull, BASF Production Manager. "If they have an issue or a concern, they can pick up the phone and give us a call. We're willing to talk to them and do what we can to satisfy their concerns. I think that's always easier to do after you've met and established a relationship."

It's a two-way street, however. Sharing the subtleties and nuances of business with a supplier truly makes hard questions easier to ask. If they understand your operations better, you don't have to waste time defining the problem when a solution is needed immediately.

It's a good idea to be prepared for a supplier's questions and be willing to share more than you might expect about your own operation. The more suppliers know about customers, the more they can shape solutions to the customers' benefit. Which brings us to...

4. Information exchange

"We can learn from each other," says Holly Johnson, Production Team Leader, Wyandotte Dispersions and Resins.

Talking openly with each other about what each party buys and sells can open up opportunities to suggest changes that will improve both business processes. Quite simply, the more detailed and informative the answers to those questions, the more you're going to get out of it in the long run.

"I like visiting other manufacturing facilities," says Turnbull. "If you're a manufacturing person, any time you visit somebody else's plant you can always get ideas that you can take back to your facility."

5. People, pride, and cultural alignment

The people you meet on a tour are a litmus test for those you don't meet. "Something I've observed fairly consistently is that the way a leader acts, the way that they conduct themselves—whether it be in business or personal life—tends to trickle down to their people," shares Gabriel McDonald, Continuous Improvement Specialist, Wyandotte Dispersions and Resins.

"If you're going on a plant tour and you have a very difficult time finding people or you can see that they're actively avoiding you, that would be a red flag to me—not necessarily in terms of what do they have to hide, but why would they feel like they can't speak with me? Is this reflection of their leadership? Is this the culture that's been created?"

Culture and how plant personnel behave can also signify product quality. "If I see operators yelling or not seeming very happy, it would seem to me that maybe they don't take pride in their work—is that going to impact quality downstream?" asks Johnson.

It's worth looking and listening for openness and a willingness to invest extra time. Those qualities can reveal a positive company culture that inspires confidence. And it will help assure that the supplier will deliver accurately and consistently—especially when challenges arise.

"When we really think about a company, a business is nothing but people," sums up McDonald. "It's just a group of people who have a common goal. All the capital in the world isn't going to produce anything without people."

1. Give plenty of notice. Being sensitive to supplier schedules is important, for example knowing dates for annual shutdowns before asking for a visit.

2. Draft a preferred timetable and agenda. Ensure expectations of both parties are aligned. Detailed objectives shared in advance make for more effective tours.

3. Share information. Check that the host supplier is up to date with latest developments in your business, especially if it's been more than three months since the last meeting with a sales person.

4. The NDA is your friend. Many large suppliers will ask for a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before a visit. The NDA can easily be treated as mutual, enabling the customer to provide information that will improve the supplier's learnings from the visit and the quality of service provided afterwards.

Recent Articles

MINI Plant Oxford Tour

Experience innovative technology and sustainable mobility at one of the oldest automotive plants in the world – the MINI Plant Oxford

The MINI Plant Oxford has been in continuous production since 1913. It is not only one of the oldest automobile plants in the world but also the birthplace of the MINI. Following the launch of the new MINI in 2001, the car ensured the brand’s worldwide success: more than 10 million MINIs were sold in 110 countries around the world. Today, following significant investment over the years, the plant is among the leaders of technology and sustainability in automotive production. Every day, employees at the plant produce around 1,000 cars in three different body styles. Before and after the tours, you will have the opportunity to visit the MINI Museum. There you can follow the development of the cult car from the Bullnose to the classic MINI.

i FACTORY EXPERIENCE at the BMW Group Plant Oxford

In 90 minutes, you will gain fascinating insights into the body shop and the final assembly. At the MINI Plant Oxford, which is two and a half times the size of the famous Westminster Abbey in London, up to 1,000 cars are manufactured everyday. Starting in the body shop, you will see how 1,200 robots and 650 employees produce the basic framework of the MINI from steel sheets. Continue on to the final assembly hall, where you can watch live as the MINI takes shape – from the installation of the cockpit to the wedding of the power units and through to validation – where the car is put through its paces.

The Family Tour takes families with children and teenagers on a journey into the world of automotive production. In around 90 minutes, the contents of the Basic Tour are conveyed in an age-appropriate way. Discover how a MINI is created from thousands of individual parts in the body shop and in the final assembly. If you have any questions, please contact our team: [email protected] .

Book your iFACTORY EXPERIENCE at the MINI Plant Oxford now. We look forward to welcoming you to the plant soon!

Please Consider These Points Before Visiting the Oxford Plant:

• Current global events can have a significant influence over our production. As a result, tours may have to be cancelled for operational reasons. Should this happen to you, we will offer you an alternative date or schedule a refund as soon as possible.
• Children under the age of 14 are not allowed on the factory premises. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 may only enter the plant premises if accompanied by an adult. School classes are an exception, here the following regulation applies: schoolchildren as young as 11 are allowed to enter the factory premises. However, school classes with children aged 11 to 14 must be supervised. An adult may supervise a maximum of two children at the same time.
• Children between the ages of 14 and 18, students, severely disabled people, pensioners and BMW employees receive reduced admission. Please have a valid ID ready.
• Closed shoes must be worn during the tour.
• Photography and filming are not permitted during the tour.
• Animals are not allowed in the facility.
• Personal items, especially electronic devices such as smartphones or tablets, must be left in a lockable cabinet as they are not allowed on the visitor path.
• The tour is not suitable for pregnant women as well as for people with an electronic medical implant (e.g. pacemakers, insulin pumps, etc.).
• The consumption of food and beverages is not permitted during the tour. Smoking is also prohibited.
• No restroom visits are allowed during the tour. There will be opportunities to visit restrooms before and after the tour.
• Tickets are available at the ticket store. Please note that all tickets for tours must be purchased in advance. There is no ticket purchase available on site.
• Audio guides with headphones are provided for a full tour experience. Wearing the headphones is mandatory. If you are unable to wear headphones for health reasons, please contact the booking centre prior to your visit to the factory.

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Plant City , situated between Lakeland and Tampa in West Central Florida , is a small town full of family-friendly things to see and do, from the ever-popular Florida Strawberry Festival in winter to its many parks and green spaces. Its proximity to Tampa Bay offers visitors a laid-back, small-town experience with easy access to some of Central Florida’s biggest attractions , including Busch Gardens and other major theme parks .

The nation’s biggest producer of midwinter strawberries, Plant City celebrates its most famous crop with the Florida Strawberry Festival in late winter, which lasts more than a week and includes concerts, midway rides and amusements, agricultural shows, free entertainment, and plenty of fresh strawberries and strawberry-based treats.

Plant City’s parks and playgrounds make it easy for families to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. Wildlife enthusiasts can spot birds and other animals from the 30-foot observation tower and hiking trails at McIntosh Preserve , which is home to bald eagles, red-shouldered hawks, alligators, and deer. At Edward Medard Conservation Park , visitors can canoe, boat, and fish the 700-acre reservoir, hike the nature trail, and camp . Scenic Hillsborough River State Park in nearby Thonotosassa, home to Class II river rapids, offers camping, glamping, fishing, paddling, hiking , and more.

In Downtown Plant City , linear McCall Park stretches four blocks through the walkable downtown and hosts a food truck rally on the last Friday of every month as well as several events throughout the year. Among Plant City’s popular restaurants are Fred’s Market Restaurant and Smokin’ Aces BBQ & Steakhouse . At Keel Farms , about five miles from downtown Plant City, guests can indulge in upscale pub food , tour the farm , and taste blueberry and fruit-fusion wines from Keel & Curley Winery .

Plan your trip at Visit Tampa Bay and the city of Plant City .

Visit the dinosaur-themed park and city playgrounds.

• Dinosaur World
• City parks and playgrounds
• Hillsborough County Fair
• Sir Henry's Haunted Trail 

MUSEUMS, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Check out the museums and see local art.

• Bing Rooming House African American Museum
• Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum
• Plant City sculptures
• Arts Council of Plant City
• Plant City Entertainment
• More events

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Explore the parks and nature preserves.

• McIntosh Preserve
• Edward Medard Conservation Park
• Hillsborough River State Park

Plant City is less than 60 miles  from the beaches of Fort DeSoto Park and St. Pete Beach.

• Fort DeSoto Park
• St. Pete Beach
• More Tampa Bay-area beaches

ACCESSIBILITY

Check out the area’s accessible attractions and events.

• Plant City Strawberry Festival
• Tampa Bay accessible travel

Tour a winery and visit the tasting room and fill up at a classic Southern buffet.

• Smokin’ Aces BBQ & Steakhouse
• Fred’s Market Restaurant
• Keel Farms winery
• More places to eat and drink

Browse the stores downtown and check out the popular flea market.

• Downtown shopping
• Plant City Farm & Flea Market
• More places to shop

INCLUSIVITY

The Tampa Bay area is home to a variety of LGBTQ+ events and organizations.

• LGBTQ+ travel information
• Tampa Pride

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Visit Plant City’s pet-friendly parks and restaurants.

• Gilchrist Heights Dog Park

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Book a stay at a Plant City hotel.

• Hampton Inn Plant City
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How To Visit a Plant Nursery Like a Pro

by Siri Undlin | Feb 2, 2020

Home > Uncategorized > How To Visit a Plant Nursery Like a Pro

So you’re ready to invest in some plants! That’s an exciting place to be and there are endless directions to go. Whether you are starting a brand new garden, filling in a balcony pot, or adding to last year’s landscaping efforts, it’s probably time to head to a nursery. Here are some helpful steps to visit a plant nursery like a pro:

Do Your Research

A plant nursery is a place where people propagate and grow plants, and then sell them. There are a wide variety of plant nurseries in the world. Some specialize in propagation, others in retail. Some nurseries focus their efforts on succulents, while others might only grow natives or cover crop.

Because of this wide variety, the most important step is to do your research before going . Do a quick google of nurseries in your area. Many nurseries have helpful websites, and if that doesn’t clear things up, you can always give the business a call and talk to a real, live person.

Think about what you want to accomplish with your plant purchases: are you wanting a salsa garden on your back porch? Do you have your sights set on an herb garden ? Is it important to you to only use starters that are neonicotinoid free ? (Answer: if you care about bees, it should be!) Are you wanting to plant a row of lilacs or plum trees?

Have a plan for the upcoming gardening season, and then check to make sure a particular nursery has what you need. You may need to visit a few different nurseries, and that’s okay too. 

Weekdays Are Your Friend

As is usually the case with any retail odyssey, plan to do your shopping on a weekday if at all possible and save yourself time and stress. Especially with plants, there is a small window for gardening shoppers to purchase their flora. It’s safe to say that most nurseries are utterly swamped on weekends, which means that the staff will be less available to answer any questions you might have and there’s a pretty solid chance you’ll be waiting in lines.  

Plant nurseries can be such a fun place to hang out – you’re surrounded by plant babies! The smells, the bright colors, the damp soil – all indications that winter has subsided and spring is here. But if you’re in a hurry, a visit to the nursery can end up being a fairly unpleasant experience. Often, these businesses have a wide variety of really cool plants spread out over a whole lot or farm. Make sure you carve out enough time to find what it is you want, and maybe discover some new plants to impulsively add to the family. 

Go for the Buds, Not the Blooms

When you’re walking around the rows of plants, it can be tempting to be drawn to the plants with the brightest blooms, but hold off on those vibrant eye-catchers. When selecting your plant starters at the nursery, look for plants with buds instead of blooms . With buds, the plant starter will be less susceptible to the trauma of replanting , then will then be timed to bloom beautifully at home.  

Check Out the Roots

Once you’ve selected a healthy-looking plant with promising buds, you can also take a look at the roots of the starter plant. Sometimes, starter plants are detrimentally root-bound. It can depend on the plant, but as roots take over the container, there is less room for soil and water retention. This eventually causes the roots, and your plant, to die. At a minimum, it will stunt the growth of your plant.

If you arrive home from the plant nursery to realize that you’ve purchased some root bound starters, don’t despair! Use a knife or even your hands to break up the roots before planting. Once in the ground, water the plant thoroughly and give it a little extra love as the root reestablish. 

However, it’s important to understand the personality of the plant before you go breaking up the roots. Some plants actually thrive from being root-bound. Examples include aloe, African violets, spider plants, and asparagus fern.

If you’re not sure what plant you’re dealing with, you can always use a plant identification app to solve the mystery and determine what will best suit your plant. 

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4 Places to Visit on Your Last Blast of Summer

August 5, 2020

The red bricks pave a way through the historic district as they soak in the summer heat from the sun raised high in the sky.  Cars drive past, eager to get to the downtown stores on a sunny weekend afternoon.  Families gather over a meal, friends stroll along the sidewalk, and others skip store to store on the hunt for …

Top Places to Visit On A Girls Day Out in Plant City, Florida

July 29, 2020

It’s late in the morning when the alarm clock rings.  The streets outside are quiet without a single movement except for the occasional car that passes by.  It creates a sound that bounces off the brick buildings and resounds throughout the neighborhood. As 10 AM nears, the morning becomes a little less quiet as people finish a second helping of …

3 Places To Find Southern Hospitality in Plant City

July 22, 2020

Steam rises from the cup of hot coffee sitting snugly in your lap on the front porch.  It’s a quiet morning- bird’s singing, crickets chirping and the wind rustling through the trees as the wind chimes dangle from the house next door. In the distance, children have already begun playing in the front lawn, laughing and giggling as mom calls …

The Foodie’s Trek Around Plant City, Florida

July 15, 2020

Lifting one leg up and then the other, you grab onto a handle grip and climb into an old four-door truck, sinking into the leather cushion as you turn on the engine.  The radio blares through the worn-out speakers, but the passengers who consist of close friends and family don’t seem to mind.  The truck will soon turn into an …

4 Authentic Mexican Restaurants To Try in Plant City

July 8, 2020

The aroma of freshly made corn tortillas mixes with the scent of seasoned chicken, ready to be wrapped up and served.  The smell greets hungry guests coming in, hoping to grab a bite to eat.  The faint sound of guitar and violin play over the speakers to create soothing music.  It goes with the laid-back style and ease of the …

3 Ways to Make The Most of This Independence Day

July 1, 2020

Tenderly cut meat steeps in the rich marinade and sizzles on a barbeque grill outside. Kids splash in the pool, dodging beach balls and climbing on pool noodles. Parents watch, sinking deep into lawn chairs planted in the ground, talking over cold drinks and reminiscing about the good old days. It’s the beginning of July, and it feels like another …

3 Places To Get The Best Summer Produce

June 24, 2020

Hundreds of acres of strawberries stretch across the fields and reach beyond the horizon.  The soil and Florida heat (which is also great for a golden tan) work to make Plant City, Florida, a place for fun memories and high-quality produce. Plant City is known as the winter strawberry capital of the world, but the small town also has some …

The Top 6 Trails To Hit in Plant City

June 17, 2020

Wind rustles through the trees, stirring dirt from its resting place on the ground.  The wheels on the bike hug the edges along the gravel road; and a cool breeze rushes past and brushes your hair back. The path is winding and the trail is long but not long enough.  The birds are singing, the wind is blowing and the …

The 10 Most “Instagrammable” Places in Plant City

June 10, 2020

The sound of giggling echoes above the mid-day rush of cars and lingers a few blocks down the street.  The flashes of a camera bounce off the walls and girls join hands in groups of twos and threes to snap pictures in the trendiest clothes of the season- jean skirts, crop tops and scrunchies. A smile spreads across each face, …

Family Fun Day

June 3, 2020

The streets are busy, stores are crowded and cars are bumper to bumper.  Tires squeal on the wet roads as you slowly press on the brakes at the change of a green light.  Traffic is stopped; and you’re late for the third appointment of the day- it isn’t even lunchtime. There’s a pencil tucked between the cracks of the seat …

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