WALTERBORO, SC — A crowd of about 80 staff and guests lounged on the lawn outside the Floralife headquarters in Walterboro, SC, on a sunny day late in May, gathered to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the world’s first commercial flower food for cut flowers.

MIAMI BEACH, FL — More than 300 exhibitors in some 700 booths with 66,000 square feet of exhibit space overall; about 700 buyers from close to 100 supermarket chains including major ones like A&P, Ahold, Albertsons, Hy-Vee, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Safeway, Wegmans and Whole Foods; 16 education sessions; 52 new products on display; and about 1,750 attendees. Those were the key numbers as the International Floriculture Expo opened here on June 18.

Floral fashion is ever-changing, and we have a forecast for you in this issue with fashion trends linked to “floral take-aways” with tips on how to use them.

And a growing Memorial Day Flowers project hearkens back to the days when this holiday used to be the prime floral day of the year. The 2013 project used 240,000 donated roses at 208 cemeteries and commemorative events in 27 states. (See story, page 80).

A program launched by the Michigan Ag Council June 3 will help Michigan consumers easily identify Michigan-produced commodities. Under the "Pure Michigan Agriculture" program, retailers can take advantage of special signage designed to remove the guesswork. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about food and agriculture in Michigan today.

Nixa, MO-based Market Fresh Produce, which offers full line procurement and category management in tomatoes, potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, peppers, avocados and kiwi, announced the hire of HANNAH HARRIS to its business development team on May 29.

HAMMONTON, NJ — The timing of the 2013 New Jersey blueberry season is looking like it might be termed a return to normalcy following last year’s season, which was the earliest in many, many decades, according to John Galaida, general manager of Pleasantdale Farms.

“It seems like the 17th, 18th [of June] probably” for the start of the state’s upcoming season, Galaida told The Produce News Wednesday, May 29, during an interview at his office here in the southern part of New Jersey. “There may be a few people picking a day or two earlier.”