Articles

63806

What a week! A look back at California Spring Trials

I’ve just returned from traveling down the California coast over five days to attend California Spring Trials and check out what the breeding companies and other exhibitors have been working on for the coming year.... more »

63806

Beyond the brick and mortar: A race for revenue and relevance

In Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why,” he addresses the “Law of Diffusion of Innovation.” It’s a fancy way of saying there is a wide range of decision-making for IGCs who want to leap into... more »

63806

PLNTD in the community

Danielle and Lauren Gambino have always had a love for plants, but it wasn’t until 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic that these sisters decided to turn their hobby into their business. Danielle had a retail... more »

63806

What’s your focus: How to differentiate the vital from the trivial in your business

Productivity isn’t necessarily about how many things you get done every day, but rather how many of the right things — the things that add the most value to your customers and your business —... more »

63806

5 Floral trends for 2023

Bright and flashy colors, dried and preserved blooms, and a nod to nature are among some of this year’s floral trends. Read on to see what trends you’ll want to promote in your garden center.... more »

63806

5 Minutes With … Stephanie Fleming

Stephanie Fleming, granddaughter of Behnke’s Nurseries founders Albert and Rose Behnke, was vice president of the business when it closed in 2019. She continued to keep the weekly newsletter going and rebranded the business Beyond... more »

63806

Social media and horticulture

Communication between businesses and consumers in the horticulture industry is an important topic to revisit periodically in the face of developing technology. In the past, mailers, newsletters and other paper-based publications have long been an... more »

63587

IGCs share successful merchandising strategies

Anyone in retail knows that merchandising isn’t a one-and-done procedure; it’s a never-ending process of refreshing and rearranging to make sure merchandise is seen. After all, if your customers can’t see it, they can’t buy... more »

63587

Connecting kids to gardening

For most gardeners, a big part of gardening is sharing with others. For Coast of Maine Organic Products, it’s about sharing the love of gardening with the next generation. The company created its Growing Good... more »

63587

5 Minutes With … Liz Lark-Riley

Liz Lark-Riley is senior customer relationship manager at Mahoney’s Garden Centers, a family-run home and garden business with seven retail locations in the Boston area. What is the most rewarding part of garden center life... more »

63587

Should your garden center have a text club?

Kate Terrell, president and general manager at Wallace's Garden Center in Bettendorf, Iowa, can tell when a text offer has gone out to Wallace’s text club, at least anecdotally speaking, because she says cars immediately... more »

63587

Reaching new customers — while keeping the current ones

As an industry, we were blessed during the pandemic when our sales and profits exploded, thanks to both existing customers who were flush with cash and more leisure time, and an estimated 16+ million new... more »