The Plant Farm
“At our store, we have two exceptional plant exhibits that serve as sources of inspiration and customer engagement.”
Year founded:
The Plant Farm was founded in 1969, starting with tomato plants and growing into what it is today: a family-run business with three generations of the Creach family working together.
What is your garden center known for?
We are known for selling quality plants grown right here on-site and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our parent company, Creach Greenhouse, grows at least 90% of what we sell at The Plant Farm. Twice a year, in November and April, we offer tours of our greenhouses to the community.
Our exclusive hanging baskets — petunia and fuchsia — are known throughout the area. In November and December, we sell poinsettias, grown on-site. We also paint some of our poinsettias and add glitter to them. It is something unique and fun that we offer compared to other stores in the area selling poinsettias.
What technology has made a difference in your garden center?
In the past year, we have implemented a cutting-edge form flex motorized basket system that guarantees uniform watering of each basket. Prior to our basket system, we, like many garden centers, used drip watering or hand watering for our hanging baskets, while we used these basket systems in our growing operation. A few years ago, we decided it was cost effective and time efficient to install the basket watering system in our retail greenhouses. Not only is it efficient, but it is also enjoyable and a talking point for our customers to see and watch the baskets twirl around the top of the greenhouses.
How does your subscription box program appeal to online customers?
Every other month, we send out subscription boxes. Our shipping manager selects the theme and the plants for each box, and they are carefully grown in our greenhouse.
Each box contains a 2- or 4-inch mystery plant or a Hoya and, depending upon the subscription, the box contains a specialty sticker designed in-house, a care card tailored to each plant and, again, depending upon the subscription, there may be a puzzle, book or another unique plant-themed accessory piece that complements that month’s subscription box theme.
The goal is to keep our boxes cost effective while still providing our customers with a diverse assortment of plants throughout the year. Many people like to give our subscription boxes as gifts.
Why is your store so successful with merchandising?
Our merchandising strategies are specific to the product. At our store, we have two exceptional plant exhibits that serve as sources of inspiration and customer engagement. During the winter, we showcase a stunning Cissus discolor that grows up to our ceiling. Recently, we introduced a Hoya trellis, housing 14 Hoya plants from three diverse varieties — Hoya ‘Crassipetiolata Little Splash’, Hoya ‘Claudata Sumatra’, and Hoya ‘Fungii Seed’.
We also mix our houseplants in with our merchandising displays, so that our garden center and merchandising blend seamlessly together.
Meet the rest of the winners:
Thank you to this year’s Lawn & Garden Retailer Innovator Award sponsors:
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