Green Goods

Selling Nature

Selling Nature

After allowing space for traffic flow, every other square foot of your sales floor is valuable — so it's important to use it wisely. Great numbers of varied merchandise spur sales; customers will slow down... more »

Selling Eco(nomically) Friendly Products

Selling Eco(nomically) Friendly Products

Stocking eco-friendly products can help garden centers attract customers: Organic, nonthreatening products can be a real draw, especially with the chemicals and synthetic products often associated with gardening. "The [green] market is continuing to grow... more »

The Country Slowly Turns Green

The Country Slowly Turns Green

With the mad rush of spring over, you are finally reviewing those sales reports that have piled up on your desk in the past couple of months. As you review which categories and products were... more »

May 2008

Winner’s Circle

Deciding which varieties to carry in your garden center can be quite the task. Not all consumers share the same tastes, but you want to stock plants that you know will sell well. That's why... more »

March 2008

Rethinking Shrubs

I'm sure that Bob Dylan wasn't writing about the nursery industry when he wrote these iconic lyrics, but nothing better sums up what's going on in the world of plants and in particular the world... more »

February 2008

Green by Nature, Vibrant by Design

By now, everybody has heard about sustainable gardening, sustainable business practices and the environmentally conscious movement in general. The two things that surprise me about sustainable practices are that it took so long to catch... more »

February 2008

Poinsettias on Trial

Consumer Picks We had more than 450 consumers come thorough the poinsettia trials during our open house at the University of Florida. The public is invited to tour the trials and participate in evaluating varieties... more »

January 2008

How Dry I Am

"How dry I am... " These lyrics, written by a group called the Skillet Lickers in 1927 — really! — seem to be the tune a lot of gardeners in the United States sang this... more »

June 2007

Trends At Every Stop

A crew from Lawn & Garden Retailer made our way from San Diego to San Francisco for the California Pack Trials last April. We noticed again this year that companies are integrating more into Pack... more »

May 2007

Bog Gardening With Carnivorous Plants

When school kids and their parents visit the University Botanical Gardens at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, they are invariably drawn to the unusual displays of colorful carnivorous plants. The horticultural attractiveness of these... more »

May 2007

Winner’s Circle

Most garden centers try to carry plants their customers will find appealing. Sometimes, customers see plants' appeal on their own. Other times, it is up to the garden center to offer varieties with proven success... more »

May 2007

Selling Summer Blooms

Selling the beauty of flowering trees is a time-honored spring tradition. Most garden centers do a great job of gearing up for sales of ornamental plums, cherries, pears, redbuds, magnolias, crabapples and Florida dogwoods. It's... more »