Marketing
Innovative Ideas: Rounding up to support the community
Piedmont Feed & Garden Center (PFGC) has redefined what it means to be a community-rooted independent garden retailer through its innovative and impactful PFGC Supports Round-Up Partners Program. Launched as a simple register-roundup initiative, the... more »
High performers, hidden burnout: What garden retail leaders need to know
Spring is the moment garden retailers wait for all year — and the time that asks the most of their team. Parking lots fill up, carts overflow with color and associates work long hours to... more »
Becoming a digital garden center
A customer walks into a garden center and asks for help finding plants for a shady patio. The staff member walks them through a few options, explains how to care for them and helps them... more »
The strategy behind the strategy
There are three types of change that can occur, affecting your garden center — and in life: change by crisis, change by drift and change by design. The first, change by crisis, is not what... more »
Perspectives on pots and planters
(Top photo: Brome’s new GardensUP Harvester pole system is a modular vertical gardening system designed to hang multiple planters, baskets and décor elements. Photo courtesy of Brome.) When it comes to pots, planters and accessories,... more »
Keep color selling longer with shoulder-season crops
Season-extending varieties provide gardeners with dependable color, texture and performance during transitional times of the year. This gives growers and retailers the opportunity to extend sales by filling gaps when traditional options may struggle to... more »
Weeding out the AI hype
The artificial intelligence (AI) buzz is everywhere, but for most garden center owners, it feels like an invasive species: a fast-moving, confusing and hard-to-manage technology that is potentially disruptive. As a lifelong advocate for smarter... more »
Innovative Ideas: Marketing that matters
The problem with marketing today isn’t a lack of effort; it’s a lack of genuine connection. We are all inundated with ads and many consumers tune out, skip or block them entirely. This means garden... more »
A blooming retail garden business
What began as a single neighborhood garden center has blossomed into a pair of thoughtfully curated shops — one with an emphasis on design, tabletop and décor — in downtown Chicago. Sprout Home first opened... more »
Outdoor living: Soul inside and out
As we embrace 2026, home décor trends are rich with contrasts: minimalism versus opulence, heirloom-quality versus innovation, sustainability versus luxury. What ties it all together is a common desire to create spaces that are beautiful... more »
From the North Pole to Main Street
As retailers unstring lights and pack away the last of their festive décor, their attention shifts immediately to the seasons ahead — and holiday 2026 is already taking shape. What emerges is a season defined... more »
Event Central: Chalk the walk at Dothan Nurseries
This past August, Dothan Nurseries took a usually slow summer Saturday in Dothan, Alabama, and held its first Chalk the Walk: An Art & Houseplant Celebration. The all-day event included live music from a local... more »
Videos
News
May 6, 2026
UF/IFAS online substrate course begins June 1
May 4, 2026
OAN updates NurseryGuide.com
May 4, 2026
