One of my all-time favorite blogs, Garden Rant, recently discussed an interesting phenomenon: Garden centers hiring professional writers to create content for the store’s blog.

Now before you completely pooh-pooh the idea, check out which garden-retail-powerhouse is already doing it…

Lowe’s. Yep. The big-blue box itself. And they’ve lined up an enviable group of (credible) writers to fill the site with content.

Check out what Susan Harris has to say about this development and the rise of professional garden bloggers here.

And, as always, feel free to leave us a comment below. Does hiring someone to maintain your blog have any appeal?

Noted consultant John Stanley challenged garden centers to improve customer service or prepare to see shoppers go elsewhere during a webinar March 11 attended by industry pros from the U.S.A, Canada, South Africa, the U.K, Ireland, New Zealand, India and Australia.

The webinar, sponsored by the National Green Centre, was the first of several on tap this year for Stanley, who put customer service in his cross-hairs -- and then started firing at shortcomings he sees, as well as offering solutions to the problems.

Prior to the webinar John Stanley Associates conducted research on consumers' views on customer service. During the presentation, he noted that the study revealed that nearly 75% of consumers feel that product knowledge and customer service has declined in the past five years. Stanley took a positive spin on this and highlighted the opportunities that this gives retailers who implement the correct procedures.

Stanley told webinar attendees how to engage the consumer and how a loyalty club can either destroy your business or build your business.

The next webinar, on merchandising and display, will take place in June. Stanley provides registered attendees with a password; they then log into the training session on their computers. Stanley e-mails workbook prior to the webinar and also sends a recording of the presentation after the event so that it can be used to train a garden center team during in-store class sessions.

To register for future webinars or for more information, contact Stanley at info@johnstanley.com.au or visit his Web site.  

From all the friend and fan requests I’ve been getting, it looks like garden centers are fully embracing social media as a marketing venue. Ah yes! We are indeed living in a digital world! Will online storefronts be the next frontier retailers explore?

We talked about the pros and cons of online stores in our November issue. Not long ago, I came across this blog post from consultant Bob Phibbs: “Why You Should Abandon Having an Online Retail Store.”

Here’s Phibbs’ take on the situation…
The easy money online has passed. If you want to have an online store presence, you need to invest the money to be at least as good as the big boys. Just like an independent coffeehouse has to be at least as clean as the local Starbucks with a speed of service no slower, with a product at least as fresh, you have to meet the competition’s standards just to be in the game.

In essence, if you’re not willing to invest the time, money and effort to create a user-friendly, high-tech and ultra-engaging online experience—why bother?

Garden Crossings in Zeeland, Mich., looks like it’s willing to take a chance online. I got this press release earlier this week talking about its new virtual storefront.

“You might say that our goal with the website was to create an online garden center,” explained Heidi Grasman, Garden Crossings’ co-owner. “The website gives customers—both retail and wholesale—a trusted online source for gardening information, and a sense of community.”

Anybody else out there giving online sales a go? Leave us a comment and share how it’s working out for you.

Several positives emerged from the New England Grows show in Boston, not the least of which was sunny weather that ensured steady traffic throughout the three-day event. Temps hovered in the balmy range for the natives (not so much for we Texans), and folks came out full-force to attend an event that showed more than a few new plants, products and power equipment -- not to mention one of the best education programs in show history.

Official attendance was 13,044 -- an increase of 3% over the 2009 draw. A good number of those enjoyed the 30-plus seminars that targeted growers, landscapers and retailers, and that featured "Who's Who" lineup of speakers that included Tom Wessels, Craig Ruppert, Larry Weaner, Suzie McCoy, John Backert, and Pete Luckett. In addition, noted a dozen-plus national educators and several GIE Media staffers hosted "Ask the Experts" mini sessions on stages at both end of the show floor.

I got to do a session on "Recession-busters Retailers Can Market in 2010" (see picture of chubby guy holding microphone above) and received a warm welcome from the natives during the talk.Some highlights of my session:

(1) Selling air. I picked this tip up at the ANLA Management Clinic. Basically, you take a plant you want to sell, confident that it will fetch market value on its own. Then, instead of letting it do that, you spruce up the pot (coloring it or having someone inscribe something on it), then you add a bow to the package. Given that you deal in plants -- and likely in trees -- you'll have some discardable branches on the premises. Take the dead ones, paint them white and arrange them in some woven manner above the plant you want to market. Finish the ensemble with a butterfly ornament atop the now much taller decorative plant. You've invested in some paint, a bow and an inexpensive faux butterfly -- not much, in other words. Now, however, you can fetch twice the market value of the original plant in a generic pot.

(2) Seeing is believing. I have a buddy, Thomas Birt, who owns Mesquite Valley Growers Nursery,  a very successful garden in Tucson, Ariz. In fact, I referenced our recent visit at the ANLA Management Clinic in a previous blog. Recapping that visit during my session, I recalled how he used an elaborate, "all the bells and whistles" fountain at the store's entrance to draw attention to the more practical water feature fare he displays elsewhere at the store. A lot of people don't have the dime ($30,000 installed for a model like the one that greets folks to Mesquite Valley Growers Nursery) for the big model, but Birt says they like the plug-and-go self contained fountains he sells. And, because he displays them in a variety of sizes and colors, he generally sells at least two at a time -- one for the front and one for another spot in the landscape.

 (3) The year of the "Happy Garden." After a relatively dismal 2009, customers need some cheering up. I told the crowd that I predict customers will gravitate toward bright, vibrant, colorful plants this spring -- because those adjectives reflect the way we all want to feel.

In addition to my session, colleagues Kelli Rodda of NMPro magazine and Mike Zawacki of Golf Course Industry and Lawn & Landscape magazines also shared insight with enthusiastic show goers, who showed once again that the New England green scene is among the best in the country.

Next year's event is scheduled for Feb. 2-4 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. You can tap into the aforementioned show link for more details. In fact, I would recommend doing just that.

At the ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, Ky., there were all manner of lessons taught/learned. One of the simplest was so darned simple that I felt simple for not appreciating its simplicity.

Brett Yates of West County Gardener Gloves peddles a product that is good for a variety of reasons. The gloves are well-made and well-made of mostly sustainable material. They also wear well and look good -- especially, apparently, the gold models. "We have the gold gloves placed prominently in every display," Yates noted during a session at The Clinic. "They definitely draw attention."

Curiously, though, they are just the fifth-selling model the company markets. I would suggest that happens because yellow probably gets dirtier quicker than plum or blue or red or any of the other colors on display and available in the WCG line. At heart, most gardeners are pragmatists.

But having gold as "eye candy" helps Yates and Co. sell a lot more gloves.

Here's another great idea via the ANLA Management Clinic's Retail Swap Shop sessions: Before you discard or discount inventory items that you can't move, consider selling the stuff on eBay.

That's what one retailer has been doing, and the results are astounding. Initially, he said, he would simply do the gradual price-reduction thing, taking 10%, then 20%, then 50% off, just to get rid of products that weren't moving. Enter the move to wwwLand, and now the products are selling -- and selling at nearly the original price. For instance he said, one hard-to-move, high-end product had been marked at $300. He eventually fetched $280 for the item. And he got rid of most of the rest of his slow-turning inventory the same way.

What is they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure? Maybe you have some "trash" that needs to be taken out, yourself. 

The Retail Swap Shop at the ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, Ky., was a great venue for retailers looking for new, easy-to-implement ideas. To wit: The practice of "selling air."

Here's how it works: Say you have a plant you want to market. It looks lovely in and of itself, so you'll likely fetch the market rate if you display it in a generic container. But why settle for displaying it in a generic container? Why not pot it up in a colored container, slap a bow around the container, throw in some tall "dead branches" painted white, atop of which is a colorful butterfly ornament that you add before moving the items to the display floor?

Suddenly, you have the same basic item you wanted to market -- only with bells and whistles that cost very little to add to the mix but which give some vertical "oomph" to the package. Just as suddenly, you also don't fetch the market price; you realize a possible substantial profit on something that looks to be much more valuable than simply a plant in a pot.

You've likely experienced this at your store: You go out of town on business and return to a bevy of voice messages, almost all tied to some seemingly high-priority issue you need to address the day you get back. During a session called "Surviving at the Speed of Life" at the ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, consultant John Kennedy offered a remedy that should lighten the post-trip load:

Be sure you adjust your phone greeting prior to the trip. Instead of leaving the usual, "Hi, this is Yale Youngblood. I'm away from my desk right now, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can," Kennedy suggests getting specific about why you're away from the desk right now and when you'll be able to get back to the caller.

Example: "Hi, this is Yale Youngblood. It's Wednesday, Feb. 3, and I'm away from the office attending the ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, Ky. I'll be back in the office on Monday, Feb. 8. If you have some urgent matter that needs to be addressed, you can call my colleague at work, Sue Smith, at 555-555-5555. Otherwise, I'll be checking my voice mail later today and will be sure to get back to you as soon as I return from my trip."

If you're a clever voice mailer, you can craft the message in your own innovative way. The point is to make sure the caller knows that you're out of the office and knows when you'll be back -- and knows when you're likely to return the call. "Most of the time," Kennedy said, "the caller won't even leave a message. They'll just wait until you're back to call you again."

And that means a lot less to do while playing "catch-up" when you get back to bidness.  

Here's a quick-hit sales tip that could help you sell more fountains, courtesy of a visit I had with Thomas Birt at The ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, Ky.

Birt owns Mesquite Valley Growers Nursery in Tucson, Ariz. He said he recently constructed an impressive, conversation-starting fountain at his business. Both adjectives have come into play to help him sell another type of water feature. "They look at the display fountain and say they would like have something like that their homes," Birt said. "I tell them it costs about $30,000 to have it installed. They usually just blink and say that's a little more than they had planned on paying. So I point them to all the instant fountains we have. We have all kinds of bright colors and sizes on display."

He notes the simplicity of maintenance and beauty that are part of the instant fountain appeal -- "You basically just plug them in and enjoy them," he tells customers -- and almost invariably the customer that was drawn to his showcase water feature buys the scaled down versions.

And here's the clincher:

"They usually buy several of them," he said. "We have all colors, so they'll buy one in one color to put in the front and another in another color to put in the back. We've had great success with this approach. Even those that can't buy the elaborate fountains want the water sound and the color. So we offer them an easy, beautiful alternative, and they snatch them up."  

Perry Upchurch knows gifts, so much so that at his prompting, Dallas-based garden center Nicholson-Hardie completely overhauled its gift section -- and saw sales more than triple while increasing margins by 15% after sales and clearance, too.

As a consultant to gift operations at a variety of garden centers, Upchurch travels around the globe to find ideas he might pass to clients. This blog entry continues a series on items that caught his fancy during the recent Dallas Gift Market -- and features his take on each product.
 

 A.     B.

A. Caldrea from Patrick & Company is the all-natural and organic home-cleaning line for anyone caring about the earth and cleanliness. A full range of beautiful fragrances makes any task a little brighter.

B. A ceramic garden basket, available from Phoenix Precast Products in many colors, is a great Mother's Day gift.

 C.     D.     E.

C. Fruits & Passion has introduced a new line of hand purifiers with a huge drum of free samples with just a pump push.

D. Park Hill, in Donald McEvoy's showroom, offers many plant containers, but none more garden-oriented than this series with faucets. (501) 603-0600

E. Phoenix offers many new affordable planter sets in great colors and proper sizes.

 F.     G.

F. burton + BURTON had many stylish folks wearing informational electronic billboards on their chests roaming around the aisles of the Dallas Market Center. Wouldn't this be fun in your operation, too?

G. Knud Nielsen presents a full line of preserved mosses by the bag full.

 H.     I.     J.

H. California Floral has introduced a fancy moss-covered chair that holds a pot of any plant you choose.

I. Tag Ltd. offers a new Turkey-based wreath hanger for all sizes of wreaths.

J. Fragrance is the best-performing gift category in a garden center operation, and Archipelago introduces a way to sell the refills, reeds and bottles individually. This company's proven success with diffusers and candles makes this a win-win for your store and your customers.

 K.     L.

K. Allstate Floral & Craft has the best value in holiday "unreal" fall pumpkins and gourds ... an extensive range.

L. Knud Nielsen shows you how any outdoor planter could be turned into a work of art in just a few seconds -- with things you might have around.

Perry Upchurch knows gifts, so much so that at his prompting, Dallas-based garden center Nicholson-Hardie completely overhauled its gift section -- and saw sales more than triple while increasing margins by 15% after sales and clearance, too.

As a consultant to gift operations at a variety of garden centers, Upchurch travels around the globe to find ideas he might pass to clients. This blog entry continues a series on items that caught his fancy during the recent Dallas Gift Market -- and features his take on each product.

 A.      B.

A. Campo de Fiori offers many terra cotta items with real moss growing prior to shipment to your store. These hurricanes feature a huge glass globe and a moss-growing saucer. You add the candle and the moss.

B. Gold Eagle offers the best magnolia garlands, wreaths and picks available anywhere. (404) 431-4090

 C.      D.     E.

C. Midwest has many Santas available in all different sizes. This one has a great smile and good details and a long list of kids to make happy. 

D. Midwest is promoting many different selling tools, including racks that feature different classifications of merchandise. These tree-shaped racks hold the resin ornaments that depict garden center items like tools, birds, seeds and many other items.

E. Jeremie Inc. has many holiday items, but this little reindeer is quite special. Look for the reindeers with a planter in their backs, too. Other holiday items from Jeremie include angels and other spirited items. (800) 362-3869

 F.     G.

F. Heavy and thick Melamine plates look and feel like real ceramic dinnerware. Glazes resemble the real thing, too. They will not chip or break, and they go right into the dishwasher. Colors are strong and go with many patterns, especially these heavenly French Fabrics from Lila A. Reed at the World Trade Center in Dallas.

G. Sipatiniz is a non-spillable martini glass complete with a straw. Selected as the hottest item of 2009, it continues to be a success. Available from Patrick & Company in the Dallas Trade Mart.

 H.     I.

H. Cork Pops has improved its packaging and expanded its line of wine-related products. Over 150 items now tempt the wine lover, and many items are designed to make the process of opening wine and serving it easier and more delightful.

I. This wine glass metal chandelier was custom-made by a Dallas craftsman for the Cork Pops display in Dallas. Within a few days, a 12-glass version will be available to anyone who desires it. Contact Patrick & Company in the Dallas TradeMart.

 J.     K.

J. Orlandi Statuary (left) and K. Jeremie (right) offer a full range of outside and inside sculptures of Saints as decor. This area is expanding and expanding, so customers are looking for Saints for everything to support their pets or to guard their homes and children. Jeremie Inc., (800) 362-3869

 L.

L. Only things with feet should touch the floor in a garden center gift shop ... so this is the perfect two-feet table from Orlandi. 

Perry Upchurch knows gifts, so much so that at his prompting, Dallas-based garden center Nicholson-Hardie completely overhauled its gift section -- and saw sales more than triple while increasing margins by 15% after sales and clearance, too.

As a consultant to gift operations at a variety of garden centers, Upchurch travels around the globe to find ideas he might pass to clients. This blog entry begins a series on items that caught his fancy during the recent Dallas Gift Market -- and features his take on each product.

 A.       B.

A. ABC Glass offfers good shipping, great packing, good delivery and good prices. Nice, thick glass, great sizes for floral, planting and display. (770) 449-6586   

B. California Floral offers several sizes of the American Flag ... a good wall piece and affordably priced.

 C.     D.

C. Park Hill offersmany different styles of numbered planters. Favorite Numbers take a lot less inventory than initials. (501) 603-0600

D. Homes and stores need Suggestion Boxes, and Park Hill offers the best in this class -- one that appears to have suffered through many bold ideas! (501) 603-0600

 E.     F.     G.

E. Midwest offers night-lights in hundreds of designs; this one is a chandelier. Holiday and everyday designs are available with displays, too.

F. Romantic frogs embrace a spirit of loving ... and this sculpture depicts the art of love. From California Floral.

G. Knud Nielsen offers many unusual items that are preserved, real, natural products of nature. This winding band of green makes a group of leaves in an outdoor planter look arranged and appropriate for any home or garden.

 H.     I.

H. Trapp Candles is offering its Gold Members a sweepstake promotion that will thrill the consumer and offer her a chance to sniff all the scents you feature in the store -- and win what they adore!

I. Peking Handicraft features more than 1,000 different guest towels for all season and all reasons during the year. Holiday themes are especially strong.

 J.     K.

J. This three-set of spirited ghosts hang together to spook anyone ... large and showy ... and affordable. From Califonia Floral.

K. This wooden witch has a partner, and both are made of wood and attachments. Both are available from California Floral.

 L.

L. Great legs! These fabric leg covers are meant to cover the legs of any table completely and are in the designs of a skeleton or a witch. From 180 Degrees. (404) 577-8229  

Ran across this interesting story on OregonLive last week: Retailers ramp up senior discounts.

Have you considered starting or expanding your senior discount offerings? Do you think Baby Boomers will want or expect them in coming years? Drop a comment and let us know.

In our January issue we talked with Wayne Harrell, owner of The Garden Center in San Antonio, Texas. In the interview, Wayne mentioned the time he spent as a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti—where he also met his wonderful wife, Henriette. Since the tragic earthquake that struck the island, I’ve had several people ask if I knew how the Harrell family was faring. I received an update over the weekend.

Sadly, the family knows for sure they have lost an uncle and three cousins in Port-au-Prince. After days of waiting, Wayne and Henriette finally got news that her brother that lives in the capitol is alive. They still don't know the status of two sisters and several nieces and nephews.

More from Wayne…

Many people have offered to help, and we have set up a Haiti Relief fund at Capital One bank and you can go to our website at www.thegardencenter.com to find out where and how to donate. I have personal contact with several organizations in Haiti who we are assisting. The director of the Red Cross in Haiti, Matt Merek also served as a Peace Corps volunteer at the same time I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti.

I've made contact with over 20 or more organizations in Haiti offering my services as a translator or help in any way I can. Several have responded; however very few civilian relief organizations are being allowed in at the moment. If I get a call to go down there, I’ll be on the next flight. It might come to be that I can be involved in the reconstruction as building and construction is really what I'm better at. I just want to go help any way I can.

After two years of living there, being married to a wonderful Haitian woman, and both of our children being born in Haiti; I certainly consider Haiti my second home. My heart just aches and I can barely stand to watch the news. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.

In the January issue of the magazine, we offered a quick primer on some of the agencies and organizations charged with making sure being “green” isn’t so much a claim, but a significant distinction marking the companies you deal with. Face it: Almost everyone is some shade of green today, and separating the wheat from the chaff can be a formidable task – for you and for your customers.

Enter Susan E. Lewis, a pioneer in the winnowing process – as well as an experienced soldier in the war against “Greenwashing.” She is fighting mad that many companies take liberties with their boasts of producing earth-friendly products.

 “If you’re not USDA certified organic, you’re not certified organic,” said Lewis, the founder/president/CEO of Pharm Solutions, which manufactures the first USDA certified organic pesticide and herbicide products on the market.

In fact, Pharm Solutions has a bevy of “cides,” all made organically – and most already deemed by the USDA to contain all the right stuff. It’s a process – the making, then the getting the highest government blessing – that has been at the heart of her business since she first started producing healthful plant-growth-aid products almost six years ago.

 “As organic growers for over 20 years, we encountered a constant challenge to find natural products that actually worked,” she said. “After years of frustration we simply took matters into our own hands and did the necessary research to develop solutions for our most difficult challenges in growing. Since the summer of 2004, we have been committed to finding the best total solutions for our customers, so we used as our guideline, some of our own most pressing concerns.”

That research pointed her through a veritable jungle of “certifications” and “listings” to the one distinction that she and her staffed deemed to matter most – the coveted status of USDA certified organic.

In a nutshell, The U.S. Department of Agriculture created the National Organic Program (NOP) to develop, implement and administer national production, handling and labeling standards for organic agricultural/horticultural products. The NOP also accredits the 100 certifying agents (foreign and domestic) who inspect organic production and handling operations to certify that they meet USDA standards.

Bottom line: If you earn USDA certification, you are as green as you claim to be. And, Lewis said, that matters – especially to today’s sophisticated shopper. “When that young women who has three babies at home goes to the garden center needing a pesticide, what are they going to tell her?,” she asked. “We know they can tell her that our products are safe. And she can look at the label and see that the USDA tells her they are safe, too.”

Pharm Solution products were developed on an organic farm that, as mentioned earlier, had been in operation for better than two decades  – yes, Lewis was organic long before organic was cool. The experience helped her craft products that were cutting edge, and now the collection of earth-friendly items available includes pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers and herbicides, including Organic Weed Killer (pictured), which earned USDA certified organic distinction in 2009. This year, a new line of certified organic household cleansers will be part of the Pharm Solutions mix.

Lewis takes pride in the fact that her company continues to grow and to serve a vital need. She also takes seriously her charge to put “Greenwashing” in its place. She recently forwarded us a note telling how the Environmental Protection Agency had required a competitor to omit the word “organic” from the name of some of its products because the items hadn’t been certified.

“Interestingly, these rule changes did not apply to us, as we were never misleading the public,” she said. “We’ve always tried to do things the right way. I believe customers appreciate that.”