Garden Center Magazine

01/24/2025

The National Garden Bureau has announced the 2025 Green Thumb Award winners!

Winners are selected through two categories: the People’s Choice Award, voted on by the public, and the Professional Choice Award, determined by a panel of expert horticulturists from the National Garden Bureau.

The Professional Choice Award winners are:
🐚 ANNUAL: Cosmos Sea Shell Red from SAHIN Home Garden - Takii Europe
🌿 EDIBLE: Basil Everleaf Lemon from PanAmerican Seed
🪴 GARDEN PRODUCT: Crescent Too Circular Positive Planter Collection from Crescent Garden
🍊 HOUSEPLANT: Philodendron Prismacolor Orange you Gorgeous from Proven Winners leafjoy Houseplants
🕊️ PERENNIAL: Hellebore JWLS Endless from Monrovia / HilverdaFlorist
🔥 SHRUB: Euonymus Fire Ball Seedless from Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. / Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Shrubs

The People’s Choice Award winners are:
🍋 ANNUAL: Calibrachoa Lia Abstract Lemon Cherry from Danziger Annuals & Perennials
🥦 EDIBLE: Broccoli Purple Magic F1 from Sakata Seed America
🪴 GARDEN PRODUCT: Crescent Too Circular Positive Planter Collection from Crescent Garden
🍊 HOUSEPLANT: Philodendron Prismacolor Orange you Gorgeous from Proven Winners leafjoy Houseplants
🦋 PERENNIAL: Butterfly Bush Little Rockstars Red from Dümmen Orange, North America
🌼 SHRUB: Hydrangea FlowerFull Smooth from First Editions Shrubs & Trees / Bailey Nurseries

Read more about all the winners here:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/national-garden-bureau-2025-green-thumb-award-winners-peoples-professional-choice/

01/23/2025

Floral design remains a stalwart — though shrinking — department in the garden center retail landscape, according to our 2024 State of the Industry Report.

But garden centers may have an edge on traditional floral shops when it comes to the trend of blending flowers and plants in unique arrangements.

In her talk on the AIFD American Institute of Floral Designers stage at TPIE (FNGLA (Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association)), Floriology Institute Education Manager Angelyn Tipton offered insight into how retailers can leverage the plants-plus-flowers trend.

We caught up with Tipton on the show floor to ask what garden centers should know about combining plants and flowers to boost sales:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/garden-center-floral-design-tropical-plants-floriology-institute-tpie-2025/

01/23/2025

One of our primary goals is sharing ideas to help you increase your revenue and customer visits.

With our partner Square, we're hosting a live event next week for you to discover how you can boost your garden center's success with Square's powerful tools designed to increase revenue and attract more customers.

From easy to use and mobile POS systems to integrated marketing, loyalty and inventory management, Square can help you provide a smoother shopping experience while growing customer loyalty.

Register today here:

https://gie-net.zoom.us/webinar/register/6217359331032/WN_-FiBWjTASf-ptGtkaDAsaw #/registration

01/22/2025

Congratulations to DeVroomen Garden Products!

The Illinois-based wholesale supplier of Dutch bulbs, bare roots, seeds and other horticulture products is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025.

Find out about the new products and global celebrations planned for this year:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/de-vroomen-garden-products-100-years-anniversary-sesame-street-collection/

01/17/2025

Spring means an explosion of production activity in greenhouses, but it also means an increase in physical labor. For workers who might have been sedentary through the winter months, that sudden increase could lead to injury.

But protection from injuries is more than simply providing training and support. It’s also about understanding employees have unique physical, mental and social needs that aid in their everyday health, safety and well-being.

Taking the time to pay attention to your and your team’s all-around health can turn surviving spring into thriving.

Join Garden Center Editor Patrick Alan Coleman and Bardavon Senior Clinical Consultant Robert Townsend in our free live event at 2 p.m. Jan. 28 as they discuss the mind/body connection crucial to keeping your employees healthy and injury-free during the busy spring season:

https://gie-net.zoom.us/webinar/register/6017346268543/WN_2zY41dKYQeyuSQGKffiV2Q

01/15/2025

There are still customers who want Pelargoniums, but there are so many other annuals available that these are no longer the dominant summer container plant.

Find out more about annuals and how to design a container from The Garden Lady:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/garden-center-plants-annuals-geraniums-buying-ideas-retail-revival/

01/13/2025

More than 80% of the respondents to our 2024 State of the Industry Report are from single-location IGCs. Find out what insights they shared with us in our full research report:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/2024-state-independent-garden-centers-industry-report/

01/10/2025

Sustainable soil company Rosy Soil has announced the closing of a $3.6 million seed round that will allow it to accelerate its product development efforts, expand its retail footprint and grow its team.

The company offers high-performance soils that capture CO2 using an alternative to peat-based soil mixes: biochar, a carbon-negative charcoal-like substance created through pyrolysis:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/rosy-soil-gardening-biochar-peat-captured-carbon-co2-fundraising/

01/08/2025

When Alexander Betz started in landscaping about 15 years ago, he admits he bought a “landscaping and gardening for dummies” book.

As he learned more and gained more experience — and customers began to ask for more complex designs — he would contract with freelance designers, who would provide scaled CAD layouts or PDFs of garden designs. At the installations, he noted how confusing it could be for crews to read those layouts and install the plants where they were supposed to be.

That’s how the idea for his business, Plant By Number, was born. And now, it's useful for more than just landscape professionals. Anyone who’s planting a garden can use it.

The company produces printed-to-scale garden maps on weed-blocking fabric or biodegradable paper that are available as both PDF digital layouts and in-store grab-and-go kits.

Learn more about the company, including how it's partnering with IGCs:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/plant-by-number-garden-maps-easy-landscaping-design-centers/

01/08/2025

If you're at MANTS, come visit Garden Center, Nursery Management and the rest of the GIE Media Horticulture Group staff at booth 804!

If you're at Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show - MANTS, we'd love to see you! Visit booth 804 to connect with the Nursery Management magazine staff and to find out what's new with the GIE Media Horticulture Group.

https://www.nurserymag.com/news/mid-atlantic-nursery-trade-show-mants-2025-nursery-management/

01/06/2025

We are thrilled to announce that the Garden Center Conference & Expo is back this year and will be located in Kansas City, Missouri!

Registration is open now!

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/garden-center-conference-expo-2025-kansas-city-missouri-keynote/

01/02/2025

The 2024 annual behavioral research study from Monrovia found that gardeners are feeling hopeful, accomplished and nostalgic heading into 2025.

Make sure you're prepared for the new year by reading up on these stats and trends about your customers:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/monrovia-research-gardening-attitudes-2025-garden-centers-sales-ideas/

12/31/2024

When customers walk into your garden center, they aren’t just looking for plants — they’re looking for solutions.

Each gardener faces unique challenges, and it’s our job as retailers to empower them with the plants they need to be successful.

How can your garden center effectively do it all and meet shoppers' diverse needs? The key is identifying your garden center's all-star lineup.

Find out more in this replay of our live event with Plant Development Services Inc. and The Garden Media Group, featuring an all-star lineup of the top problem-solving plants consumers are seeking in 2025, effective marketing messages to educate and inspire, and time-saving tools for sales:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/media/plant-development-services-inc-pdsi-garden-media-group-new-plants-marketing-centers/

12/27/2024

Juneau’s Adopt-A-Flower program brings blooms to Alaska’s capital city, which cannot be reached by outside roads over the surrounding mountains.

A local garden club started the program 40 years ago, and it’s grown along with the city. In 2024, crews grew and planted nearly 16,000 plants in the city of Juneau, with finding from local businesses and individuals.

Because all people and products, including plant supplies, come into Juneau via air or water, Juneau city employees grow all the plants in a city-owned 1,800-square-foot oil-heated greenhouse. Last year, the crew grew enough plants for 200 hanging baskets, 60 flower barrels and 50 flower beds and planters:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/juneau-alaska-adopt-flower-program/

12/25/2024

Happy holidays from Garden Center magazine!

To help you celebrate, we have the results from Plantpeddler Inc.'s Poinsettia Variety Day 2024:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/plantpeddler-poinsettia-variety-day-2024-results/

12/23/2024

The curb appeal of silver foliage plants, along with encouragement and guidance regarding their effective use, will invariably lead to robust consumer popularity.
The classic, neutral contribution of silver not only combines well with everything; it soothes the eyes and makes surrounding colors more vibrant.

We have a ton of recommendations for silver plants, both listed and pictured here and at the link below 🩶

-Pulmonaria 'Majeste'
-Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum (silver lace)
-Salvia argentea
-Centaurea Silver Swirl
-Cerastium tomentosum

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/silver-foliage-plants-ideas-consumers/

12/20/2024

Every year, Monrovia conducts a gardening research study of U.S. homeowners who purchase outdoor plants from garden and home centers.

The company also conducts monthly surveys about design ideas, interest in sustainable practices, and plant colors and types.

This data, paired with extensive scouting of the connections among gardening, art, design, cooking, family and other lifestyle pursuits, helps inform Monrovia’s 2025 Design Trend Report.

Here's a look at the top consumer trends that can help your business in the next few years, courtesy of Monrovia trend spotter Katie Tamony:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/monrovia-gardening-trends-2025/

12/18/2024

When the Garden Center team made the choice to become a digital-only publication, our world expanded. We were no longer tied to a monthly publishing schedule, and the print borders dissolved into the infinite canvass of the internet.

Today, the promise of that transformation has come fully alive in Garden Center's first ever digital-only State of the Industry Report.

In 2024, we find that our industry is starting to focus on its core business as profits and growth mellow with the COVID boom in the rearview. It appears that garden centers are getting back to what they do best: selling plants.

In the 2024 SOI, you’ll be able to scroll through and focus on the data that’s most important to you. This report is fully interactive, allowing the data to be as dynamic as the industry it reflects.

Dig into the full report, free and open to all, here:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/2024-state-independent-garden-centers-industry-report/