From the editor: Welcome to the special Garden Center print edition

It took an embarrassingly long time for me to learn the difference between perennials and annuals. I’m happy to report that I finally understand which is which. Some plants come back. Some don’t. The ones that come back? Those are the perennials.

My family’s home garden is heavily leveraged toward perennials: rudbeckia, echinacea, daisies, creeping phlox, hollyhock, barrenwort, hostas and peonies, among a host of others. They attract a flurry of bees and butterflies, and they also give birds and animals a consistent supply of food and shelter throughout the year. There is truly nothing more lovely than seeing a goldfinch perched on the seedpod of a rudbeckia at the end of the season.

No disrespect to annuals is intended whatsoever. Our summer garden is often packed full of annual blooms. But perennials are also incredibly reliable. They are the base. They are constant. They can be expected to do their thing no matter what.

The magazine you’re holding right now is much like a perennial. It’s been about a year since you’ve seen it, but here it is, just as you remember. The wonderfully designed pages and pictures are like flower petals supported by a strong stem of industry information that holds up the whole thing.

An interesting thing about perennials, though, is that they are always there — even when the flower has faded in the winter. They store potential. Their roots remain vital and alive; reaching out; going deep; thriving; waiting to bloom again.

Our online content at gardencentermag.com is where our roots thrive. We’ve also been reaching out and stretching and going deep. In fact, this year, we won national Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association and American Society of Business Publication Editors awards for the extraordinary work on our interactive State of the Industry Report. But there’s so much more happening on the site, driven by the visionary energy of Digital Editor Emily Mills. And you’ll find a lot of that work in these pages.

Our regulars are still featured, including C.L. Fornari, who continues to publish her Retail Revival column with us online. But there are also new departments, like Ask HR. You’ll also find our original reporting dedicated to solutions, like maintaining good relationships with suppliers and succession planning.

The most delightful petal of this particular bloom is the 2025 Garden Center Top 100 Independent Garden Centers List. But it won’t be the same as you’re used to. We’ve made a big change in the criteria this year, and it has shaken up the list in a pretty significant way. We’re excited about the change, and you can read more about it in the insert of this issue. I’d like to offer a heartfelt congratulations to all the businesses that made the list.

You can meet some of this year’s list-makers here. We’ll be celebrating them at the 2025 Garden Center Conference & Expo in Kansas City, Missouri, in August. We hope to see you all there.

I’m happy you’ve decided to pluck this particular perennial, and we hope it brightens your business until next it blooms again.