Ask the Experts - What makes your best displays work?

Right after Christmas, “It’s all about BLUE” greets you as you enter My Garden Nursery. Originally, before the holidays, this was a display with about 20 pewter blue birds and peacocks. They all sold for Christmas. So, after the holidays we added some ferns (no more than three types of plants per display) and some blue and green boots and mushrooms to give it a “springy look.” The glass flowers and mushrooms always sell best when massed together by color.

We sell over one hundred mushrooms just about every month. We sold 35 gorgeous glass flowers in December at $16.50. Displaying our blue containers together makes it easy for customers to shop. Doing a color display makes a home for some of our miscellaneous merchandise like 6 packs of matches with peacocks on them.

The blue display is similar in theme to other displays we do, such as the “It’s all about PINK” display with pink containers, pink flamingos and pink mushrooms, and “It’s all about GREEN” with green containers, green boots, frogs and glow stakes. We have found that massing product shows our customers the items are special.

Here are our display rules at My Garden Nursery:

1. Inspire our customers to take home the plants or products it highlights.
2. One main theme, such as turtles, echinaceas or a color, like blue.
3. Make it easy for customers to shop. All items priced and within reach.
4. Add a sign to bring it all together.

Our goal is for our customers to feel something. We want people to say, “Wow, Ooh Ahh” or “they’re Crazy” and laugh out loud and sometimes even be moved to tears when they walk in or turn a corner at My Garden.