Prized perennials

For three years, Plant Publicity Holland and the Perennial Plant Association gathered photos and descriptions of stellar retail displays for its Perennials Marketing Contest. This month, we offer a visual tour of entries that caught the eyes of judges and helped garden centers boost interest in perennials. For more “eye candy,” visit the recently enhanced Perennial and Nursery News Web site.

1. Combo crazy. Pathways to Perennials in Kettleby, Ontario, Canada, increased average sales from $55 to $85 with a new approach to plant displays. The store began grouping perennials into collections, such as “Butterfly Magnets” and “Hummingbird Attracters.” In one area of the store, a cedar pergola provided shade and a place to group shrubs and perennials in favored collections.

2. Mix & match a color patch. Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse, N.Y., garnered an honorable mention in 2007 for its whimsical “Mix & Match a Color Patch” entry. Fun props make this display pop. Rusty old wheelbarrows, chairs and even a cement mixer were revived with a blast of color to complement a variety of fall perennials.

3. The buck doesn’t stop here. Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm in Nantucket, Mass., created an ode to seaside and deer-resistant plant material with a display titled “The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here.” The playhouse in the background acts as a focal point to draw customers into the sales area.

4. Lurie Garden display. Chalet in Wilmette, Ill., used 1- and 3-gallon potted perennials to create a meadow scene reminiscent of the Lurie Garden in Chicago’s Millennium Park. The display was accompanied by point-of-purchase materials describing the concept and how homeowners could create this type of look in their own gardens.

5. Fall in love with perennials. Mori Gardens in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, created an impressive autumn display, “Fall in Love with Perennials,” to build awareness of this second season for perennial purchases. According to store owner Tonie Mori, they “wanted to create a display that could easily demonstrate the panoply of golds, reds and burgundies and exciting textures that perennials provide to the fall garden.”