At Beaver Bark Gift & Garden Center, one motto reigns supreme: Go for the cute. According to Jennifer Medford, marketing manager for the Richland, Washington-based IGC, the best-selling animal planters are typically quirky, fun and above all, cute. Sloths, elephants, pigs, dogs, cats — you name it — have all been very popular planter choices amongst consumers. Medford says the sloth planter is an extremely sought-after option because it is so unique, and it naturally draws the eye of curious customers.

“It depends on what kind of plants customers are getting, but we’re basically a one-stop shop. You can get your houseplants and your outdoor plants, and we offer little pots and medium-sized pots,” Medford says.

Animal planters in the small- to medium-sized range sell very well because they’re typically used for houseplants and succulents, which are especially popular now as people spend more time in their homes, she says.

“A lot of customers seem to like the really cute ones, and plants on the cheaper side. We usually sell a lot more of the smaller planters than we do the larger ones,” Medford says. The animal planters at Beaver Bark also come in a range of different materials, and they offer everything from ceramics to terra-cotta.

“We have a cute little llama planter right now. It’s terra-cotta; it’s got some interesting designs on it. It’s a lot of fun,” Medford says.

Local, paw-friendly environments

At Perino’s Garden Center, Tucker Bantom, general manager, says their most popular animal planters and statues pay homage to its home state of Louisiana, where local critters provide inspiration in the garden.

“The cats sell a thousand times better than the dogs. And then of course I’m in pelican country, pelican being the state bird here. So, pelicans are my high seller — I’d say it’s neck and neck with the pelicans and the cats,” Bantom says.

Bantom says the concrete, 6- to 8-inch pot planters are the most popular, which are paired with mixed succulent planters on the floor. To show them off, Bantom keeps one or two display planters filled with plants on a table, and then places the rest of the planters underneath. Customers are welcome to buy one of the pre-planted pots or choose their own.

“Sales are off the charts. Fantastic. We also do animal doormats, animal door hangers, animal bowls, animal beds … I mean, you name it, we do it,” Bantom says.

He attributes the popularity of animal planters and other products due to the pandemic and keeps these products toward the front of the store, although he’s currently low on inventory. For IGCs that want to venture into this category, Bantom says they should stick with popular SKUs and increase inventory little by little as the sales dictate.

“You know, people are at home with the pets and they come to the garden center to get something for themselves and then see something for the pet as well,” he says.

For Perino’s, finding and offering the right products is a “blended interest,” Bantom says, because most of the employees have pets and are interested in the different décor or pet products on display. The IGC itself is very pet-friendly, and four-legged friends can always expect dog treats when they come in. (Editor’s note: Head back to page 16 and check out some of the IGC’s furry friends).

Sentimental memorials

Pets also serve as a selling point for Cahoon Nursery & Garden Center, says Dana Corrigan, store merchandiser. Located in Westlake, Ohio, the IGC offers an array of sentimental and whimsical animal décor. Items like natural concrete dog statues and memorial stepping stones (for cats and dogs) tend to be very popular with customers.

“We really kind of mix it up here. We make little vignettes around the nursery with the décor in them. We do tend to keep the dog statues in one place, though, because that would get confusing. We probably have access to about 30 different dog breeds and we usually have about 20 on display,” she says.

Cahoon’s also offers hanging décor like hummingbirds, dragonflies, butterflies and birds that can be used to adorn fences with a colorful pop or rustic hue. They also offer décor items that can appeal to birders.“

We have some bird stuff in metal décor and in movable, mobile-type stakes. One thing that was a big seller for us was the garden stakes of owls and birds of varying ‘personalities,’ shall we say? They move in the wind and those are pretty fun,” Corrigan says.

At Cahoon’s, 2020 general décor sales increased more than usual due to renewed gardening interest.

“I think mostly it’s people just decorating their gardens or having some sort of memorial to specific dogs or cats. That seems to be an ongoing thing. But everyone probably paid a little more attention this summer because everybody’s home so much,” Corrigan says.

South of the border designs

On the West Coast, many items are in high demand, says Linda Westler, office manager and pottery buyer for Green Thumb Nursery in San Marcos, California.

Green Thumb offers pots in an assortment of hand-painted Mexican red clay, Talavera-style and ceramic. The high-fired, brightly colored Talavera pots tend to be pricier because of their artisanal quality and can often be more expensive because of the hand-brushed strokes. Many of these animal planters have unique and eye-catching patterns painted on them.

“The Talavera probably have a bigger assortment and we display those together because it’s just such an impact when you come in and it’s so bright and colorful and cheerful that people always are drawn towards that,” Westler says.

However, the pandemic has caused a supply chain roadblock for the IGC, and inventory has been quite low. It’s hard to keep up with the rush of consumer demand when merchandise is scarce, she says.

“I have one vendor that does a bunch of a different terra-cotta figurines, like bunnies and cats, and I have not been able to get those at all in the last four months or so because they are manufactured in Mexico,” Westler says.

One of its popular items — a 13-inch quail planter with chicks around the border that sells for under $20 — won’t be replenished any time soon because of the inventory shortage.

As for the rest of the pottery, Westler displays the ceramic pots on a shelf in a designated section. The Mexican pottery is hand-painted, which helps color coordinate the area and draw the wandering eye of a customer, she notes. They don’t usually display plants in the pots, save for the occasional 2-inch cacti to give people ideas. As Westler puts it, they have “high interest, but low merchandise.”

“We’re twice as busy as we normally are because people are home, and they want to do something in their yard. I mean, we order and then I have to go through and order it again and again. We’ve been busy, but it’s a good thing,” Westler says.

When it comes to garden décor trends, consumers seem primarily focused on living in their landscapes, and anything related to helping them relax at home. Décor trends seem less about simple aesthetics right now, and more about making one’s garden more beautifully functional. With all the extra time we are all spending at home living, working and learning, it is no surprise that our customers want to upgrade their garden style with daily lifestyle in mind.

Like most of your customers, I have not taken any of my planned work trips or vacations in 2020. Everything was canceled. Due to social distancing, I have not visited anyone other than a couple of necessary family visits and I am still working from home about 50% of the time right now. Like me, many of your customers are internally screaming “get me out of here!” If we can’t take our vacations to relax away from home, and dining al fresco with immediate family on the patio has replaced dining out with friends, then the least we can do is bring a sense of relaxation to our home and landscape.

Patio upgrade

I recently did something I have not done since I bought my patio furniture about six years ago. I bought all new replacement cushions, plus furniture covers, which is neither a simple nor inexpensive endeavor. I am currently hunting for a new unique fire pit and eyeing upgrades to all my bird feeders and bird houses; I need a new shade sail, plus some attractive side tables and better lighting options. I also want to replace some old beat-up patio pots and refresh my container plantings. Sound familiar? Now that customers are using their outdoor spaces much more frequently, they also are seeing all their worn-out patio and garden accessories that do not make them happy anymore from an aesthetic or functional standpoint.

Patio items that are trending heavy right now are patio daybeds, backyard bars, outdoor tiles and vertical gardening units. Unique options for outdoor seating, including hanging chairs and hammocks, also come up increasingly in consumer search trends.

Woven materials, such as wall hangings, pot hangers and wicker are popular. While you may not stock larger outdoor furniture, you should think about how you can complement such items with functional décor or accessories related to outdoor living.

Cultivate comfort

Living outdoors comfortably through most of the year can be challenging in many climates and downright impossible in others. Garden centers should focus on items that help their customers comfortably spend as much time in their gardens as they can, for as long as they can. That may mean unique firepits or patio heaters, cooling misters and fans, shade solutions, attractive mosquito control products, stylish garden lanterns and the like.

Multifunctional

Consider décor items that serve a multifunctional purpose for gardening and outdoor living like pot stands that double as side tables or stools, or vice versa. On home décor sites I am starting to see more references to using outdoor patio rugs and other furniture indoors for high traffic areas. So consider that your outdoor rug and furniture selection may also be shopped for indoor use or décor.

Pottery

When it comes to pottery trends, most of what I am seeing trends toward a more natural and organic look. If it is not hand thrown, then it at least looks that way. Unglazed or partially glazed pottery is garnering a lot of attention on social media channels. Much of this shift, I think, is due to the current houseplant craze. Along with houseplants, new plant parents are looking for unique pottery to accent their plant babies. Small and tiny pottery — with drainage holes — definitely needs to be a part of your merchandising mix.

Many consumers are still resistant to paying a lot for pottery, but they are seeking items that have a more handmade look to them — even if the pots are still mass produced. The shift to a handmade aesthetic will no doubt train consumers they will need to pay a bit more for quality pots. With more boutique pottery artisans showing up on sites such as Etsy and Instagram pitching their custom wares, consider diversifying your pottery selection with some handmade options, preferably from your local artisans.

Cheerful color

As far as color trends go, customers are looking for any and all things green. Google Trends reports for the colors sage, mint and emerald show a 41%, 24% and 67% popularity increase over the past six months, respectively. Also popular are bright colors such as coral, aqua, turquoise and lemon. When it comes to a lot of that handmade pottery, pink is in, as well as pink mixed with neutral glazes or partially unglazed pots. It looks like we are all searching for color that will both soothe and cheer us up.

Knickknacks and feeders

As far as decorative items or knickknacks go, the trend toward a more natural feel is also prominent. Organic shapes with unpainted stone and metal, frequently in the shape of plants (often agave or other succulents) and flowers are on trend. Butterfly puddlers, bee waterers and deck mount bird baths will also help you customers better enjoy the local wildlife while relaxing on their patio.

Rather than decorating for decorating’s sake, we’re all looking for ways to enrich how we live in our gardens, and boost our sense of well-being through natural beauty and comfort.

Leslie (CPH) owns Halleck Horticultural, LLC, through which she provides horticultural consulting, business and marketing strategy, product development and branding, and content creation for green industry companies. lesliehalleck.com

On my home office bulletin board, I have a postcard that reads “Bad Girls Book Club — Where half the group doesn’t read the book, and the other half doesn’t even show up!” This card makes me smile, remembering the days when I was in a book group that met regularly, but not everyone read the book.

In addition to providing a structure for regular reading and discussion, book groups create community. Most of the members of one book club I belonged to were mothers of young children, and we met as much to support each other and get out of the house as we did to discuss books.

IGCs can use this same model to create loyal groups of customers who remain excited about plants. People who enjoy reading and discussing what they’ve read are usually curious, and that intellectual interest often extends to plants, helping to drive sales.

Pages & plants

Plan a series of Pages & Plants meetings, where a book is paired with an appropriate plant. The club might read “The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession,” for example, then discuss the book, hear a member of your staff discuss orchid care, and all go home with an orchid. Similarly, the discussion of Lisa See’s novel “Peony in Love” could be followed by a talk about how to grow this favorite flower, and attendees take home a Peonia plant.

Such groups can be scheduled to meet monthly, bi-monthly, or as you’re able to find time and meeting space at your IGC. Registrations that are taken and paid in advance work best for these meetings, and they should be priced to cover your time and the cost of the plants.

Pages & projects

Pairing a book with a planting activity is also appealing to customers as it combines the discussion with a make-and-take project. In 2019, a group of women gathered at the back of the Hyannis Country Garden greenhouse to talk about “The Language of Flowers,” and to plant up a container of flowering annuals. Regular book club members invited others to join them, and all paid $30 that covered the materials. We provided a list of the meaning of the annuals they could choose from, which included Begonias (beware, dark thoughts), blue Salvia (I think of you), Sweet William (gallantry), and Zinnias (thoughts of absent friends) among others.

The book group members brought their own refreshments and the afternoon was filled lively conversation and fun.

Keeping connected with virtual groups

Many IGCs won’t be have in-person gatherings due to the pandemic this winter, but a book group can easily be held in a Zoom meeting. Attendees can call the store to register with a credit card, providing an email address for the link to join the meeting. They would be invited to come into the store to pick up their plants or project materials. Smaller plant projects can even be done by each attendee at home in a virtual group “plant-along.”

Finding plant-related books

Our cover story this month looks quite a bit different now than what we had planned at the beginning of the year. Before the pandemic changed everything, Rockledge Garden was going to share different ways to stay relevant in the coming years. Instead, like garden centers everywhere, the IGC is finding all kinds of innovative ways to keep their garden center, their employees and their customers connected in the midst of the pandemic. Staying relevant has taken on a whole new meaning, and it’s more crucial than ever to find ways to continue being a part of your customers’ lives — now and in the years to come after COVID is gone.

Some events at Rockledge, like their live virtual classes, keep customers engaged online. Other in-person events, like their month-long Fall Festival, leverage the wide-open spaces of the IGC to let customers to explore and shop safely. And when hosting events like birthday parties, weddings and holiday functions, the garden center is staying part of the family experience.

The garden center is a great example of how to change with the times, keep up with the market and be so much more than a plant shop. It’s a family gathering place, a virtual classroom, a photo shoot location and more. In short, they’re using employee experience to create customer experiences.

It’s also a great way to differentiate from the big-box stores. You don’t see many people going to Home Depot or Lowe’s to celebrate Mother’s Day or stage a photo shoot. And while your customers may be able to find some of the plants they’re looking for online or in a different store, they’re not likely to find a virtual garden club meeting or answers to their questions about caring for a new orchid.

You can read all about what Rockledge Gardens is doing to stay connected during the pandemic on page 18. And with the holidays fast approaching, we’d love to hear what you’re doing at your garden center this year. Send us some photos or drop us a line to let us know how your IGC is bringing cheer to your customers.