Is your IGC in one of the United States’ best cities for naked gardening?

Photo © Tory Brown/Pexels

There are plenty of holidays and occasions that allow independent garden centers to market and move plants.

Mother’s Day tends to start the season in most U.S. states, with a long Memorial Day weekend pushing even more early sales. But there is one holiday earlier than Mother’s Day that could get gardeners to strip IGC shelves bare as they prepare to plant in the buff.

The occasion, World Naked Gardening Day, occurs on May 3 and could be a cheeky chance to promote early sales if your business happens to be in one of the best cities for naked gardening.

What is World Naked Gardening Day?

The inaugural World Naked Gardening Day occurred in Seattle, Washington, in 2005. The day was created by Mark Storey, contributing editor to Nude & Natural magazine, and permaculture practitioner Jacob Gabriel.

The idea was to promote a deeper connection to cultivating natural spaces by removing the barriers between body and the environment. Now, 20 years later, the day has become a worldwide celebration, with naked gardening events held the first weekend in May across the world.

There isn’t a single organization that owns or promotes World Naked Gardening Day. It’s largely championed by naturists (a.k.a. nudists) who organize naked gardening events at nudist clubs or communities. However, there are also solo practitioners who disrobe to dig in the privacy of their own home gardens.   

The best cities for naked gardening

Online landscaper directory LawnStarter has done the research that no one asked for to compile the best cities to practice naked gardening.

But before you dismiss the research as a slapdash marketing effort, it’s important to point out that to find out the results, the study took into account no fewer than eight metrics with varying weights: the number of nudists per 100,000 residents, local legality of public nudity, urban gardening-friendliness rank and weather.

The cities in the study rank from one to 500. The top three are Miami, Florida; Seattle, Washington; and Austin, Texas. A great deal of the reason for their top spots, according to LawnStarter, is the fact that public nudity is legal. Rounding out the top five are topless-friendly cities Atlanta, Georgia and Asheville, North Carolina.

Of those at the very bottom of the list, four are in Minnesota: Plymouth, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park and Woodbury, narrowly beating out number 500: Hammond, Indiana. But it’s not that all Minnesotans are anti-nude gardening. After all, a now infamous Instagram post by Tonkadale Greenhouse in Minnetonka, Minnesota, commemorated the day with an image of supposedly bare owner Jessie Jacobson hidden behind a giant fern.

Naked commerce

So, if your IGC happens to be in one of the top cities, can you leverage World Naked Gardening Day? Perhaps the better question is: Should you? There are some things to consider.

1. Know your customers

As a business owner, you should have a good handle on who your customers are and what they will tolerate. If you live in one of the more liberal cities on the list and find that your customers are more willing to take risks, it’s possible that a naked gardening promotion could move the sales needle.

On the other hand, if you are in a deeply conservative area, and your customers tend to hold more traditional values, it’s probably best to steer clear from the subject. No need to court controversy if those most offended will be your core shoppers.

2. Know your brand

Does your IGC have a strong brand? Is that brand compatible with World Naked Gardening Day?

Consider a retailer like Tonkadale Greenhouse. They have very strong branding. Their business has a feel, style and attitude that is completely unique. Jessie Jacobson can hint at nudity on her business’ Instagram page because it is not at odds with the lively, playful vibe of the brand. Not only that, but the post was as classy and thoughtful as it was humorous.

3. Lead with service

If your brand, customers and city are compatible with World Naked Gardening Day and you want to tie a promotion to the day, there is always the question of what kind of content to create for marketing.

Take a cue from LawnStarter.com. On its blog promoting the study, the brand offers tips for being safe while gardening in the nude, including not using pesticides that could irritate the skin and staying away from power tools. Are there tips you could provide your customers?

Consider other helpful advice, too. For instance, Smithsonian horticulturist Janet Draper once proffered the best way to know if it’s right for planting certain annuals in the spring: If the soil is warm enough you can sit on it comfortably with your bare bottom, it’s time to plant.

No matter how you decide to approach World Naked Gardening Day (or steer well away, as the case may be), it’s hard to argue with any initiative that drives consumers to their garden — after a stop at their local IGC, of course.

What does it really matter if your customers are gardening in the nude or fully dressed? The important thing is they’re gardening.

Patrick Alan Coleman is editor of Garden Center magazine. Contact him at pcoleman@gie.net.