Cha-ching! (1-17)

One of the challenges garden centers face is adapting to the changing of the customer guard. Whereas the Baby Boomer customer, a staple at your store for practically ever, loves the journey, Gen X, her successor, just wants to get to the destination. Boomer customers generally love to garden; Xers generally love a garden. Adjusting to a new breed of customers requires a good deal of research and/or experience trying things that appeal to someone who thinks entirely differently than her predecessor.

One retailer that is hitting the Gen X target is Gabalot Gardens in Strasberg, Va. Owner Janet Heishman decided a great way to get new moms interested in the store is to make sure their children find the place "kid-riffic."

"We have three different kid areas," Heishman said. "Two involved rocks/pebbles. We are now the place to come when kids are bored."

And, given that kids can become bored quite easily, that makes Gabalot Gardens something kids gab a lot about. Cha-ching!