Cha-ching! (4-14)

Bowood Farms Nursery in St. Louis will celebrate its 5th birthday Saturday, and, as might be expected, the occasion will be marked by all manner of festive activities.

For starters, everything is 5% off (get it? 5% for the 5-year birthday celebration). Additionally, there will be raffles and cake and a special presentation by a noted local sculptor, who has designed and thrown a commemorative terra cotta container just for the birthday party.

Marketing for the event, naturally, is designed to get folks in the doors. What they'll see once they're in there is a garden center that sells itself. Even the aforementioned doors, very large and painted chartreuse, help brand Bowood Farms Nursery as someplace special. Special is only enhanced by incredible plants and gifts and classes and cuisine -- Bowood's cafe offers Bison burgers among many other tasty treats.

Bottom line: The birthday party is a great way to get people thinking about a store. But Bowood Farms Nursery's every day personna does a good job of that, too. And garden centers that do a good job of getting people thinking about them generally do a good job of hearing "Cha-ching!"  

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