Weekend Reading 2/7/25

Welcome to Garden Center magazine's Weekend Reading, a weekly round-up of consumer garden media stories meant to help IGCs focus marketing efforts, spark inspiration and start conversations with consumers.

This week: Reusing household items in the garden, consumers' preference for online shopping on marketplaces, an indoor garden that uses fog to grow plants and the problem with fake plants.

You won't forking believe these gardening tips, Iowa Public Radio

Iowa Public Radio shares how to reuse household items from plastic forks to old T-shirts in the garden. Share these tips with your customers.

Consumers prefer online marketplaces to brands’ sites or search engines, survey, Retail Brew

Retail Brew reports that of the 4,500 people surveyed across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and the Netherlands, 63% said they preferred purchasing on marketplaces instead of brand-owned websites. Where are you selling online?

CES 2025: Plantaform Launches Smart Indoor Gardens with Fogponics Technology, Tomorrow's World Today

Plantaform's Smart Indoor Garden was named CES Innovation Awards Best of Innovation in the Food and AgTech category. Find out how this indoor garden uses fog to grow plants.

The (Real) Problem With Fake Plants, TIME magazine

Maria Balaska writes for TIME: "Research consistently shows that experiencing real nature, from having houseplants to gardening, has unparalleled mental health benefits that are significantly diminished in the case of artificial experiences of nature. What is so rewarding about experiencing real nature that cannot be replicated by artificial copies?"

Enjoy your reading, have a great weekend and we'll see you next week!