Weekend Reading 7/19/24

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: A gardening rental program, truck bed gardens, insects in small city gardens, an AI gardening texting service and fun kids gardening ideas.

Rental program makes gardening more accessible, Minot Daily News

A North Dakota gardening association has land available for use through a rental program managed by the local library. Is this something that could work in your community?

Japanese Landscapers Turn Kei Trucks into Tiny Gardens, Car and Driver

Kei-tora gardening creates a landscape in a limited space: the 6'6" by 4'6" bed of a tiny kei truck, according to Car and Driver. Could you transform an old, unused truck into a sample garden showcase?

Insects thrive in tiny city gardens even if plants are non-native, New Scientist

A study of small city gardens in the Netherlands found insects were just as abundant in those with exotic plants as in those filled with native plants, according to New Scientist.

How a Boulder-Born AI Service Can Help Your Garden Grow, 5280

Released in March, Flora — a free AI texting service (sign up online) created by Boulder-based fertilizer company Love, Plants — provides instant answers to your botanical queries, according to 5280 magazine. Try it out and see if it works.

'Brain' and 'eyeball' plants, oh my — fun ideas for gardening with kids, New Hampshire Union Leader

The New Hampshire Union Leader shares some fun plants that could attract kids to gardening, like crested celosia that resembles brains or the popcorn plant (Senna didymobotrya) with its buttered popcorn-scented leaves.

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