Visions of Oasis

by Danny Summers

Last week, many of us, along with thousands of other industry pros, were in Ft. Lauderdale for the TPIE show. One word that was introduced during the General Session was WOW! That same word was also used by many as they explored the show itself.

Experiencing such a large expanse of our tropical world in one place creates a feeling of an Oasis. This message can be an important one to your audience.

Let's imagine how it might feel to be sitting in the middle of a tropical Oasis. The sounds, the stillness, and of course...the oxygen!

Consider the health benefits to help quiet the stress of a busy day. This fits right into what we learned from Florence Williams' The Nature Fix, doesn't it?

Years ago, an industry promotional effort created a theme of "Plant a Little Paradise." Meadows Farms has been using the theme "Plant a Little Happiness." Whatever you call it, helping your audience create a Vision of Oasis seems to be the perfect message.

I mentioned the TPIE General Session earlier and I must say it was the perfect message as it was a combination of what we have to offer your audience and how serving your audience, in the ways you do, is a worthy endeavor.

The TPIE General Session speaker and message was sponsored by LiveTrends, which they have sponsored for many years now, being one of the most creative developers of planted decorative containers. Prior to the presentation, LiveTrends shared a video which illustrates this Visions of Oasis. It's titled Mindful Living.

The video begins with a young lady in a meditation pose surrounded by a number of tropical plants – at home. Then, you begin to see her imagination as she is in a greenhouse experiencing what it must be like to be where these wonderful plants grew up. Pretty soon, she is back in her home enjoying her own Oasis once again.

Seeing her in the greenhouse setting brought to mind why Garden Centers may be seeing increased interest in people wanting to work in the Garden Center environment. Obviously, your staff is not sitting around in yoga poses all the time, but there are real benefits to being around plants at work. And more people know this.

This is where I must share an observation both Karen and I have developed over the years. We are convinced anyone who touches plants for a living has a different approach to life. This is in contrast to many, if not most other professions, except of course, maybe farming or other agricultural-related work (which horticulture is a part of anyway). In our industry, competitors can be best friends and relationships are created that last a lifetime. This too can attract people to your Center, just being around you and your team.

Now is one of the best times of the year to share the benefits of tropical plants. Most likely, your audience is inside and your Garden Center has a great selection of tropical plants to create their Vision of Oasis.

I recently heard one of our Centers say they have customers who just want to spend time in their greenhouse, when ole man winter is "showing off" the most. Maybe you can charge for just walking through, or have a timed-visit fee?  I'm just kidding but I hope you get the idea here. You have what they need, whether they know it or not.

This Vision of Oasis can move outside as spring and summer arrives so helping them create their Oasis outside is just as important. Their Garden should also become their Vision for Oasis.

I invite you to watch LiveTrends/Urban Jungle's 47-second video above. A special Thank You to LiveTrends for sharing this "Mindful Living" message with us!

And... maybe consider changing your name or tagline to... Your Garden Oasis Store!