Excitement Ahead!
by Danny Summers
Here we are in Week 15 and that means you are most likely already feeling the excitement of busy Spring Weeks. But at the same time we have some Excitement Ahead here in The Group!
This Thursday - GROUPtalk LIVE
Rachel Reynolds presents...
Creative Visual Merchandising
Rachel Reynolds is an accomplished visual merchandiser with a passion for creating beautiful, immersive gardens. Formerly a visual merchandiser at Buchanan’s Native Plants—
one of Houston’s premier Garden Centers—Rachel now runs a landscaping business, helping clients design stunning, functional gardens. Beyond private landscapes, Rachel is passionate about working with garden centers to refine their store vision, craft engaging displays, and enhance the shopping experience in ways that drive both inspiration and sales.
Creative Visual Merchandising will delve into describing exactly how to take regular merchandising and make it visual merchandising. After nearly 3 years as the sole Visual Merchandiser at an upscale Houston Garden Center, Rachel mastered the techniques necessary to create visually appealing and profitable displays and identified important philosophies around the topic. Learn the difference between a display that just holds merchandise and a display that pulls in and inspires customers and pushes sales.
You won't want to miss this inspirational session! The GROUPtalk LIVE Zoom Invitation will be shared through The Group's GroupEs eList. Are you subscribed to GroupEs? Need help? Send me an email now.
Do You Remember... A Surprise Inside?
Last September, I shared the blog message, A Surprise Inside. The spark of the idea for the message was a combination of Cracker Jack's "A Surprise Inside" and what Karen and I had been seeing in the Ball FloraPlant New Introductions sample box experience.
We have been on the Ball sample box list for several seasons now and it has been an amazing experience to see some of the very best new plants coming to market in the next few seasons. It gave me a preview of what we were to see at upcoming shows.
At Cultivate'24, Lloyd Traven of Peace Tree Farm approached me with the idea of offering Trial Boxes to some of our very best Garden Centers. Peace Tree has been producing some of the industry's Trial Plants for a number of the genetics companies. Lloyd also attended The Fall Event 2024 and introduced the program concept at one of our breakfast sessions.
There is no cost to participate for the Garden Center, only a commitment to be willing to: (1) receive the samples upon arrival, (2) care for and plant the new introductions in and around the Garden Center, and (3) promote to both staff and consumers to see and evaluate these new arrivals. And then give feedback in simple, easy ways.
A Premier Garden Center with the Coolest New Plants!
The opportunity for a Garden Center to experience a new variety almost a year before it's on the market and for their audience to see the Garden Center as a leading New Plant location, could be a very unique position!
Can you imagine... customers seeing a WOW new plant months before and maybe even wanting to be on a wait list for when it becomes available? Now that is a Customer Experience!
Introducing Peace Tree Farm's New Trial Box Program!
Lloyd now has the following genetics firms wanting to participate and ready to ship Trial Boxes this spring. A Garden Center will not know which genetics they might receive. That's up to the genetics firm and Peace Tree Farm.
An Example...To give you an idea of what a Trial Box might contain, Stephanie Vincenti, Marketing Manager for Ball Seed, who manages their New Varieties Box Program, told me she projects the Ball Flora-Plant Trial Boxes to contain: (1 plant each)
Ready to Participate? SIGN UP NOW
Download the Trail Box Agreement, complete the easy sign up form and return to Peace Tree Farm. I spoke to Lloyd last Friday and he said they may start shipping some boxes as early as week 17 for southern areas and weeks 18-21 for more northern locations!
Announcing The Fall Event 2025 Sponsors!
This week, we begin our rollout of our Sponsors for The Fall Event 2025. We are blessed with having the support and participation of the very best plant brands, growers, hardgoods, and service producers in the industry. Some may be new to you, and some are recent winners of Cool Product Awards or Retailers' Choice Awards.
Each of these companies understands the vision and purpose of The Garden Center Group and The Fall Event 2025. They will be active in each session at The Fall Event 2025 and will be bringing their newest introductions and ideas to you!
We will have a special Sponsor Showcase at The Fall Event – a time for you to meet them and enjoy some light fare and beverages before the kickoff session.
Be sure to visit our Sponsor Page HERE and see each logo. You can click on each logo to visit each website.
Thank You to our Sponsors!!!
Sharing is at the heart of The Group and your ideas are very important. If you have any trouble logging into The Group WebSystem, please let me know. Are you and your staff all subscribed to our eLists such as GroupEs, Retail-Grower, Retail-Landscape, Owners-Only, and a number of others? Need help subscribing? Let me know so I can show you how you can sign up.
Danny Summers
[email protected]
Tel: 678-909-7770
Cell: 678-761-7145
REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Tim Quebedeaux, Sid Raisch, John Kennedy, Jean Seawright, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!