Garden Center magazine

As part of the 2025 Garden Center Conference & Expo, we'll be touring some inspiring, nationally known Kansas City-area garden centers to see how they meet and exceed garden consumers’ demands and provide immersive experiences with spaces to learn, shop, dine and grow throughout the year. Over the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting the stops on our tour, which will be Aug. 5. Family Tree Nursery originated as Overland Park Garden Center in 1965 and has grown from a purchased bankrupt business to an ever-growing Kansas City-area company. That original location is now Family Tree Nursery’s Overland Park location. In 1981, Rieke Nursery was acquired and added as the business’ second storefront as its Shawnee location. In 1986, the Family Tree Nursery Wolcott Farm was added as a growing range in Kansas City, Kansas. In 1989, Bruening’s Garden Center in Liberty, Missouri, was purchased, becoming Family Tree Nursery’s Liberty location. In 2019, a new state-of-the-art growing facility in Kansas City, Kansas, was built and named Family Tree Nursery Donahoo Farm. We'll be visiting Family Tree Nursery's growing facility and its Shawnee location on our tour! You can add on the tour to your GCCE registration for just $99! (Anyone wishing to participate in the garden center tour must also be registered to attend the Garden Center Conference & Expo.) Space is limited, and the last Garden Center Conference & Expo tour SOLD OUT! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gduhvW9X #gardencenterconference2025 #gardencenterconference #gardencenter25 #letsgetgrowing

The Garden Center team had such a blast getting a behind-the-scenes look with A.J. Petitti at Petitti Garden Centers' newest location in Bath Township, Ohio, on sign-hanging day! Stay tuned for more of our coverage on the 10th Petitti location, which will be opening in the coming months! #independentgardencenters #igcs #newgardencenter #petittigardencenters #petittisbath

Over the next few months, we'll be highlighting the sessions you can attend at our Garden Center Conference & Expo Aug. 5-7 in Kansas City. We're thrilled to have Katie Dubow, president of Garden Media Group, presenting From Trend to Transaction: Capitalize on 2026 Garden Trends! In this interactive session, learn how to transform Garden Media Group's 2026 Garden Trends into concrete sales strategies. Katie will dissect some of the company’s key trends and provide actionable advice on product selection, irresistible visual merchandising tips, effective cross-merchandising ideas and targeted marketing strategies. Whether you're aiming for a store refresh or simply want to stay ahead of the curve, this session will give you the insights you need to thrive in 2026. Register for GCCE 2025 today! https://lnkd.in/gHAfJVmG #gardencenterconference2025 #gardencenterconference #gardencenter25 #letsgetgrowing #gardentrends #gardentrends2026 #gmgtrends #gardeningtrends #gardencentertrends #gardentrendsreport

Spring means an explosion of production activity for horticulture businesses, but it also means an increase in physical labor. For workers who might have been sedentary through the winter months, that sudden increase could lead to injury. But protection from injuries is more than simply providing training and support. It’s also about understanding employees have unique physical, mental and social needs that aid in their everyday health, safety and well-being. Taking the time to pay attention to your and your team’s all-around health can turn surviving spring into thriving: https://lnkd.in/gasZ7gmS #greenhouseemployees #greenhousehealth #gardencenteremployees #gardencenterhealth #independentgardencenters #igcs #employeehealth #springsurvivalguide

Running a garden center requires flexibility — whether it’s managing inventory or meeting customer expectations. Square's suite of tools is designed to help you stay ahead of the curve. In this month’s special report, “Grow with Square,” discover how Square's solutions can: ??? Enhance customer loyalty with personalized experiences ??? Improve inventory management, even during seasonal changes ?? Make payment processes easier with Tap to Pay on iPhone and Square Terminal With real-time insights and seamless integration, Square offers everything your garden center needs to thrive. Download our free report here: https://lnkd.in/efVPSGhm #sponsored #gardencenters #gardencenterspecialreport #growwithsquare

Hear from Coleen Ralls, who was working at Cheap Carl's during our last Garden Center Conference & Expo, on how the show helped her connect with new customers. "This show has been the best show I've been at for a very long time." Register to attend or get more information on exhibiting here: https://lnkd.in/g8AGrr2g #gardencenterconference2025 #gardencenterconference #gardencenter25 #letsgetgrowing

Are you ready for the 2025 Garden Center Conference & Expo Aug. 5-7 in Kansas City? Take a look at what you missed at our last show in Minneapolis, then register today! https://lnkd.in/gmKKZ9bC #gardencenterconference2025 #gardencenterconference #gardencenter25 #letsgetgrowing

Our free live event featuring Editor Patrick Coleman diving into the data and insights from our annual State of the Industry Report is one week from today! Are you registered? In 2024, we found that our industry is starting to focus on its core business as profits and growth mellow with the COVID boom in the rearview. It appears that garden centers are getting back to what they do best: selling plants. Our first ever digital-only State of the Industry Report, the 2024 report is fully interactive, allowing the data to be as dynamic as the industry it reflects. Dig into the numbers with Patrick in this session that puts the industry in focus. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gtNywwQj #gardencentersoi #gardencentersoi24 #gardencenterstateoftheindustry #stateofthegardencenterindustry #gardencenters #independentgardencenters #igcs #fertileground #gardencenterfertileground #gardencenterfertilegroundwebinarseries

There's a new ecommerce option for independent garden centers from industry veterans Clint J Albin and Katie Elzer-Peters. The Certified Shopify Online Garden Center from A24 Consulting provides local retailers with a turnkey, personalized solution for a new daily revenue stream from ecommerce. Each online store includes: ??? A fully developed and branded ShopifyPlus store completely merchandised with a 52-week assortment of high-quality gardening products direct-to-consumer fulfilled from best-in-class vendors ?? Managed email marketing to the retailer’s email list ???? Personalized customer service tailored to each individual store Find out more: https://lnkd.in/grCP4jXD #certifiedshopifyonlinegardencenter #onlinegardencenter #gardencenterecommerce #gardencenterwebsite #independentgardencenters #igcs #a24consulting

The gardening boom of the pandemic years was undeniable, but in hindsight, it was also unsustainable. According to the 2025 Axiom Marketing Gardening Outlook Study, the heat of that explosion in gardening may be cooling. The survey — which recruited respondents randomly from a panel of 70 million Americans who own a home and purchased garden plants last year — showed that fewer people in 2024 were spending more time in their garden compared to 2023, citing time as the top barrier. It’s one of a handful of findings in the report indicating a slowdown. However, there remains one cohort that continues to thrive in the garden: Gen Z. Read more on the findings: https://lnkd.in/gebknvtP #gardeningresearch #gardenresearch #independentgardencenters #igcs #gardeningoutlook #gardeningoutlookstudy #gardeningoutlooksurvey