Didn't see that coming

This month, we’re introducing  a new series, Marketplace, which will spotlight hot and trendy items that are serving garden center operators well in 2010. The topic for the inaugural installment of Marketplace is “items that did better than expected.” Here’s what the retailers told us.

Proven Winners, indeed
Harvey’s Farm / Westborough, Mass. / www.harveysfarm.com

For Emily Harvey, who with dad Jim manages the award-winning nursery and garden center, the “sleeper” of the year was a plant. “In general, we were amazed at the success of selling our 4-inch Proven Winners in the height of the season (April/May),” Harvey said. “We had worked hard over the winter to paint many of our displays from a natural wood to a fresh white color. Although this will create more maintenance for us, the white branded PW pot/tray on the white display furniture creates a strikingly clean look that is attractive for our customer.”

Harvey said the store’s staff also painted some accessories for merchandising: doors, chairs, window boxes, etc., with a lime green accent to complement the newly-released Pretty Much Picasso petunia. “We assumed people would be looking for this exciting new variety,” she said, “but we were ecstatic at our customer’s response to the plant, its display and accompanying painted elements. It was certainly a ‘wow’ factor.”

As far as other garden ornaments, Harvey said she was pleasantly surprised at how well the garden whimsy items/ornaments did for the garden center. “A newer item for us were garden picks,” she said. “At a relatively low price point, we found this a quick ‘grab in every color’ type of product for many customers. It was a great unexpected impulse add-on to our spring sales.”

A fan of lantana
Color Your World Guzman’s Garden Center / Las Cruces, N.M. / www.guzmansgreenhouse.com

Owner Gary Guzman said one plant, in particular, took off at his store in 2010. “It looks like the lantana in various sizes and colors was the ‘in’ plant this year, and it is still going strong as of today [in the middle of summer],” Guzman said. “It obviously is the amount of color it produces, even in the blistering heat. Many landscapers in the area have used plenty of lantana in their plans, so this plant seems to be getting more attention when it comes back from dormancy in the late spring. I think people also like the idea that you don't have to clean them up during the summer months to keep them blooming.”

Casual earn-iture
Buchanan’s Native Plants / Houston, Texas / www.buchanansplants.com

Buchanan’s accomplished a most unlikely feat in 2009—a very successful year. In fact, while much of the nation’s retail realm struggled, owner Donna Buchanan and her staff put together a 15 percent profit gain in 2009—and a 19 percent bump in sales volume.

So, what could they do for an encore?

“We have had such a fabulous year that almost everything is above expectation,” Buchanan reported recently. One reason, she said, was the unexpected success of a casual furniture line the store now carries.

“One vendor that has been a pleasantly surprising success is Western Imports line of contemporary outdoor furniture—copper top and concrete top tables on iron bases, chairs, benches, arbors, birdbaths, etc.” Buchanan said. “They are a higher-priced line than we have had before.”