Totem trends

Year after year, the annual Garden Center State of the Industry report shows statuary to be a small but extraordinarily stable source of sales. But for a product that is immutable by necessity and nature, statuary trends are surprisingly dynamic. That can make stocking and merchandising the right items a chore. But careful planning, customer insights and industry leaders can help IGCs sculpt the perfect statuary plan.

It’s only natural

Consumers are looking for garden decorations that reflect the environment. Durable high-gloss glazed ceramics have taken a back seat to textured surfaces that look pulled from the earth.

“Garden statues made of natural materials including stone, wood and clay are trending for 2024,” says Beth Lorentz, marketing and product director for Glenhaven Home & Holiday.

Glenhaven sources statuary and goods directly from artisans in Southeast Asia, including the islands of Bali and Java. The provenance informs the material used, including greenstone, lava stone, river stone, pebbles, clay and teak root.

At Bremec Garden Centers in Ohio, Marketing Director Billy Herron is also looking to natural finishes in statuary — but not at the expense of looking clean. “I think people like that clean look,” he says. “A lot of people, with statuary, they want something that's going to be an accent piece, but you don't want it to be taking attention away from the landscape that's there and all the work that they put into it.”

Asian influence

A garden is often a meditative space, explains Campania Vice President and Creative Director Peter C. Cilio. “Pagodas, Buddhas, dragons; people associate that Asian influence with a meditative refuge, a peaceful place. So, what gardens should be.”

Wholesale statuary producer Cameron Nichols, president of Greenman Stone, says that his best sellers remain the wide variety of Buddhas he produces. His catalogue features around 30 different styles and sizes of the deity alone.

Nichols attributes the strong demand for Buddhas to certain gardeners who want a sense of spirituality without heavy religious overtones, particularly in the northwestern United States where he operates. “I think that in some ways, people buying Buddhas and putting them around their house or in their garden kind of gives them a spiritual connection in place of going to church,” he explains.

Flights of fantasy

At Cultivate’23, the Garden Media Group marked a growing societal interest in the occult that’s seeping into gardens through trends like “goth gardening” and Halloween gardens. Statuary producers and sellers are tapping into the trend by offering fantasy-themed figures that can work for gardeners looking to create a mythical, mystical space.

“We just introduced two large winged dragons,” Cilio notes. “They work with the mythical feeling that’s always been a part of gardens.” Campania has a full mythical line that features griffons, gargoyles and gnomes.

Nichols’ partnership with artists (who keep the rights to their designs to earn royalties) allows him to release a new design every month. This month, he released a 100-pound gargoyle for Halloween. It wasn’t something created on a whim. “We listen to what it is that our customers are asking for,” he says.

Creature features

The demand for naturalistic garden décor extends beyond finishes and colors and into subject matter, according to Lorentz. “We are finding that motifs represented in nature, such as frogs, turtles, birds, fish, mushrooms, shells and trees of life are popular,” she says.

Nichols has also noted a strong demand for creatures. One of his bestsellers has been a blackbird standing on an orb. It’s been popular enough that the piece has been repeated with a crow and a raven.

He’s also seen a strong demand for cats, but he notes dogs can be difficult. “It's trickier because they're breed-specific. You know, people that own a lab aren't going to buy a Scottie sculpture,” he says.

At Bremec Garden Centers, some of the need for specificity is alleviated by offering customization, with an artist on staff specifically for that purpose. “If family comes in and they just lost a pet that they love, they can show her a picture of that pet,” Herron says. “She can hand-stain that piece of statuary to look like the pet that they just lost.”

Merchandising desire

Statuary is difficult to procure, stock and display because it is so bulky, heavy and often expensive. Knowing what products to choose and how to stock them are big considerations. Here are some guidelines:

Look at bestsellers: Nichols always suggests that new customers look to his list of bestsellers as an initial way to choose stock. Since he has bestsellers in every category, his garden center partners can get a good selection of popular items. Then, he suggests they consider what’s left after a full season and lean into the products and product categories that resonated most with customers. It helps that he has a no-questions-asked return policy, so if something is sitting on a client’s shelf too long, they can always give it back. Importantly, return policies will vary from vendor to vendor.

Start small: Larger statement statuary can be difficult to sell. Cilio notes that smaller pieces are much easier to tuck into smaller areas of the garden and are good for people with limited space. He also notes that the smaller the statuary, the more likely it could be picked up for gifting or sold as an impulse buy year-round.

Place products in context: Cilio urges garden centers to place their statuary within inspiring plant displays. Seeing a figure surrounded by greenery will help customers picture it in their own gardens.

Herron often places statuary in garden displays that share a theme. Asian-influenced statuary will sell better when displayed with plants perfect for a Japanese-themed garden.

Try to avoid hiding statuary on back shelves or lining them up like soldiers in front of the store.

Offer customization: Some customers might prefer to have pieces that reflect their style now. Because stone is porous, it can easily be stained to a customer’s preference.

At Bremec, on-site artist Arlene Gallitto stains statuary for clients who want customization. She can add faux finishes, make new statues look weathered and add realism to animal statuary.

She also refurbishes old statuary and improves new statuary. A stained statuary piece is priced at two-and-a-half times the original retail, making a plain piece that sells for $100 a $250 purchase. But, Gallitto notes, “The colored statues sell much faster when finished.”

The ancient Romans understood the value of statuary, and so do IGC customers. With some good planning, integrated displays and smart selection, everyone wins.

Patrick Alan Coleman is editor of Garden Center magazine.