Meet the plant babies

As I’m writing this, I’m on a bus traveling south to Germany after visiting the Florensis stop on the European Flower Trials week 24 trip. I’m enjoying the company of 13 other female professionals in the horticulture industry as part of the new organization Luxflora. Stay tuned for more on that at Cultivate’15 this July and a more detailed report of the trip in an upcoming issue.

But I digress. Florensis’ theme this year was “Moments in life,” a nod to the important events that happen in our lives: weddings, funerals, first homes and children. We saw them through the eyes of Fleur Longway, a fictional woman perhaps in her 20s or 30s. Florensis even created a Facebook account for the character that’s been updated regularly for months and that popped up automatically when you accessed their Wi-Fi. It was a creative spin on a relatable topic, and the displays were truly eye catching and provoked many conversations.

The display that best caught my eye centered around babies. Plant babies, that is. According to Fleur’s story, she had several nieces and nephews, even though she didn’t have children of her own yet. These were represented by some new plant varieties.
 

Several elements of this display stood out. First, the plant babies. The hanging baskets were wearing diapers and some also had bibs — talk about unexpected! There was a crib with a verbena plant baby in it, a rack with variety information and a sign inviting visitors to “Meet our newborn varieties,” and a high chair with an osteospermum plant baby. While the whole display was interesting, the diapers were the element that made me stop and snap photos. And you can be sure I’ll be talking about this display to many people back home.

How are you getting your customers talking about your store? Do you have an off-the-wall display that draws them in? A funny mascot? Unique event? I’d love to hear what you’re doing — drop me a line at kvarga@gie.net and tell me what’s working for you.

kvarga@gie.net