New gardeners in town

Joseph Pellegrin, assistant manager at Pike Nurseries in Charlotte, N.C.

Q: What percentage of people would you say are not from the area?

A: I’d probably say 70 percent of our customers are non native. They’ve been here for a decade or less. We’re getting a lot of people from other places because [Charlotte is] just so accessible — we’re right smack in the middle of the east coast. It’s fantastic because I love teaching. In my classes, everyone is always laughing. Typically we hold two classes a month, and usually they alternate every other Saturday. But if someone comes in and they really want to know how to take care of a bonsai or build a terrarium, for example, I’ll just teach them right there.

Q: What types of classes do you offer?

A: We do a few kids clinics where we invite them in, and our next one is going to be a class geared toward kids about worms. It’s on a Tuesday, and kids will be out of school, so it gives the parents something for the kids to do, and parents are welcome to come, too. When I gave my first seminar, I had a lot of adults there, and they were like “what about us?” It’s primarily geared toward kids and a hands-on thing but anyone is welcome.

Q: Do you ever teach classes off site?

A: We provide free garden talks for local organizations, and we typically go to their meeting spot. The majority of our classes are free. I had a ladies gardening group from a neighborhood right down here come into the store, and they wanted to create terrariums for their home. So I had about 12 women in here and set up two tables. It was an impromptu class before we closed. And they came in and we threw it all together and we had a hoot.
 

Q: You mentioned that many of the customers aren’t from the area. What do you do to ensure they leave with the right plants and the right information?

A: I’ve had interesting conversations with some customers who are not from here, like most people, and they’ll want to plant a certain plant in a certain place in their yard. I’ll tell them that it won’t work and explain why. They’ll tell me, “When I lived in New Jersey, I had them, and they were planted in full sun and did well.” So I’ll explain that they’re further away from the equator. They can plant hydrangeas in full sun and they’ll do well there. Full sun in the south is completely different than in Ohio or wherever they may be from. They can grow lilacs or hydrangeas in more sunlight [further north], and they do fine. I’ll tell them my mother lives in Indianapolis, and it’s the same thing for her; sharing personal experiences is always helpful.That’s where you’re problem solving. It’s about asking customers the right questions. A lot of times people will come in, and I’ll tell them to bring in pictures and measurements of their plants, of their home, because they don’t want to have to pay a landscaper to come out – they want to garden and build a landscape themselves. You’ve got your weekend warriors, but they need a little guidance.
 

This store is the only North Carolina-based retail outlet within Pike Nurseries, which has 16 stores.

Q: What other unique needs do your customers have?

A: We have a large retirement community as well, and we have senior discount day on Wednesdays, so we give them a 10 percent discount as a courtesy. They are 13 miles down the road, and 95 percent of them I’d say are from New York or Florida. They have smaller homes, maintenance-free yards, they want to do container gardening because they can’t plant stuff in their yards and they have to stay to specific HOA requirements. We try to stay on top of those trends as well so we know what’s allowed in those communities and what’s not. It takes a little bit of guesswork out of it for them. Everybody wants to have their own backyard oasis. By providing as much as we can to help the homeowner be successful with their suburban outdoor adventures, it really establishes a loyal customer base.