Natural Growth

Whether you've been driving the "eco movement" bandwagon from the get-go or decided to climb aboard only recently, there's little doubt that "green" has become your customers' favorite color. As a result, you have a marvelous opportunity to establish your garden center as a regional—or, even, national—leader if you can effectively market your earth-friendly initiatives.
 

The bonus? A positive impact on your bottom line. Something even a business behemoth like IBM realizes. As part of its extensive eco-research, IBM outlined how sustainability impacts its small-business customers. In short: Green retail delivers business sustainability. It's a way to demonstrate corporate social responsibility by reducing the environmental impact of an enterprise while simultaneously delivering significant financial benefits.
 

That's it in a nutshell. What began as an initiative to improve our planet's health has evolved into a means of boosting profit margins. IBM's analysis sees significant benefits to businesses, including…

• Reducing the amount of energy used by data centers and point-of-sale (POS) terminals, lowering carbon emissions and slashing operating costs. (Translation in the garden-center realm: Using our energy wisely, whether it's powering check-out terminals or delivery vans.)
• Optimizing the supply chain, which helps reduce waste, increase flexibility and tighten control of product delivery and demand-response time. (Garden-center speak: Buying local merchandise for resale; ensuring vendors that are further afield use sustainable practices.)

This month, we look at a dozen ideas that some of your peers have turned into regular practices that not only tap the "green" market, but sometimes corner it.

Feel free to take notes.
 

Green throughand through
American Plant (www.americanplant.net), with three locations in Maryland and Virginia, was "green" before "green" was cool. In fact, the garden center wears its commitment to Earthwise gardening on its sleeve —and practically everywhere else it markets.

From its website to its advertising campaigns, from its product lines to the education classes it offers, the center consistently urges customers to adopt sound gardening practices so plants can flourish naturally, without reliance on chemical pesticides.

To help them with the follow through, American Plant even has a resident expert on Earthwise gardening on staff.

Mitch Baker is a Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturist with more than 30 years of experience who is available for consultation. Baker will go to customers' homes to evaluate soil health, diagnose a specific problem or discuss cultural issues specific to the growing environment. He is also a great resource for information on natural organics and the process of "feeding the soil."
 

Water wisely
The folks at The Garden Center (www.thegardencenter.com) in San Antonio, Texas, know a thing or two about hot, dry summers—and the municipal water restrictions that go along with them. Owner Wayne Harrell says they do their best to promote water-wise irrigation practices—and it works out in their favor.

"To promote water wise irrigation and in the summer we have a 'conservation corner' where we merchandise water wands, soaker hoses, tree gators, etc.," Harrell said. "During some of our hot, dry summers we use it as a sales opportunity, and place the water conservation stuff on sale."
 

Wind power
The Mustard Seed Landscaping & Garden Center in Chaska, Minn., (www.themustardseedinc.com) places a lot of stock in renewable energy and sustainable practices.

The newest addition to the store, a 160-foot wind turbine, was commissioned in July. The turbine will supply all electrical needs for the garden center, as well as place the garden center on the cutting edge of eco-friendly practices. And it has earned the store state recognition. This year, it was one of six 2011 Environmental Initiative Award winners.
 

Refund ahead!
Briggs Garden & Home in North Attleboro, Mass., (www.briggsgarden.com) offers its customers a 25-cent refund for every pot with a Briggs label that is returned to the store. The gesture has an eco-smart element to it, for sure—the pots are recycled to help cut down on the carbon footprint.
 

Up-cycling
Clearwater Nursery (www.clearwaternursery.com) in Nipomo, Calif., has partnered with eco-friendly manufacturer TerraCycle (www.terracycle.net) to use up-cycled tubs as planting pots for seasonal flowers. The nursery will use 45-ounce Unilever Spreads tubs (think, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!,” “Brummel & Brown,” “Shedd’s Spread, Country Crock” and “Imperial”), rather than the standard black plastic pots made from virgin materials starting with the fall 2011 season. TerraCycle collected these tubs through its Brigade program, which feature free fundraisers that pay schools and non-profits for every piece of waste they collect and return.
 

Plantable pots
Several stores visited during Garden Centers of America’s Summer Tour offered a “no-plastic” option via plantable pots.

The e-pot collection of annuals, perennials, natives and edibles from Footprints (www.footprintsplants.com) appeared in several locales. These plants are grown in plantable, natural-fiber containers with slotted sides, which allow roots to grow unimpeded into surrounding soil. Biodegradable pots, tags and stakes minimize waste and tell today’s “green”-minded customers that you’re their ally.
 

Drop your pots
Altum's in Zionsville, Ind., (http://altums.com) urges customers who visit the store to bring their empty plastic pots along for the ride. Then they can simply drop them in the garden center's DROP-YOUR-POTS ZONE—designed in partnership with Indianapolis Recycled Fiber—thus ensuring the containers will be reused in some form in the future.

"The garden-center industry produces so much plastic that we all should be more active in taking our waste out of the landfills," said owner Dana Altum. "We continually are filling these semi-trailer containers full of plastic flats and pots from within our own walls, not counting what customers bring back to us. It's so easy to park one of these very unattractive collection trailers in the back that will make a difference to the environment in the long run."
 

The eco-landscape
Martin Viette Nurseries in East Norwich, N.Y., (www.martinviette.com) recently started offering a new, chemical-free approach for residential landscapes.

"Ecological Landscape Management" is a much-requested service that features landscape and garden rejuvenation; natural tree, shrub and lawn care; water-reduction programs; and mature tree restoration.

The garden center is teaming with James Sotillo, a recognized leader in organic plant health care and sustainable environments, to launch this new service. In essence, Sotillo and Martin Viette Nurseries help customers find the best natural solution to common landscaping issues.

Another eco-cool initiative: The nursery's Good Earth Kids Club. A grassroots program to get kids interested in 'green" while they're young.
 

Solar energy
Lakeview Nurseries in Lunenburg, Mass., (www.lakeviewnurseries.com) has reaped the benefits of solar power for almost two years. On Earth Day 2009, the company threw the switch for its new 7.3 kwh solar electric generator system. Much of the costs for the solar array were covered by an Agricultural Environmental Enhancement Program grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and a second grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

This summer, Bucks Country Gardens in Doylestown, Pa., (www.buckscountrygar dens.com) also went "green" with a solar array. The garden center recently installed close to 600 solar panels on an acre of property. Over half of the electricity used by the store will now come from the solar-panel field. The system is expected to generate $25,000-worth of electricity. On bright, sunny days, the store will produce more power than it uses, which will be returned to the power grid.
 

Recycling in a big way
Merrifield Garden Center (www.merrifieldgardencenter.com), with three locations in Virginia, takes recycling to the next level. The company recycles soil and brush from its landscape jobs and converts the debris into quality garden products, instead of dumping waste in landfills. Merrifield estimates that it recycles more than 20,000 tons of soil and 25,000 cubic-yards of brush every year, making the company one of the larger recyclers in the country.

The company also recycles concrete, which makes an excellent base for new patios, sidewalks and driveways. And it accepts old refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, wheelbarrows, bicycle frames and other metal products—even cars—at no charge at the Gainesville location. For a nominal fee, a Merrifield employee will go to a customer's home to pick up products.
 

New life for old oil
Wallace's Garden Center, (http://wallacesgardencenter.com) a retail grower with locations in Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, recycles used lawn mower or auto oil, and encourages customers to bring oil to either Wallace's location. The company will burn the oil, smoke-free, to heat its greenhouses in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. This helps dispose of used oil properly, thus protecting precious surface waters and groundwater, while assisting the company in reducing heating costs (and thus keeping costs lower for customers). Talk about a win-win-win! In this trifecta the customers, business and environment all reap benefits.
 

Book learning
Many garden centers promote natural solutions to everyday gardening challenges. Many garden centers also sell books. A great way to team the two endeavors is to create a solution-based "book nook" that contains publications that show customers new and tried-and-true eco-friendly gardening practices. St. Lynn's Press (www.stlynnspress.com) offers many titles that are worth checking out for a project of this nature, including "Grow Organic," "Good Bug, Bad Bug," "We Can (All) Live Green" and "The Green Journal." Done well, your book nook could become a destination spot in your destination store—both for those already practicing natural gardening and those wishing to learn how to do so.
 

Four 'green' goods that can turn to gold for you Earthworm casting compost // Worm Power The product: The Worm Power earthworm products line, distributed by Harris Seeds. The buzz: Worm Power earthworm products are odorless, and they're safe for kids and pets. They're ideal for houseplants, for containers and in the garden. Worm Power formulations are available for resale in 1-pound, 3-pound and 15-pound bags, and in convenient shaker cans and liquid fertilizer brew bags. The source: www.harrisseeds.com

Organic lawn food // Espoma The product: Espoma’s premium organic lawn food line. The buzz: These lawn foods are naturally formulated to prevent unsightly weeds, while feeding with long-lasting organics that nourish the soil. Espoma products are ready to use—there’s no mix or mess involved —and they’re safe for people, pets and the environment. The source: www.espoma.com

Rainmaker Watering Shepherd’s Pole GST Manufacturing The product: The Rainmaker plant hanger from GST Manufacturing. The buzz: This turn-key elevated plant hanger includes all the necessary hardware to easily connect it to an existing in-ground sprinkler system or to an outside faucet with a water timer for hands-free watering. The pole is available in powder-coat, jet-black hammer paint. The source: www.gst-rainmaker.com

Squirrel repellent // IMustGarden The product: Botanical oil-based squirrel repellent from IMustGarden. The buzz: This Squirrel Repellent is made with all-natural ingredients, which are considered safe enough by the Environmental Protection Agency that Squirrel Repellent doesn’t require registration as many toxic formulas do. The source: www.imustgarden.com