Tool Time

Say it, don’t spray it!
This clever display takes the marketing of watering products to new heights. The staff members at Portland Nursery in—are you sitting down?—Portland, Ore., got creative with a water hose, and the next thing you know they were selling more of them.
www.portlandnursery.com

Happy tines!
The Farm at Green Village in Green Village, N.J., takes the conventional “tool wall” and gives it some personality by making it bright and festive. Whoda thought tools could be so fun?
www.thefarmatgreenvillage.com

A little here, a little there

While many conventional tools are a tough sell at independent garden centers, kids’ tools have a good market, as the folks at Tsugawa Nursery in Woodland, Wash., discovered. In fact, a Kids’ Corner in general is worth considering, considering how many moms bring youngsters with them to the store.
www.tsugawanursery.com

Create a literal tool shed
Dearborn Market in Holmdel Township, N.J., does a great job of garnering interest in its tool inventory with a literal tool shed for tools and other plant care products.
www.dearbornmarket.com
 

Corner the virtual market
Star Nursery in Las Vegas, Nev., doesn’t wait for customers to come to the garden center to purchase tools. With its sophisticated online store as part of the company website, Star can offer a vast inventory (bigger than anything at most stores), and it foots the shipping bill in many cases.
www.starnursery.com