Year in review: Leslie Halleck, ‘Straight Talk’ columnist

Leslie Halleck’s depth of knowledge gives it to retailers ‘straight,’ from advertising ideas to digital content marketing, branding design and more. Halleck (CPH) owns Halleck Horticultural, LLC, through which she provides horticultural consulting to green industry companies. She has served as a columnist for many years, and retired this past September. You can gain advice and inspiration from her previous years of columns here.

Check out her 2022 columns for Garden Center, all in one place for your convenience.

1. Healthy boundaries – For family-owned businesses, ingraining a “family culture” can blur lines and limits for employees, and contribute to burnout.
2. Managing great expectations – Set realistic goals for new gardeners by asking the right questions.
3. Pass-along plant passion – Tap into customers’ nostalgic side and offer resources for legacy plant care while helping customers share their love of plants and sparking the joy of gardening for generations to come.
4. Careful curation – Find the sweet spot between offering your customers too much and too little when it comes to your stock.
5. Keep ‘em coming – Increase your summer traffic by giving customers reasons to continue cultivating their green thumbs.
6. Retain your rock stars – Identify high-performing staff, cultivate their skills and give them a sense of purpose to keep them on the team.
7. The love language of plants – Explore the emotions and memories plants can evoke around the holidays.
8. Creating a community of collaboration – Partner up with local artists to cross-promote customers’ intersecting hobbies.
9. Collaboration over competition – With the right strategies, collaborating with local garden centers can maximize your advertising budget while building a community partnership.