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Featured Companies
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Wedding As Another Product Category
| Judy Sharpton
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>> Published Date: 6/25/2012
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 Many of you know I believe container gardening to be the future of our industry; we already know what hanging baskets do for us. The expansion of container gardening to include pre-planted and custom patio containers is only an extension of the hanging basket. Beyond those staples lie an extraordinary array of container options: window boxes, hay racks, raised bed vegetable gardens, water gardens, living wreaths, kitchen gardens, specimen trees, citrus and berries, porch-pair planters and, the latest trend, vertical wall plantings for interior and exterior.
All of these examples meet the primary objectives of the modern gardener: small space and small time. These gardens also meet the primary objective of the modern garden store: repeat business. With our customer base no longer expanding, our primary business-building activity lies in enticing the customer we already have to visit our store more often. Nothing provides the opportunity for repeat customer visits better than a container garden. It’s simple. A customer can ignore an empty spot in an in-ground planting; a little mulch solves the problem. But, when a customer invests in a decorative container and installs it under a window or on a deck or sets it in that empty spot beside the driveway, that container begs for attention.
To capitalize on that opportunity, we must do nothing less than change the way we think about plants. First, we must stop thinking a hanging basket should last all summer and stop letting our customers think that. It’s hardly ever true even if the customer is the master of container care (and most aren’t). Something in that mixed container is going to look less than stunning after a few months or even a few weeks. Our job is to convince the customer that it’s okay for a container to need a little refreshing during the season. Container gardens are consumable gardens. We must use our handy-dandy electronic communications tools to remind the customer to come back to the store to refresh that consumable garden. We can even plan our product offerings to meet that expectation with a controlled inventory of fresh 6-in. ingredient plants. That space you’ve designated in the store for container gardening functions as a sales area in every season. After the summer and fall refreshments, the container gardening department transitions to custom holiday containers. Remember, a custom wreath and matching pots of holiday berries and tips are just another container garden ensemble and a great substitute for commodity poinsettias.
So what does all this have to do with weddings? I jumped right over my TV tray when I saw the huge (containerized) trees lining the aisle of Westminster Abbey at last summer’s royal wedding. What an improvement over those pew swags that so many florists offer! So, what else can containers do for wedding décor? How about a climbing rose on that white arbor? The bride and groom can then plant it at their new home. Or, you can plant it for them. How about exploding Earthbox herb gardens instead of a floral arrangement? How about a circle of shepherd’s hooks festooned with hanging baskets bursting with petunias?
My “wedding container thinking” went into high gear with my daughter’s recent wedding. She created a container combination with succulents and local materials that was a huge hit with her guests at both a pre-wedding dinner and the reception on the pier at Tybee Island. We collected driftwood and attached succulents and air plants to create a collection of horizontal centerpieces that were economical, long lasting and perfect for an informal beach setting. Even the bride’s bouquet was a collection of succulents tucked into a gnarled coastal cedar root “holder.” The trick is to combine local ingredients with the appropriate plant material. You may end up with ornamental corn in rustic wooden containers or a row of Blushing Bride hydrangeas in burlap-wrapped nursery pots, or antique wine boxes filled with 4.5-in pots of a favorite local perennial. You might mimic the royal wedding with a double row of native trees lining the entrance aisle. The opportunity is to use local, seasonal plants as a creative and economical alternative to traditional floral décor. Think containers as special purpose consumables—for weddings and for every season of the garden. Not a bad traffic builder for after Mother’s Day. GP
Judy Sharpton, LEED Green Associate and member of ARCSA, is a garden center design and renovation specialist with 35 years experience in advertising and promotion, and is the owner of Growing Places Marketing.
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