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Spreading Container Know-How
| Christina Salwitz
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>> Published Date: 4/25/2012
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Flying around the country and teaching Container Design Technique is one of my all-time favorite things that I have the privilege of experiencing. This could only be topped by relating my enthusiasm for container design with my passion for retail and teaching nurseries and independent garden centers how they can maximize their profits in this category.
This opportunity came up unexpectedly when Victor Flaherty, owner of Plants for All Seasons Nursery in Houston, Texas, posted photos of the updates he has been making to his nursery. Another independent garden center owner commented, “Hey Victor, you need Christina Salwitz to come down from Seattle and show you how containers can soften those new wide aisles AND sell for a great price!” Within a few moments I received a private message from another Houston nursery owner, Elizabeth Barrow, of Papershell Nursery that said, “We’re actually serious about having you come down to Texas. Are you available?”
Victor and Elizabeth were expressing what many nursery owners, growers and breeders have been talking about. “I hope that what my nursery can achieve is another profit center. The container gardening comments on Facebook tell me we are missing important sales.”
While in Housto n, Christina Salwitz demonstrated to garden center and nursery members how creating stunning container combinations can benefit sales, spur add-on purchases and beautify their store.
I hear this quite often, not only on Facebook but also in other locations where I have spoken on this topic, such as at the OFA Short Course. Many garden centers and nurseries have containers for sale, and many of them can be quite creative. But, how many owners, managers and buyers have a strategy for continued success in this category? Are they working jointly with growers? Are the designs all they can be to take advantage of various elements of the market?
The various groups on Facebook have been immeasurably beneficial for promoting discussion on business topics, such as the opportunities in maximizing container design profits. Victor Flaherty even started his own local version of the popular Facebook groups titled “Houston IGCs” that caters specifically to independent garden centers in the Houston area where they have been tackling such topics. And this is how my trip to Houston from Seattle was born!
Victor Flaherty is on the right track with his theory of taking the Facebook IGC group concept and applying it locally. This could be a very powerful thing for the nursery industry nationwide. If businesses are proactive about learning new skills and information to keep innovating, it takes “think globally, act locally” to a completely new level.
Industry Education
On my first day in Houston, I held my Container Design Road Show for the public in classes at Papershell and Plants for All Seasons. The topic was “Snazzy Container Designs.” We had a great turnout and positive feedback from all three classes.
I spent one splendid afternoon planting up containers to display and sell in the nursery and showed a container demo in each class. I asked Victor if he thought the local industry members could benefit from me demonstrating a container design to them. His response: “Yes, I think they have to see you do this live to believe it.” Victor was referring to my propensity for gently cramming containers to capacity, and then some—one of my secrets for successful container designs.
The Houston Facebook IGC group members were eager for an evening of worthwhile information on containers in Victor’s new classroom building, adorned with colorful posters of my container designs. The class had a respectable turnout of nursery owners, growers and employees.
Here is what Jack and Beverly Smith of Sun-Ray Farms had to say about the class: “As a grower in a wholesale market, we had already become interested in multi-plant containers for the garden center. What we failed to realize was the impact of a large multi-plant container showcasing the individual plants that could surround the planter and promote further (smaller, but equally important) sales for the garden center. Christina Salwitz reminded us of that valuable potential.”
From Papershell’s Elizabeth Barrow: “I particularly liked that Christina covered design tips and techniques as well as business strategy, including purchasing, pricing and merchandising. I think I can take my mixed container and pottery sales to an entirely different level.”
From Michal Wagner, Kingwood Garden Center: “This was a new twist on an old theme. The information and presentation were superior. This class demonstrated a great way to become unique in your market, with custom, one-of-a-kind containers. These ideas would be a great investment for IGCs.”
Plants for All Seasons have a fabulous duo working there in the form of Victor Flaherty’s two daughters, Kelly Flaherty Kock and Sherri Flaherty Harrah, handling buying, merchandising, classes and sales. Here’s what Kelly had to say about the container class for industry members: “I’ve thrown around the idea of making large container gardens to showcase different plants and to make accompanying displays of the used plants. After listening to Christina and seeing her success with it, my new thought is to just do it! Why have I been making this so hard? I knew it was a good idea.”
Sister Sherri posted this on Facebook the next day: “A display that was inspired today by last night’s pot. Even our labor boys were inspired today when they saw the containers! Awesomeness. ”
Victor’s wife Debra wasn’t too sure about Victor flying me down for a few days to teach everyone how I have successfully increased sales for the nursery that I work for, but I think she came around. Said Debra Flaherty: “I wasn’t sure what to expect when Victor invited Christina down to do the first class in our new building but after I saw her speak, I understood. She was excellent.”
You can read more about this topic in previous issues of Green Profit. I wrote pieces about how I address container design sales and my method based on my ABCs of Maximizing Container Design Profits (February, 2011) and revisited a few ideas on this topic in the February, 2012 article written by Ellen Wells, “Twist Up Your Container Designs.” This was the basis for my talk to the Houston IGC Facebook Group. I will be talking to classes at the OFA Short Course in Ohio this summer, too, so be sure to catch me there. Until then, here are a few tidbits for you:
1) Follow the “Rule of Threes” of container design: 3 Heights, 3 Colors, 3 Textures.
2) Shop for container materials from the WHOLE nursery—shrubs, groundcovers, etc.
3) Cultivate relationships with growers and request they grow certain plants in certain sizes. GP
Christina Salwitz, a container designer and horticulture industry speaker, runs The Personal Garden Coach in Renton, Washington. She can be reached at personalgardencoach@comcast.net.
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