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Look here! - Merchandising

The process is simple, really: You want everything in the store to say, "Buy Me!" The trouble is that some of the items in your garden center are infinitely more "buyable" than others. That’s where your ability to use signs, labels and displays can do the old make/break thing. You garden center veterans are well aware that the industry has grown leaps and bounds in its ability to make products more attractive to prospective customers. But we can always improve. To that end, the Small Business Administration offers a good refresher course on the value of merchandising. Another excellent resource is the workbook, "Keeping Up Appearances" from Crisp Publications. This workbook shows you how good retailers in one field can "learn" (wink, wink) from good retailers in another field. A third source you might check out is Tony Avent’s "So You Want to Start a Nursery," which explores all facets of running a green business from a "been there, done that" perspective.

The word on words - Books

While I am not a librarian, I strongly suggest you check out books - for your store, that is. Indeed, as I make my regular tours of garden centers, I find a growing number of retailers of the lawn and garden ilk stocking their shelves with a variety of informative, instructional published works. Inventory runs the gamut from magazines to hardback manuals, with the more savvy garden center operators offering published material that deals specifically with plants and home improvement ideas for the particular region.

So, you're wondering, where might I find such books? We're so glad you asked. A great "generic" list of best-selling gardening books can be found here. If organic is your thing, try this organic site or this one. Try here for a good source for children-specific gardening books is. And, remember, you can always track down region-specific publications by contacting your state nursery association. If you have a book story you would like to share, why not post it as a comment? I bet others will want to know about it, too!