Garden Center Magazine

Garden Center Magazine A digital-only publication serving leading independent garden center retailers in North America (U.S. and Canada). Find us at gardencentermag.com.

Published by GIE Media.

Greetings from Columbus, Ohio! We’re so excited to be here at Cultivate’25 and can’t wait to see you in our booth!Come s...
07/13/2025

Greetings from Columbus, Ohio! We’re so excited to be here at Cultivate’25 and can’t wait to see you in our booth!

Come see us at #1637 and get your picture in front of our photo wall and grab some souvenirs! 🧳🧳🧳

And make sure you follow us on Instagram for live updates throughout the show!

Our special print edition with the 2025 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers List is here!!As a reminder, we changed the w...
07/10/2025

Our special print edition with the 2025 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers List is here!!

As a reminder, we changed the way we compiled the Top 100 list this year. IGCs submitted the retail revenue at their single largest or flagship location, as opposed to retail revenue for their entire business, including all locations.

This change is meant to more fairly represent and compare IGCs of all sizes, including those with a single location, across the U.S. and Canada.

Dig into the full list here:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/2025-top-100-independent-garden-centers-list/

Second-generation garden center owners each have a different story of how they took over their family business.Susan Rea...
07/09/2025

Second-generation garden center owners each have a different story of how they took over their family business.

Susan Reavis — the former owner, consultant and board of directors treasurer at Reems Creek Nursery, Inc. outside Asheville, North Carolina — says instead of winging it, creating a thought-out succession plan with your family is key to not only ensuring that your business is in good hands, but that your relationships stay intact, too.

Reavis knows because she learned this lesson the hard way.

In this Q&A, Reavis shares her family’s succession story, which she said was not ideal, and what she would have done differently.

You can also hear more from Susan and her son-in-law David Williams at the 2025 Garden Center Conference & Expo in August during the session, “Lessons from a Decade-Long Journey of Succession Planning, a Sale Leaseback and Relocation.”

After you read Susan's Q&A, make sure you register for the Garden Center Conference & Expo at the link in the story!

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/horticulture-succession-planning-susan-reavis-reems-creek-nursery-garden-center-conference-expo/

There are currently five generations in the workforce: the Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (...
07/07/2025

There are currently five generations in the workforce: the Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (millennials) and Generation Z.

Each brings a different perspective on everything from employer expectations to career growth. Working cohesively can be challenging.

Paige Franks, senior executive search adviser with Best Human Capital & Advisory Group, says even though values and beliefs can be divergent, bringing people together is more than possible. In this Q&A, Franks shares the benefits of a diverse workplace and what she’s learned about the horticulture industry overall.

You can hear more in Paige's session during the Garden Center Conference & Expo this August, so after reading her Q&A, register for the conference today and add the session "Managing & Motivating the Multi-Generational Green Industry" to your calendar!

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/paige-franks-staffing-generations-retention-garden-center-conference-expo/

Fireworks aren't the only thing booming — gardening is, too, according to new research from The Garden Media Group 🎆Whil...
07/04/2025

Fireworks aren't the only thing booming — gardening is, too, according to new research from The Garden Media Group 🎆

While other industries report slowing traffic and declining sales, gardening is holding strong — and growing — despite cold weather, consumer caution and tariff-fueled economic anxiety.

Even with poor early spring weather, garden center sales in 2025 are only 3.9% behind 2024 and still far ahead of the same period in 2020.

“Gardening has always been recession-resistant,” says Garden Media Group President Katie Dubow. “In 2008, 2020 and now again in 2025, we’re seeing a familiar pattern. When people face financial or emotional uncertainty, they return to their roots — literally.”

Read more from Garden Media Group's new report:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/gardening-trends-2025-economic-uncertainty-garden-media-group-spring-analysis/

Are you wondering how you can transform your seasonal staff into steadfast employees?We'll have answers for you at the G...
07/02/2025

Are you wondering how you can transform your seasonal staff into steadfast employees?

We'll have answers for you at the Garden Center Conference & Expo in August!

Lyndsi Oestmann, owner of Loma Vista Nursery, and Robyn Schmitz, CEO and founder of High Prairie Outdoors, will discuss strategies you can use to help your employees develop their careers, as well as boost employee morale and drive results for your business.

Register for the conference today at the link below and add their session to your calendar!

https://web.cvent.com/event/99612e6d-bb7d-474b-a69c-4e71ad09d75c/regPage:ec8bdd2e-7aa0-4d84-9868-f5d070b0966e

Syngenta Flowers announced its partnership with Tapp to replace current single-use plastic data loggers with Tapp paper ...
06/30/2025

Syngenta Flowers announced its partnership with Tapp to replace current single-use plastic data loggers with Tapp paper data loggers.

Tapp data loggers contain no lithium-ion batteries and are made from fibers extracted from post-harvest agricultural waste, which are subsequently turned into paper housing. The paper logger can be placed in the regular paper-recycling stream, dramatically reducing end-of-life handling time and overall electronic waste.

Read more:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/syngenta-flowers-tapp-data-loggers-paper-plastic-plant-growers-sustainability/

For many businesses, trade secrets are par for the course. But in the green industry, the culture is different.And Matt ...
06/27/2025

For many businesses, trade secrets are par for the course. But in the green industry, the culture is different.

And Matt Stueck, owner of Suburban Lawn & Garden, Inc, says that’s a good thing, with enough business and good ideas to go around. In our Q&A, Matt shares why no topic should be off-limits in discussion with fellow garden cen, says that’s a good thing, with enough business and good ideas to go around. In our Q&A, Matt shares why no topic should be off-limits in discussion with fellow garden center owners.

You can hear more from Matt during the panel discussion "How to Create a Third Place" at the Garden Center Conference & Expo in Kansas City in August!

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/garden-center-conference-expo-qanda-matt-stueck/

Wallaces Garden Center, located in Bettendorf, Iowa, is recovering from a fire in its production area.The IGC lost its s...
06/25/2025

Wallaces Garden Center, located in Bettendorf, Iowa, is recovering from a fire in its production area.

The IGC lost its sprayer, soil mixer, pot filling machine, some pallets of soil and all of its fertilizer.

“From a production standpoint, it’s been a challenge to get up and going again...we’re just having to adapt and overcome, which is one of our taglines around here,” says owner Kate Terrell:

https://www.gardencentermag.com/article/wallaces-garden-center-recovers-production-area-fire/

The idea that a family business “will take care of us" is a common one — but it only becomes true if you plan for it. Al...
06/23/2025

The idea that a family business “will take care of us" is a common one — but it only becomes true if you plan for it. All leaders need to formalize a plan to exit the business or role, and it’s important that transition of a company you’ve devoted your life to is strategic and not left up to chance.

During the Garden Center Conference & Expo, we’ll dive into how Reems Creek Nursery, Inc. navigated not only succession planning, but also a sale leaseback and business relocation. Susan Reavis, a second-generation owner, and her son-in-law, co-owner David Williams, will share the challenges and triumphs of developing a succession plan to transition the company from Susan to David, executing a sale-leaseback strategy, and what factors led to them deciding to move their business to a new location.

Moderated by Chris Cimaglio, a certified exit plan adviser and succession planning expert and managing partner of Best Human Capital & Advisory Group and PivotPoint Business Solutions, attendees will walk away with best practices and tips for building a solid succession plan that ensures business continuity.

Register for the conference today and add the session "Lessons from a Decade-Long Journey of Succession Planning, a Sale Leaseback and Relocation" to your calendar!

https://web.cvent.com/event/99612e6d-bb7d-474b-a69c-4e71ad09d75c/regPage:ec8bdd2e-7aa0-4d84-9868-f5d070b0966e

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