Apr 15, 2016

Garden Centers Prepare for Pollinator Week

With National Pollinator Week coming up this June 20-26, garden retailers have an opportunity to spread the news to an even greater degree through events, focused displays and community outreach.

Greenscape Garden’s Jennifer Schamber and Tammy Behm have these tips for other garden retailers looking to make the most of Pollinator Week:

Connect with local suppliers of pollinator plants and seeds NOW. Put orders in as soon as possible for the most popular and most beneficial pollinator plants and seeds. Work from a list they supply or from suggestions offered by a local nature or wildlife society.

Find a community partner who will also champion the pollinators’ cause. A wildlife or birding society, gardening club, local public garden or zoo, local farmers—the list goes on. Find ways to collaborate on, co-host and co-sponsor Pollinator Week programming. The National Pollinator Garden Network has many organizations with local chapters.

Partner with beekeepers. Discuss ways the beekeepers can contribute to Pollinator Week programming, either with honey tastings, hive demonstrations or educational opportunities for kids.

Spread the pollinator message across all departments. Pollinator plants aren’t confined to just the perennial or nursery departments. Through signage, demonstrations and staff participation, consumers can plant—and pollinators can benefit from—agastache, zucchini and hundreds of plants in between, no matter the size or spot in the home garden or landscape.

Make it a family-friendly celebration. Sure, Pollinator Week is seven days, but pull out all the stops for a weekend (or two) of fun and learning. Bring in costumed characters, bee and butterfly exhibits and other things kids love. Don’t forget the parents—a local celebrity chef can cook up some honey-themed sweet or savory treats. Work with a favorite local farm-to-table restaurant for a “Preview Night” pollinator-themed fundraising dinner, with all proceeds going to a pollinator-friendly charity.

Bring in the media. Local television, radio and news outlets not only can help spread the word about your events, they can help raise awareness of the importance of pollinators.

Give away pollinator plants. While giving away plants might not seem to be economically sensible, both Jennifer and Tammy stress the importance of the power of giving and receiving a gift. “We do this at the cash register. It creates a purpose and an awareness to be a part of the solution,” Jennifer says. “It begins the dialogue between the store and the customer about the importance of gardening for pollinators. You’re making them feel empowered to take action.” As for the expenditure, Greenscape builds the cost of the giveaway plants into the marketing budget.

Recruit for the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. With the emphasis on pollinator-friendly plants during Pollinator Week, this gives garden retailers a perfect opportunity to let customers know that their home plantings for pollinators—whether it’s a patio pot, vegetable garden or landscaped yard—can count toward the million gardens the NPGN hopes to register for the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. Signage that explains the challenge is available as hang tags, bench cards and banners from Garden Center Marketing.

Learn more about Greenscape Garden’s techniques for telling the pollinator story in the AmericanHort webinar, “Bee Savvy: The Business Opportunities Behind Pollinator Awareness.”