Plantable Promotions for National Garden Month
April is National Garden Month and there’s no better way to promote your gardening center, landscaping business, CSA program or gardening event than with a plantable promotion.
The common rule of thumb when it comes to home gardening is to wait until after Mother’s Day to plant vegetables and flowers outside. While the average home gardener will hit garden centers that weekend, experienced gardeners frequently start their seeds indoors in March or April depending on the variety. Most annual flowers and vegetables should be sown indoors about six weeks before the last frost in your area. Two exceptions are peppers and tomatoes which need very warm growing conditions. With home gardeners in full planning mode, April is the ideal time to start promoting your garden center or other garden related business.
Ian Baldwin, a consultant for gardening and hardware centers, says on his blog that according to his evaluation of the 2015 National Gardening Survey food gardening has increased its share of garden spending every year since 2005. Baldwin also shares sales, merchandising and marketing advice for gardening centers to compete with big box retailers and stay competitive in this crowded field.
While big box retailers have budgets for advertising and weekly direct mail inserts, low cost plantable promotions are a unique way to promote locally owned nurseries, farmers markets, CSA programs, gardening clubs, school/community gardens and more.
If you are planning a season kick off mailing to customers in your database, consider including a custom seed packet. And plantable business cards are a must for anyone involved with a green business. These eco-friendly business cards show customers how committed you are to sustainability. To incentivize customers to sign up early for a CSA program or for nurseries to gift to their best customers, Eco Promotional Products has a number of custom mini planter kits and herb gardens. These beautiful promotional gifts are typically in the $3-4 range and recipients love them.
For any gardening education events for children, bookmarks with plantable seed paper are a great giveaway. Print your logo along with planting tips. Everyone will love and appreciate this sustainable, green promotion. These eco-friendly bookmarks and/or personalized seed packets are also a great way for PTAs/PTOs to promote school gardens.
If you operate a gardening center in an area dealing with drought, there are a number of promotional products, such as custom rain gauges, to show your commitment to water conservation. To avoid overwatering, custom moisture meters and water conserving garden hose nozzles are both high value, long-lasting green promotional items.
Growables are memorable promotional items any time of year for green businesses, green events, fundraisers and more. Recipients will enjoy these eco-friendly products for months or even years! Many of these products are made in the USA. Eco Promotional Products’ full line of seeded promotions can be found here.