"There is a tremendous opportunity for garden centres to inspire a new generation of gardeners and tempt existing, established gardeners to buy more if they can be much more innovative in the way they display a range of plants. The days of presenting plants in a simple A-Z order have passed," he said.
"Garden centres have an opportunity to be feeding people's passions and showing exactly what can be done as opposed to a simple catalogue."
Speaking to HW, Pasco praised Webbs of Wychbold's display gardens for putting plants in context and for having informed staff.
Stewarts Garden Centres retail director Bob Sawyer said: "If only these people would get down from their ivory towers and visit some proper garden centres and nurseries they would realise how much is being done by our industry to promote gardening. From gardening clubs to working with schools we are more proactive than ever in spreading the gospel that gardening is good for you."
Alton Garden Centre director Andy Bunker said Pasco did not work in the retail sector and "therefore cannot comment on what the customer either wants or indeed expects".
He added: "Imagine me writing about an article written by Pasco or such like commenting on how bad his article is - when I am neither a journalist or indeed fully appreciate what readers require."
All Comments
Creative inspiration is what aisle end displays and demo gardens are for. When I need to pick up plants I like to be able go straight to what I am looking for as I don't have the luxury of being able to spend all day looking.
As a keen but amateur gardener, I need garden centres to provide plants in a variety of settings. Sometimes I know exactly the plant I'm looking for, so would appreciate an A-Z display. But if I'm struggling to construct or replace a selection of plants for an area with specific needs \(e.g. heavy shade/full sun/ground cover), I would like to see a choice of possibilities and know that staff can offer information and advice if needed. Also, although not a complete geek, I would like to see some consistency in labelling - all Latin names preferably - this at least would start to educate the keen amateur horticulturalist!
there is no right or wrong way to display plants. What is good for one customer does not suit another. We have tried getting rid of the a-z totally and that didnt work however a smaller az and other display gardens /shady/ seaside/ dry/ boggy/ sunny plant displays seems to keep the majority interested and happy which is what it is all about coz then they come back.
Garden Centres are pretty savvy to customers wants and needs. Goodness, you need some form of organisation to make it easier for your customers and staff to find stock, so why make it difficult by abandoning the traditional A-Z system for the whim of a few simple inspirational displays that look good! Garden Centres can give the inspiration by the clever use of their end beds or hotspots, which guide the customer into the logic that is, and continues to be the A-Z system. Plant focused garden centres need to be able to pin-point stock quickly, be efficient in giving accurate stock details and be confident in where the stock is when assisting their customers. Garden Centre customers are no experts, but they know what they want and they need to find it, I'm sure customers who cannot find items would feel cheated, lose patience and perhaps give up and go elsewhere. A question to Mr Pasco, as a well-versed and experienced journalist, would you run an issue of your magazine without a contents page, no, it's a thing that has to be done, its logical and, above all, darned sensible. Your readers need to navigate, they need guidance, so it makes sense we continue to be logical in our garden centre operations, otherwise chaos would occur.
Customers visiting a garden centre need to know how to find plants. There may be scope for ornamental displays as well, but an alphabetical layout is the only acceptable one for people who know what they are looking for. Imagine visiting a bookshop where books were not arranged by author – you would never find anything!
I totally agree with this debate. As an avid gardener who regularly visits garden centres, I am often saddened at the sight of boring and uninspiring displays and no doubt like other customers - don't stay long.
I have many inspirational ideas for garden centres and have for some time been trying to find someone interested in taking them on. I've trawled large and small fish in the horticultural sea for some time but as yet to no avail.
Why is this? Perhaps my ideas are not good enough or sound? Perhaps they are not commercially viable? All reasons that need to be considered of course in a tough industry. So at my own cost I have had them checked out by an Horticultural Consultant who says 'the idea is good enough to run and run and to be taken to international levels. It is a shot in the arm when the horticultural industry really needs it'. I have even asked Neville Stein to scan his eye over them, he also commented it was a good idea.
So why then has it not been taken up? I'm beginning to wonder if it is because garden centres are nervous of innovative ideas exactly for that reason, because they are innovative and out of the norm. Perhaps garden centres are scared of anything that is not in the realms of 'normal'. Hence we are where we are now. Surely the days of 'doing what we've always done' and 'better the devil we know' are long gone and proven by this article being raised in the first place?
I remember some years ago reading an article which says 'Do garden centres ever ask their customers what THEY want?"
Perhaps garden centres ought to wake up and see that we want innovation - afterall - its innovate or die surely?
In the meantime, if there are any innovative garden centres out there that are looking for more innovation - I have some great ideas sitting on a shelf just waiting for you.
Jill Bolton
I really don't like the A-Z thing. For starters the majority of customers don't know the botanical names and would head to J looking for a Japonica, round our way that's the common name for a Pieris ! Those people who do know what they are looking for, also know what it looks like and can spot it a mile off and all the Pieris are kept in the acid loving plant section which is well sign posted. Also when you have a reasonably full A-Z and all of a sudden 7 varieties of Penstemmon arrive you have to move everything from Q-Z along, what a drag ! Finally there are places on the plant area that are on the cool shady side, other bits that get a bit baked in the sun, some parts that are really quite windy and other areas in the rain shadow of buildings - why would I subject a Hosta and a Hebe to the same conditions just because the alphabet says I should ?
Jill, firstly thank you for coming to my defence, I did not realise i was sitting an english and grammer exam. I am very intrested in your ideas for the garden centre, would it be possble for me to have a look at them, my contact details are Old Mill Garden Centre,, 18 West Heath Road North Field, Birmingham B31 3TG. briancunningham1@hotmail.co.uk Tel:07964257449