-
Step 1
Think islands. Usually displays are separated into islands, each with a different central design idea with different plant material and hardscaping material. There must be ample room between the islands for customers to pass others who might be standing and looking at the display.
-
Step 2
Use bricks, blocks, stones or timbers to create the outline of a garden display. Line it with plastic for easy cleanup. If the display is raised, it is more effective as a sales tool because it is closer to the customer and he can easily reach the item he wishes to buy.
-
Step 3
Encourage the customer to buy from the display. Everything in the display can be replaced with new inventory.
-
Step 4
Use upturned pots or bags of mulch to create "terrain." Gardens are rarely flat and if they are, use the displays to show the customers they add another dimension with a berm. This adds an entire new look to the otherwise flat garden.
-
Step 5
Keep your displays seasonal. Use blocks of red, white and blue flowers for Fourth of July. Make a special Mother's Day display, or create a theme garden for butterflies or hummingbirds. How about an imaginative vegetable garden display showing the small space gardener that she can have a vegetable garden on her patio?
-
Step 6
Use hard goods in your islands. Install a table and chairs surrounded by plants and possibly some lighting.
-
Step 7
Sell and use shepherds' hooks and window boxes so the customer can see how to use hanging baskets or how to dress up a window in a townhouse.
-
Step 8
Display a cooking area with a barbecue grill, a picnic table and some chairs in an otherwise unused corner. Be sure you carry everything you display.
