Schedule of Events

Get an inside look at one garden center’s sale from longtime owners to industry newcomers in this candid panel discussion. Theresa and Kevin Riley will share the ups and downs of making the decision to sell, preparing their garden center for the market and finding the perfect buyers. On the other side, new owners Devon Klingman and Brendan Hayes-Morrison will walk attendees through their entry into the garden center industry, what made Rockledge Gardens an attractive purchase and all of the nitty gritty that goes into the buying process. You’ll also hear all about the transition process for staff, customers and the owners themselves with insights from former Managing Director Liz Lark-Riley.

From SMS to AI to data analysis and more, there are exciting opportunities for garden centers on the market. But how do you navigate this new world of technology and feel confident in your investments? In this session, Katie Elzer-Peters will translate computer-speak into language we can all understand. By examining examples of tech opportunities in our industry, you’ll walk away from this session feeling confident about exploring how new tech can improve your business.

By taking the right approach to data analysis, you can gain valuable insights that can drive better decisions. But with so much data at your fingertips, how do you know what matters? It’s time to learn how to filter through your data to focus on the numbers that matter, cut out the noise and set the foundation for successful data-driven strategies.

Join Peter Wigren to learn how your data can give insights into your customers’ preferences, needs and behaviors, and offer tailored product suggestions that foster customer loyalty. You’ll find ways to connect marketing, online sales and in-store sales data for a selling strategy that really works. You’ll also learn how to identify effective marketing channels and strategies to improve reach and engagement with your target audience as well as ways to utilize data analytics tools and key performance indicators to make informed business decisions.

Pain Points is a concept most often applied to online product access: it covers all those glitches to signing up for, accessing or discontinuing online services or products. If you have tried lately to discontinue an online subscription either for a streaming service or a print magazine, you have encountered common pain points. This concept can also be applied to your customer’s journey through your garden center. In group presentations and interactive workshops, we’ll identify and address common pain points like parking, customer flow and cash wraps and “Can you get that hanging basket down for me?”

Participants are urged to identify the pain points in your own store - those places where confusion overrides customer-merchandise contact and staff must mitigate the pain, often repeatedly. Bring your pain to these interactive sessions and we’ll try to find remedies for your customer’s pain - and yours.

This panel from Tonkadale Greenhouse takes you on a day, week, month in the life of content planning and creation. You’ll discover new ways to connect with your customers, find your voice, and plan your social media calendar. Bring your questions about your social media strategy for this exciting conversation.