that, "Wilson Farms is a fun place to go — period." 



Wilson Farms has a year-round barnyard full of animals 

 like pigs, chickens and calves so that Boston's city kids 

 can get a taste of farm life. They have a full-time tour 

 guide and offer tours all year of the barns, greenhouses, 

 processing plant, and fields. Some teachers bring stu- 

 dents back often so they can see the entire production 

 process: from cultivating to seeding to thinning and 

 weeding and then to harvest. 



ci pre-schooler growing cherry 

 tomatoes at the age of three 

 may be a passionate gardener 

 at the age of 35. 



In January, Wilson's has "Customer Appreciation Week." 

 Between 8 and 10,000 people attend this huge party fea- 

 turing sleigh rides, ice sculpting and food. Every half 

 hour on Easter morning there is an egg hunt, with each 

 child receiving a prize. An old-fashioned 4th of |uly fea- 

 tures a number of activities including watermelon and 

 pie-eating contests. And there's a haunted house for 

 three weeks at Halloween. Wilson's also participates in 

 community events like parades and fairs. 



All of the events at the farm are free. Wilson's promo- 

 tional activities are intended to build on their existing 

 customer base. This family-owned business holds the 

 philosophy that the more fun it is for customers, the 

 more times they'll come back. And with an emphasis on 

 personal service to the customer, Keith says that the big 

 chains really haven't cut much into their business. 



At Russell's Garden Center in Wayland, MA, Barbara 

 Rose says they "try to create a fun atmosphere for kids." 

 The idea is to try and attract kids and parents to 

 Russells on a weekend afternoon "for fun." 



To encourage those "fun" visits, Russell's has Open 

 Houses several times a year featuring popcorn and bal- 

 loons, hayrides, the local high school chorus, face paint- 

 ing. Girl Scouts selling cookies, etc. At Christmas Santa 

 arrives on the Wayland fire truck one Saturday morning 

 to hear kids' wishes. There is also a Winter Garden Fair 

 with booths set up by vendors and local non-profit orga- 

 nizations. Demonstrations and hands-on workshops are 

 the order of the day for this event. At a Spring Weekend, 

 animals are brought in for "looking", and kids get a 

 chance to plant. 



As part of its permanent setting, Wayland's has a huge 

 wooden train in the outside yard. There is also a toy 

 store with Brio and Play Mobil toys, clay, chalk, trucks, 

 puzzles, etc. Kids find the bird department an attraction 

 and a pond with a waterfall and fishes is also a great 

 draw. 



On the educational end, Russell's offers school tours 

 on "How a Garden Center Works" and "How Plants Grow 

 in a Greenhouse." More and more, they are trying to 

 send kids home with green knowledge and appropriate 

 handouts when they participate in an activity. 



Are you beginning to see some themes repeating 



themselves here? All of the above successful operations 

 are trying some combination of "Entice, Entertain and 

 Educate." And a little bit of community involvement 

 seems to pay off, too. 



Oakland Nursery in Columbus, OH, focuses many of its 

 child-centered events on Christmas, the 4th of July and 

 its Fall Festival. At Christmas, there is a Fantasyland with 

 100 pieces of animation (at their height) that children can 

 walk through. At the end of Fantasyland, there are live 

 animals and Santa. At least 100 busloads of kids come to 

 see this each year. And if those kids don't go home and 

 tell their parents about it, I'll eat my hat! 



During the 4th of luly celebration, there are dime hot 

 dogs and bands with string guitars At the Fall Festival, 

 Oaklands provides hayrides, an all-the-pumpkins-you- 

 can-carry contest and wood carving (tree stumps are 

 carved into animals using chainsaws). 



On a more local note, Tyngsboro Gardens, MA, has a 

 children's garden on the premises as a way of showing 

 kids what they can do. They grow bean tepees, 

 ghostbuster eggplant, popcorn, pumpkins and hollyhocks, 

 among other things Naturally, they carry children's mer- 

 chandise. And at Halloween, they decorate the barn and 

 a storyteller comes in for ghost stories. 



XXot only will you be sowing seeds 



for the future, 



but you'll most likely be tapping into 



the parents' desire for quality 



family-oriented activities 



at the same time. 



Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls, NH, has 

 also done some very innovative marketing. In winter, 

 they have cross-country skiing and in August, they have 

 an antique show, but fall is really their biggest season. 

 Here are some ideas you may not yet have heard of to 

 try: press-your-own-cider (a hand cider press goes for 

 about $300), horse-drawn hay rides, a bluegrass band on 

 Sunday afternoons, a fall craft shop, a baking contest, or 

 Haunted Hay Rides (co-sponsored with the local high 

 school booster club). Ben Wagner of Applecrest says he 

 would be happy to talk to anyone interested in his mar- 

 keting programs. 



You'll notice that some of the operations highlighted 

 in this article are not retail garden centers. That's be- 

 cause other commodity groups can sometimes teach us a 

 great deal. It's definitely worth the time to look around 

 you at what other types of businesses do for marketing. 

 And then steal their ideas if they seem worthwhile. 



One last note: If you're interested in stocking products 

 for children take a look at the National Garden Bureau's 

 factsheet on Gardening Gifts for Children (October 1995). 

 It has the most complete supplier list I've seen. 

 Margatet Hagen is Extension Educator, Agriculture, for 

 Hillsborough County. She can be reached at 603-673-2510. 



THE PUANTSMAN 



