February 2021 - 6

EDITOR'S LETTER
Houseplants and
Growing Your Business
We've all heard over and over that millennials are
driving the wave of new gardeners. A new survey from the
folks at Axiom took a look at how the experience of those
plant parents stacked up against gardeners over 40.
The Axiom 2021 Gardening Insights Survey found that,
while most over-40 gardeners said they made the same
number of visits to garden centers in 2020, younger
gardeners say they visited more. For age groups 19-28
and 29-39, 57% said they visited IGCs more last year than
in the past.
These youngsters also reportedly felt very confident
in their 2020 gardening activities. For those ages 19-28,
nearly 90% said they felt successful or very successful
with their 2020 garden - and 92% for the 29-39 age
group. That feeling of success is reflected in their plans
for 2021 - more than half of the 19- to 28-year-olds
said they plan to plant more and expand their gardens in
2021; 67% of the 29-39 group said they will be planting
more than they did last spring.
So what does this mean for your IGC? Increased
confidence in their gardening abilities could translate
to growing more challenging or time-consuming plants.
These gardeners might want to expand their crops
to include lesser-known (but social media-worthy)
vegetable varieties that their neighbors aren't growing,
or expanding their houseplant collection into a more
diverse assortment.
Also In This Issue
Speaking of houseplants, author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf
recently visited a few independent garden centers and
reported back that she was surprised by how many rare
plants she saw. She spoke to a few plant people to find
out what's trending in houseplants (see " Houseplant
Trends, " page 14), including a familiar face in the pages
of this issue - Jared Hughes, owner of Groovy Plants
Ranch and the subject of this month's 5 Minutes With...
Turn to page 42 to read more about Jared.
On page 24, Gail Pabst and Diane Blazek of National
Garden Bureau introduce a new monthly feature that
will begin next month: " Tools to Grow Your Business, "
where NGB's social media experts will share their quick
and easy tips to - you guessed it - increase your social
media presence, thus grow your business. These bitesized
tips are intended to be quick actions you can take
each month that, over time, will make a big difference.
I hope you'll follow along - and let me know of your
progress along the way.
Shoot me an email at tmcpherson@
greatamericanpublish.com to tell me what you think.
Winner of 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2018 EDDIE awards for Best Full Issue
@LGRmag
Teresa McPherson, MANAGING EDITOR
616.520.2163 | tmcpherson@greatamericanpublish.com
6 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | FEBRUARY 2021
@lgrmag
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Bob Wasson
Crystal Cady
Kate Terrell
John Karsseboom
Pamela Baker
Lisa LeFevre
Stan Pohmer
Christina Salwitz
Wasson Nursery
Sunflower Acres Farm & Garden
Wallace's Garden Center
The Garden Corner
Baker's Acres Greenhouse
Distinctive Gardens
Pohmer Consulting Group
The Personal Garden Coach
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February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2021