DOWNERS GROVE, IL – National Garden Bureau is ready to help garden retailers pique consumer interest with attention-getting programs. Let National Garden Bureau assist you in helping your customers learn about, grow and celebrate these amazing plants through promotional materials for its four 2017 “Year of the” programs. Resources are available on National Garden Bureau’s website: www.ngb.org.
Each year the National Garden Bureau (NGB), the non-profit organization that promotes gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry and its members, promotes the use of the crops it has chosen for its “Year of the” program. For 2017, those crops include:
- Annuals: Year of the Pansy
- Vegetables/edibles: Year of the Brassica
- Perennials: Year of the Rose (In cooperation with the American Rose Society)
- Bulbs: Year of the Daffodil (In cooperation with the American Daffodil Society)
The National Garden Bureau Board of Directors selects crops with which consumers can grow successfully. Each “Year of the” crop is easy to grow, genetically diverse and includes lots of new varieties—all traits that will help consumers and their gardens flourish.
Promotional Materials
To help spread the word and the use of these crops, NGB offers free promotional materials for garden centers and nurseries. These materials range from printable fact sheets to photos and logos which can be used in catalogs and advertisements, on websites and in other appropriate marketing materials.
In addition, National Garden Bureau has partnered with GardenCenterMarketing.com to provide “Year of the” benchcards and vinyl banners for a nominal fee. Garden retailers can use these materials as Point of Purchase materials alongside the “Year of the” crops or at Customer Service and Help Desks.
For seminars and presentations, free presentations for brassicas, daffodils, pansies and roses are available on NGB’s SlideShare account.
Another new aspect of NGB’s “Year of the” program is a video about the edible class, produced by and starring cook, author and storyteller Jonathan Bardzik. This fun, humorous and interesting video can be viewed on YouTube and shared by any person or company who wishes to promote gardening and cooking with brassicas.
Promotion Works
NGB began the “Year of the” programs in the early 1980s. Over that time, these programs have generated tremendous consumer and industry publicity. To view the publicity created from past programs, visit the National Garden Bureau website and click on “Press Room”. The entire industry—breeders, brokers, seed companies, growers, nurseries and garden centers—are urged to highlight these flowers and plants when planning their 2017 marketing season.
Publicity of the 2017 “Year of the” crops to the garden writer community began in September 2016. Publicity direct to the consumer will begin in January 2017. Visit the National Garden Bureau website to download photos, logos, fact sheets and much more. These tools will help the home garden industry promote the crops to consumers and encourage gardening with these specific classes.
Join the NGB Social Media community, now almost 50,000 strong! Follow NGB on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and share the posts about these four featured crop classes.
For more information about this program and/or membership in National Garden Bureau, please email Diane Blazek
Founded in 1920, the National Garden Bureau is a non-profit organization whose mission is to disseminate basic instructions for home gardeners. NGB publishes and sponsors “Year Of The” fact sheets annually featuring flowers and vegetables, including new introductions, which are especially suited to home gardens.
Source: The National Garden Bureau
