Serving a Public of Plant Lovers

Apparel at Botanical Gardens

Susan Dean, the meticulous retail curator at Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society in Babylon, N.Y., knows her clientele: discerning women in their 40s and up. They’re looking for a fun item to wear, but generic togs won’t cut it. “Our shoppers want pretty, distinctive accessories,” explained Dean, who as a board member of the Arboretum Horticultural Society is the gift shop’s manager and buyer. “My demographic isn’t looking for a logo T-shirt.”

Apparel and accessories are a perennial category at botanical garden gift shops — but as retail competition gets more intense, garden shops are stepping up their game with distinctive and locally specific merchandise.

Dean actually used to stock nameddropped tees, but they didn’t do well. What does sell: kimono style shawls, diaphanous scarves, and rain capes with museum art prints — elegant items that shoppers won’t find just anywhere. “I do want some branded things, so people can remember where they’ve been, but I don’t want to be a souvenir shop,” explained Dean. Bayard shoppers are more likely to pick up a name-dropped tote bag or hat than a piece of clothing.

Dean and her all-volunteer staff had just launched the gift shop one year before the pandemic shut it down. After being closed for the following two years, the store recently reopened, and Dean, a retired teacher, is still figuring out the merchandise mix. The gift shop is housed in a converted bedroom in the arboretum’s vintage manor house, so space is limited.

But sales and enthusiasm have both been strong this spring, as pandemic-weary Americans have flocked to gardens. “We were a well-kept secret until Covid,” noted Dean. “People are looking for another outdoor place, apart from the beach.”

Visitation is also strong at Ganna Walska Lotusland in Santa

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