Where the Merchandise Selection Is Coming Up Roses

Outdoor, Garden and Quality Gifts at Garden Centers

The breadth of merchandise inside many garden center gift shops can take shoppers by surprise. Suddenly, their initial plan to simply pick up some potting soil and a flat of petunias turns into something else altogether. The selection inside the gift shop at The Rhoads Garden in North Wales, Pa., serves as a perfect example. Items for baby, fashionable women’s clothing and home décor items do very well, as unexpected as their presence may be.

“A lot of people say oh, my god I’ve been here so many times and I’ve never been inside the gift shop. This is amazing,” said Buyer Lauren Hales . Shoppers will ooh and ahh over the luxury baby gifts she sources from product lines such as Elegant Baby, maker of blankets, apparel and more. Toddler purses from Doe a Dear elicit the same response. The Rhoads Garden has been in business since 1939 and gift offerings have evolved over time. Women’s clothing is the newest expansion effort. “We feature accessories such as scarves, gloves and jewelry and those have done so well that now we’ve added sweaters, leggings and more.”

At The Rhoads Garden, its greenhouse featuring indoor plants and seasonal items such as Christmas décor has a strong presence on a busy street. The greenhouse, in turn, leads into the gift shop area and many people discover it in this manner. Customers are invited to sign up for email updates on merchandise and to check out the shop’s Facebook and Instagram posts. Word of mouth tips off many to the treasures which lie within and without in the form of wind chimes, art poles, gazing balls, animal statues and other outdoor garden gifts. “We also do a lot of silk flowers. Apparently, good quality silks are hard to come by in this area and people really like our wreaths and

Continued on page 80