Bringing the Garden Home Trends in Home Décor Merchandise at Botanical Gardens

By Sara Karnish

Botanical gardens allow visitors to enjoy the beauty and color of nature in a public space. The merchandise in botanical garden gift shops allows visitors to add some of the beauty and color of nature to their most private space—their home.

COVID and its related shutdowns posed a challenge for many industries; however, outdoor spaces like botanical gardens, nurseries, and other horticulture-focused businesses thrived throughout most of the pandemic. People could enjoy nature, then stop in the gift shop for items to create a little paradise of their own. Gift Shop Manager Sarah Wilcox at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wis., said, “During the pandemic, people spent so much time in their living spaces and wanted to spruce them up with items that give them inspiration. We’ve also seen an uptick in people getting interested/more interested in nature so items like planters, air plants, sun catchers, and prints have all seen an uptick.”

Besides décor, practical items for the home like kitchenware are also good sellers. Gift Shop Manager/ Buyer Judy Coughlin at New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill, said within their 1,600-square-foot shop they sell “a lot of kitchenware and dish towels. The Swedish dish towels are made from cellulose, compostable, and super popular right now. They are biodegradable and have really gotten popular over the last year or so. We sell themed dishware, always with a plant or herb design. Within the home décor category, we sell a lot of mugs, cereal bowls, appetizer plates. Lately we’re doing well with melamine dishware, as you can take it on a picnic or the patio. As long as it has a nature theme, it fits with our mission.” Items made from environmentally-friendly materials are especially popular. Coughlin has noticed more companies releasing “permanent disposable” tableware. One brand is One Hundred 80 Degrees, which makes what looks like a traditional white paper plate, but it’s plastic. “I believe they’re trending because the product is environmentally friendly. They’re casual looking but you’re not throwing it away. They’re cute and stylish versus merely functional,” Coughlin said.

Visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden Shop in Phoenix, Ariz., typically look for pieces with a Southwest flair, according to Store Director Alejandra Herrera . “Prints, bowls, and ornaments are typically our bestselling home décor items,” she explained. “Home décor has always been very popular at the garden—it’s one of our best-selling departments.” Herrera said the gardens’ buyers seek out these items due to their ongoing popularity. “Our home décor assortment is carefully curated

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