CHALET
Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center

Easy to understand signage explained all the benefits of bio-degradable pots and containers.
Customers buying pre-planted pots combining perennials and spring flowering bulbs were given instructions on how to successfully over-winter the containers in order to enjoy the bulbs the following spring.
Great combos of fall perennials provided inspiration for DIY customers. They were also offered for sale as pre-planted goods.
The centrally located perennial display was visible to customers coming or going from the nursery and garden center departments of Chalet.
Bio-degradable container. Lovely combination of plant material. Who wouldn't feel good about taking this home to enjoy?

Plant Publicity Holland and the Perennial Plant Association, co-sponsors of the Perennials Marketing Contest, send their hearty congratulations to Chalet - Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center of Willmette, Illinois, a Top Ten Winner of the 2007 Contest.

Eco-Friendly Perennial Gardening
One of Chalet's on-going strategic marketing objectives is to increase cross merchandising between departments. With this in mind, Freya Wellin, Perennials Manager of Chalet, and the ideas person behind the display, explained, "We created the Eco-Friendly Perennial Gardening concept in order to combine sales of perennials from our nursery with sales of bulbs and bio-degradable containers from our garden center."

"Our attractive, bio-degradable rice hull pots and containers appeal to customers who want to reduce the use of plastic containers that do not break down in landfill. Perennials and bulbs are eco-friendly because they 'naturally' re-cycle by returning year after year. It's a win-win combination."

The Eco-Friendly display was featured in a central hub of the nursery. Everyone who came to the garden center passed by the display, and the promotion was 'bang on' judging by how many people stopped dead in their tracks when they came upon it.

Artfully arranged around a patio table and chairs - just like at home - the display contained: Fall Perennials such as ornamental grass Miscaanthus 'Gold Bar', variegated foliage plants like Golden Lysimachia, a multitude of colorful Heucheras and many others; spring flowering bulbs; bio-degradable rice hull pots; promotional signage and hang tags.

Customers could purchase the 'ingredients' with which to pot up their own containers with pre-planted sample pots providing the inspiration. Or, they could order ready-planted containers from Chalet's custom container department. "Truth be told," said Freya, "many times customers were so dazzled by the display they couldn't resist purchasing all of the plant combinations we showcased."

As over-wintering spring bulbs in containers can be a challenge in Illinois, Chalet provided instructions to all customers buying, or planting their own, bulb and perennial combinations so that the containers could be enjoyed the following spring.

Our hats are off to Chalet for the unique and successful way in which they cross merchandised perennials, the growing container marketing trend, and the Eco-friendly trend that is - and should be - spreading worldwide. Congratulations!