The 2025 season is in full swing, seven Pollinator Days have been held across the state. Bountiful Gardens held two days, one at each location in Mercer and Somerset counties. Up north, a Pollinator Day was held at Glen Wilde in Bergen County. Heading south, we held an event at Paganos in Monmouth County. While in the southwest counties, three events were held, one each at Bast Brothers in Gloucester, Staffa Stone & Garden Center in Burlington and Magnolia Village Garden Center in Camden. Several of these IGCs are repeat participants, having successfully held Pollinator Days in 2024 that drove sales.
Last year we launched a series of successful Pollinator Days with independent garden centers across New Jersey. Twelve events featured straight species native plants for sale often at a discount. We educated customers and employees on the importance of native plants, how to choose the right plants for residential landscapes and gardens, plus we supplemented IGC sales teams with our expert volunteers intermixing with customers throughout the day helping select the right plant for the right place.
Pollinator Days were originally designed in response to the complaint, “I can’t find native plants at my local garden center.” Not only did we address this concern, we discovered that numerous garden center customers wanted to get started on their native plant journey but didn’t know how. Thus, the concept of Pollinator Days was born.
Benefits of Pollinator Day for IGCs
Attracting new customers who are interested in native plant gardening and sustainability. A listing on the NPSNJ.org website Where to Buy Native Plants, the third highest visited page on our website. Joint marketing will drive traffic, you market to your customer list while we reach out to our Chapter email list. This helps you reach new customers from NPSNJ Chapters with a keen interest in buying native plants, while supplementing promotions to your existing customers. Your employees are also welcome and encouraged to attend the education sessions.
How do you get involved?
A chapter liaison will help coordinate programs, recommend discounts, assist with setup, and guide customers in choosing native plants on your Pollinator Day.
We have openings for fall Pollinator Days and hope to host one at your garden center this year. For more information and how to get started, contact GrowJerseyNatives@npsnj.org
