For the garden industry, this is a busy, busy time of year! From new plants emerging in garden centers to gardening makeovers, there's a lot of garden-centric competition this time of year.

So how do you make your gardening brand stand out from the crowd?

Well, it all starts with an air-tight brand personality--and stellar products, of course.

From there, part of the fun is piggybacking on eco-events (like Earth Day, Arbor Day, and International Composting) and making your own company-specific events, too.

Below, we're detailing tips for eco-events based on successful Earth Day campaigns--and dishing on how to use these tricks to your company's advantage.

The constant availability of the internet has made spreading news about your garden business easier than ever.

But, getting your consumers to read that news has proven to be far more difficult.

Every minute of every day gardening customers are logging on and searching for the latest gardening news, but is your green business on their watch list?

With all of the news, phone apps and social media sites, your company news can easily disappear into the market noise.

Find out what form of media your garden consumers are reading and tips to ensure your message doesn't just get published--it gets read.

With each passing day, more and more businesses are jumping onto Twitter.  As more businesses begin using this social media platform, more of the same mistakes are being made.

Twitter is a great place to connect with your consumers and further your garden company's brand.  But, be wary, if you fall into these traps Twitter can harm more than help.

Keep reading to find out if you’re making one of the top 5 Twitter mistakes of 2014; then, we'll help you fix it too.

Family dynamics are changing big time in 2014, according to Garden Media's 2014 Garden Trends Report, and it’s time for your garden business to catch up. 

Men are taking on equal roles as the homemakers in many households, which means they're getting their hands dirty in the garden too!

Men love to get physical and create with their hands, and what better way to do that than gardening? 

The traditional ‘mom role’ is becoming more gender netural, which means women are not the only ones interested in the gardening world anymore.

Introducing:  Mr. Mom, the newest gardener to target in 2014. 

With this change comes a new challenge. Keep reading to learn how to get your garden business noticed by Mr. Mom.

Marketers are creeping and crawling into the night with Halloween just a few short days away.

From the big holidays to the small ones, marketers love putting a twist on their product and content to make it more relevant for the time of year.

And Halloween is one of the most fun times of the year to do just that. The spooky styles, the dark colors, and of course, the costumes!

This Halloween season take your marketing to the next level to connect, engage, and form meaningful relationships with your customers.

Below are 4 marketing ideas tailor-made for your garden business that will boost engagement and get your audience's attention--plus, you don't even have to say BOO, unless you want to!

Automated, generalized messages don't have the impact they used to.

People change channels when commercials appear, no one answers a call from a telemarketer, and automated emails don't get opened.

The old way of marketing is out, and personalized, compelling content in context is in, in a big way. 

Over the next year, this marketing trend is going to continue to grow.

Here are the top 4 content marketing trends that will emerge and thrive in 2014.

Hot of the presses, Garden Media's October e-Book is here!

This month our GROW! e-Book of the month clubwill be talking media relations every Wednesday, right here on our blog. The blog posts complement the info in our Media Relations e-Book and break each aspect of media relations into bite-sized pieces!

But, first thing's first, be sure to download our e-Book, "How to Win the Media's Heart."

In it, you'll find all of Garden Media's secrets to making (and maintaining!) friendships with the media.

To start the conversation, below is Garden Media's guide to media relations--beginning with the basics, like what is media relations, and where do you start?

That's right: on the 25th of September, Garden Media celebrates 25 years in business!

A quarter of a century ago in September 1988, Suzi McCoy put her daughter Katie on the bus for first grade and opened the doors of IMPACT Marketing & PR.

The firm would expand and eventually become known in the horticulture industry as Garden Media Group. 

Now, Katie has returned home to roost and is the Creative Officer at Garden Media Group.

Below, Suzi McCoy dishes on the full story of how Garden Media became the leading PR firm in the lawn and garden industry over the last 25 years.

Don't forget to wish Suzi and Garden Media a happy anniversary!

There are no better advocates for your brand than your customers.

The fans who love your brand the most are always gushing about your products to their friends in person and to their digital followers online.

Messages from customers have the power to greatly influence.

Why? Because messages from brand advocates hold weight: they're genuine and people trust them.

Below are the 6 essential tips to create a stellar and sustainable brand advocacy program--and detail why setting up a formal program like this is so important to your garden brand's reputation.

Today's Garden Center is showcasing Garden Media Group's six major consumer shifts along with several lower level trends that will impact garden purchases in its 2014 Garden Trends Report.

The overall theme, the report says, is finding balance. Each Thursday GROW! will now showcase and delve into a new garden trend of 2014.

Be sure to download the 2014 Trends Report to learn the details and forces behind each trend--and how your business can integrate the 2014 garden trends to grow your business.