Although the 4th of July is over, Labor Day is right around the corner - creating the perfect time to highlight your brand's American connections.

A report on brand loyalty from research firm Brand Keys Inc. found the top three U.S. brands considered to be the most patriotic are Jeep, Levi Strauss and Coca-Cola.

What do these three brands have in common? Consumers purchase their products because they have deep emotional ties to the perceived "Americaness".

Learn how to extend your garden brand's reach by communicating your business's American Values to consumers this Labor Day.

The relationship between your garden brand and Millennials is only just beginning.

Millennials, those 18-34, are just learning how to participate in the garden, but establishing yourself as the brand expert now can have benefits for years to come.

Gardening, however, in this generation's eyes looks differently than it has in the past. 

Continue reading to learn about exactly what Millennials want in the garden.

Contrary to popular belief, the most important commodity to a garden business isn't money.

The mysterious asset we're talking about has nothing to do with the monetary economy.

What is it?

Your brand's reputation.

You need to understand where your gardening business stands in the marketplace in order to continually improve your position.

To do this, you'll first need to measure your reputation.

Keep reading to learn 3 ways you can measure public opinion about your garden business.

There is no slowing down email, despite predictions that this medium will go the way of the fax machine and MySpace.

More users sign up for accounts every day - and even better, they’re signing up to receive newsletters and promotions from the garden brands they love.

Mobile usage continues to grow, and a whopping 72 percent of US online adults send or receive personal emails via smartphone at least weekly, according to research by Forrester.

Gardening brands need to embrace the mobile platform NOW to reach the largest possible audience.

Read below to learn how to optimize emails for mobile devices - and the major payoff it can bring to your garden business.

Millennials are unique in the way they communicate, making it necessary for garden brands to reach out in ways that continually appeal to this digital generation. 

On average, Millennials are connected with media 18 hours a day with large portions of those hours being spent browsing the internet and social networking.

Millennials are three times more likely to follow brands that appeal to them than a family member on social networking sites.

Luckily for your garden brand, the odds are in your favor.

Continue reading to learn the ins and outs of how your garden business can best connect with Millennials. 

When your garden business chooses public relations, you expect your strategy to pay off.

And, you're right to expect a return on your investment (ROI) - hiring a PR firm is a cost-effective, efficient way to meet your business goals. 

One thing PR isn't, though, is immediate.

It takes time for a PR campaign to build momentum. Plus, the nature of PR is such that as your brand reputation grows media endorsements over time, even more outlets will want to work with you as you to become a household garden brand. 

So, the million dollar question: how can you tell if your public relations strategy is working?

Read on to learn 3 tips for measuring your garden brand's current public relations success.

There’s been a lot of buzz about brands redefining terms, especially among brands marketed toward women.

There’s the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, Under Armour’s “What’s Beautiful” competition to redefine the female athlete, Betty Crocker’s redefinition of “homemaker” and most recently, Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign.  

What's the secret to these marketing campaigns' success?

First, instead of avoiding challenges, these marketing campaigns confront them head on.

Then, the challenges are transformed into something new, interesting and undoubtedly buzz-worthy.

Read on for tips about how the gardening industry can redefine the classic image of the gardener. 

Marketing, targeting and building relationships with Millennials will help your garden business to thrive in the present and grow in the future.

The question that needs to be answered first before your garden company can begin targeting this powerful demographic is:

Who are the Millennials and what do they value?

To fully connect and effectively market gardening to this powerful generation, your garden business needs to understand Millennials' demographics and psychographics. 

Continue reading to get to know this prominent generation a bit better in order to craft marketing messages that truly resonate.

Garden business owners know that a solid business plan is essential for success.

Business plans are how you communicate your vision when breaking into the field, and it's also the blueprint for maintaining success after you've gotten there.

But how can you measure success, and how do you know when you've reached it?

Any good garden business wants to answer these questions, but most of them ask a bit too late.

The best measurement strategies begin before your garden business even gets off the ground.

Keep reading to learn how to plan for your garden business' success with measurement metrics in mind.

“What’s trending now" has always been a hot news topic.

Now, however, news segments are getting trends directly from social media sites.

Even the Today Show and Good Morning America, the two biggest morning news shows, both feature special segments on what’s trending, frequently driven by social content.

As audiences show they're continually interested in trend stories, it’s time for your garden businesses to help get the word out, too.

Discover how your gardening business can use social media trends to craft timely pitches and branded content below.