Day in and day out, the Garden Media team helps grow green gardening companies by getting the word out about their businesses. Our public relations campaigns built rock-star gardening brands, like the Knock Out Rose and Costa Farms O2 for You. So, it's second nature for the Garden Media team to see the connections between gardening and business.

Today we're diving deeper into this parallel to learn how gardening, effective marketing, and legendary garden business leadership overlap.

Read on to learn 5 leadership and marketing lessons found in the garden. Dirt may not only be the new Prozac - it might be the secret to success for your next business plan, too.

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.

2014 is already a 1/3 of the way over. Hard to believe isn't it? Seems like just yesterday we were talking about what gardening trends would dominate the year!

As 2014 continues, the changes and trends in the marketing and communication realm are clearly emerging--and will become increasingly important in the latter half of 2014.

What trends does your gardening business need to keep afoot of in the marketing world?

We've got the top 3 biggest trends in gardening marketing and communications below. Read on to unlock the secrets and keep your gardening business a step ahead of the rest.

In today’s fast-paced world people are busier than ever. Whether it's print or online content, readers rarely read lengthy articles.

The information your gardening business is releasing is just as important and relevant as ever. However, you're competing against more sources--and shorter attention spans.

As such, the way in which we tell stories has drastically evolved over the last several years.

Keep reading to find out how to write and format your gardening content to keep the attention of today’s consumers.

Social media has become a huge part of how companies interact and engage with their customers.

Even in the gardening industry, countless businesses have found social media works when they are looking for new customers, nurturing current customers, and when they need to drive traffic and sales on their garden website.

Twitter and Instagram are both popular social platforms. Both are great ways to promote a company, product or brand, when used correctly of course.

Below are 4 best practice tips to ensure your garden business's accounts are valuable to both your shoppers and your bottom line!

Being in public relations is stressful--in fact, it's the 6th most stressful job in America according to CareerCast.

Meaning, public relations is a field not everyone is cut out for. PR executives need to have an eye for creativity, the spirit of perseverance, and the power of persuasion.

Whether you are a budding public relations executive, a garden business owner interested in marketing, or a business looking to hire a public relations firm, the list below will help you understand the intricacies of public relations better--and improve your take on gardening PR and marketing.

Want to find out what Garden Media's 7 secrets to public relations success are in the garden industry? Keep on reading!

At Garden Media Group, we're known for our annual trends report.

We've been told that Garden Media has the crystal ball when it comes to predicting trends. We've got our finger on the pulse of the horticulture, outdoor living, and lawn and garden industries.

Within the last 13 Garden Trends Reports, Garden Media’s predictions have been right on! From the rise of the Made in the U.S.A. and ‘buy local’ movement to men getting in the garden, growing vegetables and a renewed interest in organics, Garden Media always has our eye on the horizon.

So, we want to share with you WHY we love trends so much--and it's not just because they're fun to predict.

Our new e-book "Why Garden Trends" is HERE to dish on our secrets.

Learn why your garden business needs to react to trends, anticipate them, or, even better, shape them to your business’ advantage below.

With PR firms, bigger isn't always better.

In fact, a big PR firm may be more of a negative than a positive, but we'll talk about that in a bit!

When hiring a public relations firm, whether you're a big or small garden business, PR is a big investment and there are many factors to consider.

To discover the nitty-gritty details on hiring a public relations firm, read the step by step process here.

Then, learn 4 reasons why a small PR firm can rock your socks off--and may even be better than that big ol' firm and an even bigger investment.

Gardeners are always looking for new ways to use what they grow, so drinking foods from the garden is becoming a big trend for 2014.

Though, Garden Media predicts that drinking your garden is a trend that has lasting power.

More and more people are tackling DIY projects. In fact, each year, nearly 1 million Americans brew beer and make wine at home. Just as popular, people are using the fruits and vegetables from their garden to make creative cocktails and smoothies.

Read on to learn a few marketing tips to take advantage of the "Drink Your Garden" trend and boost sales for your garden business while you're at it, too!

Trends spotters have spoken!

Suzi McCoy sat down with garden industry leaders, Shawna Coronado of Shawnacoronado.com, Robin Horton of Urban Gardens, and the two winners of Garden Media’s contest, Christy Wilhelmi of Gardenerd and Carl Alguire of Smart Gardener to discuss how to use trends to drive sales.

These garden industry leaders and garden businesses shared their tips and insights on how to use the 2014 Garden Trends report to boost sales in your garden business.

We've broken their insights into short, sweet videos, so you can share these informative tidbits! 

Read on to learn quick and easy tips on how you can use the trends in your garden business.