If there’s one thing I’ve learned from looking through so many gardening catalogs over the years, it’s that my tomatoes will never in a million years look as good as the ones in the pictures.
I’m not saying I have a brown thumb. Not exactly.
Now, green beans? I do OK with them, although these last few hot summers haven’t been too kind to them. So this winter, I returned to a tradition, leafing through the catalogs that arrived in my mailbox as the bitter, frigid winds raged outside. It’s so much about hoping for that right combination of rain and sun a few months down the road as you turn the pages and plan for what you’d like to try this year.
So many great catalog titles have gone away in favor of ecommerce since the turn of the century, though some familiar names have made a bit of a comeback.
Gardening catalogs are a special case, and a personal one. As a teenager, when I helped my folks plant seeds in our suburban Philadelphia garden, we’d usually get most of them from the mail. The rest we picked up at the local hardware store or garden center, along with impatiens or other plants they wanted after seeing them in a catalog.
I thought about all of this when I took a day last week to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show.
Produced by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, it is the oldest and largest flower show in the world. And as always, a stunner. I loved the futuristic theme, the creativity of the exhibits, the biodiversity, and the bursts of color everywhere.
And then there was the clever Burpee Garden Shop. Headquartered in Warminster, Pennsylvania, Burpee is a 149-year old gardening brand and a Supporting Sponsor of the show. Besides selling lots of seed packets, horticulturists were on hand to offer advice, and attendees could order garden-ready plants for delivery.
I was really happy to see the company’s 2025 catalog on full display as well (pictured above). Talk about knowing your audience and keeping your brand in front of them! Quite a few people were grabbing one from the rack as they browsed or walked by. If only more brick-and-mortar retailers still had a catalog, or put them out for shoppers.
On the buyer’s journey, the catalog is an important touchpoint because it is a familiar and tactile experience that connects them to that brand. The high-quality images and the feel of the paper create an emotional connection, which makes it easier for people to visualize their garden space.
A catalog, depending on the industry and audience, may invite deeper involvement and more leisurely reading besides the product descriptions. As an example - Seed Savers Exchange’s latest catalog includes recipes and long-form stories about its community of members.
Catalogs can certainly be inspirational and aspirational. But ultimately, they’re not about flashy photography. In times good and bad, people still turn to brands they trust, ones that offer value and practicality in their products and merchandise.
When you stay true to that, your success will be measured in lifelong relationships versus quarter-to-quarter or year-over-year purchase cycles.
Come to think of it now, my tomatoes will need new cages this year.
Cultivating Loyalty with the Power of Print
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from looking through so many gardening catalogs over the years, it’s that my tomatoes will never in a million years look as good as the ones in the pictures.
I’m not saying I have a brown thumb. Not exactly.
Now, green beans? I do OK with them, although these last few hot summers haven’t been too kind to them. So this winter, I returned to a tradition, leafing through the catalogs that arrived in my mailbox as the bitter, frigid winds raged outside. It’s so much about hoping for that right combination of rain and sun a few months down the road as you turn the pages and plan for what you’d like to try this year.
So many great catalog titles have gone away in favor of ecommerce since the turn of the century, though some familiar names have made a bit of a comeback.
I thought about all of this when I took a day last week to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show.
Produced by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, it is the oldest and largest flower show in the world. And as always, a stunner. I loved the futuristic theme, the creativity of the exhibits, the biodiversity, and the bursts of color everywhere.
And then there was the clever Burpee Garden Shop. Headquartered in Warminster, Pennsylvania, Burpee is a 149-year old gardening brand and a Supporting Sponsor of the show. Besides selling lots of seed packets, horticulturists were on hand to offer advice, and attendees could order garden-ready plants for delivery.
I was really happy to see the company’s 2025 catalog on full display as well (pictured above). Talk about knowing your audience and keeping your brand in front of them! Quite a few people were grabbing one from the rack as they browsed or walked by. If only more brick-and-mortar retailers still had a catalog, or put them out for shoppers.
On the buyer’s journey, the catalog is an important touchpoint because it is a familiar and tactile experience that connects them to that brand. The high-quality images and the feel of the paper create an emotional connection, which makes it easier for people to visualize their garden space.
A catalog, depending on the industry and audience, may invite deeper involvement and more leisurely reading besides the product descriptions. As an example - Seed Savers Exchange’s latest catalog includes recipes and long-form stories about its community of members.
Catalogs can certainly be inspirational and aspirational. But ultimately, they’re not about flashy photography. In times good and bad, people still turn to brands they trust, ones that offer value and practicality in their products and merchandise.
When you stay true to that, your success will be measured in lifelong relationships versus quarter-to-quarter or year-over-year purchase cycles.
Come to think of it now, my tomatoes will need new cages this year.