5/31/2017
Tricks: Houston Enchantment
Jennifer Zurko
A quick trip to the great state of Texas offered us a chance to make a stop at
Enchanted Gardens, one of the garden center locations owned by Joey Lenderman and his family. Joey is the second generation to run
Enchanted Gardens and
Enchanted Forest in the Houston area. He and his team work hard to maintain their reputation of having friendly, knowledgeable staff. “We go the extra mile,” said Joey.
Thirteen acres of plants, gifts and other fun stuff was all there for us to explore and discover—which we did willingly!
For the Fairy Lovers
Whether you’re a fan or not, fairy
gardens aren’t going away any time soon. Peggy May, Marketing Manager/Buyer, said, “It’s a big part of our gift business. We’ve been doing it for years and we haven’t seen any decline [in sales].”
Enchanted Gardens has a special area in their gift shop just for fairy garden merchandise …
… but what better way to sell them than to actually show what you can do with a complete fairy village around an old tree? The whimsy of it creates quite a bit of temptation for little ones to play or touch the display, so the signs let parents know that the fairies don’t double as nannies.
Paws to Take a Look
We loved the little touches around the garden center, like these yellow paw prints leading up the steps into the gift shop. Peggy said it lets people know to walk right in—and that there’s a furry feline that’s taken up residence inside. (Her name is Cali and she doesn’t love to have her picture taken. Her eyes are closed and her mouth is open because she was meowing at me to scram. But she lets you pet her, at least.)
Snap, Post, Repeat 
Enchanted Gardens does a lot on social media, especially on Instagram. They’re holding a contest for customers to post their garden pics to Instagram to win a $25 gift card. Fellow Ball Publishing colleague Allison Westbrook and I even made it on their page.
Critter Care
Amanda Thomsen says that every garden center should have a cat. Well, how about four? And two goats? And two roosters?
Enchanted Gardens has this really clever sign at the entrance to introduce patrons to the animals who live at the garden center so they know who they are and whether they like to be admired up close or from a distance.
How the West Was One to Hide Stuff
We noticed the interesting one-sided façade that looked like it was taken from an old timey Western town in the 1800s. Joey said that he built it to hide the piles of soil and mulch on the other side. Mighty clever!
Education Station
Staff member Ashley came up with the idea for a “Helpful Hints for a Happy Garden” kiosk. Laminated cheat sheets hanging from the top answer specific questions with recommendations (i.e. “Have your azaleas stopped blooming?”) and tips on what you should be doing that month regarding fertilizer and pest management.
GP