50 Cool Products on Display at the 2017 IGC Show
The IGC show, held at the Navy Pier in Chicago August 15-17, is one of the largest retail shows around for independent garden center owners and managers. The three-day tradeshow and conference included interactive educational sessions and a networking lounge on the show floor where attendees could talk shop and trade ideas. Wednesday morning, keynote speaker Robert O’Neill, a former Navy Seal Team Six leader, encouraged a packed room to “Never Quit,” as he shared what he learned during Navy Seal training and while carrying out the mission to shoot and kill Osama Bin Laden. The tradeshow floor included plenty of new vendors and new products for attendees to get excited about, as well as great displays packed with plants and every garden retail product imaginable. Here is a sampling of some of the cool products on display at the show.
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Briers displayed several garden tools for women from its award-winning William Morris Gallery collection, which was launched in 2016.
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Water Creations' Deco Planters, found in the New Products area, can be used for both aquatic and terrestrial plants with their unique design.
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New vendor Water Blossom Creations displayed fun and decorative watering sticks for containers. Water is poured into the blossom and the stick transports it to the root zone.
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The colorful containers in Van Bloem Gardens' Grow Your Own Fruit Year Round line garnered a lot of interest from show attendees interested in offering their customers some options for growing their own fruit.
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Retailers at the show featured lots of options for urban gardens with limited space, such as these classic, small-space raised garden bed containers from Urban Gardener.
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Found in the New Products area, this Plant and Garden Guard Shield from Zovar Productions keeps squirrels, chipmunks, and other critters from digging in plant pots.
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Rustic, tin, and natural themes dominated the show. These tin burlap stencil pots from Avery Imports combined all three looks into decorative garden pots.
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What garden party would be complete without some cool drinks? Think Outside displayed several metallic coolers for serving beverages, including an Airstream cooler (pictured), a racecar, and a firetruck. Each one is equipped with wheels for easy transport.
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Syndicate Home Garden displayed a number of new stackable, self-watering planters, which included this new glass planter. The plant is placed in the top in soil and water added to the bottom is wicked up by the felt material as the plant needs it.
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Syndicate Home Garden's Plant Pal kit allows you to water plants by diffusion. The clay base is stuck in the soil and attached to a long-necked bottle. It releases water when the soil needs it.
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The Plant Amp from Syndicate Home Garden acts as a speaker to amplify sound from your smartphone. The modern-looking glass container includes two spots for adding some greenery to your sound.
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The line of Beneficial Bug Houses from SuperMoss are made of all-natural materials and house beneficial predatory bugs to keep smaller insects off plants and pollinators.
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The Homebox indoor greenhouse from Vista has large, sealable viewing windows and a versatile shelving system for year-round growing.
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Studio M's "Houseplant" containers offered a decorative and fun way to attract attention to indoor foliage plants.
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Spotted in the new vendor area at the show, the Smart Music Flowerpot includes a water-proof pot, a bluetooth speaker, and a nightlight. When you touch the plant, the flowerpot will emit a piano sound.
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Pride Garden Products makes it easy to put together a fairy garden with simple kits that include miniature garden furniture.
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PotWheelz
PotWheelz, second-place New Product Zone winner, is a labor-saving garden dolly that moves plants and large flowerpots safely from place to place.
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Succulents were everywhere at the IGC show. Eason Horticultural Resources (EHR) feaured a fun idea for a painted succulent Mother's Day gift.
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Pride Garden's new table-top vertical garden frame has a stand for easy display on patio furniture or indoors on an indoor tabletop.
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New Nectar Dots from Nature Products are fun items to get kids interested in pollinators. Kids can use them to feed hummingbirds out of their hands.
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This metal garden hose displayed in the New Products area is puncture proof, dog proof, kink proof, and weather proof. Plus, it's lightweight, non-corrosive, and cool to the touch.
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Attendees showed a lot of interest in Studio M's Lennon & McCartney Art Poles, which are part of the Lyric Project, a special collaboration that blends the song lyrics of Lennon and McCartney with the artwork of Stephanie Burgess.
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Kids like gardening, too. Among other kid-friendly products at the show was this gardening tool caddy from Briers.
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The Hold-It Mate hanging system can be attached to the spindles of a deck railing to keep garden tools in a handy place.
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No mowing required for these funky Grass Flip Flops, displayed by a new vendor at the show.
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If you want to dress up the edging on your raised beds, Gardinnovations Garden Frames are easy to install and fit any size garden.
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Gardena Combisystem Fruit Collector makes it easy to collect fruits and windfall without having to bend down. You just attach it to the handle and roll it over the fruits, berries, or nuts on the ground.
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Gardena also offers a hanging caddy to store gardening tools conveniently on the deck.
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These whimsical bud vases from Chive would make a colorful addition to a kitchen window or tabletop.
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Handcrafted indoor and outdoor lighting from Eangee Home Design, made from real cocoa, banyan, jackfruit, and alibangbang leaves, and other sustainable materials, were hard to miss at the show with their understated elegance and soft colors.
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These Gecko lamps from Eangee Home Design would be a fun addition to a kid's room.
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Eco Plant Pals from DuneCraft are easy to grow and environmentally friendly. The planter and dome are both made from a corn resin, and kits come with collectible trading cards.
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Drink Your Flowers was a new vendor at the IGC show offering a mix of cocktail kits and floral elixars for entertaining.
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Desert Steel's new LED Solar Lamps could add a fun, decorative touch to the garden, along with landscape lighting.
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CityFarmer's small vegetable planter is specially designed for urban and deck gardening with small grooves in the bottom that channel water to prevent overwatering and to ensure good drainage.
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Not all the flowers at the show were live, as shown by Chives' display of its collection of handmade Coral Ceramic flowers. No two are alike.
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Ceramo Company showcased striped, modern-day ceramic pots in the New Products area.
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Fitting right in with the natural themes that ran throughout the IGC show were these elegant cement bubbler fountains from The Pottery Patch.
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Plant markers from the Card Seed Co. could add a vintage look and feel to vegetable and herb gardens.
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Bushel and Berry gave away free samples of its Blueberry Cocktail Mixer and shared the recipe for its Blueberry-Basil hard lemonade.
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Border Concepts shared a great idea for stenciling house numbers on tin planters.
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Boost Online Store's modular planter kit is designed for vertical gardening in urban spaces with its adjustable rails and colorful pots.
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Almi Deck Planters
Almi pots are sturdy enough to hang over a deck railing and bright-colored enough to attract attention.
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Chive's air plant holders include a suction cup on the bottom for attaching them to a mirror or window. The metal spokes hold up airplants for display.
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DuneCraft_start inside plant outside
DuneCraft terrariums are designed to start seeds inside with the goal of eventually planting them out in the garden.
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DuneCraft's Organic Veggies include certified organic sees that can be sprouted inside. Once the seeds sprout, the whole pot can be planted in the ground for easy growing and harvesting.
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DuneCraft offers a number of science kits for kids, including the I Love You Bean kit. When the beans sprout, kids will see love messages on the pods.
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Bloomers' Grow Your Own Veggie pops look like a lollipop, but actually contain vegetable seeds. They can be buried in the soil for easy vegetable growing for kids.
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Micki's Mini Floral Express Halloween arrangements are perfect for gifting. The booth offered arrangements for teacher's gifts, Mothers' Day, and major holidays.
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Christmas-themed pots, such as these tin ones from Avery Imports, brought a touch of the winter holidays to the show.
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PotWheelz
Almi Deck Planters
DuneCraft_start inside plant outside
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Janeen Wright is former Editor for Greenhouse Grower. See all author stories here.