Green thumbs run in the Van Wilgen family. So does innovative marketingTwo temporary greenhouses sprouted this spring, at Bishop's Orchard in Guilford and Benny's in Old Saybrook.
Run by Van Wilgen's Garden Center, the retail outposts are emblematic of the innovation and marketing prowess that has kept the North Branford family business going for 90 years.
Located at 51 Valley Road, the 56-acre center sells gardening supplies and a wide array of plants and trees, mostly produced on site and marketed as Van Wilgen Grown. This year the brand includes 100,000 annuals, 60,000 perennials, 40,000 herbs and vegetables, 32,000 geraniums, 3,000 shrubs, 1,500 ornamental and flowering trees and 14 acres of Christmas trees.
"We keep expanding, and these first two satellite stores will get our name out to a broader amount of people and grab a little more market share," predicts owner Bill Van Wilgen.
"And, hopefully, bring people to the main store for trees between April 15 and July 15, when most of our business is done," adds his son, Ryan, who knew early on he wanted to work in the business founded by his great-grandfather, William C. Van Wilgen.
William C. came to Branford in 1920 from Boskoop. Holland, as a nursery salesman, peddling imported seedlings including "Wilgen's Ruby," a rhododendron created by his brother, Aart. A licensed arborist, Van Wilgen soon branched into plant propagation and opened a wholesale nursery. His son, Cornelius, joined him in 1960.
"My grandfather was a very smart man, but didn't share," Bill Van Wilgen says. "By the time he passed away, we had to do landscaping to pay the bills. I took over in 1976 and started a little garden center. That worked out well, and by 1989 I was the biggest guy around."
By then, Van Wilgen had phased out landscaping and was focused on building a retail business. "I started dabbling in different types of media and when I got really serious I hired a consultant, who has written my radio commercials every week since 1992," he says. "Around 1993, we started growing some of our own plants, which developed into Van Wilgen Grown, and we have since worked really hard on promoting and growing as much as we can."
In 2009 Van Wilgen's added 6,000 square feet to its retail store building, with geothermal wells to cut heating and cooling costs and occupancy sensors to reduce electricity use. The company also launched a new line of organically grown vegetables and herbs.
"My son investigated the whole thing," Van Wilgen explains.
Ryan Van Wilgen spearheaded this year's introduction of flowering trees, which are grown in a peat mix in containers that can be planted without damaging the root system. "It's something I picked up in Oregon," says Van Wilgen, 25, who graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2007 with a BS in horticulture and spent a year at a large family-owned garden center in Portland, Ore. before going to work for his father.
The idea for the seasonal satellite markets stemmed from brainstorming sessions between father and son about ways to offset a decline in customers over the last couple of years. The discussions also led to the center's first "Escape to Spring" expo, a three day event held this March featuring exhibits by more than 30 local businesses.
Van Wilgen's recently became a 2010 regional winner for Today's Garden Center magazine's annual Revolutionary 100 Garden Centers List.
"They are one of Connecticut's premiere garden centers, and widely considered so by their colleagues," says Bob Heffernan, executive director of Connecticut Green Industries Council. "They're known for innovation in growing practices because they grow so much of their own stuff and have excelled at their own brand, and they have invested heavily in the garden center and the plants, which are in primo condition.
"The bigger reason why Van Wilgens' success story is so magnificent is they are outstanding marketers," adds Heffernan. "They're in an out-of-the-way location, so there's a higher burden on them to attract customers."
And to keep them, with programs like the Van Wilgen's Garden Club, a free card service providing monthly garden tips, tracking purchases and offering promotions. Members receive a $15 coupon for every $300 spent per month.
The garden club started about a decade ago and today has around 35,000 members.
A cancer survivor who recently met his stem-cell donor, Bill Van Wilgen says his desire to keep growing and improving the business is "part of my drive that made me well, and what keeps me going."
Ryan Van Wilgen sees "more satellite stores and more cool stuff," down the road.
"You have to change and you have to adapt," Ryan says. "We used to be heavily into landscaping and moved to retail growing, which became very important to us. We're here to service the homeowner, the gardener and the people who want to be gardeners."
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