(Dec. 15) Model railroads, antique toys and old-time music can turn a retail nursery into a destination where people spend an entire afternoon. Some of them might not even be gardeners.

“People bring their families every day to take their Christmas pictures at our garden center,” said Tim Hamilton, director of marketing for Homestead Gardens. “We are selling the Norman Rockwell moment.”

Hamilton was the featured speaker in a roundtable discussion held Dec. 9 by the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC). The second in a series of online Webcasts focused on how to stage special events, with Hamilton sharing some of the insights he’s gleaned at the Davidsonville, Md., retail nursery, one of the nation’s largest enclosed garden centers.

Homestead Gardens holds 10 major events each year and is famous for its Crepe Myrtle Festival. But the business also holds approximately 200 seminars and workshops on everything from rose pruning to bow making. Its staff includes an events coordinator, a visual merchandiser and a graphic designer.

Not all events are garden related. Local politicians use Homestead Gardens for fund-raisers, along with non-profits. “Just this week we rented out our center to a local pizza chain for their Christmas party, which had 300 in attendance,” Hamilton said.

To market the event, Hamilton uses newspaper ads, radio, Facebook, Twitter and targeted direct mail. (Mailing lists are sometimes made based on customers’ past purchases.) Every event has a specific code attached to it to track expenses and measures revenues. The company aims for a 5% ROI on special events

Among Hamilton’s caveats were: Not doing in-store bounce-backs (where the customer receives a flyer that invites them to come back) and not running a promotion during a busy selling period.

“We [never] want our customer to say that the parking lot is too full so they won't bother coming in to buy. We try running our promotions during non-peak times,” he said.

The Webcast was hosted by Anne Obarski, retail strategist and president of Merchandise Concepts, who is co-sponsoring the year-long interview series. Next up, on Jan. 7, is Sandi Hillerman McDonald, CEO of Hillermann Nursery and Florist in Missouri. Other retailers include Frank Benzing from Summerwinds Garden Centers in Idaho, Gavin Herbert of Rogers Gardens in California, and Mike Kunce of Pikes Nurseries in Georgia. For more information, visit  www.merchandiseconcepts.com/gcroundtable.