Bring your garden club to SmartyPlants

Garden clubs have always been some of our best visitors. They come with questions, they notice the plants most people walk past, and they leave with ideas for their own yards. This season we are making it official: SmartyPlants hosts garden clubs for a short talk by a member of our team and a private tour of the nursery.

Several clubs are already on the calendar for the season, and we have room for more.

What a visit looks like

Each visit has two parts. First, a member of our team gives a short talk on a topic that fits the season or your club's interests. Then we take the group on a private walk through the nursery, from the full-sun plants on the Sunny Side to the Shade House, with time for questions along the way.

The visit is a chance to see how a working nursery is laid out, how we group plants by where they will grow, and what is in stock right now. Members are welcome to shop afterward, and Cafe Tico is on site for coffee.

Our first club this season

In September, the Isles Garden Club came out for a private tour and a talk from Ryan Boylston, one of our co-owners, on edible gardens. Ryan also runs Urban Abundance, which designs, installs and maintains home food gardens, so the talk covered what grows well in South Florida, when to plant it and how to fit food into a home landscape.

It was a good fit for the timing. Fall is the start of vegetable season here, and our post on what to plant in September covers much of what came up.

Topics we can cover

We will tailor the talk to your group. Edible gardening is a popular choice in the fall. Other topics our team can speak to include Florida-friendly and native plants, butterfly and pollinator gardens, palms, shade plants and houseplants, and container gardening.

If your club has a theme for the year, tell us when you book and we will build the talk and tour around it.

Planning your visit

A dedicated garden club visit, with the talk and a private tour, is $100 for the group, and every member gets 10% off anything they buy at the nursery during the visit. Visits are scheduled ahead of time so we can have the right team member there for your group. Morning visits on weekdays tend to work best for clubs, since the nursery is quieter and the heat is lower. Wear comfortable shoes: the nursery covers two acres, and the tour is on foot.

Let us know the size of your group and anyone who will need a seat or a shorter route, and we will plan around it.

Why we do it

SmartyPlants has been part of the community for a long time, and we want it to stay a place people gather, not just a place they shop. Garden clubs, school groups, storytime for kids and weekly mornings for trade professionals all come out of the same idea.

Club members also tend to be the people their neighbors ask for plant advice. If we can help them give better answers, that is good for every yard in the area.

What your members will see in the fall

Fall is a good season to visit. The heat starts to ease in October, and the nursery fills with plants for the cool season. The edibles section has vegetable transplants and herbs for winter gardens. The Sunny Side is full of flowering shrubs, palms and Florida natives for the planting season ahead, and the Shade House holds tropical foliage, ferns, bromeliads and houseplants.

Members who garden for wildlife can see butterfly host plants and nectar plants side by side, which makes it easier to plan a butterfly garden. Our post on creating a butterfly garden covers the basics.

Questions we hear on tours

Every club brings its own questions, but some come up every time. Why is my plant yellowing? What can I grow in the shade under my oak? Which palms will not outgrow my yard? How do I get my tomatoes to set fruit? Our team answers them as we walk, with the plants right there to point at.

If your members have a problem plant at home, encourage them to bring a photo or a sample in a sealed bag. Seeing the problem makes it much easier to diagnose than a description.

Make it a full morning

Many clubs make a morning of it. Cafe Tico, the Costa Rican coffee bar inside the nursery, opens early, so your group can start with coffee before the talk. After the tour, members can shop, and we can hold purchases at the front counter while the group finishes up.

If your club holds a meeting or business session, let us know when you book and we will talk through what space is available.

Not a club? Bring a group anyway

Garden clubs are the most common groups we host, but the same format, and the same $100 visit, works for others. There is no minimum or maximum group size. Homeowner associations planning a landscape refresh, master gardener groups, scout troops, school classes and neighborhood groups have all asked about visits. The talk can be shaped around what the group needs, whether that is choosing plants for a shared entrance, planting for wildlife or simply learning what grows well here.

If you are organizing a group of any kind and think a talk and tour would help, get in touch and tell us what you have in mind. We will let you know how we can make it work.

How to book

To book a visit for your club, use our contact page, email hello@smartyplantsfl.com or call (561) 540-6296. Include your club's name, a few dates that work and roughly how many members you expect.

We are booking visits through the season, so reach out early if you have a date in mind.

Frequently asked questions