For communities lucky enough to have them, public gardens are often a centerpiece attraction – a place of discovery, tranquility, and joy in nature.  That “natural appeal” makes them quite different from other large attractions needing marketing and promotions.  Think of a typical Six Flags Amusement Park or Silverwood, where the draws are often rollercoasters or waterslides.  A day visit is all about thrills and action.

While many gardens are also extremely dynamic, the core value proposition is often much deeper.  For visitors, gardens are a place to experience and embrace plants.  They’re also a place for community celebration (e.g. arts, music festivals, etc.)

So what should high-performance gardens be focusing on in 2025 for revenue growth and increased program engagement?  Our team is just back from the American Public Gardens Association Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado.  If you couldn’t attend, or missed some of the sessions, here are some important strategic insights to activate in 2025 and 2026.

Strong Programs Make Public Garden Marketing & Growth Easier

Marketing in public gardens is evolving beyond basic outreach to strategic, values-driven communication that builds loyalty, awareness, and mission alignment.  But it’s much easier to do that when garden programming is strong, diverse, and mission-driven.  Here were some takeaways I had, as an executive in a successful destination marketing agency.  I also gained perspective as current Advisory Board Chair for Huntsville Botanical Garden.

Innovation & Smart Programming Increase Revenue

Several of the conference sessions addressed how gardens are diversifying income beyond admissions — through retail expansions, event hosting, camps, and grants.  This rich tapestry of programming, when done well, supports revenue sustainability.  And let’s be real, stable, predictable revenue is critical for successful longer-term strategic promotions.  Whether you’re in a guest experience, communications, marketing or administrative role, having a serious number to plan around is important.  Other interesting observations re: diversity in revenue streams included:

• Retail and merchandising: Some gardens are boosting revenue by leaning into community and merch-driven marketing.  Yes, we’re talking branded apparel, seasonal décor, and more.  Think of this trend as a modern reinvention of the gift shop, sometimes even with an e-commerce component! 

• Events and rentals: Weddings, corporate events, and seasonal festivals have long been a mainstay for many gardens, but I talked with several leaders who are thinking about them more deliberately as revenue engines—especially as gardens redesign spaces, with dynamic pricing to better reflect demand surges.

• Grants and philanthropy: Some gardens and arboretums are seeing success in securing grants, even in a tough climate for doing so.  I’m not a grant writer, but a common theme referenced was the importance of data-driven storytelling illustrating community impact.  The more innovative garden leaders are also pushing to “rethink” old conventions about how their gardens serve their communities, opening up new pathways for funding.

Bottom line, running a garden like a business can have major benefits.  Activating a multi-channel revenue strategy—blending earned income and philanthropic funding—is emerging as best practice to stabilize and grow budgets.  And stable budgets are the foundation of consistent, effective marketing that boosts visits and membership.

Garden Marketing through Experiential, Community-Focused Programs

Sometimes programs themselves can do the marketing of a garden or arboretum for you!   Here are some cool examples of things people shared with me or that I overheard in sessions, which reinforce the idea of authenticity becoming top tactic in 2025.  This is a trend we’re seeing all over the integrated advertising and marketing landscape, for tourists and locals.  Everybody is looking for REAL.  And some gardens are benefiting from innovative community-focused programs that “get the word out” organically.

• Plant heroes: Workshops and programs done in collaboration with, and often for underserved communities, lay the foundation for long-term civic engagement.  As illustrated in this year’s Annual Awards, gardens and arboretums are engaging in serious ways and for serious purpose.  

• Climate change visionaries: Some gardens are leaning into roles as leading advocates to address the impacts of climate change.  As stewards of native plants, many garden scientists and horticulturalists are well aware of the changes we’re experiencing and impact on plant species.  For audiences concerned about climate change (especially Millennials and younger!) this positioning offers a natural affinity opportunity.

• Community education: While education has definitely been a core priority for many, many gardens through the years, it’s taking on a new feel in 2025.  More gardens seem to be reimagining how they educate their communities about the value of plants – offering expanded multi-age camps, interactive school trip opportunities, and even mini-campaigns executed through owned channels like web and social platforms.

Spotlight: Huntsville Botanical Garden Wins Dorothy E. Hansell Marketing Award

At the Annual Conference Awards Ceremony, Sue Wagner, CEO of Huntsville Botanical Garden, and Laura McPhail, APR, Director of Communications & Guest Experience, accepted the prestigious Dorothy E. Hansell Marketing Award for outstanding excellence in marketing and communication – specifically the Garden’s recent rebranding.  HBG partnered with our Red Sage team for the rebranding after a competitive bidding process.  The branding scope included deep research, surveys, and targeted focus groups, as well as personas development.  It also included an end-to-end brand design process including a complete website overhaul, with a focus on user-experience to drive performance outcomes (e.g. conversions!)  

The “Naturally Delightful” Brand Design Works Because of:

• Mission-driven storytelling: HBG is all about driving  “connections with plants and people” and that mission stayed front-and-center throughout the rebranding.  Too often rebrands will tip into creative wow-factor as the leading success metric.  But cool isn’t enough on its own.  Red Sage’s team was able to collaborate seamlessly with the Garden for a brand that is both mission-aligned and visually striking.

• Personas & Audience Segments: Getting personas and audience segments right is key for success in a public garden marketing or rebranding initiative.  Artificial intelligence only goes so far, so incorporating on-the-ground research from real people is vital.  Both Laura McPhail and Sarah Macaluso, Red Sage V.P. of Client Experience, were invited to speak at APGA on personas specifically.  The two showcased the work done for the Garden’s own rebranding and guided workshop participants on how to inform judgements on strategic positioning, messaging, and creative decisions.  

• Cross-channel execution: Seamlessly integrated collateral across print, digital, social, and experiential channels amplifies reach and engagement.  Our agency’s point-of-view is that integration makes a difference because we SEE it make a difference.  To establish brand recall in 2025, which is the table-setter for audience growth, you need to deliver the same message with similar creative impact dozens of times.  That’s the threshold for frequency that actually drives action.

• Effective measurement: Clear KPIs – such as web traffic, membership inquiry growth, and media engagement – demonstrated measurable success and return on investment for this project.  The Garden’s net promoter score surged from 57 to 76.  Milestone events such as Galaxy of Lights experienced a revenue boom post rebranding, indicating a greater connection with audiences old and new.

A.I. is Here and Disrupting Old Models of Garden Marketing

To no one’s surprise, A.I. was one of the most engaging discussion topics at this year’s APGA Annual Conference!  With expert insights from several leading gardens, several themes emerged for consideration.

1. Invest in a policy, even if it’s not perfect
   As garden leadership and marketing teams work to understand A.I.’s potential, proactive policy creation is worthwhile.  Setting some guardrails that are values-aligned helps create productive conversations about A.I. use.  You might have a number of teams leveraging A.I. in different ways – programs, operationally, for marketing, etc.  A policy will give them something to work from and ensure your “red lines” are understood by all.

2. Stay true to you
   In destination marketing and in the garden world more specifically, your regionality and authenticity matter… a lot.  Continuing to invest in core assets like photography and videography, which can then be repurposed for multi-touchpoint use through A.I. is a much better strategy than trying to reverse-engineer imagery wholesale from A.I. tools.

3. Seek out advice wherever you can
   The public gardens industry has a great community of people looking to do community good.  A.I. is especially tricky due to its sustainability impact (for the worse.  And also its potential to create efficiency and impact in garden operations (for the better.)  Seek out guidance on best practice A.I. use whenever and however you can.  Peers in the industry can share their own trials and triumphs.  Experts in the destination and attraction promotion space may have a different, but valuable perspective.  I’ve personally given a number of A.I. presentations within the tourism industry as of late, and every time someone in the audience says something that surprises me or that I’ve never heard of.  It’s a fast-moving world and A.I. is only making it move more quickly.

Thoughts on Garden Marketing for 2025 and Beyond

The 2025 APGA Annual Conference emphasized that successful public gardens fuse strategic marketing, diversified revenue, and innovative programs.  That’s how they become indispensable community partners.  Huntsville Botanical Garden’s recognition for marketing excellence highlights what’s possible.  Combining storytelling, rebranding, and data will amplify mission and impact.

As the Public Engagement Track Sponsor for APGA’s annual event, Red Sage’s team was thrilled to spotlight the great thought work and exciting changes happening in the garden community.  We specifically loved engaging with attendees to learn more about their own successes!  We appreciate those who took a moment to stop by our booth and connect with us.  And we’re so glad the forget-me-not travel pots were a hit!  We look forward to seeing you all again in the near future!