Why Every Garden Centre Should Have a Flower Bar (And How to Set One Up)
Published: 07/04/2026
Why Do Garden Centres Need Artificial Flower Bars?
The short answer is simple: by showing customers how artificial flowers work together, you remove hesitation from the buying process – making it easier for them to visualise a finished arrangement and, crucially, encouraging them to purchase multiple stems.
Merchandising flower stems can be tricky when you have many stems displayed individually. Thanks to our 40 years of success in selling artificial flowers at wholesale, we’ve tried and tested the very best ways to do so – and one of our favourite approaches, and easiest to implement, is what we call a Flower Bar.
What is a Flower Bar?
A flower bar is a dedicated in-store display where artificial flowers are grouped together in a way that encourages and inspires customers to build their own bouquets.
How To Set Up A Flower Bar
1. Select your holders.
You’ll need to consider how you’ll present your station. This could be an excellent opportunity to show off the vases or pots you also sell, by placing your florals inside these. Alternatively, you might choose to lay the flower stems in baskets rather than keeping them upright.
Tip: Silver buckets replicate a florist's shop and give the impression that the artificial flowers have been freshly picked, inviting consumers to pick them too.
Consider, with your selection of vases and pots, their visibility. How will you be showing them afterwards? Can you vary the heights so that they’re more easily visible? Or can your chosen pots do this for you?
2. Decide how to organise your artificial flower bar
Group by Focal, Filler and Foliage
A very simple bar approach is grouping larger-headed stems together, alongside complementary smaller-headed flowers (aka the fillers), and separating out the foliage. Supporting this with a large POS board with simple instructions that explain to the customer how a bouquet can be assembled.
Example POS Instructions:
Step 1: Start with your focal flower (we recommend odd numbers here)
Step 2: Layer in filler flowers
Step 3: Finish with foliage for shape & height
This is an effective way to simplify assembly. Customers who might have otherwise appreciated the display and walked by will feel empowered to interact, making them more likely to purchase.
Group by Theme
Another effective way to merchandise your flower bar is grouping stems together by theme. For example, our display at the Harrogate Christmas Gift Fair - which we named our Style Station - grouped together flowers in styles.
We opted for:
- Coastal Breeze
- Cottage Charm
- Wildflower Meadow
- Modern Minimal
This approach groups stems into collections that work well together, taking the guesswork away from the customer. The station becomes the silent salesman and customers can simply select stems from their favourite theme.
You might choose your themes around shopping habits, or occasions, whether it’s recipient (romantic florals, new home arrangements, etc.) or simply eye-catching colours. Some of our favourite alternative ways to group artificial flowers include:
- Complementary colours: Group stems that naturally work together or choose a palette of stems that complement the style of your shop, or what your customers are already buying into.
- Interior Trends: You could choose to align your collection with interior trends such as minimal, maximal, or simply natural styling.
- Complementary Florals: Assembling flowers that naturally grow together is another way to easily show how stems can become a bouquet. These often lend into their own trends organically, such as Wildflower or English Garden.
Doing this makes merchandising much easier to set up, to maintain, and needs only small amendments as the season or buying habits dictate - and by being faux, once it’s set up, it can stay exactly in place until you choose to change it.
3. Add in any Point of Sale or Promotions
Don’t forget to tell your customers what your display is – lest it become a static display and not a sales opportunity!
We love to add in advice on how to use the flower stems, so that customers feel empowered to try building their own arrangements. For example, in our aforementioned Wildflower Meadow, we’ve answered:
- Which stems work best
- How many stems to use
- A simple guide to arranging them
In others, we’ve focused on the assembly of the bouquet itself, from needing focal flowers, to filler flowers, to foliage.
Clear guidance helps increase customer understanding of the product and lowers the barrier to purchase.
Commercial Impact
A flower bar is more than a visual display – it’s an experiential method that helps increase sales.
It can help the display feel less overwhelming to your customers so they can easily visualise a finished arrangement and as a result you can expect:
- An increase in multi stem purchases
- Reduced decision fatigue
- Create an in-store experience for customers to enjoy
Find What You Need for Your Flower Bar
With over 40 years of experience supplying artificial flowers to trade customers, Floralsilk understands not only what sells, but how to present it effectively in-store.
We offer:
- High-quality, realistic artificial stems
- Coordinated ranges designed to work together
- Suitable vessels and an array of vases
Whether you’re looking to introduce a flower bar or refine your current display, we can support you with both product and expertise.
All assets pictured are also available on request.
For further information or support please contact sales@floralsilk.co.uk