Proven Winners Grand Garden Show Draws 550 Consumers

The second annual Grand Garden Show presented by Proven Winners drew an estimated crowd of 550 gardening consumers from 27 states and three Canadian provinces. Guests travelled to Mackinac Island, Michigan., to partake in two and a half days of gardening related workshops and exclusive tours of eleven private gardens.

The Grand Garden Show began as a pipedream of Jack Barnwell of Barnwell Landscape and Garden Services, a landscape design firm on Mackinac Island. Barnwell is a longtime supporter of Proven Winners plants and wanted to create an event that instilled the joy of gardening in the island’s summer visitors. Together with Marshall Dirks, director of marketing for Proven Winners, the two created a show for gardeners of all skill levels.

This year’s event featured a keynote presentation by award winning designer, gardening and lifestyle expert P. Allen Smith, as well as talks by regional annual, perennial and shrub specialists. Kentucky native Jon Carloftis, an award-winning designer and author, treated guests to a closing keynote presentation.

A select group of lucky guests participated in a private bourbon tasting with Carloftis who shared an extremely rare bottle of not-yet-released Maker’s Mark bourbon. And in an impromptu ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Proven Winners raised nearly $1,000 in just a few hours.

“As the awareness of the Proven Winners brand continues to grow, it’s important to not forget the reason we all do what we do — striving to create success for gardeners,” Dirks said. “The Grand Garden Show allows Proven Winners a unique opportunity to showcase the possibilities of our products and increase the knowledge, interest and passion for gardening in an audience that is already crazy about gardening. It’s an experience-oriented event that encourages, affirms and provides loads of ideas, filled with lots of fun and laughter. We are truly blessed to have such a loyal fan base — it’s humbling to be able to host such a great event.”

The next Grand Garden Show is scheduled for Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, 2015.