Avid gardeners start poring over seed catalogs and making plans for next year’s garden shortly after the holiday season, in January and February. But April is when gardeners can really get their hands in the dirt and start working. National Gardening Day is celebrated on April 14, and at the height of Spring, it is the perfect time to plant seeds, stake out garden beds, and plan how best to support wild birds in your yard or outdoor spaces. Individual shareholders looking to get their yard and garden growing — along with their portfolios — can look to a variety of companies for inspiration and a fresh start.

Home gardening has continued to grow since 2020 with 35% of U.S. households participating in food gardening, up by 12% since 2008.

Scott’s Miracle-Gro (Tii:SMG) began selling seeds to homeowners in 1868 in a small hardware store in Marysville, OH and has grown into the largest marketer of home and garden products in the U.S. Scott’s is a manufacturer of gardening and landscaping products like Miracle-Gro, Scott’s 4-Step Lawn Care, and Round-Up, all of which have become household names associated with home garden care.

Scott’s invests more than $30 million annually in research and development. This funding has helped it stay on top of trends like the growing interest in organic gardening, hydroponics and the marijuana market. In 2014, the company created a subsidiary called Hawthorn Gardening Company to focus on hydroponic growing, from greenhouses to indoor and urban gardening. Over the last 10 years, Scott’s has acquired several brands affiliated with hydroponics: Blossom, a California manufacturer of internet-enabled sprinklers, General Hydroponics, Sunlight Supply, Aerogrow and Luxx Lighting.

With $152 billion in revenue in 2023, The Home Depot (Tii:HD) is the leading DIY and hardware chain in the U.S. The company supplies many retail shareholders with home garden resources like outdoor vegetable plants, flowers, seeds, garden supplies, building supplies and project ideas. Home Depot has an extensive library of online videos that appeal to interested retail shareholders who might want to build and maintain a compost pile, discover the best mulch for your yard, or learn how to successfully plant seeds in raised beds. The garden center carries both indoor and outdoor plants, annuals, perennials, fruits and vegetables, and a newbie-gardener-friendly return policy for shoppers who have difficulties with their plants. The policy allows for most plants to be returned within 90 days, while perennials, trees, roses and shrubs have a one-year guarantee.

Individual investors looking to upgrade their garden toolkit will find a great selection through Stanley Black+Decker (Tii:SWK). The American manufacturer has a reputation for quality tools that has carried through to its outdoor selection. Gardeners can trim and shape woody plants with the company’s POWERCONNECT Cordless Shear Scrubber kit, prepare their vegetable bed with a 20V MAX Cordless Garden Cultivator, or prune low-hanging branches with the Electric Pruning Saw with Branch Holder. Formerly The Stanley Works, the company merged with Black and Decker in 2010 and is a Fortune 500 company. Known for manufacturing industrial tools, household hardware and security products, Stanley primarily focuses its outdoor offerings on cordless specialty tools and mowers. Cordless garden tools like the 20V MAX Cordless Hedge Trimmer make gardening easier and more convenient.

Gardeners or pet owners will be familiar with at least one of the 65 brands in the portfolio under the Central Garden & Pet Company (Tii:CENT) umbrella. Central is both a producer and distributor of familiar brands like Ferry-Morse Seeds, Jiffy Seed Germination Products, SUPERthrive lawn and plant fertilizer, and familiar pest management brands, Lily Miller and Sevin. Though many of the brands in its family were founded in the mid-1800s, Central Garden Supply began in 1980 and continues its mission to “nurture happy and healthy homes.” Central utilizes seven centers throughout the U.S. as customer service hubs to direct dealers to appropriate teams to serve their needs. Individual shareholders interested in container gardening will find many choices within the Pennington brand of traditional terra cotta planters. Espoma Organic Soil Amendments can help nurture and care for a gardener’s favorite plants.

So whether you have a green thumb or struggle with plants and gardening, many publicly traded companies are there to help. Just get digging!