School is in session at garden centers across the nation.

More independent centers are offering more classes on more topics than ever before. It's a way to educate their customers, to be sure, but it's also a way to stand out and get noticed in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

"Offering classes is a great way for us to set ourselves apart," says Kelli Yeager, the manager of the Achin' Back Garden Center in Pottsdown, Pennsylvania. "The classes help us come across as 'the gardening experts.'"

Achin' Back presents programs year round on such topics as fruit trees, container gardening and geraniums, and the events are well attended and profitable. Yeager estimates that 70 percent of the attendees make some kind of purchase on site.

Greenscape Gardens & Gifts in St. Louis is another center that has discovered that classes attract cash.

The company has seen "a tremendous growth in customer counts and average sales receipts," according to Greenscape manager Jennifer Schamber, since it began offering programs and information on topics like native plant species, soil management, water conservation and reduced use of lawn and garden chemicals.

Meanwhile, everything you ever wanted to know about the caring and raising of bees is yours for the asking at the Tumalo Bee Academy, an offshoot of the Tumalo Garden Market in Bend, Oregon. Members get one formal class each month, along with various workshops in fields or apiaries.

"This has been an excellent success and a large profit center as well," Tumalo owner Michael Ludeman said. "The interest in bees is growing and a great topic for conversation."

Container gardening, edible and ornamental plants, and birds, bees and pollinators are on the summer class list at Tagawa Gardens in Centennial, Colorado.

"We do tons of classes throughout the year, sometimes offsite at garden clubs, homeowners associations and schools," says Tagawa manager Beth Zwinak. "Everyone who attends gets a coupon, so we can track the sales."

Not that all the garden center classes necessarily relate to gardening. Exercise and beer and wine tasting classes have been on the schedule at the East Coast Garden Center in Millsboro, Delaware.

Supporting school gardening classes and programs is a high priority for Goebbert's Farm & Garden Center in South Barrington, Illinois.

"Independent garden center customers are aging, so our challenge is to get younger customers into the store," general manager Sue Murdock points out. "Supporting school programs and offering classes help us accomplish that."

Goebbert's and other centers use social media to promote their classes to younger prospects. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus, Instagram, Foursquare and Vine are among the platforms they use to distribute their class schedules.

"Social media helps us to reach out to a younger clientele," observes Dan VandeVrede, the president of Gro-Rite Greenhouse & Garden Center in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. "But we still do digital and print promotions for older customers."

Whatever it takes to get customers into their classes and into their garden centers is time and money well spent, according to an increasing number of owners and managers.