Open Register

Consumers consider environmental impact of garden products

A majority of American households are concerned about the environmental impact of gardening products, according to the 2008 Late Spring Gardening Trends Research Report released by Garden Writers Assoc. Foundation.

The survey found that 68% of households were either very concerned (34%) or somewhat concerned (34%) about the environmental impact of gardening products they buy. Respondents also said they’re recycling more: 48% always recycle plastic nursery pots/trays, 48% always mulch or compost grass clippings and 41% always mulch or compost waste.

Additional findings:

• Weed and insect control continue to be the top two activities Americans are planning for their lawns this year (48% and 32%, respectively).
• One out of three (33%) said their primary reason for gardening is better mental health, nutrition or fitness.
• The number of gardeners planning to add more perennials to their properties this year continues to grow, increasing from 31% in 2005 to 41% this year.
• Blogs have a strong following among gardeners, with 23% reporting they read blogs of all types. Among those who read blogs, 27% said they read garden-related blogs either frequently (5%) or occasionally (22%).
• Fertilizing is the number one activity for this spring and summer, cited by 31% of respondents. Working in manure and compost comes in a close second with 28%, followed by the addition of store-bought soil mix (25%) and peat moss (14%).

-- Sarah

Doing a world of good

I am one of those people who click “yes” when the keypad at PetSmart asks if I want to donate $1 to help homeless pets. I also buy products, even stuff priced higher, if a portion of the proceeds goes toward a cause. This goes double for the lesser-known, lesser publicized causes. I like to think of it as my civic duty, plus I get to shop. Two awesome things in one.

Currently, though, I am having a blast with a really great E-vent -- the Brenda Novak month-long auction to benefit diabetes research. This particular cause hits home for me as my dad and grandmother both are afflicted with diabetes. I would love to see a cure, greater strides, anything in their lifetimes. The auction started four years ago when Brenda’s young son was diagnosed.

This creative and fun auction is geared toward everyone with donated items ranging from once in a lifetime experiences to jewelry to autographed books and much, much more. There is even an African safari to be won!

Check out this very worthwhile endeavor and bid on a few items. You’ll be glad you did!

-- Jennifer

Should you guarantee it?

Check out this interesting discussion on Garden Rant about plant guarantees. What kind of guarantee does your store offer? Have you changed your policy recently?

-- Sarah

Rebate checks could fund landscape improvements

Jeff Edgar with Silver Creek Nurseries in Manitowac, Wis., offers a few thoughts on how consumers could spend economic stimulus checks that will be hitting mailboxes this summer.

You probably have received your notice from the Feds about the economic stimulus payment checks that some of us will be receiving in May.

According to the president, this money is to be used to buy things and not for paying off debt. Although some will pay off existing bills, some are probably thinking the money would put a dent in the cost of a HDTV or something similar. While that might be good, the profit from a sale like that goes out of the country.

What better way is there for people to enhance their homes than to use this money to buy plants or put it toward a landscaping project? The money will be spent on goods and services instead of reducing any personal debt and most, if not all of it, stays local.

Most landscaping plants are produced in this country, sold by local nurseries and installed by American companies. When the economy comes back, any landscape improvements will just add to the value of homes.

If this interests you, there's still time for you to advertise this idea to your potential customers and just maybe we can benefit from a greater portion of this money.

Just a thought on Tax Day ...

-- Jeff Edgar

Customer’s stranger danger attitude

The other night I was at a classical guitar concert. I had to slip out at one point. As I was awaiting a break between set pieces to re-enter the auditorium, the man who had organized the event asked me if I was familiar with the guitar repertoire. Not realizing who he was, I replied rather flippantly that I know three CDs worth, the three CDs I own.

Luckily, he was more amused than offended at my lacking enough interest in classical guitar to learn about pieces beyond my CDs.

I’m like this with most things in my life. The hobby stuff that others obsess over, if I don’t own it, or haven’t experienced it personally, I’m clueless. Even gardening.

I’m pretty well acquainted with the Texas-tolerating plants I’ve used over the years. But when I started in the industry, I didn’t even know that hosta was pronounced “hoss-tah” instead of “host -ah.” Hostas melt in Texas. Even after 10 years in the industry, I’m only adequate about plants outside my realm of experience.

Believe me, a lot of your customers are just like me. Just as it takes a lot of incentive to buy a CD featuring someone you don’t know, it takes a leap to try out a new plant. To you, a new plant is exciting. To your customers, it’s a risk.

And, by the way, what you consider a new plant is not the same as what your customer thinks of as a new plant. To them, it’s any plant they’ve not used before.

To them, a new plant means they don’t know how to care for it. How often should it be watered? Sun or shade? And do I have to add mysterious substances to keep it happy? It’s so much easier to reach for the same ol’, same ol’.

There are several proven ways to help these customers try out unfamiliar plants.

Demonstration gardens. One of my local garden centers has perhaps the best demonstration garden I’ve seen, even though it’s across the street from the nursery instead of attached. Weston Gardens took over a 1920s or 1930s estate garden and is slowly restoring it, using only plants it carries (which is not as common as you’d think). It’s a gorgeous garden that draws people in who want something to do in the afternoon. Even more importantly, it’s known as an unofficial test garden. I’ve heard several home gardeners say, “I wonder if this plant works here? I’ll have to go over to Weston to see what it looks like in the garden.” The plants in the garden are signed, and the care information is created by Weston staff rather than the plant supplier. Companies in California or the Carolinas don’t have to deal with what Randy Weston calls the “Texas death-ray sun.”

Employee recommendations. Many people refuse to try anything unfamiliar unless someone else has vetted it. You can’t control what recommendations your customers get from friends and family, but you can supply your own. Obvious rules should apply, like the plant actually will grow in the area. This is an important rule to remember if you have plant gurus on staff. Exciting, new varieties that need coddling are best in the “plant collectors” section, not the staff recommendations. Add photos with the recommendation, since customers will know your employees’ faces better than they do their names.

Make it fashionable. If you see plants featured in consumer magazines or even just in the photo shoot of architectural or home accent magazines, then add those magazine pages to the display. Never underestimate the desire to be fashionable.

Make them feel like they know the plant. If you have plants that you think are great for the area, but they just aren’t moving, then take the time to create a display that introduces the customer and the plant. Play up how it’s used (“The perfect sunny accent for a shady porch”), and hint at that use with how it’s displayed. If containers are involved, then have plenty of containers stocked in the display. Don’t be shy about pointing out where not to use the plant, too. If you have a local soil problem like high acidity, and it does well in that condition, then tell them so. This kind of display will require more signs, but should help move the underperforming gem.

-- Carol

Top Gear: Head on board

This might surprise you but I am an absolute fanatic for a show called “Top Gear” shown on BBC America. Three crazy hosts feature the latest and greatest in top-of-the-line luxury cars, get big stars such as Helen Mirren and Ronnie Wood to take a lap around the track in a midrange car and generally make Monday nights very fun. Great show.

So, the other Monday I was watching as they lauded the performance abilities of a car whose name I can’t even pronounce (a Bugatti Veyron) that went 0 to 188 in 18 seconds or some such (Richard Hammond was racing a jet plane. Seriously.) They went on about the mechanics and brilliance of the car and the fun things it can do -- but they lamented the fact that this super car is not practical for everyday use.

Jeremy Clarkson stands 6’5. That’s important because as they despaired the practicality of the luxury cars such as the Bugatti and avoiding the congestion fee they must pay, Jeremy pulled out a teeny tiny car that emits little pollution, gets 100 mpg … and is so small that you can literally carry it to your office instead of parking. Watching him fold himself into it was a funny TV moment. I don’t remember the make or model but it was a three wheel car (similar to this pic) made in the ’60s. It had a top speed of 35 mph, no reverse gear and fit into an elevator.

My point is that while I don’t remember those cars (the ’60s were before my time), I have noticed a resurgence in the green habits of my childhood such as composting, recapturing water and recycling household goods. Girl or Boy Scouts anyone?

It’s a positive trend and these particular ones seem easy enough that anyone could do them. But what else can we do? Where can we go for information and help? To me, the logical place for hands-on, informational and instructional eco-wise practices is my local garden center. They’re the ones who can tell me how I can help, what systems I can implement, what plants and trees I can grow to keep the green movement going in my own little world.

In short, they’re my go-to source.

Do you fill that need for your customers? I hope so.

-- Jennifer

St. Patrick’s Day spending dips

Consumers won’t be spending as much on St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during Holy Week this year. A survey from National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend an estimated $3.64 billion on the Irish holiday, less than last year’s $3.76 billion.

Though the average person will spend slightly more on the holiday than they did last year ($35.04 vs. $34.89), fewer people will be celebrating this year (46.0% in 2008 vs. 48.3% in 2007). One of the primary reasons for a dip is that, for the first time since 1940, St. Patrick’s Day falls during Holy Week, the sacred 7 days before Easter. Some cities, like Savannah, Ga., Philadelphia and Milwaukee, are moving their city celebrations to March 14, the Friday before St. Patrick’s Day.

-- Sarah

A woman’s perspective

I have a buddy in the industry who “gets it.” Actually, Thomas Birt, owner of Mesquite Valley Growers Nursery in Tucson, Ariz., does a lot of things right. He travels the country and sometimes the world to find plants and decorative items that his competitors won’t carry. He shops trade shows -- and not just those of the hort variety. In fact, I met him more than a decade ago at a gift show in the Northeast, far away from the green goods and gifts you normally see in his neck of the woods. “What was he doing there?,” I asked. The preceding sentence was the answer. He wanted to carry items the other guys didn’t carry.

But all that isn’t why Thomas Birt is one of the smarter garden center operators I know. His method is in his madness. He lets a woman do all the buying for the store -- all the fru fru, anyway, as he puts it. Cathy Bishop has been the sales manager at Mesquite Valley since 1991, and Birt concedes that hiring her was the smartest business decision he has ever made.

"She has that woman's perspective that is so important,” Birt said. “Without her we wouldn't be half what we are today. She has a real sense for the female shopper. I can make structures happen, but she gives the nursery emotions. She makes it a more fun place to shop."

Of course, not everyone would agree with me about Bishop’s place in the garden center world -- or about Birt’s genius for putting her in that position. In fact, I recently ran across a blog that thumbs its nose at the idea that catering to a woman is important. While I can agree with the story’s premise -- good customer service is good customer service, whether it’s catering to the male or the female -- I have to chuckle at the notion that the woman shopper doesn’t guide the ship.

And, no, my wife didn’t tell me to write that.

-- Yale

The power of now

Today is my birthday and I decided to reflect on how the world has changed since I came into it. Anyone remember metal roller skates? Man, I lived in those things. Or staying out from daybreak to waaaay past sunset and never having your parents worry? The advent of cable TV, Atari, moon boots and parachute pants. Wow, those were the days.

However, I must admit I don’t really miss them all that much (except Disco. Rock on, Bee Gees!) I have succumbed to the power of now. RIGHT NOW.

I love being able to wait until the absolute last second to buy tickets for the movies from the comfort of my home. They’re ready when I get there. Online not in line. Paying bills, getting instant news, talking with friends and family in France. The entire world is literally at my fingertips.

In fact, I do so much online stuff that it’s dizzying. But not until recently did I realize the dangers inherent in said online computing. I’m an honest person. I don’t understand the thrill of messing up someone’s life. But it happens.

Fortunately, advances have come along to help stop these guys in their tracks. Things like Norton, McAfee, etc. But my very favorite is all about the NOW. There’s a company called PCWEBDoc who can fix just about anything you need them to on your computer including slow start up, email problems, finding and eradicating viruses, fixing your drivers and darn near everything else. The coolest thing is that you don’t have to schlep your computer to any store to do it  -- it’s all online! You sit there while they log on, diagnose your problem and tell you what needs to be fixed. Even better, estimates are free and services are totally reasonable.

I love my computer. Don’t know where I’d be without it. I think of PCWEBDoc as health insurance for my computer. These guys work wonders! RIGHT NOW!!

-- Jennifer

National Retail Federation hails economic stimulus legislation

National Retail Federation praised the Bush administration and Congress for the quick passage of an economic stimulus bill that will provide tax rebate checks for many Americans.

“This is simple, targeted stimulus that will quickly put money into consumers’ pockets where it can boost growth by creating demand through all sectors of the economy,” said Steve Pfister, NRF senior vice president for government relations.

Questions remain whether consumers will actually spend rebates. Bloomberg.com reported on a survey by American Century Investments that showed 2 out of 3 Americans don’t plan to spend their rebates. Others plan to use the money to pay on credit cards and outstanding loans.

-- Sarah