Planting Seeds of Value
31 May, 2007 By: Jamie J. Gooch LDB SolutionsI live in the suburbs of Northeastern Ohio. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more stereotypical American suburb. Cul-de-sacs surrounded by quarter-acre to half-acre lots of green lawns speckled with wooden decks, patios, retaining walls, fences and swimming pools. Notice I didn’t mention trees, shrubs and flowers. Sure there are some, but they play second fiddle to turf and hardscapes.
The scene was so typical that I never paid the plant deficit much attention until I visited England a few years ago. There the typically smaller yards were bursting with color from annuals, perennials, ornamental trees and shrubs. Grass only dominated parks and sports venues.
Why is it so different across the pond?
“Marketing has convinced us that acres of lawn are what makes a beautiful landscape,” says Cynthia Kinman of landscape design-build firm Kinman Associates, Dublin, OH. “Why can’t we as an industry do the same thing with plants? If you were to design the ultimate plant to benefit the environment and consumers, you wouldn’t create grass with its high maintenance and water needs. The industry has created wonderful plants that require little maintenance, but we have to use them to benefit the homeowver, site and environment.”
Of course, a lawn’s need for routine maintenance is a profitable add on for design-build professionals who provide that maintenance. But consider this:
- Lawns are not going away, no matter how much industry support goes into marketing plants.
- Plantings offer some of the highest profit margins in the industry.
- Horticultural maintenance services can be sold at a premium because of the knowledge it requires.
“In Europe, people spend a great deal of money on color,” Kinman says. “It’s not a question of seasonal zones – people in the northern climates are willing to invest in swimming pools they can only use a fourth of the year. Putting in a garden would give them more time to enjoy it than they would have with a swimming pool. Why can’t we convince them to have flowers?”
Kinman says the value of color isn’t explained to consumers, namely: plants require less maintenance than turf, they provide more environmental benefits than hardscapes, they can be planted close together to choke out weeds, and they are more aesthetically pleasing than mulch.
“Plants are more than just pretty,” Kinman says. “They can define a space, provide screening and shade, and influence where people walk and how they respond to the architecture of the house. If homeowners understand this, they’ll begin to budget plantings by need, not by dollar signs.”
Are you trying to explain the value of plants to your design-build clients? If so, drop me a line at jgooch@questex.com and share your story.
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