Lawn, garden stores see lots of traffic
(01/16/2006 Ft. Myers News Press, Business Monday Section)
By Dick Hogan
Originally posted on January 16, 2006
Can you be your own landscaper?
\"Sure you can,\" said Stephen Brown, a horticulture agent with the Lee County Extension Service. \"It just takes time and knowledge.\"
It also takes money: Americans spent $39.6 billion in 2002 at lawn and garden retail outlets, according to the U.S. Census.
But not everybody can put in the amount of time to do the job right, Brown said. \"It\'s an ongoing thing, and even if it\'s done, it\'s never done because of maintenance.\"
Jonathan Bardzik, director of industry marketing for the Washington-based American Nursery & Landscape Association, said people tend to find their own level.
\"You really can\'t say there is a typical customer,\" he said. \"Every customer is somewhere on that spectrum. If it\'s someone who\'s knowledgeable, they may want to do their own gardening and have someone do the heavy lifting.\"
Others have no aptitude for gardening but want the status of an attractive lawn, he said. \"As long as they have the stuff, they\'re pleased.\"
Shirl Teich, a retired certified public accountant who splits her time between Naples and Atlanta, said she\'s an avid gardener although \"I\'m not one who spent a lot of time at it. It just happens to be a love of mine.\"
She uses landscapers at both residences but does fewer plantings in Naples, where she uses Crawford Landscaping Group and isn\'t in town often enough to keep track of the foliage herself. \"If you plant it, they\'re not responsible for it.\"
