“(Spring) is absolutely critical,” he said.
The importance of the season is similarly strong for
those in the lawn care and maintenance business.
“It seems like this year, we’re busier than ever,” said
Don Conroy, owner of DJ Landscapes. He said when he bought
the business 12 years ago, there were about 50 clients.
Today, he services about 160 accounts.
During that time, his annual revenues have jumped from
slightly more than $100,000 to approximately
$400,000. Much of the growth has occurred in the past
five years despite the lagging economy, he said, with a 20
percent increase in the last year.
Conroy could not pinpoint a particular reason for the
increase other than to say he offered good work and a fair
price. He said all his business is “word of mouth”
referrals, he does no mass marketing.
Nationally, home vegetable gardening is on the rise,
while other segments have struggled somewhat recently due
to the economy, similar to Utah’s experience since 2007.
According to the National Gardening Association
website, in 2011, consumers spent nearly $3 billion on
food gardening while sales for other types of lawn and
garden activities saw a slight decrease.
In 2009 and 2010, sales for vegetable gardening, fruit
trees, berries and herb gardening totaled $2.9 billion.
Total sales for all types of do-it-yourself lawn and
garden activities fell 5 percent in 2010 to $28.4 billion
from $30.1 billion in the prior year.
The number of households hiring lawn care and landscape
services also declined last year by 8 percent. The
nationwide average amount spent on all lawn and garden
activities in 2010 was $363 compared to $355 in 2009.
In Utah, however, business is now improving thanks to
Mother Nature. For the most part, the weather is the
major contributing factor in determining how successful
any business will be from year to year, according to Kathy
Harbin, general manager of Cactus Tropicals.
Speak Your Mind