Did you hear? We’re in the middle of a recession. Actually, it turns out we’ve technically been in it since December 2007. And with this economic downturn, eco-friendly products — which were all the rage and being sold at a premium, even a year ago — seem to have taken a back burner to products that scream value above all else.
Consumer research published in February by Mintel, a global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, indicates that the number of Americans who almost always or regularly buy green products remains unchanged since 2008, at 36 percent. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep giving your customers eco-friendly options within your product mix. There are plenty of fantastic products that keep the environment in mind and offer great value to your customers — you just have to know where to find them.
Plant the Eco-Friendly Seed
In addition to those products, here are a few “green” gardening tips you can share with your customers, from Kristian Laws, a renowned landscape designer with more than 20 years’ experience.
Plants are hungry, too. Over time, soil can be depleted of nutrients because of rain and constant overirrigation. To combat this, “kick-start” the growth of new plants with a good-quality organic feed.
Organic, organic, organic. The golden rule of soil feeding is to put into the soil only what nature intended: Use only organic rather than synthetic wherever possible.
Mulch. Mulch is simple to apply, and the benefits are huge. As mulch breaks down it will help improve sandy soil and clay soil alike while reducing weeds and decreasing water loss. Watch out for cheap imitations — sometimes chopped-up, color-dyed lumber — that add few long-term benefits to the soil.
Sprinkle, don’t soak. Reducing the amount of water you waste with overhead sprinklers by installing bubblers or drippers is relatively inexpensive and simple to do yourself. The plants prefer the water getting to their roots, and you’ll save a significant amount of water with less overspray and run off.
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