THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 13, 1994 TAG: 9406130311
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Patricia Huang, Special to Business Weekly
DATELINE: 940613 LENGTH: Long
But now, regional landscapers are reporting that business is blooming like never before. And landscaping, they say, is catching on, with more residents tired of the gloomy, long winter who would rather enjoy the warm months sipping lemonade than mowing lawns and planting shrubs.
{REST} ``We just can't seem to get caught up,'' said Brian O'Neill, owner of Southern Meadows Landscapes Inc. ``I'm always running around. It's embarrassing, but there's only so much of me.''
For O'Neill, who runs a small operation in Norfolk, business in April was up a whopping 75 percent from last year. O'Neill's specialty is design. His clients, who live mostly in posh pockets of Hampton Roads, spend up to $30,000 for his services.
Standing by the backyard waterfront of the Reeves home in Norfolk, O'Neill glanced around, motioning beyond the pool and past the shrubs at various plants he's added to the landscape through the years.
For that, homeowner Robin Reeves is grateful. ``It's enormously helpful to have someone give you a design overview,'' said Reeves, 47. ``But this yard will take me about 10 years to get it the way I want it.''
\ ``WE HAD A LONG, HARSH WINTER, so there's a lot of pent-up demand for landscaping,'' said Joel Albizo of the National Landscape Association in Washington. ``People were very anxious for spring to come. That's why they're also hitting the garden centers in droves.''
Last year, Americans spent $12.5 billion on professional landscaping installation and construction, according to Albizo's poll of 1,600 households. In the mid-Atlantic, he said, the average household spent $935.
Nationally, the business is up nearly 15 percent, and garden centers are up by about 12 percent, he said.
Hampton Roads is a mecca for gardeners and lawns. With the exception of Norfolk, which has more of an urban feel, the region's largest cities are primarily suburban.
The continuing burst of new home construction - and entire housing developments - means more work for the region's landscapers.
Housing starts have been robust all spring: Residential building permits issued by the seven Hampton Roads cities rose about 10 percent in January compared with January 1993. The total number of building permits issued in Chesapeake rose 8.7 percent in April, and new-home sales in Southern states rose 19.6 percent.
\ IN VIRGINIA BEACH and Chesapeake, new homes have sent more business Jerry Albino's way. Albino, owner of Sunrise Landscaping in Virginia Beach, said his business is up about 20 percent from last year and continuing to prosper.
``But there are a lot of new companies popping up now,'' he said. ``And it's getting a lot more competitive each year.''
``In this area, landscaping contractors are starting to recover from what has been a difficult few years,'' said Beth Palys, director of the Landscape Contractors Association MD-DC-VA.
\ TO LURE NEW CUSTOMERS, some landscapers offer free estimates for design consultations, but others charge about $50. A typical job can range anywhere from $1,500 to $30,000.
``The yard is just an extension of yourself,'' said Cindy Stone of Norfolk. ``People who keep crumby yards, look crumby.''
Stone said she sees landscaping work on her Ghent property as an investment, too. A good landscaping plan, she said, can make a yard low-maintenance. In fact, that's what landscapers say they hear requests for more and more.
``The old yard worked me to death,'' Stone said. ``There was more grass, and things needed pruning. (People) have other interests and they don't want to spend all weekend slaving in the yard in 100-degree weather.''
People are also wiser about landscaping now, said Dale Saunders, one of the owners of Lancaster Farms in Suffolk. The nursery, which sells plant materials wholesale to local contractors and nurserymen, is seeing a 35 percent increase in business this spring, Saunders said.
``There were a lot of plants damaged this winter, but I think people are generally more appreciative of landscaping,'' he said. ``The homeowner is more conscious now of the value that landscaping gives your home.''
Perennials, flowers and plants that bloom seasonally, Saunders said, are a popular sale now.
\ BUD SMITH, OWNER OF Norfolk Landscaping, started his business 15 years ago with an old Toro lawn mower and a shovel. Now his business is growing by about 20 percent each year, he says.
``But I don't want to get bigger, just better.''
On a recent sunny afternoon, Smith worked with his four employees on the front of the Reeves property as O'Neill and his crew worked on the back and left side of the house. The landscapers circled the house, pruning, mulching and planting. Why two landscaping companies?
``I've always taken care of the lawn,'' Smith said, pointing to the half acre of lush green in front of her home. ``Brian knows a lot about flowers and he does mostly design work. He comes in and does this. Clip, clip, clip. But every touch is magic!''
by CNB