[P-Train]

Anyone trying anything new?

I'm doing tree sales, drip irrigation specials and pushing monthly maintenance programs.

[HLS]

I am doing something really new for me , I am printing up full color catalogs to send to my high end home owners , the school system and the business we serve . I am offers specials for people that sign up early . I am pushing new full service programs . I think that is it but the catalog in my new big thing this fall .

-Josh-

[justgardens]

I'm getting my placemats ready to go to print and out a few months before Home Show.

[spiderlily]

I wrote an article on "landscaping for winter interest" that will appear in the big real estate fall/winter glossy.

Fall newsletter goes out next week, encouraging folks to get on the bus for Spring.

Door hangers should be ready to go by Friday.

Flyers to the real estate offices next week, with a coupon.

My hope this year is to completely eliminate all the expensive forms of advertising (3 phone books & real estate books) and use these less expensive forms exclusively....and pocket the difference!

[Stonehenge]

Spider - what are the highlights of your tips for landscaping for winter interest?

[spiderlily]

Lots of pretty pictures go with it. Here it is (easier to paste than summarize):

Gardening fever begins in late winter when plant and seed catalogs start to fill up the mailbox. It ends in late fall, when garden chores are done. Before winter, beds must be weeded, trees and shrubs must be watered thoroughly, and perennial gardens must be mulched. After the first frost, it is over. The final garden chore is to clean up frosted debris. The season is finished until spring. Or is it?

THE GARDEN IN WINTER

FORM Plants that are little noticed during the growing season may become the focal point of the winter landscape. Silhouettes stand out now. Branching habit is obscured by summer leaves, but who hasn’t admired the rugged strength of a solitary Burr Oak standing sentinel over a frozen field? The native Pagoda dogwood’s beautiful tiered branching adds a touch of elegance to the otherwise barren woodland border. Conifers provide endless interest and beauty while flowering plants sleep. Some, like the unique Nootka Cypress, are never more breathtaking than when covered in ice and snow. Even Spruce and Pine whisper and sway in winter winds, buffering our homes and defying the bitter cold.

COLOR Other trees, like the River Birch, Paperbark Maple, and Amur Chokecherry sport colorful, glistening, or exfoliating bark that stands out in bright winter sunlight. Colors and textures that are lost in the busy excess of summer provide warmth and textural interest to a winter landscape.

FRUIT Many trees and shrubs carry persistent berries well into the winter, adding a splash of color and attracting hungry birds and wildlife. The ‘Prairiefire’ crab-apple and red chokeberry hold their fruits the longest, and are beautiful in bloom as well.

SEEDS Even some apparently dead perennials keep performing through long winter months, due to beautiful seed heads. Many ornamental grasses are classified as “four-season perennials”, standing tall and dancing in winter winds, glowing golden when backlit with the low-slung winter sun. Try clump-forming Miscanthus or the ever-popular ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather-Reed grass for four-season screens, hedges, and beauty. With careful planning, the winter garden has a charm that rivals any season.

PERENNIALS If that were not enough, some perennials flower before meteorological winter ends, reminding us that spring will soon be here. One such is Hellebores (common name Lenten Rose), a genus of plants hardy in southern Wisconsin that offer evergreen foliage and late winter bloom. Many new hybrids of hellebores are flooding the nurseries. They are easy to grow and reliable bloomers.

BULBS Most gardeners include tulips, daffodils and crocus in their gardens for spring color, but many other, lesser-known, care-free bulbs light up even the late winter landscape. For example, winter aconite is a self-sowing groundcover that blooms a bright cheery yellow as early as February, and disappears in the garden as summer approaches. Snowdrops, English favorites that come in innumerable subtle shades and forms, are frequently seen pushing back later winter snows.

PLANTING TIME Contrary to common conception, autumn can be an excellent time to plant. Evergreens and ornamental grasses need to root-establish before winter to survive, and should be planted in the early fall at the latest. In contrast, deciduous trees, shrubs, and perennials, which do not carry leaves through harsh winter conditions, can be planted up until the ground freezes. Many growers offer deep discounts in the fall, looking to clear their stock, and bargain shoppers won’t be disappointed touring southern Wisconsin’s many excellent nurseries and garden centers. Of course, flowering bulbs are best planted after soil temperatures have cooled, typically around mid-October, to avoid inducing late season growth that winter cold is sure to zap. One mild winter we even planted crocus on Christmas Eve, and sure enough, Santa paid us a colorful visit in spring.

Danniel Ward-Packard

The writer is co-owner of Botanica Fine Gardens and Landscapes which installs gardens, landscapes, shorelines, and ponds in the Southern Lakes Area.

[GLAN]

That's great "spiderlily" .........thanks for sharing


I do a monthly news letter for my business......we put them in envelopes with invoices. Always offering upsells to our existing clients.

Our news letter has worked well over the years and we have been able to answer questions before they are asked.

[justgardens]

Now that the shovel is just about hung up for Winter I've got my hands into several more goodies for Spring. We have decided to go with a county "Tour Of Gardens". This will include tours of clients gardens that my pond/hardscape guy that I work with exclusively and I have personally selected. We will also open up our own gardens. This is going generate a lot of interest here. A take off from the "Parade of Ponds" Aquascape does. That guy is a great marketer. I've learned a lot from his material. We are also doing the Home Show together, a Build a Pondless Waterfall Hand's On seminar in one of my best clients yards,( A real show piece of my work) and a "Build a Putting Green" Hand's On for Fall (In my yard. Have to keep my husband happy!). We sign up and generate interest at our winter seminars and Home Show. I send out an email listing upcoming events to a group mailing of interested people that have signed up to be on my special mailing list over the years. A must, start one now. I haven't even hung up the shovel and I'm excited about 2005 already. Our market seems to be much smaller than most of yours. I have access to two local papers, multiple radio stations to put on "free upcoming event ads". Still debating whether to do the Free Landscape Makeover. The radio station and I have been talking about giving away a free putting green and landscape more towards Fall this time. April and May 2005 are pretty much booked . I may have to pull in the reins a bit. I love this job!

[Team Gopher]

Hi spiderlily,

Great job on the article. Do you have a link to where your article will appear? Or the publication's site?

[Hamons]

I hand out psotcards door to door -- have afairly good sale rate from these on the lawn side.

[Hamons]

Back

[justgardens]

Nice looking sales card.

[Stonehenge]

Looks like a nice card - we get nice results from our door hangers, too.

P-Train - we're not doing anything new this year - next year I think the new thing will be that we will actually engage in some marketing in the fall. Usually we're just focused on finishing up the season. As for product mix, I'm pretty happy with what we offer now, and am not looking to add much to our plate in the next year or two.

[Team Gopher]

Here is a free flyer template you can download and use. Click image to download.

[justgardens]

Another nice marketing tool. 25% seems to be an awful big discount. Do you still make money or do you consider it a loss leader?