Newsletter Volume 11

Make The Sale:

Use Native Plants To Help Sell Your Landscape Designs

The landscape industry is very competitive. Many potential clients shop designers looking not only for the best plan, but also the best price for designs as well as installation. It can be very difficult for potential clients to see the differences in plans from a piece of paper. It is especially difficult for them if there are many of the same or similar plants called for in the design.

Utilizing native trees and shrubs in your designs can help to separate your work from many others. This can move the sale away from comparing prices to comparing the elements of the designs themselves. All of these selling points are easy for a client to agree with, prompting more nods in your favor. Most people consider themselves an environmentalist to some extent. The benefits of using native plants are varied and numerous.

1) Native plants are environmentally friendly. They require less maintenance and are cost effective, both in the nursery and in the landscape. In other words, they require less pesticides and fertilizer treatments and they conserve water. Once established, the will not require an irrigation system for their survival. This can be a very substantial cost savings for your clients in the long run. It can be especially important for clients who have vacation homes.

2) Native plants are hardy. The have adapted and evolved through the ages to local soil types and climate therefore withstanding winter cold and dieback as well as drought conditions. You may lose less plants that are expensive to replace in cost not to mention the time and labor.

3) Native plants promote biodiversity, provide food and shelter for native wildlife, and restore regional landscapes. A native landscape can blend effortlessly with the surrounding natural landscape.

4) Native plants prevent future exotic and invasive plant introductions. Although many exotic, or non-native, plants are not invasive, some are. Invasive, exotic plants escape the landscape, naturalize, spread, and replace the native plant communities. These exotics can be vectors of disease and insects. Kudzu, privette, and bittersweet are examples of exotics gone awry.

Now let’s get the sale. The one of the benefits of using these points in your presentation is getting your client to say yes. These points are an easy way to get them to nod yes, they will agree with the logic and rationale you present. There is no reasonable argument against these. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Consequently, perhaps your other design elements do to. Since we can agree that it all makes sense, why don’t we go ahead and close the deal.

New Website Under Construction

Carolina Native Nursery continues its relationship with Firefly Design, based in Asheville, and has contacted with them to refurbish and update its website. First constructed over 11 years ago, the time has come.

Keith Bowman, president of Firefly, has been a tremendous asset in helping Carolina Native maintain its website over the years and is the one responsible in making sure the newsletters get out in a timely manner. But it is becoming more difficult to update, upload pictures, and add the section for the retail customers that treat us as a destination nursery.

We look forward to the upgrade. Look for more information in our next newsletter. Or you may just be in for a surprise on your next visit.

Prices and Availability Updated

Please take a minute and visit the old website now to see what’s available. The spring has been great for growing, good rains, warm but not hot days, beautiful and cool mountain nights have both the container as well as the field grown plants looking awesome. Please call or email us with your needs. We have delivered this spring from Atlanta to Maine and as far west as Lake Tahoe (flames in the Rockys).