March 2005
Going for the Gusto By Catherine Evans

Adding some whimsy and fun to the yard will make your customers the talk of the town.

Remember that person on your block who always had an extravagant garden full of big blooming flowers; garden flags hanging from the porch; fancy trellises and containers placed here and there; garden ornaments all over the place; and additional items added every day (or so it seemed)? Everyone on the block labeled them as the “eccentric family” (to be nice) and just chuckled ever so slightly as they walked by the house. Well let me tell you, I never would have thought I would take that chuckle back, but I am about to.

In my travels, I have been noticing that more and more houses, in all demographics, are adding a whimsical, fun aspect to their yards. People are planting large flowering shrubs, such as hydrangea, and just going to town with the garden stakes, lawn ornaments, multi-colored lighting and so much more. People are wanting to make their yards fun, “eccentric” places to be.

There are so many products available that complement this newfound love of whimsy. Everyone has seen those large, ball-shaped frogs and toads that seem to be everywhere or the fun, springy birds that are brightly colored and move around in the wind. Those are just a couple of the products; there are tons of possibilities out there to help make the yard an exciting place. What about the use of colorful lighting systems? Don’t forget the ever-popular animal collections, frogs, rabbits, etc.; garden flags for every season and holiday; accents like spinners that move in the wind; trellises and containers intertwined with bright daisy-like flowers; even things that can be used inside to complement the garden like ornaments, table décor, even food. The whimsy does not have to be limited to just the outdoors.

Some of the main things this trend is focused on are the bright colors and the contemporary look that I talked about in the January 2005 issue of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Another thing that the consumers are looking at for this trend is the flexibility to change according to the holiday. For instance there are some great pastel designs for Easter/spring, bright colors for the 4th of July/summer and deeper colors for Halloween/fall.

It seems that the post-9/11 trend of a toned-down comfort zone is starting to fade, and consumers are breaking out of their shells and going for the gusto. Don’t be surprised if one day you wake up and realize that you have been labeled the “eccentric family” on the block… and so has your neighbor, your friend down the street and everyone else in town. No one said that labels were a bad thing!