Trends to consider with annual plantings

Photo courtesy of Blooming Designs.

Seasonal color and annual plantings are Susie Dempster’s focus at Blooming Designs in Akron, Ohio. Dempster launched Blooming Designs in 2001 as a business segment of her husband’s lawn care and hardscape business, Summit Landscape, which started in 1985.

“I was a gardener and I was working a job that was something different and I liked, but I really wanted to work outside with plants,” Dempster says.

Her husband’s business received some requests for annual plantings, but the business wouldn’t typically perform these jobs. So, Dempster saw an opportunity to launch Blooming Designs as a segment to complement the business and pursue her passion.

Her segment provides flower garden design, garden installation, flower maintenance, annual plantings, perennial plantings and outdoor decorations to name a few services. She serves both residential and commercial customers in Akron.

With annual plantings her focus, Dempster says demand for the service has remained steady over the years. However, in recent years, she has noticed her customers are requesting low-maintenance designs. She has tried to focus on finding annuals that require a little less work on the customer’s part.

“Petunias, zinnias, you just put them in the ground, establish them and you’re done with them,” she says.

Other contractors have also noticed a similar push for low-maintenance designs.

Read the full story from the February issue here.