WASHINGTON – U.S. homeowners are turning to landscape, lawn, and tree care professionals in record numbers, spending an all-time high $17.4 billion on outdoor "home improvement" in 1999, according to a recent Gallup survey. More than 26 million households hired a green professional, a 23 percent increase over the previous year, and that number could rise to 29 million in 2000, according to the survey.
Spending on landscape design, installation, and construction accounted for just over $8 billion, a $900 million increase from the previous year, with 2.4 million more households hiring these professional services.
"Our members continue to report robust business," observed American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) President Thomas Pinney Jr., Evergreen Nursery Co., Wisconsin, offering that "strong consumer confidence, increasing time poverty and a continuing appetite for home improvement" are driving these increases.
The Gallup survey was sponsored by the ANLA, the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the National Arborist Association (NAA) and the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA). It was conducted in cooperation with the National Gardening Association (NGA). The Gallup survey data is listed below:
Professional Landscape, Lawn and Tree Care Spending, 1994-1999
|
Services Hired: |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
||||||
|
% |
Mil |
% |
Mil |
% |
Mil |
% |
Mil |
% |
Mil |
% |
Mil |
|
|
Lawn/Landscape |
15 |
14.6 |
13 |
13.0 |
16 |
16.2 |
14 |
14.3 |
13 |
13.7 |
12 |
13.1 |
|
Landscape Installation/ |
2 |
2.0 |
2 |
2.0 |
2 |
2.0 |
2 |
2.0 |
2 |
2.4 |
3 |
4.1 |
|
Landscape Design |
1 |
1.0 |
1 |
1.0 |
1 |
1.3 |
1 |
1.1 |
1 |
1.2 |
2 |
1.9 |
|
Tree Care |
5 |
4.9 |
4 |
4.3 |
4 |
4.4 |
5 |
5.6 |
4 |
4.1 |
7 |
7.3 |
|
Total: |
23 |
22.5 |
20 |
20.3 |
22 |
22.3 |
22 |
22.4 |
20 |
21.4 |
24 |
26.4 |
|
Average Amount Spent: |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
|
Lawn/Landscape |
$455 |
$434 |
$453 |
$533 |
$581 |
$508 |
|
Landscape Installation/ |
$2,965 |
$4,173 |
$2,227 |
$1,772 |
$2,630 |
$1,479 |
|
Landscape Design |
$869 |
$686 |
$800 |
$889 |
$742 |
$1,076 |
|
Tree Care |
$337 |
$400 |
$268 |
$434 |
$411 |
$360 |
|
Total: |
$671 |
$710 |
$619 |
$647 |
$855 |
$660 |
|
Total Amount Spent (in Billions of $): |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
|
Lawn/Landscape |
$6.6 |
$5.6 |
$7.3 |
$7.6 |
$7.9 |
$6.7 |
|
Landscape Installation/ |
$5.9 |
$6.2 |
$4.5 |
$3.6 |
$6.3 |
$6.1 |
|
Landscape Design |
$0.9 |
$0.7 |
$1.0 |
$1.0 |
$0.9 |
$2.0 |
|
Tree Care |
$1.7 |
$1.7 |
$1.2 |
$2.4 |
$1.7 |
$2.6 |
|
Total ($ Billion): |
$15.1 |
$14.2 |
$14.0 |
$14.6 |
$16.8 |
$17.4 |
Plans to hire professional landscape, lawn care and tree care services in 2000:
|
Service: |
% |
|
Lawn/landscape maintenance |
14 |
|
Landscape installation/construction |
5 |
|
Landscape design |
3 |
|
Tree care service |
7 |
|
Total: |
29 |
The above article and chart were provided by the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA). For more information about ANLA, visit its web site at www.anla.org.