With the official start of spring just days away, the green industry is gearing up to educate and energize professional service providers and their clients around the country. April has been named National Lawn Care Month by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and also National Landscape Architecture Month by the American Society of Landscape Architects. Both organizations have events planned to celebrate their causes.
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PLANET is preparing for National Lawn Care Month by educating the industry on its own rapid growth. The association hopes to spend April encouraging homeowners to work with their lawn and landscape professionals on developing healthy lawn care programs and communicating the benefits of turf.
“Americans realize the importance of well-cared for lawns,” says PLANET President John Gibson. “In addition to being beautiful, lawns have a positive impact on our environment. They trap dust and dirt in the atmosphere and convert large amounts of carbon dioxide to oxygen. Lawns also provide a natural filtering system for rainwater as it soaks into the ground. Additionally, healthy lawns provide a cooling effect in summer months, which saves on energy costs.”
In 2004, PLANET conducted a national Harris Survey that reported that homeowners spent $11.6 billion on their lawns in 2003, up 12 percent from 2002. These same homeowners projected that they’d spend even more on their lawns in 2004. Consumers realize that healthy lawns play an important role in home sales and they have a huge impact on “curb appeal.” Realtors report that homes with beautiful lawns and landscape can increase property values by 15 to 20 percent, and that homeowners can realize returns on their investment of 100 to 200 percent. Lawn care companies also provide a large number of jobs across the United States.
“Homeowners can be proactive in April by putting together a lawn care program, with their lawn care professional, that ensures their lawns will be healthy and beautiful throughout the year,” Gibson says. “It’s important to maintain and even increase property values.”
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The American Society of Landscape Architects has announced the theme of “Discover Landscape Architecture” for this year’s celebration of National Landscape Architecture Month. April was chosen for the celebration because it encompasses both Earth Day (April 22) and the birthday of Frederick Law Olmstead, founder of the landscape architecture profession in the United States (April 26).
Each week will focus on a different aspect of landscape architecture, including:
April 1 to 8: The landscape architect’s role in security design and disaster preparedness
April 9 to 15: Encouragement of students to explore career opportunities in landscape architecture
April 16 to 22: Green building and sustainable design
April 23 to 30: Residential landscape architecture – dollar for dollar, the best home improvement investment
“Landscape architecture touches our lives every day in hundreds of different ways,” says Dennis Carmichael, president of ASLA. “National Landscape Architecture Month is a great opportunity for Americans of all ages to learn more about how landscape architecture can improve our communities, increase property values and protect our environment through creative, sustainable design.”
Be sure to visit Lawn & Landscape Online frequently throughout the month of April for coverage of both National Lawn Care Month and National Landscape Architecture Month. For more information on upcoming events for both celebrations, visit www.landcarenetwork.org or www.asla.org.