Consumers more confident to make lawn care purchases

On recent weekends, 20 or 30 people have walked into Pike Nurseries in Ballantyne, N.C., with a photo of their front yard, measurements and lots of questions.

"They want someone to redesign their front yards," said Amy Conway, assistant manager of Pike Nurseries.

With spring, warm weather and rains arriving, lawn care and landscaping companies that work in south Charlotte and Union County appear to be thriving, with new customers and people ready to improve their lawns.

"It just seems like everybody wants to keep their property a little bit nicer than they used to," said Jeff Kale, owner of Kale Lawn Care. "And it's becoming more accepted to spend money on taking care of your lawn. It's kind of commonplace now to have somebody come mow your yard."

Some landscapers and plant nurseries say the economy hasn't really affected their business, and now they are seeing an uptick as more people are hunkering down in a lackluster housing market and focusing on keeping up their property.

Steve Todd, owner of the Grass Man professional landscaping company, said his business has grown as he's branched into high-end neighborhoods in south Charlotte. Todd has worked in lawn care for 15 years, and he said he's been surprised at the high number of calls he's received recently.

It's not uncommon, landscapers say, for one neighbor to spruce up a front lawn and for other neighbors to follow suit.

"One person will get their yard fixed, and a neighbor sees it and that person gets interested," said Linda Simpson, owner of Carolina Gardens plant nursery in Indian Trail. "I think everyone's encouraging each other."

Conway said that, in the past, customers would ask questions but weren't sure if they were ready to commit to lawn improvement.

"We've noticed that people are more confident to buy this year," she said. The nursery sold a number of large trees early in the season, and now many people are coming into Pike Nurseries looking for weed preventer and grass seed.

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