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I always try and plan 2-3months ahead,but i havent enjoyed the summer yet,not thought about the winter,
in the paving and surfacing sector the main issue is the low temperatures and dampness in the air
Rob Glassborow said:
I am 2 to 3 months confirmed ahead, but no way in the world do i want a winter like last year so i have gardens ready to be worked on then.
Peak" resin" Surfacing said:
Dan Frazer Gardening said:
Planning for the Winter discussion already, and not even past the Longest Day yet. A good idea, for without plan, what have you got.
For ourselves as Growers, we were actually discussing this very subject today. Last Winter we lost many plants through a unusually cold December, and today we were finally throwing out over 500 10 litre+ plants, which prompted our conversation.
Much against our principles, we today decided to move all evergreens inside by the last week in November. We hate plants under protection, but we cannot take the risk again this year.
As usual, we will close for our annual holiday between 24th Dec & 2nd ish of January.
We have had in the past some storming Decembers, with plant supply to Landscapers and Designers.
The last storming one was '06 the hosepipe ban year, could be again? Many projects were delayed that year, and plant sales were as good as April.
Growers hate August and January as a rule, seen nothing in 30 years to change that view.
I've been planning for Winter since March!
As long as we don't have too much lying snow or ice and temperatures don't go below minus 3 then window cleaning goes on as normal though for most clients garden maintenance tends to stop in November and pick up in March. Yes, we know that work is needed all year round but lots of customers don't see it that way - especially when they are trying to save a penny or two!
Our plan from now until end October is to try and put away funds from both the garden/window cleaning business to cover up to a months 'lay off' looking at worse case scenario (we lost approx 7 days last Nov/December).
Plus I do a lot of apple and pear tree pruning and have several customers I work for year round.
I'm offering mole catching now and jope this will bring a few bob in.
Failing that I could always go and visit my brother in Australia for a month or two to stop me getting cabin fever !
It's bloody hard when you are in that situation Rob, in twenty five years of trading I have had some very difficult periods. When this last downturn came I knew what to do straight away after weathering the recession in the nineties.
I have no direct experience of landscaping but it is always a good idea to start with a plan, as my old mate Brian says if you have a plan you have something you can amend.
Start with the outcome you want to achieve and then work back from that point to see how you can get there, it isn't by any means easy and things will change your plans but it's worth a try.
Rob Glassborow said:
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