Allan Armitage Explains Why People Will Always Want To Buy Plants
December 22, 2015 
Gardening has changed so much today. How many times have you heard comments like these? There are hardly any gardeners these days, only decorators. With the aging of baby boomers, who is gardening now? Consumers don’t care about varieties; they only buy what looks good in the pot.
I don’t know about you, but I have heard those comments far too often. We believe no one cares and that appreciation for plants and gardens is rapidly draining away. We lose hope.
There is truth to these claims, but they are over-reaching and simplistic. The problem is that the more we hear them, the more we believe them. Even I started to believe them. But no more!
There is no doubt that times have changed, and to deny that is to be naïve. However, instead of dismissing the people who put bread on our table as being ignorant, let’s remember a few things.
Let’s recognize that people have other things on their minds, such as jobs, children, lack of financial confidence, and little free time. All of which become more distracting each year. Let’s also be realistic and recognize that we as an industry do not know the consumer at all.
I, too, was almost sucked into this chasm of hopelessness. Luckily for me, my daughter Heather needed some plants to landscape her new home.
McCorkle Nurseries is one of our finest wholesale nurseries, and is less than 20 miles from Augusta, GA, where Heather lives. In the fall, the operation has a plant sale with hundreds of plants (mostly shrubs and trees) and invites the public to come in and buy at wholesale prices. So off we went.
I could not believe my eyes. There were thousands of people at the sale choosing plants for their gardens. Pick-up trucks, SUVs, even horse trailers were being loaded. Trees were sticking out car windows. Shrubs were tied on roofs. People were chatting, laughing and enjoying gardening.
They were spending well over $100 each, many much more, in their celebration of plants. There were no barbeques or lawn furniture, no popcorn machines or patio umbrellas, just a bunch of people having fun spending money.
I listened to the chatter. Nobody knew about cultivars or species, but that certainly did not stop them from wanting to improve their landscapes and gardens, and spend money on them. They were there for one reason only: to buy our plants. They loved what we do.
I could go on and on, but it sounds like I am wearing rose-colored glasses. No doubt, low prices and fine weather helped, but Skeeter McCorkle and his staff have been doing this for years, and every year the numbers keep growing.
When I mentioned to Skeeter how pleased I was with the turnout of everyday people, he said, “It’s not just about the money. We really enjoy making people happy.”
This was from a veteran of nursery wars, bad economies, hurricanes, and floods. He still enjoys making people smile.
So, while I don’t disagree with the comments at the top of the page, I believe we have many more fans than we think. If we believe in them, they will come.
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