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April In Flowers
After steadily climbing sales for about twenty years—roughly the age of Heronswood Nursery—large sculptured garden beds are taking a rest this season, due to the recession. The public views ornamental gardening as expensive. They’re wrong.
On the contrary, the beauty of flowers has a profoundly positive effect on people—much greater than the expense of the investment in seeds, plants and bulbs. Just as a small vase of flowers utterly transforms a dinner table (try the “on and off” trick with the bud vase at a fine restaurant sometime), a garden brings a home, literally, to life. Furthermore, the beauty of flowers relieves depression, which is why we take them to sick people in the hospital. What’s the price of joy?
A very impressive front and backyard flower garden with beds, borders and a productive cutting patch can be had for a few hundred dollars, and a month’s worth of time spent learning one of the world’s longest lasting and most memorable hobbies. Consider this: The President and First Lady spent over $210.00 on about 60 packets of vegetable and herb seed for a 1,000 square foot vegetable garden. This shows how much you can do on a relatively modest plot of land. (Just wait until Mrs. Obama gets the flower bug.)
Or you may spend several hundred dollars on a couple of new cell phones, or a pair of satellite radios with six months free service, or four box seats to a couple of major league baseball games. However, the same amount will enable you to fully garden your property, and thus raise your home’s value. I estimate a $450.00 investment in ornamental plants and shrubs would raise your home’s value by a few thousand dollars, at least, or about a 1000% return on investment.
Despite these attractive qualities, sales of ornamental gardening seeds and plants are either down or flat, with the exception of cut flowers. Indeed, classic cuts such as zinnia, marigold and nasturtium are up slightly, while sunflowers are almost as high as vegetables—15-20% so far, with only half the sowing season over. No wonder: Most easy-to-grow cuts are cheap (especially from direct-sown seed), carefree and immensely satisfying. Veteran gardeners often keep a cut flower border on the side of their vegetable patch.
Similarly, in the fashion industry, The Great Depression is noted to have given a boost to the then recently hatched lipstick industry. Like candy and movies, it was something inexpensive that lifted women’s spirits. Cut flowers grown at home rival lipstick in the “feel good” department—most of the customers of cut flower seeds and plants at Burpee and The Cook’s Garden are female.
Grow dozens of bouquets of zinnias in your yard this summer for the cost of a few dollars of seed and then tell me I’m wrong. Or, if you live in a sunny housing development and can’t afford a new tree for your bare yard, grow a shady and cool “forest” of giant sunflowers for the kids or grandkids to play in. They reach 10-12 feet with stems as strong, solid and safe as tree trunks. It’s great fun. Plus, since the giant sunflower is an annual plant, it can be sown next year in a new part of the yard, like a “mobile forest”.
Believe me, trees aren’t inexpensive—I just bought a few for Fordhook and, afterwards, thought seriously about going into the tree business. However, the grower was excellent; I decided to stick to my knitting. I expect the recession might last another two years. I hope not, but I suggest planning for it.
“Ora pacem, para bellum.”
(”Pray for peace, prepare for war.”)
Meanwhile, here are some wonderful, easy-to-grow perennial and annual ornamental garden flowers—for cuts, beds or gardens—new for 2008/2009 and still available.
All of the above—131 plants—would cost $430, and change your home into a thing more glorious than it is now.
[...] Anti-depressants – Lipstick and Flowers Posted on April 20, 2009 by sidraisch George Ball compares the economic blues fixing powers of lipstick to those of flowers in his blog po… [...]
[...] George Ball compares the economic blues fixing powers of lipstick to those of flowers in his blog po… Similarly, in the fashion industry, The Great Depression is noted to have given a boost to the then recently hatched lipstick industry. Like candy and movies, it was something inexpensive that lifted women’s spirits. Cut flowers grown at home rival lipstick in the “feel good” department”. [...]
Hi George. I was wondering where you got the financial facts for the cost of the Obama’s vegetable garden? Some time ago, I called and asked to speak with the White House head gardener in hopes that I might interview him for an article. I never heard back from anyone. Also, are you figuring in the initial costs of such things as site preparation and soil amendments for someone starting their first garden?