With summer in full swing, there’s no more important time for merchants to stock products for gardening improvements. Mike Lomax, Marketing Communications Manager at Tarmac’s Cement business, gives merchants some handy advice on how to meet the needs of professional gardeners and landscapers in search of the perfect outdoor spaces.
We Brits love our gardens. With UK homeowners spending around eight hours per week in them during the warmer months, this time of year sees a peak in demand for landscapers to carry out both intense grooming and quick spruce-ups. Merchants therefore have a strong opportunity to get ahead of the competition by stocking the right products to meet these demands.
So what’s in vogue in landscaping at the moment? According to the design and landscaping experts Houzz, improving property borders accounted for half of all updates to non-structural garden features last year. Another growing trend was the treatment of the garden as an extension to the home. 10% of homeowners last year created outdoor kitchen areas containing equipment such as barbecues.
Another major trend (36%) was to reduce the size of lawns or remove them altogether to achieve a new and fresh outdoor design whilst also reducing maintenance.
Furthermore, a growing number of people are now hiring professionals for landscaping updates. 19% of homeowners hired stone, paving and concrete specialists, making these the most commonly hired tradespeople.
Tarmac produces a wide range of packed products to suit all kinds of outdoor projects. Blue Circle Slablayer, for example, is a cement-based product containing specially selected sand used specifically for laying patio paving slabs. There’s no mixing required and the product hardens gradually over time to support the slabs.
And for a more modern look, Blue Circle Snowcrete is a white Portland cement that can produce a wide variety of different finishes and colours.
What about budgets? Houzz found that half of UK homeowners who were making significant investments in their gardens had a budget of £3,000 or less. That’s going to be impacting how gardeners and landscapers approach a project and what kinds of products they’ll use. Obtaining value for money will be a key consideration.
For minimising waste, Tarmac’s popular range products in plastic tubs offer a simple solution. They’re re- sealable, which means a small amount can be used at a time without the rest becoming spoiled through exposure to the elements. They’re also easy to carry and transport, and include user-friendly instructions.
For cutting down time on the job, Tarmac’s Blue Circle Postcrete is a perfect example of a product specifically developed to do just that. It’s durable and sets fast – timed tests have shown that experienced fencers can set two posts and hang a panel in less than 10 minutes using Postcrete. For homeowners attending to their property borders, Blue Circle Postcrete provides a ready-to-use product that gets the job done quickly.
Through customer-driven solutions like these, Tarmac Cement helps professional landscapers meet the varied and evolving demands of their customers. Make sure you’re keeping up with the latest landscaping trends this summer, so your clients can keep up with the Joneses!
Mike Lomax, Marketing Communications Manager at Tarmac’s cement business
