This summer has hit our industry particularly hard, what with the endless rain in early summer, the hosepipe ban, the effects of the Olympics in London and to some extent the gloomy European economics.
The main issue though, is that because of the lack of nice sunny days, people simply haven't got out into their gardens and because of that sales have been lower for garden furniture, sun shades, plants etc.
However, in a weather sensitive and seasonal industry such as ours, we can reasonably expect a rubbish season once in a while so let's not dwell on it, let's instead look forward to what can be done to generate new business and finish the year on a high.
Autumn has always been the time to install garden lighting and it can be used in so many ways; to light an individual sculpture, to illuminate a pond or water feature, to silhouette architectural shapes, to build ambient light levels around a dining terrace or to create a dazzling night time landscape - the choices are endless.
There are also many choices when it comes to what type of lighting to install; LED lighting, halogen lighting, aluminium, copper and stainless steel fittings, remote control, colour change LED, strip lighting etc - the list goes on.
Most importantly though when fitting a lighting system for a client, is to ensure every part of a lighting system is professional quality, durable and robust. Don't be tempted to buy cheap products because they will prove to be a false economy, they will fail and will damage your relationship with your customer.
At Landscapeplus, we source and test product that is suitable for a landscape professional to install in a garden. We ensure you can rely on every component including the switching, the cables, junction boxes, transformers and the light fittings. After all, there is no point in buying good quality light fittings if one of the components between the house and the light is inferior because it will fail (much sooner than you might imagine) and you will get called back by your frustrated customer.
That said, it doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune buying the most expensive light fittings, you can achieve fantastic effects with entry-level light fittings and then if you have a customer that wants to "go the extra mile" then you can offer them a range of lights to suit their budget.
So, why not have a chat with your customers and see if they would like lighting in their gardens, it's a fantastic opportunity to be creative and develop a new skill by lighting a garden imaginatively and spectacularly and it is certain that your customers will thank you afterwards.
