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Tennessee Farm Bureau News - March 2011
www.tnfarmbureau.org
Innovative Agriculture By Melissa Burniston Assistant Director of Communications
Spring is the time to get out, get dirty and go green! Spring is in the air! Or at least it is in most of our minds, regardless of what the weather is actually like right now. As March comes rolling in with April right behind it, now is the time to start thinking of your landscaping and what you would like to see in your yard this year. “March and April are my busiest times of the year,” said Randall Walker, of Randall Walker Farms in McMinnville, Tenn. “The earlier people get their trees, shrubs or flowers planted and established in the spring, the better chance those plants have of survival because there is an established root system.” Randall Walker Farms has been in operation for 35 years, and they sell directly to the public, as well as work with homeowners on packages to get all their plants delivered to their home. They sell as far away as Long Island, New York, the Dallas/Houston area and all states in between. This is the busiest time of the year for most greenhouse and nursery operators, as people get spring fever and begin to dream of having the best yard in the neighborhood, or at least what to do to improve over last year’s yard look! It’s also the time to fertilize and use pre-emergent weed control on your yard and any landscaping you have, but Walker cautions homeowners to lay off heavy nitrates if you have newly planted material. He says you want to force the roots to grow, so fertilize with phosphorus and potassium, which work on root growth, instead of nitrogen. Landscaping is a growing trend in most areas of the country, and that is certainly true for Tennessee. “It enhances your quality of life,” said Harvey Burniston Jr. of Mountain View Nursery and Landscaping in
Butler, Tenn. “In these days of technological advances, it relieves stress to sit outside and enjoy a waterfall or water feature with some beautiful landscaping around it.” Burniston says because of the economy more people are spending time at home, and landscaping can add enjoyment to your outside activities and some built-in family time. “The number one piece of advice retirees give younger people is to be happy now, and landscaping can provide you with that,” Burniston says. “An example would be this businessman I read about the other day, who used to
your home’s worth. Burniston says the latest figures show every dollar you spend on your yard returns a $1.35 to your home’s value. Even people selling their houses are landscaping to add curb appeal. So how do you decide what to plant and where? Randall Walker says, “If done properly, plants can help with energy costs by providing shading or windbreaks, and you have something nice to look at while you’re at it. They also help clean the air around your neighborhood, taking the carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.”
go home after work and shower, then watch television with his kids. He had a water garden and accompanying landscaping put in, and now instead of that same routine, he goes home, jumps in the pond with his children and they spend an hour or so playing. He gets an hour more time interacting with his children, enjoying life, than he had before.” Landscaping also adds more to
He says his best sellers are leyland cypress, arborvitaes and other evergreens; those are the ones providing those wind breaks and screens that are becoming more popular around homes and neighborhoods to provide privacy, but also help with energy costs. Burniston says for summer flowering bulbs like dahlias or daylilies, go ahead and plant now, but for plants
blooming in spring like daffodils or crocus, those should be planted in the fall. However, besides those rules of thumb, if you have irrigation in place, there isn’t really a time of year you can’t put something in the ground. “People who have an irrigation system or have access to water their landscaping can plant year round, not just in the fall or spring. If you aren’t able to water your plants, then fall is the best time because in most cases the roots of the plant are growing anytime the soil temperature is above 40 degrees. This gives you a more established root system and plant in the spring. This in turn helps the plant be stronger and more able to withstand the inevitable dryness of summer,” said Burniston. So whether you are a first-time homeowner gingerly getting your feet wet with a few trees and shrubs, or an expert landscaper with an established, beautiful yard, get out, get dirty and enjoy nature at its finest! You might be surprised to find out how much fun you actually have – going green! t
Farm Bureau Insurance is J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion
Farm Bureau Insurance has joined such brand names as Mercedes Benz,
The Ritz-Carlton, Eddie Bauer and Southwest Airlines as a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion— one of only 40 companies to have earned this distinction. To qualify for inclusion on this elite list, companies must not only excel within their own industries, but also must stand out among leading brands in 20 major industries evaluated by J.D. Power. The five key customer “touch points” measured are: people, presentation, process, product, and price. Farm Bureau
Insurance of Tennessee excelled in the areas of people, process and price. “This is a tremendous honor for everyone in our companies,” said Sonny Scoggins, Farm Bureau Insurance chief executive officer. “We have believed for years that we are one of the best customer service companies in the insurance industry, and this external recognition demonstrates our focus on customer service excellence, not just in insurance but across the business spectrum.”
To identify the J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champions, J.D. Power evaluated more than 800 brands. Companies were identified based on customer feedback, opinions, and perceptions gathered primarily from J.D. Power’s syndicated research as well as additional supplemental research. The group of 40 represents the highest-performing companies that deliver service excellence to U.S. customers—both within their respective industries and across all industries measured. t