Betting on the Right Chips From dyed mulch to a more organic approach, the industry’s latest trends are diverse. By Jimmy Miller With clients working from home and spending time in their backyard rather than the Bahamas, Laurie Broccolo noticed she fielded more questions this year. COVID-19 might have kept people out of the office and away from vacation destinations, so Broccolo—the owner of Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care—found her customers were far more engaged than usual. Out in the field, they came out to talk to her employees during lunch. And back at their garden center, clients
filtered in all day long rather than in the evenings. And with that extra attention, every small detail became magnified, including their mulch. “People were really interested, and they had the time,” she says. “They were working from home, and they needed those breaks. People are actually seeing their plants.” To help those plants grow and to make garden colors pop, mulch and
GROUNDWORK 2 0 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1
groundcovers are an essential factor for landscapers to consider. Here are some of the latest trends that industry experts have noticed.
Keeping it natural.
Bob Scott from Lowe’s Landscaping in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, says it should come as no surprise, but most of his clients are on “the organic train.” Some raise concerns about the overall well-being of the environment. Others ask if there are chemicals in the mulch that’ll be bad for their