IGC Members

Hello everyone, I wanted to tell you my business plan and see what you think?

We have been selling our landscape design software, Landscape Vision to the public since 2004, via my website, www.landscapeyourvisions.net . We’ve done very well, but keeping up with the many software products on the market is expensive, some with deep pockets, all with little to no interest in the retail garden industry. We're a small family run company, with a really good product, our reviews strongly support this. We've been in the top 10 since 2005. We just can't compete with these big guns like Punch Software for example.

We created our software with the retail garden center in mind. We felt, and still feel they have the most profit to gain by offering our software to their customers. Here's how it works;

• Garden Center sells Landscape Vision to their customers for $39.95
• Customer load image of their property into software
• Customer completes design 
• Bring design and shopping list back to garden center 
• Customers purchases plants, mulch, gardening tools, etc, etc, etc
• Garden center has endless opportunities to up sell, walkways, pavers, outdoor living products
• Seeing the customer’s property allows the garden center to make suggestions, offer design services and installations.
• Garden center rebates the customer the $39.95 if customer spends X amount of dollars

We thought this was a home run. We paraded it around to a several garden center shows, expensive shows, we had some takers, we were happy with the progress, but we never got reorders. During our on-site visits to these garden centers, we'd see our software, (then sold in CD form) dusty on shelves, some had been watered. Many of the garden centers that purchased the software didn't even have computers. Many saw our design software as competition; they felt it would take away from the design service they offered.  

SO, we want to try again. We’re hoping to find innovative garden centers.

We have two options;

1. Same as above, garden center sells software, becomes our affiliate
2. Below; Give our software to garden centers for flat fee.

•  This time we offer the software via downloads.
•  The garden center offers it for FREE to their customers via a link on their website.
•  Design and shopping list still come back to garden center
• Garden center pays Landscape Vision a flat monthly fee
• The consumer provides Name/Address/Email garden center has access to this info for marketing
• The software offered as a FREE product will drive traffic to websites and brick and mortar

We'd also allow garden related websites to participate. Creating a community of garden centers, products, gardening info, discounts off gardening magazines, etc, all accessible to consumers, who have downloaded Landscape Vision. Shared collected consumer info with participates, creating a gardening community.

Well, tell me what you think?

Yvonne 

landscapevisions@comcast.net

Too impatient for composting?

7 Kitchen Waste Items to Use in the Garden

Composting kitchen scraps for use in the garden is a classic green living practice, but there are many kitchen waste items that can also be put to good use in other ways in the garden. From hot peppers to paper towel rolls, here are seven kitchen waste items to make your home and garden healthy and happy.

1. Paper Towel Rolls: Trim them down to about 2 inches high and press them into the soil around seedlings, this serves as an added layer of protection from pests such as slugs. Paper towel rolls can also be used as small planter potsfor growing from seed.
2. Crushed Egg Shells: make a great addition to your compost, especially a worm compost where egg shells are crucial to help the worms reproduce. Egg shells add calcium and aerate soil, they are especially helpful when growing tomatoes.
3. Used Coffee Grounds: also a good item to add to the compost. Coffee grounds make a good mulch and look beautiful scattered around the surface of the soil. They are rich in nitrogen which is especially good for veggies, including tomatoes and peppers.
4. Nut Shells: Most nut shells including peanuts, pistachios, and even sunflower seeds (yeah, I know not nuts) to aerate soil, just make sure to wash off any salt or seasoning before adding to the garden.
   

5. Hollowed Citrus Shell: use hollowed or squeezed halved citrus fruits upside-down in the garden to attract snails and slugs away from your plants. Not sure why it works but they are attracted to the citrus, it's up to you what to do with them next.
6. Hot Peppers: Use the waste from hot peppers, such as seeds and the tops forpest control. Blend the waste, strain, mix with water in a spray bottle and use the spray to deter pests from your plants. The leftover pulp can be added to your compost.
7. Gable-Top Container: trim the tops off leaving about 6-8" of depth to the bottom of the container to start your seeds.
(Re-edited from a post originally published on 6.04.2010 - CM)
(Images: grapefruits: Wikipedia Commons, paper towel rolls: Tom Wright)
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DWELL

I just love this...Don't You?

Anchored upon 11 piers, this home floats at the edge of the wooded park, nestled among the boughs and branches. On the east and west sides, decks outfitted with hammocks and swings jut out Swiss Family Robinson–style. http://bit.ly/L0UxU0

DWELL MAGAZINE

Celery and Your Health

Important health information from our friends at Burpee Home Gardens

Did you know - Celery contains luteolin, a nutrient with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help prevent plaque buildup in the brain that can lead to Alzheimer's.

Read more about Celery

Gorgeous Drought-Resistant Plants with Vivid Color

From John Riha with House Logic

Great Info: Do you follow House Logic? You should!

Just when the growing season looks bleakest — think scorchers and mid-summer drought — Mom Nature brings out bursts of cheery color. These drought-resistant plants help conserve water and ensure your curb appeal won’t wilt in the heat. Native varieties are the most tolerant; check your state extension service. Meanwhile, check out our slideshow of colorful drought-resistant plants!

Read more: 

Four O'Clocks

John Riha

John Riha has written seven books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. He’s been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. His 1972 suburban house has been an ongoing source of maintenance and renovation experience.