A 12 months in assessment, and what a 12 months it has been for the landscaping business. 2021 started with a hearty dose of lingering uncertainty due to COVID. The final twelve months have been a curler coaster, from the highs of tasks returning in full swing to the lows of plant and labor shortages. Earlier than we shut the 12 months and look ahead, let’s have a look again at among the greatest and worst landscaping traits that outlined the 12 months 2021:
Political Modifications and Their Affect on Landscaping Developments
Nobody is free from the affect of politics, and that features the landscaping business!
Let’s begin with the 1.2 trillion greenback elephant within the room — The infrastructure invoice. This invoice is ready to result in extra landscaping tasks in cities all throughout America. Public Works can’t dig up roads and construct bridges with out landscaping designers coming in to ship the ultimate contact to beautify and preserve the inexperienced areas.
Moreover, this invoice dedicates $47 billion to guard infrastructure from local weather change. Landscaping companies and designers are in the perfect place to supply planting options that fight environmental points.
The Canadian authorities can be making strikes, because it stays dedicated to allocating $3.2 billion over the following 10 years in direction of tree planting.
Authorities choices additionally righted a incorrect for us this 12 months. Short-term labor visas had been on maintain throughout the peak of the pandemic. As restrictions eased, roughly 22,000 short-term employee visas have been granted to immigrant employees. The landscaping labor scarcity is a sizzling subject within the business. Numerous landscaping companies depend on these visas to alleviate the labor scarcity for his or her busy summer season months.
Excessive Climate Rocked North American Landscaping Firms
Not all landscaping traits have been celebrated. Whether or not it was the freeze in Texas, British Columbia’s warmth waves, or Hurricane Ida, Mom Nature actually challenged the landscaping business in North America.
Landscaping companies throughout the continent realized to alter plans at a second’s discover. The acute climate reminded us to be extra organized and construct a backup plan. Consequently, many people now ensure to have emergency procedures in place for the protection of our stock, our workers, and our drivers.
Though the scenario was dire for many people, landscapers are as hardy because the dandelions we’re all the time preventing off from our inexperienced areas!
Sustainable Landscaping Design and Native Plant Demand Grows
Some excellent news : The business’s love affair with native vegetation continues to develop with each passing 12 months. The simple development at occasions in 2021 was sustainability and utilizing native vegetation to battle local weather change.
Moreover, landscaping design traits this 12 months included governments pushing to extend city cover areas. This boosted demand for plant supplies, particularly caliper timber, to an unprecedented degree.
City inexperienced areas do greater than enhance property values. They scale back air pollution ranges and reduce the depth of heatwaves. We skilled the negatives of local weather change first hand. We might as properly revenue off of the answer!
On that word, mono-culture is out and poly-culture is in. Sustainable landscaping isn’t simply in regards to the vegetation. We’re together with soil well being in our focus this 12 months.
Landscaping Plant and Labor Shortages Cloud the Trade
You’ve found out by now that we will’t remind you of the excellent news with out alternating again to the not so excellent news. Specifically, the plant and labor shortages.
The 12 months began with plant shortages pushed by plenty of components highlighted within the 2021 Plant Scarcity Report. Covid restrictions meant fewer staff might work in greenhouses to take care of plug materials. Then the Texas freeze got here alongside and exacerbated the shortages by additional decreasing the quantity of plant materials available in the market.
The landscaping labor scarcity disaster is outdated information. Sure, resuming short-term employee visas helped, nonetheless the business wants extra palms than are at the moment out there. Beforehand postponed landscaping jobs have been rescheduled to this 12 months, however companies nonetheless struggled to search out folks to hitch their groups.
Whereas Covid distancing measures are now not directing what number of staff could be in a workspace, labour shortages persist. Because of this, provide chain points will stay. We’re not out of the woods but!
The 12 months of Mergers & Acquisitions
M&A exercise got here again with gusto, virtually doubling in comparison with final 12 months! The landscaping business noticed some momentum construct in direction of aggregation, with smaller nurseries merging or getting acquired by larger gamers.
A number of the greatest names joined forces — Aspire, who was acquired by Service Titan, partnered with SiteOne, and LMN acquired landscaping coaching software program firm Greenius. Time will inform what impact these mergers could have on the business as an entire. If nothing else, it’s a thrill to be on the forefront of massive modifications.
COVID Vaccination Resumed Some Exercise
The pandemic is way from over, but the scenario is enormously improved in comparison with the nightmare that was 2020. The best spotlight after a 12 months of uncertainty and isolation : Landscaping Trade Occasions are again!
Vaccination charges went up, restrictions went down, and eventually, the business got here collectively once more. A number of landscaping business occasion favourites such because the GIE expo, and the L&L Tech Convention have been again once more, providing a lot wanted face-to-face interplay.
2021 was like much-needed rain after a drought. The landscaping traits that outlined the 12 months have been principally optimistic, with some large challenges persisting nonetheless. The street forward should be stuffed with obstacles, however we’ve overcome loads as an business. Right here’s to a greater 2022, and to paving the best way for the post-pandemic period for landscaping!