The storm before the storm

You can be forgiven for denying that things were going to get tough two years ago and possible a year ago there was room for a wry smile that perhaps those of us who were anticipating a slump-to-recession, were going bananas.

After all, we had never had it so good. Low unemployment, money to spend on anything we wanted. House prices rising and therefore underwriting our credit debts. We were seemingly invincible.

The party had to end, and this week, the evidence is plain to see, that we have indeed passed the point of no return for some individuals and businesses.

There are still garden managers and sages in the industry who are asking you to prepare for the upturn yet my feeling is, especially after this week, where the US threw out George Bush's £700 billion bale-out plan, that the days are going to get darker and there are still many many people who are ill prepared for the crash and now inevitable recession.

The recreational pound to be spent on landscaping will be very hard to come by. Garden maintenance will only be covering the essentials and even though vegetable growing is popular now, only the very keen gardeners who can produce enough and avoid buying in the supermarkets, will make it pay.

I expect that allotments, which are in short supply at present, will be freed up as those who thought they could make it pay give up because of the hard work involved. The reality is harder than the romance. Supermarkets - which will always do well during financial strife - will sell more fresh vegetables; albeit basic produce.

Lawns will increase in popularity because they are relatively cheap to install and maintain compared to a full garden makeover. Landscapers should be advertising and gearing up to create low maintenance gardens and lawns with simple layouts - larger areas of grass and smaller but well defined and planted borders.

Planting should be simple and not exotic. Look for reliability and hardiness rather than temperamental tropical designer-type species.

There will be money around and undoubtedly some landscapers will land a well heeled client who can afford all the trimmings. However, some professions - banking for example - often regular landscaper fodder, will dry up.

Not all landscaping companies will benefit by landing good paying and cash rich clients - competition for work will cut prices so small businesses will have to work hard on their costs.

There will be opportunities out there but to benefit from them, your business must be in a position of strength if it is to capitalise.

Overstretched and expensive outfits, with unsustainable outgoings, cannot react to market forces with enough speed that will make any difference. Those who feel invincible and above the clouds now, cannot see the ground rushing up to meet them.

The economy needs an interest rate cut of a minimum of half of one percent but this could take six months to impact the market. I would be looking at at least six months before the possibility of an improvement in sentiment and maybe, depending on what the governments decide, eighteen months from here before hope returns.

But you do not have to suffer and be ill prepared. There are opportunities out there. As long as your business has cut costs and trimmed its lifestyle to suit then it is possible to pick up business where others have failed to plan properly.