BWI Is Optimistic That We Have Runway Left For Continued Growth In The Lawn And Garden Industry

• 80%+ of new gardeners plan to spend the same or more in 2023

• Males plan to spend more than females

• 88% will spend the same or more time gardening in 2023

• Gen Z and Y plan to spend significantly more time in the garden

• 84% will plant the same or more

Based on survey responses that 80% of new gardeners plan to spend the same or more in 2023, we have legitimate reasons for optimism.

Excluding the phenomenal surge in consumer spending in the lawn and garden market driven by COVID, the biggest sales driver has been the weather. With a little bit of luck, good weather, planning, and hard work, 2023 could be another very strong year for everyone in our industry.

The most significant challenge for 2023 seems to be just the reverse of the challenge in 2022, potential excessive inventory in the supply chain vs. availability.

As a full-line distributor for the professional pest control industry, nursery & ornamental, lawn & garden, animal health, and turf & landscape markets, BWI is focused on providing improved service levels in 2023 now that lead times from manufacturers have decreased and product is more readily available.

I am not sure we will be back to “just in time inventory,” but I think we are no longer in the mode of ‘buy all you can get’ knowing you will turn your inventory with no risk of the value decreasing. I say this to make a case for how BWI can help you turn your inventory while still having product available to meet your customer’s needs. BWI prides itself on providing over a 97% fill rate and delivery within 48 business hours while delivering over 90% of sales on our companyowned fleet of trucks.

In closing, on behalf of BWI and the Bunch family, I would like to say THANK YOU to our customers and suppliers for all your loyalty and support as we enter our 65th year in business! I really like the Charles Koch quote, “grateful for everything and entitled to nothing.” BWI customers, suppliers, partners, and team members are the best and I am especially grateful.

Tarter’s new bottomless 4’ Oval Raised Bed Planter makes gardening simple. Easily portable, the 1’ tall and 2’ wide galvanized steel planters allow you to create a garden just about anywhere. A smooth rolled top design provides added comfort and safety while sitting or kneeling.

No tools or assembly are required. It holds approximately 8 cubic feet of soil. Just plant, sit back, and watch your garden grow!

To view our full line of products visit us at bwicompanies.com or contact your BWI representative.

The use of fertilizer and water. Increase resistance to stresses. Improve plant strength and productivity. Optimize plant growth rate and uniformity.

By reducing incidence of plant root diseases (Fusarium, Pythium and Rhizoctonia) and risk of pathogens that develop resistance to chemical fungicides.

Certain insects, including fungus gnats and thrips that pupate into the growing media, by suppressing their food sources and plant susceptibility.

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Celebrating 100 years, and beyond.

By Traci Pitman

“We’ve been trying to do that for 36 years—to elevate that blue collar worker,” he said. “Elevating our industry and taking care of that blue collar worker and making them important is paramount in my heart. I want people to be proud of their jobs, do their jobs well and have a deep sense of purpose in their work.”

Larry started Ryan Lawn & Tree in Overland Park, Kan., in 1987. Today, the employee-owned company has about 500 full-time associates at six branch offices across Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Their associates are year-round employees with relevant college degrees or experience in forestry and turfgrass management, and they’re part owners of the company through their employee stock ownership program. In their ranks are industry certified arborists, irrigation technicians, turf managers, landscape designers and installers, and Stihl technicians, as well as a board certified master arborist and an on-staff agronomist with a PhD in turfgrass.

“Our mission is to ‘serve God by helping our clients create beautiful, sustainable environments, while we create opportunities for our associates and business partners,’” Larry said. “We’re God’s gardeners. We’re here to make our communities beautiful.”

That means the Ryan Lawn & Tree team handles just about any lawn and garden related task, including fertilizing and seeding lawns; caring for plants, trees and shrubs; pest management; planting and pruning trees and shrubs; landscape design and installation; irrigation installation and repair; and pest control. Their customer base is predominantly residential with the exception of their Omaha location, where more than half of their clients are commercial.

The secret to the company’s success? Hiring great people, paying them well, and honoring their expertise. Investing in the education and growth of their people is a top priority.

“What we found is that if our staff has a general knowledge about horticulture in addition to their direct job, the clients have a deeper respect for their work,” he said. “As an example, when I am fertilizing a client’s lawn but they ask me a tree question and I know what is going on, they have a deeper respect for my ability to take care of their lawn. Being able to answer other questions elevated our staff in the eyes of their customers.”

Larry got his own start on his family farm in Kansas, which five of his siblings still own today. He earned a degree in forestry from the University of Montana, where he also had the opportunity to work in the field. When he graduated, though, the forestry service wasn’t hiring. After working for a tree company, he spent the next nine and a half years working in restaurants before founding Ryan Lawn & Tree.

“I learned so many things from working in restaurants, like the power of marketing, accounting, human resources,” Larry said. “One of the more valuable things I learned is that you don’t hire people and change them; you hire them to do what they are good at doing.”

At the same time, Larry said, they’ve worked hard to build a learning culture. When he was a young man, a friend brought Larry along to a Toastmasters meeting. Larry, who was intimidated by public speaking, ended up spending eight years in the club and becoming a competent speaker.

“It gave me a tremendous sense of satisfaction and confidence, so we’ve implemented that in our company,” he said. “In the winter, we have all of our field staff give talks. The first year, they hate you. The second year, they’re ok with it. By the third year, especially when they get asked to go give a talk at a garden club, they’re three inches taller.” Larry said their goal is to have full-time people who can support a family, which means employing them year-round. During the winter months, associates also have the opportunity to earn field certifications and take continuing education courses in plant health, CPR and first aid.

Ryan Lawn & Tree is a faith-based company, and Larry said he was apprehensive when he added the words “To serve God” to the company’s mission statement.

“Not only does it not hurt, I think it’s helped us to grow,” he said. “We get better people today. People research our company, and we get a lot of faith-based people who have a deep sense of purpose and want to make a difference. We truly try to live our faith every day.”

Even with an increasing number of applicants, Larry said finding the right people is always a challenge and always will be.

“Last year we got 1,000 resumes, and we hired 60 of those people,” he said. “Our focus is hiring great people for every position. We have an absolutely phenomenal staff.”

And Larry is always keeping his eye out for opportunities to expand.

“We’re finding some marvelous companies out there where the owners truly care about their people and don’t charge the highest price,” he said. “There are some really well taken care of people out there in the industry, and they’re making a difference. When we look at companies to buy, what we often find is that the people are worn out, the equipment’s worn out, the building is worn out. All you’re getting is a customer list. We don’t want that. That’s not who we are. To me the value of the company is the value of their people.”

The company’s mission includes providing for associates and business partners like BWI, who Larry said has done an excellent job providing quality, service and fair pricing.

“At our size we buy a lot of products and get them from BWI at a good price,” he said. “You can rely on their people. I feel like it’s a very good relationship.”

Larry said the lawn and tree industry needs hard problems to solve to get better. One of their challenges is helping people understand the value of pesticides.

“To me, they’re nothing but a tool,” he said. “When used correctly, I find that they’re very safe. Organic is wonderful—in the right place. In the wrong place, it’s a very poor tool. The farmer in America would not be able to feed the world without those products.”

More than anything, Larry sees his work with Ryan Lawn & Tree as a way to live his faith and his values every day. “Today we’re 100% employee owned,” he said. “We’ve never taken money out to build a lake house. We try to live a more moderate lifestyle because we care about our people. My faith has driven me to be that way. That’s huge. It’s made an incredible difference in our company. Our people believe in it, believe in us. We mess up. Then we work at it, fix it, and go on.”

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