Garden products vendors are keeping busy this fall, despite the dismal economic mood.

The vendors interviewed for Home Accents Today said they are able to stay competitive by staying within their niche, emphasizing the trend for people to stay home, and playing up the ecological and psychological benefits to having a pleasant outdoor space.

Garry Schermann, director of sales for Tag, said times are tough but that his company was keeping its chin up.

“In spite of the fact that there are concerns for the at-once business, we're not in the doomsday machine,” he said. “Garden is an integral part of our annual business, and a major focus in our spring and summer introductions”

Benno Duenkelsbuehler, president and CEO of New Creative Enterprises, agreed.

“I actually feel that the garden category is a really good category in any kind of economic environment, even when there's turmoil like today,” he said. “People buy, and buy garden products, to make themselves feel good.”

David Whitman, director of sales and marketing for Campo de Fiori, producer of aged terra cotta planters, home accessories and functional garden implements, said the company's core business is strong, especially at the higher end.

“The good stores we work with are thriving — even in this economy,” Whitman said. “Stores at the higher end are doing really well, and we are seeing our regular reorders. Where we're seeing some less response is from those stores that are reaching a little further out. There does not seem to be as much business as last year from the stores trying to lift up their business.”

Whitman said 2008 was down slightly in terms of sales so far, but the company was being conservative, but optimistic for 2009, particularly with the debut of the new Building 2 West Wing at Atlanta's Americasmart and its revamped Gardens area in January.

“We are very excited about it,” Whitman said. “When the Gardens first began, it was very innovative from a market standpoint. Now, that whole industry has exploded on both ends, as far as outdoor living and the gardening lifestyle go. The time is right to have a new presence to update that concept. It's going to be a new experience which will always attract the serious garden buyers as well as the curious gift buyers.”

And that's music to the ears of Americasmart's Karen Greaber, the vice president of leasing for the Living. Outdoor / Indoor. The Gardens area as it is now called. The new area is made up of two floors, both designed by former Disney “Imagineers” who developed two distinct themes for the floors — Southern Garden, inspired by cities like Charleston or New Orleans, and Tuscan, with a distinct European country feel.

She said the new space was specifically designed to showcase some of the best exhibitors, and all vendors worked with designers to ensure that the floors look great and provide a lot of visual merchandising ideas to the retailers, an important part of the market experience.

Kate Sandvos is general manager for Lazy Hill Farm Designs, producer of birdhouses, planters, lantern posts, mailboxes, window boxes and more.

“It's definitely slow,” Sandvos said. “People are hesitant. What we make is not a necessity, but people aren't traveling so much, so they're thinking instead, 'let's make our house better.'

“People are spending more time at home, but times are tentative for everyone. The stock market situation is on everyone's brain and it affects everyone.”

The concept of staying home and its growing importance, due to the price of gas and the expense and hassle of travel was repeated time and again.

“I think the 'staycation' conversation is part of the story — making the most of the home environment,” Schermann said. “The garden is something that is affordable to make nice. Since we are in the decorative accessory business, that's very good for us. We see bringing the indoors out as an ongoing trend.”

That sentiment was echoed by Tad Featherman of Hen Feathers Collection, designers and licensors of garden items for Caffco International, Kirch & Company, Golden Rabbit, Tiara (garden tools), Brass Baron (high-end bronzes) and Keller Charles (melamine serveware).

“People have generally been spending more on their outdoor rooms,” Featherman said.

“The key trend is this whole thing of taking the indoors out,” New Creative's Duenkelsbuehler said. “I think, in the last 10 to 15 years, the industry has really taught the consumer about decorating the indoors … and we've seen over the last several years an extension of that trend going outdoors.”

There is also a green or eco-friendly aspect to staying home and creating a pleasant outdoor space, he said.

“The conclusion I've come to is that the consumers' interest in the gardening itself is a manifestation of the green movement,” he said.

At Tag, the green movement is taken very seriously, Schermann said.

“The green movement is impacting every aspect of the business — certainly in garden,” he said. To that point, Tag is expanding its use of recycled materials (such as glass), organics (stone and slate), and natural materials (natural cotton).

“Our buyers are asking for us, and the end consumer is asking for it. They are looking at our manufacturing process as well as the environmentally friendly nature of the products,” he said

At Campo de Fiori, the nature of the product is inherently eco-friendly, Whitman said, though he doesn't think that's driving a lot of purchasing decisions yet.

“I don't know for us if that's a selling point at the retail level. But there is a group of buyers who are coming to the marketplace with increased consciousness,” Whitman said. “Our planters are about as green as it gets — made from the earth, aged by the warmth of the sun and water, and can be returned to the earth when they are used up. (But) our customer is not necessarily buying it first because it has a so-called green value. They buy it because they love the design.”

Staying on-trend is another important component to being successful.

Sandvos said the biggest trend she is seeing is a movement toward low-maintenance products. To that end, Lazy Hill Farm has added a line of window boxes and bird houses made of cellular vinyl, rather than wood, that are easy to maintain but still have the look of cedar construction.

According to Featherman, metallic such as brass, bronze, pewter and copper have been soid trends.

“Hen Feathers tends to be very sculptural, and the use of the metallics has given a new look to our classic pieces,” he said.

Anything that's functional, Featherman said, such as containers, bird baths, bird feeders, clocks, thermometers and serveware, are the stronger products. Also, he said, “nature-inspired, organic looks are doing quite well.”

At NCE, the focus is also on function, both in terms of the uses of the products and colors that are easy to coordinate with existing home decor items.

“As far as colors, consumers are looking to make the most of what they already have. They are looking for beautiful and logical — functional colors and functional products,” Duenkelsbuehler said.

He said NCE has recently refocused its products to ensure that they are easy to merchandise inside stores, and “tell a story.” “We are also trying consciously to try to find an assortment that captures the customers' fancy.”

Another key to success is staying on top of trends and aggressively investing in product development and sales and marketing initiatives.

Duenkelsbuehler said the company has undertaken new sales and marketing initiatives, including an e-commerce Web site that launched in February, as well as a new phone sales team to reach more remote areas of the country.

Tag sent out its largest spring/summer catalog last month, Schermann said, noting that 80% of the products in it are new. “ We are very aggressive in being fresh and innovative in our product mix.

“We are living in a challenging market,” Schermann said. “Everyone is waiting for retail to pick up the in the third and fourth quarters as we head into the holiday season.”

He said his buyers are “concerned with today, but retailers are definitely looking to the future. Our forecasts for Spring '09 are very positive based on the response we've gotten to our new catalog.”

“Ten years ago, you could win with the right product at the right price with the right function,” Duenkelsbuehler said. “Now, you need to have the look and the story too.”

“We have to count on the good old American consumer,” Featherman said. “Shopping is a fun thing to do. It's just a matter of people feeling a little more security.”