A12
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Home & Garden
Nurseries, fl orists bloom in pandemic
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant County
nurseries and fl orists didn’t slow
down much during the pandemic —
in fact, business picked up.
Customers spending more time
at home resulted in many look-
ing to local fl ower shops to spruce
up the space where they spent the
majority of their time while waiting
for COVID-19 case counts to drop.
Julia Justice of Better Blooms
and Gardens has been in business
for over 20 years and says house-
plants and succulents have been a
hot item during the pandemic.
“Those were things (customers)
were looking for because they were
stuck in their homes,” she said.
“There is still interest in that.”
Justice said she saw an uptick
in people who had never had the
time to garden before coming into
her shop to make purchases. “When
people were buying plants, they
were realizing they’d never had
time to work in their back yards
before. Whether they were planting
ornamental grass or blueberries, it
didn’t matter.”
Justice says she doesn’t think
the pandemic led to a better appre-
ciation for gardening so much as
Justin Davis/Blue Mountain Eagle
A hanging fl ower pot at Better Blooms and Gardens on Friday, May 20, 2022.
there wasn’t anything else to do.
“If you had to be home, you could
sit on a couch and watch TV or you
could actually get some house proj-
Bobcat - Skidster - Mini Excavator - Tractor
ects done,” she said. “I think for
most of us it was a catch-up time.”
Terry Bowden of A Flower Shop
N More said her business has seen
a tremendous boost during the pan-
demic. Bowden said the shop didn’t
see too many changes in trends other
than the size of fl ower arrangements.
“It was trending on the incredi-
ble side,” Bowden said. “We’d have
people ask us what our normal bou-
quet is and we’d tell them $45 or
$50, and they’d say they wanted to
spend $250 or $400. I was in shock.
It wasn’t just one person, it just kept
coming and coming.”
Bowden says the shop is back
to “normal” now, but even that
baseline isn’t the same as it was
pre-pandemic.
“Our higher end and really high
end would be $75-$100,” she said.
“Now when people say they’d like a
small bouquet, I’ve noticed that it’s
going to be $75 and up for a small
bouquet. I don’t understand where
that is coming from, especially in
our little community, because that
defi nitely is not the norm.”
People are buying the same types
of fl ora, they’re just buying more of
it, according to Bowden.
“I think that people are at home
more even now and are just spend-
ing more of their quality time at
home,” she said.
The uptick in volume is some-
thing that Bowden isn’t sure will
change anytime soon. “We’re prob-
ably ordering three or four times the
amount of fl owers. When you put it
in that kind of perspective, it’s kind
of huge.”
Curb your home’s carbon footprint
Family Features Editorial
Syndicate
MISSION, Kansas — In
every room of your home,
you’ll likely fi nd numerous
devices, appliances and fi xtures
that rely on the electric grid for
power. Collectively, they aff ect
your carbon footprint more than
you may realize. Converting to
lower carbon alternatives can
help you be a better steward for
the environment while reducing
your reliance on electricity.
‘As a father, husband, home
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WEED?
Perennial Pepperweed is a perennial weed that grows from
1 to 6 feet tall. This weed establishes and colonizes very
rapidly. Perennial Pepperweed often grows in hay
meadows, and disturbed areas. This noxious weed is
beginning to show up in various areas throughout Grant
County. It’s believed that Perennial Pepperweed is entering
the county in hay. If you find or think you have found this
weed please contact Grant SWCD Weed Control at
541- 575-1554.
Perennial Pepperweed
(Lepidium latifolium )
builder and real estate agent,
I think it’s important to make
smart choices for a cleaner
today and greener tomorrow,”
said Matt Blashaw, residential
contractor, licensed real estate
agent and host of HGTV’s
“Build it Forward.” “We all
want to be good stewards of the
Earth. I want people to think
beyond planting a tree or recy-
cling. The time is right now to
choose a diverse, low-carbon
energy mix to power our homes
and businesses.”
Consider these environmen-
tally friendly upgrades from
Blashaw and the experts at the
Propane Education & Research
Council (PERC) to help decar-
bonize Earth:
Smart thermostats
Programmable thermostats
and smart plugs don’t conserve
electricity on their own, but they
help you become more aware of
your energy consumption and
adapt your usage to avoid waste.
The introduction of program-
mable thermostats made it pos-
sible to adjust the temperature
in your home when you’re not
there or when you are sleeping.
Some smart thermostats take
those adjustments even fur-
ther by learning your household
habits and adjusting the tem-
perature to accommodate your
usage patterns. You can also
make adjustments remotely,
and some models allow you to
control specifi c zones or rooms
independently so you’re only
using the energy you really
need. When combined with
low-carbon, effi cient HVAC
units, smart thermostats can
help lessen the impact on the
planet.
Motion sensors
Like programmable thermo-
stats and smart plugs, motion
sensors help manage your
energy usage. Motion sensors
ensure you’re only drawing
electricity to illuminate a space
when it’s in use or when the
light quality falls below a cer-
tain threshold. You may be in
the habit of turning on a switch
when you enter a room whether
you need the extra light or not.
Relying on a sensor reduces the
waste associated with that rou-
tine and helps ensure lights are
turned off when they may oth-
erwise be forgotten in an empty
room.
Appliances
You may be surprised to
learn the diff erence it can make
to swap appliances for a diff er-
ent energy source. According
to PERC, propane appliances
are more effi cient and produce
fewer greenhouse gases than
electric appliances. For exam-
ple, propane-powered clothes
dryers generate up to 42%
fewer greenhouse gas emis-
sions compared to electric dry-
ers. They also dry clothes faster
than electric dryers, and the
moist heat is gentler on fabrics
and can even help relax wrin-
kles and static cling.
Similarly,
propane-pow-
ered cooking ranges generate up
to 15% fewer greenhouse gas
emissions compared to electric
ranges while also allowing for
greater control of heat levels. In
addition, their instant fl ame turn-
off capabilities help them cool
faster than electric stoves, which
can remain dangerously hot after
they have been turned off .
Energy-effi cient windows
Nearly one-third of energy
loss in your home can be
attributed to windows, espe-
cially if they’re older or in poor
condition. Even windows in
good condition can be a source
of energy loss if there’s only one
pane of glass or you have air
leaks around the frame. Upgrad-
ing to double- or triple-pane win-
dows can be costly but making
more cost-effi cient improve-
ments like caulking and weath-
erstripping can reduce win-
dow-related energy loss. You
can also rely on window treat-
ments such as drapes or blinds,
awnings or plant vegetation that
provide shade to help manage
how your windows contribute to
your energy needs.
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