Here's new one... Staycation!

It seems lately that most of the buzz I pick up comes from my wife. You see she is one of the people who actually read the newspaper and the TIME magazine articles, and of course, the secret indulgence of the occasional People magazine at the hair salon. I am a skimmer. I look at the pictures, catch ESPN for my sports fix and generally float around attracting interesting ideas … sort of like a cultural fly strip.

So last night as I am actually reading a few articles from TIME – just the short ones, she offers, “I have a new one for you… ‘staycation’. I saw it here in TIME.”

“Wow,” I think (in my inside the head voice), “that is perfect! What a great marketing idea for garden centers!”

Twisted, huh? But it makes perfect sense. With gas prices skyrocketing, (here in Connecticut I just paid $3.95 for REGULAR), huge surcharges for airfare, and potentially a good summer movie schedule, I am staying home. Actually, I have to drive my daughter back to Mizzou (Columbia, MO – 1200 + miles) and I am going to have to take out a home equity loan to finance the trip. But after that, I am not moving.

That’s fine with me because it means I can do more work in the back yard. I love my back yard, but more importantly, my wife loves the back yard and that is where you will find us this summer.

That’s right… it is a ‘staycation’.

While it means that the oil companies will not necessarily feel the decrease from my $70 FILLUPS, the local garden center might profit.

So, if you were thinking about packing it in for the summer you’re nuts. If the oil companies can claim windfall profits, my not your business? I am not suggesting that you raise the price of top soil to $120 a barrel, but you should advertise your business as a way to escape the high prices in their own private oasis – the back yard.

You should absolutely promote container gardens, herb gardens, grow your own veggies (for the grill, cookouts and entertaining) and perhaps a new water feature, perennial border or that new pair of West County Gloves (OK, that’s just me).

Now more than ever, you need to put your foot on the gas (sorry) and pump up (sorry) the summer sales.

Here’s an idea for you: a mailer listing all the things you could get with the $70 you are not giving the oil companies. Multiply that by a couple of fillips and you could get a pretty neat fountain. The gardens of Rome right in your own back yard! Think about what they could do if they gave you the money a trip to Rome would actually cost.

Long live the Staycation!