Will staycations make floriculture recession proof?

It feels like it's safe to say the economic conditions out there are making everyone a little edgy. It sure makes for good business for financial advisors, but it might also make for good business for floriculture.

We asked readers of Today's Garden Center and Greenhouse Grower's e-newsletters how the economic conditions will affect their markets (retail garden center and commercial floriculture, respectively). It was multiple choice, and one of the choices was "an up market," which seemed like a crazy choice when we were writing it. But I guess it wasn't a completely crazy choice. Here are the results so far:

Today's Garden Center:
The market will be down 32%
The market will be down slightly 18%
No change in the market 36%
The market will be up slightly 9%
The market will be up 5%

Greenhouse Grower:
The market will be down 32%
The market will be down slightly 34%
No change in the market 21%
The market will be up slightly 9%
The market will be up 4%

So there's quite a bit of optimism out there, in the retail market more so than greenhouse. Even "no change in the market" is better than "total disaster." And the staycation defense may be what's fueling the optimism. Take this reader comment from Tim Brindley:

"Less vacations. Less travel. Less home remodeling. More plants. More yard work. More home grown foods. More gardens. I know we can have a good year if we control expenses, grow great product and capitalize on weather and consumer trends. We are optimistic and aggressive towards 2009!"

OK, now you tell me what you think. Poll, upper right hand corner. Vote.