Drought hurting local gardening centers

By Jesse Ritka

CREATED Jul. 10, 2012

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  • Jesse Ritka reports Video by tmj4.com

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WAUWATOSA - After a beautiful March, it looked like a promising gardening season was ahead.  But thanks to an undying thirst for rain, this summer has turned into withering and wilting growing season.

Peter Muller just had some landscaping done to his yard and has been trying to battle the drought conditions, "I've been counting the days, right now, I know that it's been three weeks and a day since our last rain and I just wish we could get some rain."

And it's more than just green thumbs like Muller trying to keep their gardens from turning brown.

The owner of Hawk's Nursery, Joe Kresl, tells TODAY'S TMJ4's Jesse Ritka their plants are feeling the same impact of the drought as area gardens

"When you walk around the gardens you look at everything is all shriveled up and the leaves are curling and the plants are under a tremendous amount of stress," Kresl says.

So much stress that Hawk's Nursery is watering at least three times a day to keep their own plants alive, they used to water only once a day.  "Just water, more water. More water, more water, all the time," Kresl tells his staff and all his customers.

Without help from mother nature, business is suffering now after a March that got gardeners itching to dig into the soil.  "Everything was going great guns, it was very strong business, very robust in April and May and then we had a June that was not a good June, it was very slow," Kresl explains.

In fact you'll find more workers than customers at Hawk's Nursery, watering and waiting for a wet forecast.

"It would definitely help boost business, yeah, and it'd be good for plants," Kresl says.  And help gardeners like Muller save a little green, "I don't want to see my water bill this year."