I just talked with Steve Wilhelmi, product sales manager at John Deere, about the company’s latest rebate program, GreenFleet.

Unveiled this season, the program offers a rolling 24-month window for purchasing discounts, special financing offers and other benefits if you buy enough green (or gold) equipment.

The biggest change, he told me, was that GreenFleet is open – meaning contractors and dealers both know what the discounts for purchases are ahead of time.

“Our program in the past was not as customer-facing as it is today,” Wilhelmi said. “(With) this program, we’re much more up front with customers on what they’re discount can be. They know what they’re getting … that wasn’t always the case in the past.”

The green glasnost has been a hit with customers (commercial mowers, landscape contractors and the homeowners-with-acreage) as well as dealers, he said. It’s no longer a mystery what the benefits of a purchase will be, which allows better cash management and budget planning.

I’ll have more on this story in an upcoming issue, but in the meantime, check out the program details here.

Scotts Miracle-Gro is spending $135 million this year to promote its Groundskeeper Willie-cum-lawn care expert to homeowners around the country.

And while my extraction is Irish, I still like this campaign, which launched this spring. It’s just hokey enough to be entertaining.

And, more importantly, it shows that Scotts actually listens to its customers:

The campaign is based on “one huge insight” from research among more than 4,000 consumers, Mr. Lyski said, that “people would change their behavior if an expert spoke to them about lawn care.”

“They said, ‘If I knew more, I’d do more,’ ” he added.

In the research, people also talked about how there is usually “somebody on your street” knowledgeable about lawn care, Mr. Lyski said.

The brand character Scott “marries the two” concepts, he added, and “we made him Scottish because of the mnemonic.”

The concept of a Scotsman promoting Scotts to his neighbors in middle America may seem corny, but “there’s so much noise out there,” Mr. Lyski said. “You need a little something to break through the clutter.”

This winter, Dick Bare at Arbor-Nomics in Atlanta and I had a long, very animated discussion about his new gnome. (To be fair, all my conversations with Dick are animated, whether they’re related to mythical creatures or not.)

Maria Candler at James River Grounds Management in Virgina just introduced Pip, a fox-like mascot she’s using to keep employees focused on training.

Whether you use a gnome or a fox or a hobbit, a simple and iconic and (yes, sometimes, a little gimmicky) mascot can humanize your brand, make your company more memorable and help you connect better with customers. It can help you, as Lyski says, cut through the clutter.

Here’s my weekly digest of cool stuff. Lots of trees and insects. The weather’s great here in Ohio and crews have been slammed. Stay safe this weekend and enjoy it!

• U.S. scientists still unsure about cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.
• Related: Europe ignores science, bans neonicitinoids anyway.
• Bad news borers: an update on EAB and its recalcitrant cousins.
• Planting ancient trees.
• Book: “New York City of Trees.”
• Above: The first cut of the season at my place. Share your own glamour shots here.

Some very cool data from Pew about how the economy has treated the middle class during the past decade. For more consumer insight, check out our February Grow the Market report.

The L&L team spent yesterday participating in PLANET’s Day of Service to install plantings and mulch in front of the Valor Home, a residence for homeless veterans in Akron. (We left the retaining wall work to the real professionals.)

The credit for the project goes to Sandy Munley at OLA and James Arch from Vizmeg for coordinating the project and herding us like cats all day. And much thanks goes to the professional expertise of crews from Edenscape, J.A.G. Maintenance and Landscaping, Graf Growers and Impact Landscaping & Irrigation, who made sure we didn’t hurt ourselves or anyone else.

Additional labor and materials came from: Project Evergreen, Empaco, Davis Tree Farm & Nursery, Lake County Nursery, Gilson Gardens, Herman Losely & Son, Wiloway Nurseries, Kurtz Bros., Sagamore Soils, Unilock Ohio, Perrin Asphalt & Concrete,  Davey Tree and Davey Nursery.

If your company did something for Day of Service, please send your photos, videos or stories to Brian at bhorn@gie.net so we can include you in our coverage.

And make sure you download our app if you don’t have it yet – it’ll be chock full of photos of projects from across the country.

Some very cool stuff this week: New research examines the health benefits of green space, a big western city is raising water rates because people are saving too much water and Pittsburgh reinvents itself from a black smudge of steel factories to a champion of sustainability. There’s hope for us all.

See you next week.

• ASLA Guide to Washington’s great landscapes was nominated for a Webby. Vote here.
• Portland is raising its water rates to keep pace with lagging demand.
• The outside Rx.
• Related: New study further shows health benefits of green space.
• 6 of the coolest trees in America.
• How to choose a board for your business.
• Above: Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory opens the Center for Sustainable Landscapes at the “greenest building on Earth.”

For 20 years now, I have taken a week off during the busiest time of the year for Landscapers: Spring. I just got back from a lovely week in Rosemary Beach, Florida; it’s on the panhandle. I had a great time with my kids and wife and many other families from our hometown that went to the same area.

The week off does me a lot of good. I bring a ton of books with me (not to mention the books on my Kindle), many articles I have saved for reading, and my to-do list and strategic plans for both my companies. The intention is to relax, which I do, and to spend time with my family, which I do. But, I am always learning, so this week I thought I would share with you some observations I made while in Florida.

Click through to read what he learned, what ideas you can steal and why you should think like an Awful Waffle House.

He apologized for not being able to contribute more, as business is booming:

Thank you for including my article. I appreciate your continued interest in my work. I’m sorry that I could not submit more article material, however, my business continues to grow (at somewhat alarming rate). I am currently behind in installations and the phone continues to ring. I think I’m seeing a bit of a turn in the economy for the good. The best news is that I still have a passion for lighting.

I’d say that’s a pretty good excuse.