These days, when it comes to our yards, brown is the new green.

Brian Gil works at Manny’s on the Bay in Tampa. He says many of the folks who live in the Bay Area are in the same boat.

“I’ve driven around town and no matter how deep into South Tampa you go – everything is just dead,” said Gil.

The constant cold weather is doing a number on our plants and laws. That’s making business brutal for local landscapers.

“Tough isn’t the word,” said Gil. “We’ve just been hanging in there, just cleaning and waiting for the spring.”

Even though people are losing their lawns, the last thing on their minds is landscaping.

“We were closed for probably 20 to 30 days. It was just too windy and then cold and nobody was going to plant.”

Even landscapers say they’ve lost a lot of plants and are now doing their best to restock. As bad as business is now, many landscapers are expecting a big boom in business this spring.

Manny’s on the Bay has lost nearly 2,000 plants because of the chilly temperatures. Gil says he and his employees did the best they could to protect them, but in some cases Mother Nature took over.

“There was really nothing we could do,” said Gil. “I mean a lot of people went ahead and covered. It didn’t really matter how much you covered. It was just too cold for a long period of time.”

Landscapers hope the worst of the winter is over. They’re telling lawn lovers to continue being patient.

“I would still hold out and not cut anything back,” said Gil. “I would wait until the first or second week of March just to play it safe.”