Welcome to our Summer Issue. Thank you for all the calls over our July edition. This article will be a continuation of that. All yards and landscapes are unique. The yard configuration is unique, the clients have different needs, the direction of the sun varies, and a little. variance with sunlight can make a big difference in plant selection. All these variables make for a unique outcome. However, all landscapes should have one thing in common; they should be colorful, creative and inviting. The difference in outcomes has to do with the size and shape of the yard as well as the end goal. For Rob and Jenna, who enjoy enter- taining, they needed space to walk around, yet Jenna knew that the landscape played a critical role in making the backyard inviting.

It was a balancing act between the plants and hardscape, and the changes were numerous. Changes included a new patio, a wall with wall planters, a sheer descent waterfall (see picture), a color bed planter, an outdoor kitchen with a paver patio, a new patio cover and of course new landscape. I compare this landscape to a Porsche – small, but very detailed, as opposed to our last landscape we showed which was spacious allowing us to create a stone tread walkway, an outdoor sitting area, a wall that pushed back the slope and pavers to increase driveway space. Even with all of this, we still had plenty of room for a nice lawn and landscape. In this article I would like to spend some time reviewing the challenges. If you have not read July’s article, I would encourage you to do so. If you no longer have the article, it can be viewed on my website under publications.

The initial challenge was removing the waterfall. As discussed in the first edition, jack hammering boulders of this size is no easy task. We also had to be careful that we did not lose control of them, or they would roll off our platform and crack the plaster. Thankful- ly, this most stressful aspect of the job went off without a hitch. This whole tear out phase included not only the waterfall, but breaking up the aggregate patio, which was itself work. Fortunately, we have a small tractor that we can attach a jack hammer to and crack the concrete which saves the men’s backs. Once the concrete is cracked, we load the pieces into the bucket of the tractor and haul them out, taking them to a concrete recycling yard. This is great because nothing goes to the landfill. This is also true of our green waste, it comes back to us in the form of soil (I never talk about this, but we practice green habits when we have the vendors that provide the service). The next task was met with mixed emotions. Rob and Jenna had a spa (see before photo) and its positioning was right in the way of traffic.

Since space was at a premium, the spa had to go. After draining it, we cracked it and back filled it with road base. It felt weird destroying a perfectly good spa. It was now time to have the pool contractor come in. The pool needed updating because the tile was old and worn, the steps were inadequate, and the plaster needed updated with pebble sheen. The tile and pebble sheen portion were executed without any issue however, the steps were not. The contractor, who was a sub of my referral, sent out his men without any instructions, and since I see our jobs on every other day basis, I scheduled myself to be there when the steps would be done. When I arrived, the steps were almost complete, but completely wrong. The pool has a sundeck where you can put a lounge chair with an umbrella and be in the pool, and they had formed the steps coming off this. As soon as I saw that, I had them destroy the steps before the mortar set up. Fortunately, the mortar was still fresh, so it was not hard to do. I had them re- build the steps coming down along the side of the sundeck and I told my foreman to watch over the referrals making sure they were completing the tasks according to how I explained it to him. The rest of the parts that the referrals played went well.

It is always interesting to hear from the client their experience of working with us. Jenna made several insightful comments. She said that she never felt “unsafe.” On the contrary, she felt complete- ly safe with us, and even when other referrals came in, she felt as if she was being guarded by us. That was a great compliment. An- other comment that Jenna made was since this was the first change ever made to the original landscaping, she really appreciated our phase approach. It gave her time to process each change and then see the next phase in light of what had been completed. To me, the phase approach makes sense. One change builds upon another. However, not all landscapers take this approach. Since 98% percent of our work is completed with my employees, we can do this. Other landscape companies use subs routinely, and they each start the part of the job that pertains to them, so in essence you could have a kitchen project, a wall and paver project, drainage, sprinklers and plants all going on at the same time, and then hope that when it all comes together, it is what you wanted. By working this way there is time to digest, plan, talk and make changes which inevitably occur. As the owner of Executive Care, I want this process of creating a new outdoor environment to be enjoyable. I know it can be stress- ful, and landscapes are not cheap, so as much as we can we want to take the stress out of it, and make the experience pleasurable. Jenna’s full comments of our work can be read on Yelp. They are great comments, but I also have some negative ones as well. However, these people were never my clients. They wanted me to see them, but I was either unable to fit my schedule into theirs, or I did not feel comfortable working with them, which is something that is at my discretion.

Gardeners, we are midpoint with our gardens, insects tend to start coming in at this time. Be vigilant to look for them and use organic sprays or pick off loopers such as tomato worms by hand. Until next time—Good Gardening.