Welcome to May’s edition. We are going to do a series of arti- cles on jobs we have featured in past. Sufficient time has passed, and we can begin to show the changes and the growth. It is so rewarding for me to do this. I love seeing what I foresaw at the beginning of install become a reality. It takes roughly 3 years for the client to be able to see the design and appreciate the plants we used. I have shared with you before how indispensable my 15 years of actually growing plants has been to me. At that time, I figured I would retire as a Grower. I had no idea that I was going to start a landscape maintenance company in 1989. We focused on commercial properties, which was good, but my joy came when we had to fix up specific areas. I found that I really enjoyed doing that, and received many compliments.
During 2008/2009, the economy suffered and I lost contracts. I was faced with changing the company’s services. I loved my guys and did not want to lose them, so I prayed about it; seeking guidance, and felt I was being led into landscaping residential homes. I was well acquainted with commercial landscapes and found them boring. Using 20-30 of the same plants on every job did not appeal to me. I started advertising for residential work, which was something I enjoyed because it was creative, and I was not limited to plant selections. Through the years, we have become an almost 100% construction/landscape company. One of our four crews services commercial and residential mainte- nance clients, and those clients have been with the company for years. I feel blessed to have established my own company where the culture of the company reflects my faith and values. I’m sure many of you have similar stories.
2022
Work hard, be honest, seek guidance, and the future, still with its challenges, turns out well.
As we continued to landscape, I became increasingly concerned with the care that our landscapes would receive. I knew that the gardeners were not skilled enough to care for them, and the cli- ent did not have the time. I decided to start offering mainte- nance services. We would come out as often as the customer needed. However, the spring service was the critical one, so I decided to call it “Spring Ready.” We come out in the spring to check the irrigation, sprinklers and drip irrigation, and since weeds are a problem, we apply pre-emergent to minimize the weeds and fertilize at the same time. We also perform any clean- up or pruning and plant replacement that would be needed. This year we have also been cutting up fallen trees. After three years the plants have outgrown the original drip emitters, which other landscapers never change. We change them out for a larg- er emitter. We also upsize the emitters on the smaller plants. It is a lot of work because by the third year the drip lines are buried and the plants have tripled in size. The emitters are way under the plant. This is something I would not want our clients doing, however it makes all the difference to the plant’s health. I do not believe in creating a landscape with its time and cost, and not being there to help the client to maintain it.
This is our third-year servicing John’s yard, so it is a pleasure to be able to show the progression that 3 years of growth has, as well as the color it has, even though the picture was taken this winter.
When doing landscapes, I often get the same comments from clients regarding the size of the boulders and the height of the path lights. If you look at the earliest picture from 2020, you will note that the boulders are way larger than the plants, and the lights are very tall. However, I jokingly tell the clients that since the boulders do not grow, and the lights stay the same height, I am anticipating the plant’s growth to balance out what appears now as unbalanced. You can judge for yourselves by looking at the 2023 picture. Do you not just love the night shot? I could easily see a barbecue with family or friends “chilling out,” as my granddaughter says.
As we all know, design is important. John’s yard was all lawn, except for the planter beds along the sides. The flagstone encir- cling the landscape and the dry stream bed is all part of a design theme, as well as the mounds and boulders, that are common with all our jobs. The flagstone pathway allowed John to walk around the yard, trim his plants a bit, enjoy the flowers, and even change out a light bulb. These are the maintenance tasks that he enjoys doing, and to this day he remains a good client and friend.
In conclusion, I am looking forward to this series of maturing landscapes, and I may sneak a new landscape in from time to time. We are working on one right now that I am anxious to show. Until next time, good gardening.