Landscape Ontario - April 2017

April 2017 horttrades.com

CANADIAN

STORY

Bear Standing Tall and Genoscape’s Joe Genovese share Canadian heritage at Canada Blooms PM 40013519

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ON LOGO

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Changes heading into spring

By Paul Brydges LO President

W

ith spring looming, it is the end of another busy season of winter training courses, trade shows and education. Every trip I made to the LO home office this winter saw a full parking lot with attendance to capacity on almost all courses.

We should have no problem justifying with Halton Region that we are an educational school if we put the numbers together for how many students we had in attendance this year.

Despite a snowy start to the day, GreenTrade Expo in Ottawa went off well. Participants poured in through the afternoon to speak with exhibitors and attend seminars. A meeting of landscape designers discussed the potential Name Act legislation and collaboration with the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA). With the early draft of a matrix comparing landscape architects and landscape designers, the discus-

April, 2017 • Volume 35, No. 4 horttrades.com Landscape Ontario’s mandate is to be the leader in representing, promoting and fostering a favourable environment for the advancement of the horticultural profession in Ontario.

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sions focused around areas of practice, similarities and differences. The key to this discussion is that all designers are, and need to be, collaborators to bring their clients the best possible results.

From a collaboration standpoint, Unilock has been working this winter to give Landscape Ontario the opportunity to speak to their authorized contractors across the province. They asked me to speak on behalf of LO to discuss how we, as designers, collaborate with our suppliers, contractors and colleagues. This was all based on the model of collaboration at LO and how we, as members, gain so much more when we work together towards a common goal. Unilock has also produced a very professional video for secondary and post-secondary school students, outlining the diverse career opportunities available in the horticultural profession. Many members were showcased in the video and sharing their passion and expertise to let students know what our profession has to offer. Unilock also put together a designer/contractor collaboration seminar. This allowed designers and contractors who had never worked together before (and potentially never worked with the other profession

Editor Robert Ellidge rellidge@landscapeontario.com, 647-722-5645 Assistant editor Scott Barber sbarber@landscapeontario.com, 647-478-3171 Graphic designer Mike Wasilewski mikew@landscapeontario.com, 647-723-5343 Sales manager Steve Moyer stevemoyer@landscapeontario.com, 416-848-0708 Integrated solutions representative Greg Sumsion gsumsion@landscapeontario.com, 647-722-6977 Communications coordinator Angela Lindsay alindsay@landscapeontario.com, 647-723-5305 Accountant Joe Sabatino jsabatino@landscapeontario.com, 647-724-8585 Publisher Lee Ann Knudsen CLM lak@landscapeontario.com, 416-848-7557 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO STAFF Darryl Bond, Amy Buchanan, Kim Burton, Rachel Cerelli, Tony DiGiovanni CHT, Denis Flanagan CLD, J. Alex Gibson, Meghan Greaves, Sally Harvey CLT CLM, Heather MacRae, Kristen McIntyre CHT CEM, Kathy McLean, Linda Nodello, Kathleen Pugliese, Ian Service, Myscha Stafford, Tom Somerville, Martha Walsh, Cassandra Wiesner

before), to see the value of collaboration.

At the end of the day, feedback from participants was very positive; focusing on how much more complete and unique a project can be when multiple professionals with varied expertise work together to create solutions.

Discussion is ongoing regarding home office redevelopment and renovation. Plans have been circulated and discussed that are beyond the budget allocated by the provincial board of directors. New discussions are continuing on how to scale back costs while still creating a world-class facility that properly portrays our profession and meets our needs for the future.

A formal welcome back to Sally Harvey is most fitting as we also welcome back spring. The eastern provinces benefitted immensely from Sally’s time with them and she will bring even more value to national meetings with her new perspective.

Another staffing change sees Heather MacRae accepting the role of Executive Manager at LO. With her even temperament and can-do attitude, I know Heather’s work in LO’s trade show department will spread to accelerate growth throughout the entire association. Congratulations to Heather and to Tony DiGiovanni for being confident to share his wisdom and experience.

Wishing you all a busy and prosperous spring.

Paul Brydges may be reached at paulbrydges.la@sympatico.ca.

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The feature garden by Near North Hardscapes had many uniquely Canadian elements throughout.

Focus on Canadiana at Canada Blooms 2017

By Scott Barber The 21st edition of Canada Blooms celebrated Canada’s sesquicentennial – 150 years since Confederation – with the theme “Oh! Canada.” With red and white flowers featured prominently, as well as landscape designs highlighting the long tradition of gardening from coast to coast, this year’s flower and garden festival was an amazing display of the creativity and talent of Canada’s green professions.

Held March 10-19, 2017 at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto, Canada Blooms welcomed a large number of professionals and the gardening public to experience over 30 spectacular feature gardens, floral displays and a wide variety of educational speakers.

“Canada Blooms can only provide a canvas, it is up to the talented garden builders to paint the picture with their gardens, said Terry Caddo, Canada Blooms general manager. “I feel they have produced great pieces of art and the public and garden writers have told me overwhelmingly that these are the best gardens since we moved from the Convention Centre. I offer my congratulations and thanks to the outstanding Landscape Ontario members for making Canada Blooms look like a masterpiece.”

The Landscape Ontario garden display this year included four vignettes, representing gardening possibility in the spring, summer, fall and winter seasons. Spread throughout the show floor, the LO vignettes featured a lamp post that included signage promoting the Highway of Heroes Living

4 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO APRIL 2017

Tribute campaign.

“This year’s gardens were an opportunity for Landscape Ontario to support the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute campaign and to say a big thank you to Mark Cullen for all that he does for the green professions and the association,” said Paul Brydges, Landscape Ontario president. “With the vignettes, our goal was to show the beauty of horticulture throughout the year, while at the same time shining a spotlight on HOHLT, which is such a progressive and worthwhile project.”

The feature garden built by Genoscape Landscaping and Design, “The Secret Path,” told the story Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old indigenous boy who died after fleeing a residential school in Northern Ontario in the 1966.

“We worked with the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund,” Genoscape president Joe Genovese explained. “The fund is doing really important work across Canada, while at the same time sharing a part of Canadian history that, while dark, it is important for Canadians to recognize and understand.”

Genovese added, “With the theme ‘Canada 150,’ we felt it was important to recognize that it’s not all about hockey sticks and Tim Hortons in Canada. This is our history, and understanding it is the only way we can get better as Canadians.”

Encircled by large trees, the Northern Ontario-styled garden featured a pathway which wound around a large pond, filled by a natural rock waterfall. A unique log pergola and stacked rock water features, meant to symbolize crying, also set the gar-

den apart. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund logo was also highlighted with the use of an additional water feature.

The garden won the Best Large Garden, Best use of Pathways and Consumers Choice Award, and also took in over $4,000 in donations, which will go to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

Ryan Heath, co-chair of the Canada Blooms committee and designer with Royal Stone Landscaping and Design, focused on “Canadiana” with his feature garden.

“It’s always a balancing act of doing something incredibly creative and different, and at the same time keeping it within the realm of what is realistic for a consumer’s backyard,” Heath explained. “I can’t stretch my imagination to show something that is purely artistic, but couldn’t actually be functional in a residential space. So we take the theme and try to come up with something that is eye-catching and appealing, as well as practical and functional as an outdoor entertainment space.”

Building a garden at Canada Blooms is a major financial investment, and the marketing potential is important to each participant.

Royal Stone’s “Garden of Celebration”

Floral displays also celebrated the festival theme, “Oh! Canada.”

won the Workmanship Award, and showed off beautiful stonework highlighted by a maple leaf pattern as well as a waterfall designed to emulate Niagara Falls.

“One of the aspects of the garden this year that we were most proud of was the maple leaf that we cut into the stonework on the floor,” said Heath. “It’s funny because consumers looked at it and they thought it was kind of cute, whereas other contractors looked at it and totally understood the amount of time and complexity and labour it took to get that done.”

Heath and Royal Stone have been garden builders at Canada Blooms for four years, and they feel that this off season has represented one of the busiest for new business in their history.

“The feedback was really positive at the show, and I know everyone is anxious to hear what the numbers were like overall,” said Heath. “In general, I feel like the landscape industry is in a really great place right now, and we’ve seen a lot of interest this off season.”

Janet Ennamorato of Creative Garden Designs and David Hubers of Lake Ridge Landscaping teamed up for a unique garden titled, “All That Jazz,” which shone a spotlight on Canadian music.

“It started with the idea for a water feature with a saxophone, that David came up with when we worked together last year on the wine bar at Blooms,” said Ennamorato.

“He was able to source some instruments through Kijiji, and built a stunning water feature. And it really just came together from there. We wanted to have fun with it and to incorporate a variety of elements including water, fire, lighting, and for this particular garden, music!”

Instruments were lent by Steve’s Music in Toronto, and Ennamorato put together a playlist of Canadian jazz musicians to really set the garden apart.

“What I wanted to do was definitely showcase the theme of the show and to put forward to the public what Creative Landscape Designs and Lake Ridge Landscaping can do for them and their gardens,” Ennamorato said. “I wanted to create an intimate, welcoming garden, and that’s why we built a sunken patio, which really crated a transition for the space. And also, we wanted to create a garden that people could visit to see that they can have all of the various landscape elements, water, fire, a focal point, a comfortable place to sit and entertain and enjoy the outdoors on a relatively small footprint.”

Any members interested in building a feature garden for the 2018 festival can contact David Turnbull, Canada Blooms director of horticulture, at 416-447-8655.

A floral display of the Canada 150 logo welcomed visitors to the festival.

Janet Ennamorato and David Hubers’ garden celebrated Canadian jazz artists.

The logo in Ryan Heath’s garden involved long hours of intricate stone work.

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outstanding garden, large size.

• Outstanding use of walkways.

• People’s Choice Award.

Flattery Design, Hollywood North • Outstanding outdoor living space.

Green Art Landscape Design, My Tiny Backyard Getaway • The Unilock Award for outstanding garden, small size.

• The Do-Up-The-Doorstep Award, presented by Oaks by Brampton Brick.

Feature garden awards were presented at a special evening reception at Canada Blooms.

Paul Brydges, Sue Blaney, David Hubers, Janet Ennamorato and Tony DiGiovanni are pictured.

Award-winning gardens at Canada Blooms On March 9, a small army of judges invaded Canada Blooms, Canada’s largest floral and garden festival, passing a critical eye over the carefully manicured gardens, meandering pathways and stunning patios. The 30 creations crafted by some of the Ontario’s leading garden builders at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Ont. were also part of an annual competition that celebrates unique elements within each garden and hands-out some special trophies for top honours.

Winners for most categories were announced at the opening of the festival on March 10 and those awards, along with a few special others, were presented during Canada Blooms Professional Awards Night at the Unilock Celebrity stage the following week on March 16.

“I am inspired and encouraged by the level of detail and craftsmanship with the imaginative garden designs,” said Tony DiGiovanni, executive director of Landscape Ontario.

“The builders expressed their creativity and interpretive, artistic vision of the theme of ‘Oh Canada,’ in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. Our talented teams of feature garden builders impress me more each year.”

Gardens were evaluated based on their overall visual impact, quality of the materials used, creativity, innovation, imagination, aesthetic appeal, technical hardscape/constructed aspects, harmony of design elements and detailing, unique use of plant material, organization and completeness, environment (cleanliness, safety, etc.), as well as specific criteria for some of the special awards.

2017 FEATURE GARDEN AWARD WINNERS Backyard Getaways, Over the Edge • Dig Safe Award.

Bancheri Bros, True North, Strong and Free • Perry Molema Award for outstanding use of water, presented by Aquascape.

• Best use of roses, presented by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

City of Toronto, Canada Is Proud as a Peacock • Outstanding interpretation of the show theme “Oh, Canada!” presented by Isuzu Commercial Truck of Canada.

• Outstanding use of interior plants, presented by Jill Jensen Botanicals.

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• The Garden Club of Toronto Award for best overall use of colour. Additional judging criteria: Visual impact of colour; innovative, creative and effective use.

Creative Gardens Designs and Lakeridge Landscaping, All That Jazz – Canadian Talent • Outstanding use of artistic elements in a garden, presented by HortusTV. • Best use of containers, presented by Lechuza.

Genoscape, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, The Gord Downie-Chanie Wenjack Foundation, The Secret Path • The Gordon A. MacEachern Award for

Jackson Pond Management, Muskoka at Home • Best use of bulbs, presented by Pioneer Flower.

J. Garfield Thompson Landscape, Tranquility • The S.G. Ulbright Award for outstanding garden, medium size.

• The Leslie L. Solty Memorial Award for best overall creativity in garden design.

Additional judging criteria: Ingenuity in execution of design style; attention to form, scale, balance; innovative use of elements; aesthetic integration of hardscape and softscape.

• The Tony DiGiovanni Garden of the Year Award (Judges Choice Award).

Land-Con, Year Round Fun • Outstanding use of annuals and/or perennials, presented by Pick Ontario.

Landscape By Evergreen and Elite Environments, Celebrating Ontario’s North • Most imaginative garden design, presented by Niagara Escarpment Views.

• Outstanding use of natural stone, presented by Beaver Valley Stone.

Landscape Ontario Growers Sector Group, Ontario Growers Grove • Outstanding use of trees, presented by Gro-Bark Ontario.

• The PremierTech Award for best overall use of plant material. Additional judging criteria: Aesthetic impression; impact of texture and form, use and placement; selection diversity suitable to design style and relationship to hardscape.

Landscapes By Lucin, Big Yellow Taxi • Outstanding use of pre-cast pavers, presented by Permacon.

Melanie Rekola Landscape Design, Scandinavian Canadian • The Do-Up-The-Doorstep Award, presented by Oaks by Brampton Brick.

Near North Hardscapes, Canada Day Our Way • Outstanding use of innovative elements in a garden.

Royal Stone Landscaping and Design, AquaSpa Pools Landscape and Design, and Kreative Woodworking, Garden of Celebration • Outstanding outdoor entertainment area.

• The Landscape Ontario Award for best overall quality of workmanship.

Additional judging criteria: High quality in construction, installation and placement of hardscape; consistency, stability, precision and job finish; horticultural correctness of softscape practices; attention to detail and thoroughness in planting, condition of plant material, mulching, concealing of pots, liners etc.

University Pro Landscapers, Paving, Pool & Spa, A Trip to the Future • Best use of pollinators, presented by Medallion Plants.

Vaughan Landscaping, Northern Lights • Outstanding use of lighting.

• The W.E. Bridgeman Award for best overall use of hard landscape elements.

Additional judging criteria: Aesthetic selection and placement appropriate to design style; proportion and scale; wellbalanced integration.

The judging panel for the feature garden awards was comprised of various experts, personalities and representatives within the landscape and horticulture profession including: Carson Arthur, HGTV; Mark Cullen, Mark’s Choice; Beth Edney, Designs by Yard; Christine Gracey, D.A Gracey & Associates; Harry Jongerden, Toronto Botanical Garden; Michael Prokopow, OCAD University; Martin Wade, Martin Wade Landscape Architects. Landscape Ontario’s Kristen McIntyre and Jeff McMann from Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries acted a convenors for the judging.

On March 19, the final day of the festival, Canada Blooms general manger Terry Caddo awarded the People’s Choice Award for favourite garden to Genoscape, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, and The Gord Downie-Chanie Wenjack Foundation, for The Secret Path. “The Secret Path gar-

The LO Growers sector group, represented by Gerwin Bouman and Mark Ostrowski, won two awards for their display of Ontario-grown plant material.

den was the clear winner, and was a visitor favourite throughout the festival,” said Caddo.

Canada Blooms Professional Awards Night was presented by HUB Aviva, and

hosted by Haig Seferian from the LO Landscape Designers Sector Group. In total, 37 awards were given out, including four Florist Awards.

Canada Blooms volunteers Landscape Ontario would like to thank the following individuals and companies who contributed to the success of Canada Blooms.

Landscape Ontario/ Highway of Heroes gardens Brydges Landscape Architecture Envirolok Canada Highway of Heroes Living Tribute Jackson Pond Management Gelderman Landscape Services Ground Effects Landscapes Guelph Glass TDA Landscape Services (teardown) Techo-Bloc Unilock Ontario Growers Grove Gerwin Bouman, Stam Nurseries Jen Llewellyn, OMAFRA Joel Schraven, Pickering Nurseries John Verbinnen and staff, Verbinnen’s Nursery Sabrina Goettler,Oriole Landscaping Phil Louwerse, AVK Nursery Jordan Louwerse, AVK Nursery Peter Pacheco, AVK Nursery John Mantel, AVK Nursery Terry Vanderkruk, Connon Nurseries/ CBV Holdings Stephen Poole, Connon Nurseries/ CBV Holdings Debb Poole, Connon Nurseries/ CBV Holdings

Chris Robb, Connon NVK John Vandenberg, Kobes Nurseries Thomas Mansfield, Kobes Nurseries Mark Ostrowski, Laurel Forest Farms Julia Llewellyn Rob Naraj, Sheridan Nurseries Kyle Stafford Mim Bowman, Uxbridge Nurseries Janice Shingler, Uxbridge Nurseries Jim Vandenbroek, Uxbridge Nurseries Julia Gregg, V. Kraus Nurseries Jeff Gregg, V. Kraus Nurseries Olga Kraus, V. Kraus Nurseries Jan Winkelmolen, Winkelmolen Nursery Ans Winkelmolen, Winkelmolen Nursery Nick Winkelmolen, Winkelmolen Nursery Come Alive Outside Garden Alan White, Turf Systems Landscape Ontario Lawn Care Sector Group Lung Association Mountview Landscaping Nursery Sod Growers Association of Ontario Steve Tschanz, Weedman Rohan Harrison, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Wentworth Landscapes

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Some residential properties in and around Perth are cottages or vacation homes of people from Ottawa; a niche specialty for Terrascapes.

Thriving in small town Ontario

By Robert Ellidge Running a landscaping business in a small town is not for everyone, but for Brian Rauwerda, owner of Terrascapes Landscape & Design in Perth, Ont., there’s no place he would rather be.

After graduating from the University of Guelph’s horticulture program in 1999 (specializing in design) Rauwerda founded his business in Ottawa in 2004. In 2010, his family and business moved about an hour southwest to the town of Perth.

Located on the Tay River, the historic, 200-year-old town has a population of about 6,000 people.

Business thrived and in 2016, one of Rauwerda’s employees, Kurt Rafuse, bought into the business, creating a coownership, split evenly between the two.

Rauwerda handles the main operations of the business, does most of the design work and operates a crew of two to three employees in and around Perth. Rafuse works primarily in Ottawa with another crew of two to three employees and the two share equipment and machinery.

Rauwerda says the two owners really don’t meet all that often. “Kurt will call in or send me information for all of the design required in Ottawa and we will communi-

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cate back and forth,” explains Rauwerda.

“We are both really so busy so if I don’t have to go Ottawa and Kurt doesn’t have to come to Perth then we don’t do it.” Rauwereda says the Ottawa projects tend to use a lot of interlock (which he uses rarely any of in his Perth projects) and the design can vary up to something that is ultra-modern.

Matching a natural setting

Terrascapes projects are mostly residential construction, design/build and average between $25,000 and $50,000. Rauwerda says “every job is different,” and after moving to Perth, he finds his designs draw upon a lot of the natural elements of the area, such as cedar rail fencing, wood structures and natural stone.

“We use stones as large as possible to make it look very rustic, like it was always there,” Rauwerda explains. Some projects require 30 to 40 tonnes of natural stone which means the company requires a logging truck full of natural stone brought in from a quarry in Peterborough about every two weeks.

Rather than the inefficiency of sending two staff to make the trip to the quarry and have downtime while stone is loaded, Rauwereda uses a local truck driver who is now

so familiar with the company’s style of work that he can also pick the right stone at the quarry.

Rauwerda also hires a local excavator when beginning a job and is happy to subcontract in other areas which allows him to focus on the job and deal with the client.

“It’s more manageable, and the customers really like that I can be on site,” he says.

A different kind of design project

In March 2016, Terrascapes took part in the Living Landscapes at the Ottawa Home and Garden Show. Featuring 10 gardens built by members of Landscape Ontario, the event quickly became a very popular feature of the show.

Rauwerda says he spent the entire winter before the show planning the feature garden and that it was a tremendous amount of work.

Although he may work on one or two designs each winter, at Terrascapes, the offseason is a time for everyone to enjoy other pursuits. One of the staff is a musician, another enjoys winter sports and for Rauwerda it’s a time to spend with his family and enjoy other interests.

So although he did have the added workload of participating in the home show, Rauwerda says it was a great experience.

“What was nice about that project was it was my idea from the beginning to the end,” Rauwerda explains. Not having to deal with the tastes, expectations and bud-

Materials that match the natural surroundings and buildings in Perth are used, so new landscapes look like they have always been there.

get of a client made for a unique experience that allowed him to do whatever he wanted and make the garden the way he truly envisioned it.

The idea for the garden was to “bring a bit of the country to the city,” Rauwerda explained, as some of Terrascape’s projects in Perth have been at summer homes or cottage properties of clients who live in Ottawa. Many elements in the garden came from local suppliers as well, including an outdoor barbecue unit from a local fireplace company, a large timber frame structure built by a local husband and wife, and a large pine cone3s sculpture created by a friend in Toronto.

The Terrascape feature garden was voted the People’s Choice Award at the 2016 Ottawa Home and Garden Show, confirming Rauwerda’s own choices of plant material, design elements and materials resonated with show visitors and his clients.

Rauwerda says he got a few jobs directly from participating in the show and many people around town were soon aware of the garden he created and accolades that ensued.

News travels fast

One potential drawback to working in a small town is that if you don’t do good work, word will spread quickly. “We don’t have a problem with that,” says Rauwerda. “If anything, it’s great to be in a small community,” explaining that almost all of the work done in 2016 was a direct result of client referrals.

“When people contact us, they know exactly what they want,” Rauwerda says, “and they have already justified why they called us.” Based on seeing work done by the company on other sites, Rauwerda feels they have already qualified them based on that and their reputation, and also with

the organizations they belong to and have worked with.

Terrace on the Tay

In celebration of the town’s 200th birthday in 2016, town council made plans to build a new dry stone bridge to revitalize an old swmming hole adjacent to the Tay River.

For the project, Algonquin College stone masonry professor John Scott says about two-thirds of the required stone was donated by Upper Canda Stone Company. The bridge was then built with a lot of help from students in Algonquin’s stone masonry program, plus many volunteers who helped to support students and an overwhelming number of dry stone wallers who descended on Perth for two days in July 2016.

The Perth Dry Stone Wall Festival Workshop saw about 60 participants from all over the world use their skills to build the bridge that will be remain a feature of the town for decades to come.

Rauwerda put together a free design and submitted a proposal to the town for the Terrance on the Tay revitalization. He also included a budget and working drawings as part of the submission.

Town officials liked what they saw and are now able to allocate funds at each stage of the project which has helped with the budgeting process.

Terrascapes was invloved in a large planting for the project and in November 2016, Rauwereda and local designer Ashley Cochrane (who works with the company at their busiest times and with 3D renderings), presented their plans for the area to Perth’s town council.

The proposal included an area to host wedding receptions and for taking wedding photos (something that would provide a bit

of income to offest operational and maintenance costs), as well as updating a small maintenance building into a concession area, plus seating for a small amphitheatre.

Town councilors were overjoyed with the proposal and Terrascapes is also working with the town on a soccer field as well as another wedding venue project.

Rauwerda has no plans to grow into a large company with four or five crews, citing it is very easy to lose control and lose the connection with clients at that stage. He feels being a smaller company is the most efficient way to operate, adding that clients like seeing him on site because that means he is working hard and has their best interests in mind.

Algonquin college stone masonry professor, John Scott (left) at the site of the Terrace on the Tay project with Terrascapes owner Brian Rauwerda.

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

For the second straight year, Landscape Ontario’s Grounds Management sector group joined forces with LO’s Landscape Contractors sector group for the annual Landscape Lecture event to provide about 100 participants with valuable information on a wide range of important topics for landscape professionals.

Held Feb. 28 at the Fontana Primavera Event Centre in Vaughan, Ont., the lecture included educational sessions led by green industry professionals punctuated by networking opportunities, a reception and dinner.

Brad Paton, owner of Shades of Summer Landscaping in the Hamilton area, chaired the grounds management portion of the afternoon, stating, “Unlike last year’s event, which took place during an ice storm, this year had favourable weather. With a strong line up of three guest speakers, the event was well attended.”

LO’s seasoned veteran line up began with Jeff McMann, arbor services coordinator at the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries, who discussed the importance and process of plant inventory and mapping of trees at Mount Pleasant.

McMann said the process is a staggering amount of work, and the project will

Contractors share at lecture event

Landscape and grounds management contractors gathered to learn from each other at the annual lecture.

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set the standard for large scale tree care sites.

Jennifer Llewellyn, nursery and landscape specialist at Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), followed with a talk on pests and diseases in the landscape, including her work on a new smartphone app that was recently launched that enables users to quickly detect and identify insect pests on woody ornamentals in the field. “We all look forward to her BugFinder app that will allow us all to look like experts!”

Paton affirmed.

To round out the grounds management lecture, Rodger Tschanz, trial garden manager at the University of Guelph, spoke about the new annuals being introduced into the marketplace and which ones thrived in his trail gardens. With 2017 being the year of Canada’s 150th birthday, Rodger expects to see many gardens filled with red and white flowers this year.

For the evening landscape contractor lecture, Joe Morello of Premier Landscaping and his brother Patrick Morello of LANDinc provided a unique picture of their shared history and related, but distinct, careers.

Peter Guinane of Oriole Landscaping, chair of the contractor sector group, praised the Morello brothers for sharing their “interesting clients, clever solutions and beautiful projects.” Guinane was happy with the event, describing it as “Another great presentation this year for the annual contractors lecture.”

The lecture is made possible by the generous support of sponsors: Beaver Valley Stone, Eloquip, Landscape Management Network (LMN), Sheridan Nurseries and Unilock.

EARLY SPRING WEATHER FOR SKI AND SPA DAY

Sunny skies and gorgeous spring skiing conditions made the 2017 Georgian Lakelands Chapter Ski and Spa Day extra special. Held Feb. 23 at Craigleith Ski Club and Scandinave Spa in Collingwood, Ont., the temperature hit 17 C in late morning — the highest on record for that date and well above the seasonal average of -2 C. For over 20 years, the Georgian Lakelands Chapter mid-winter break has gathered LO members for a fun day of networking, games and prizes, and this year was no exception. Prize winners included: Ski Fun Race, 1st place: Hugh McCormack, Columbia Landscaping

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

Ski Fun Race, 2nd place: Peter Guinane, Oriole Landscaping Most Shushed at Spa: Shannon Matamoros, Garden Holisitics Least Shushed at Spa: Amythest Stuart, LA Gardens Thank you to the following sponsors for their support: Clearview Nurseries, ProPower, Synlawn, Permacon, GB Outdoors and Mike Jackson GM. Also, thank you to all Landscape Ontario members and their guests who participated in the fun on the ski hill and at the spa.

The chapter hopes to see everyone again at Ski and Spa Day 2018.

SEEDY SATURDAY AT LANDSCAPE ONTARIO

LO members enjoyed above average temperatures on the ski slopes this year.

e

The second annual Milton Seedy Saturday was held at Landscape Ontario’s home office in Milton, Ont. on Feb. 25.

The free community event was sponsored by the Milton and District Horticultural Society (MDHS), Seeds of Diversity, Halton Master Gardeners and Landscape Ontario. There was a steady flow of visitors over the five hours of the event, with over 100 people attending.

Each hour featured a different topic

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The annual seed exchange gets local gardeners well-equipped for spring planting.

by a Master Gardener. The topics included, “Seed Sprouting for Beginners,” “Shade Gardening,” “Vermicomposting,” “Dahlias” and “Plants for the Sun.” In addition, a hands-on demo titled “Grow Seeds” was held in LO’s greenhouse. Master Gardeners also answered horticultural questions and Grace Moores, MDHS vice president, helped visiting children to make artwork using seeds. A huge hit, particularly with the children was “Rent a Chicken” from the chicken lady Kate Belbeck, one of the vendors.

The main reason behind Seedy Saturday is to provide a place for an annual seed swap. There were a large number of interesting and heirloom seed varieties available. Those who didn’t bring any seeds to swap had the opportunity to purchase some. The day was not only an opportunity to exchange seeds, it was also an opportunity to exchange ideas.

NEW CHARGE-OUT RATES AVAILABLE

Landscape Ontario has released the 2017 edition of its Contractors Rate Card, containing suggested labour charge-out rates for construction and grounds management contractors.

The new edition shows rate ranges for each specialty, to reflect diverse markets across the province. The information can be used for benchmarking, as well as promoting the green profession as a career choice.

The update process was coordinated by Peter Guinane and Brad Paton, respective chairs of LO’s Landscape Contractor and Grounds Management sector groups. Both caution business owners against assuming they will be profitable if they charge the suggested rates. They urge contractors to set rates based on knowing their costs and overheads, and hope the rate suggestions will help them develop better understanding of numbers.

Paton and Guinane also see value in publishing the rates as a defence against under-bidders.

A copy of the new rate card is enclosed in this issue’s polybag, and an electronic version is available for free download at horttrades.com/2017-contractors-rate-card. You may also order printed copies from Meghan Greaves, mgreaves@landscapeontario.com.

Call Today To Receive Your Free Copy 7314 Sixth Line, Milton, Ontario L9E 0Y1 Phone: 905-878-7226 • Fax: 905-878-8737 Email: yard@putzernursery.com

MANDERLEY RECOGNIZED FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

Landscape Ontario Ottawa Chapter member, Manderley Turf Products, has once again been honoured as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

“It’s a great feeling to have been recognized alongside Canada’s best companies for the sixth straight year,” says Wayne Moloughney, president. “Manderley has been focused on improving our operations by increasing efficiency through innovation and the use of new technologies and this award reaffirms that we are on the right track.”

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greener communities by providing high quality, innovative lawn and garden products. Manderley is Canada’s largest sod producer, with over 60 million square feet sold annually. Manderley sod is grown and sold in the area surrounding Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton and northern Alberta. The companies products include seed, fertilizer, soil and their Less Water Sod, which consumes as little as half the water of a conventional lawn.

The 2017 Best Managed program recognizes the best-in-class of Canadianowned and managed companies with revenues over $15 million demonstrating strategy, capability and commitment to achieve sustainable growth. Manderley has continued to earn this distinction, having achieved Gold Standard status since 2014.

“Best Managed companies deserve recognition for their entrepreneurial approach to excelling in an uncertain economic climate. They truly bring out the best in Canadian business leadership,” said Peter Brown, partner, Deloitte and co-leader, Canada’s Best Managed Companies program.

Winners of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 2017 will be honoured at a annual gala in Toronto on April 19. On the same date, the Best Managed symposium will address leading-edge business issues that are key to the success of today’s business leaders.

For more information on the program, visit bestmanagedcompanies.ca.

The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) is pleased to announce Landscape Ontario member, Thornbusch Landscaping Company in Lansdowne, Ont., is the first company in North American to be accredited under the Landscape Industry Accredited Company program.

CNLA and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) developed the program to recognize landscape companies, retail garden centres and nurseries that are committed to excellence through certification. Thornbusch recently completed the application process and after extensive review, was determined to have met or exceed the standards set out in the program.

Thornbusch owner Paul Doornbos says achieving the designation verifies the company’s business practices and its commitment to education, customer ser-

vice and professionalism.

“It’s a team award in the sense that it is a reflection of not just my commitment as an owner, but also our staff being committed to professional development in terms of various certifications,” Doornbos said.

Doornbos said the designation was not easy to get, but “if you conduct your business in a professional manner, this should be a designation that everyone can achieve. You don’t have to be a large company; ours is less than 10 people, but one of our selling features has always been the degree of professionalism of our staff.”

Once accredited, companies pledge to meet superior standards including: • Employing trained, Landscape Industry Certified, or equivalent employees.

• Provide clear, customer communications about service programs and contracts.

• Follow applicable provincial/territorial/ state, local and federal licensing requirements.

• Maintain current insurance policies.

• Advertise truthfully and ethically in accordance with the Canadian Competition Bureau.

• Checking employee references, driving history and criminal background.

• Maintain a drug-free workplace.

• Participate in provincial/territorial workplace safety programs to enforce safety initiatives.

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For more information about the program, please contact Jason Young, professional development assistant at CNLA at 1-888-446-3499, ext. 8620 or jason@cnla-acpp.ca.

ALAN TRIMBLE LEARNS FROM TEACHING

After some 14 years teaching courses with Landscape Ontario, Alan Trimble is retiring. The owner of Aurora Landscape Contractors, based in Gormley, Ont. has taught the introduction to flagstone course as well as two concrete classes over the years, and has relished the experience.

“What I have enjoyed the most is the interaction with the students,” said Trimble. “They always contribute, because they generally have some experience already; and so I honestly have learned more from them over the years then they have from me.”

He added, “Honestly, I’ve picked up some really valuable things. Sometimes it’s just a small tweak, where it’s just another way of doing something. But overall, it has been a great way to stay current.”

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

Al Trimble (right) has learned a lot from teaching at Landscape Ontario for many years.

Being involved in teaching has kept him at the top of his game, Trimble said, with a laugh, as he typically spends a couple days before each course prepping and ensuring he is up to speed.

“The students tend to be very well informed,” he said. “They are eager; it

shows a certain drive, that they want to things the right way.”

Trimble’s business in Aurora and the surrounding area continues to thrive; and he wishes his former students all the best in the industry going forward.

PARKWOOD ESTATES AND DURHAM COLLEGE RECEIVE GREEN EQUIPMENT DONATION

Landscape Ontario, Husqvarna, Humphries Landscape Services and Direct Landscape Supply have teamed up to donate new, environmentally-friendly, battery-powered maintenance equipment to the Durham College horticulture program, which will use the state-of the-art tools at Parkwood Estates in Oshawa.

“The students are going to be the beneficiaries of this partnership, because they will get to learn with the latest equipment on the market from a safety point of view, and also from a technology stand point as well,” said Mark Humphries, owner of Humphries Landscape Services and Direct Landscape Supply. “Parkwood serves as an outdoor laboratory for Durham College students, who get to work in a unique horticultural environment, and now they will get to learn best practices while using the best equipment, too.”

Husqvarna donated equipment through the equipment manufacturer’s educational program, while Landscape Ontario provided $4,500 for additional equipment.

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of the pre-delivery inspection, delivery and service, while Humphries Landscape Service will be installing an invisible fencing system that will allow two automatic “robot” lawn mowers to maintain the turf at Parkwood Estates.

STUDENTS DISCOVER THE SUCCESS OF HORTICULTURE Wave after wave of students attended the Tech and Trades Fair at the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute on March 9, where LO president Paul Brydges of Brydges Landscape Architecture and Design set up a booth to promote the horticulture

Paul Brydges helps to promote career opportunities in the landscape and horticulture profession.

profession to the young minds attending. Brydges discussed the design aspect of his business and many of the students

were impressed to learn about the various opportunities from design to stone masonry to marketing available in the horticulture profession. Science students were interested at the mention of projects by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

Brydges also appears in a new video

by Unilock that promotes the various career opportunities in the profession. The video can be viewed online at unilock.com/ landscaping-jobs.

NEW EXECUTIVE MANAGER AT LANDSCAPE ONTARIO

Landscape Ontario trade show manager Heather MacRae has accepted an additional role as the association’s new Executive Manager.

The role is part of a succession plan by LO executive director, Tony DiGiovanni, who will mentor MacRae over the next few years to allow for a smooth and seamless transition.

“Several of the past presidents and Provincial Board members have be urging me to develop a succession plan for many years,” explained DiGiovanni. “With the outstanding work Heather has done to elevate Congress and many other LO events to the next level, I no longer felt the need to resist

developing a succession plan.”

Among her new responsibilities, MacRae will act as the main spokeperson for the association in absence of the executive director and focus many of her efforts on managing the daily operations of LO; working with department mangers to develop budgets, improve service to members, nurture creativity and innovation, provide guidance and support and identify and resolve operational issues.

DiGiovanni notified members of LO’s Provincial Board about the news and MacRae says she was “completely overwhelmed by the number of members who took time out” to congratulate her and offer their support.

“Both the staff and the members do a tremendous amount of work,” said MacRae. “This will allow Tony to be able to focus (externally) on the priorities of the members and the board, while we work internally to improve communication and work more effectively to provide members with better service.

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NEW MEMBERS GEORGIAN LAKELANDS

LONDON

Green Earth Landscapes

Higgs & Higgs Inc

Ian Macdonald 355 Peel St, Collingwood, ON L9Y 3W5 Tel: 705-539-0079 Membership Type: Active

Marshall Yardworks Inc

Taylor Marshall 165 Fielding Rd, Sudbury, ON P3Y 1L7 Tel: 705-561-6419 Membership Type: Active

Sutherland Golf

Dave Sutherland 478 Warrington Rd, Stayner, ON L0M 1S0 Tel: 705-443-9132 Membership Type: Associate

GOLDEN HORSESHOE DiLeonardo Plumbing

Silvano DiLeonardo 59 Fairington Cres, Hamilton, ON L8E 3N3 Tel: 905-518-9533 Membership Type: Associate

Voisin’s Equipment Rental

Steve Voisin 43 Winer Rd, Puslinch, ON N0B 2J0 Tel: 519-767-5438 Membership Type: Satellite

Verne Higgs 47307 Sparta Line, Sparta, ON N0L 2H0 Tel: 519-872-6763 Membership Type: Associate

OTTAWA W.O. Stinson and Son Ltd

Derek May 4728 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1T 3W7 Tel: 613-822-7400 Membership Type: Chapter Associate

TORONTO Bohemian Landscape Innovations

Dariusz Kasperski 5330 Lucas Crt, Mississauga, ON L47 4K9 Tel: 416-677-9193 Membership Type: Active

CRCE Construction Ltd

Robert Jankowski 57 Corstate Ave, Concord, ON L4K 4Y2 Tel: 905-669-0001 Membership Type: Active

Canadian Port & Heavy Equipment Inc Brian Renaud 1250 Mid-Way Blvd, Mississauga, ON L5T 2B8 Tel: 519-504-7939 Membership Type: Associate

Clear Cut Group Inc

Gerald Mulhall 6447 Longspur Rd, Mississauga, ON L5N 6E4 Tel: 905-824-6597 Membership Type: Active

Greenspace Landscaping & Property Services Inc

Paul Guercio 797 O’Connor Dr, Toronto, ON M4B 2S5 Tel: 416-371-3227 Membership Type: Active

Little Landscapes

Trevor Little 1138 Dundas St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1S1 Tel: 416-727-3364 Membership Type: Active

Pollocks Home Hardware

Len McAuley 347 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, ON M6R 2M8 Tel: 416-535-1169 Membership Type: Chapter Associate

Rodeiro Contracting Inc

John Rodrigues 17 Grange Dr, Richmond Hill, ON L4E 4S9 Tel: 416-457-7960 Membership Type: Active

Toran Landscaping Inc

Yektami Akyol 52 Harlock Blvd, North York, ON M3H 6C2 Tel: 647-889-2449 Membership Type: Active

Vaughan Pools & Spas Inc

Vince Mauro 27 Goodman Cres, Vaughan, ON L6A 1E8 Tel: 647-993-9118 Membership Type: Active

Ryan Liske

Milton, ON Membership Type: Horticultural

Matthew MacCharles

Toronto, ON Membership Type: Horticultural

UPPER CANADA Better Way Sheds

Jesse Macdonald 293 Avonlough Rd, Belleville, ON K8N 4Z2 Tel: 613-848-5521 Membership Type: Chapter Associate

WATERLOO AYR Welding (1977) Ltd

Meghan MacAulay 41 Inglis St, Ayr, ON N0B 1E0 Tel: 519-632-7176 Membership Type: Associate

ULMA Construction Systems Canada

Mark Tisdall 6 - 540 Jamieson Pkwy, Cambridge, ON N2P 2K1 Tel: 519-658-5656 Membership Type: Chapter Associate

Universal Rental Services

Steve Voisin 140 St. Patrick St W, Fergus, ON N1M 1L5 Tel: 519-843-4570 Membership Type: Associate

WINDSOR Charron Equipment

Steven Charron 8874 English Line, Chatham, ON N7M 0M2 Tel: 519-437-7488 Membership Type: Active

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EVENTS Find full details and registration links at horttrades.com/comingevents April 22

June 9-18

St. James Park, Toronto The annual spring clean up of St. James Park in Toronto by LO members and the local community will take place starting at 7:30 a.m. Volunteer labour and equipment are needed for aerating, fertilizing, raking and blower crews. Contact Kyle Tobin, kyle@lawnsavers.com or Alan White, alan.white@turfsystems.ca.

Canada’s annual celebration of gardens has expanded to a 10-day event this year, with National Garden Day celebrated on June 16. A variety of events are planned for gardening enthusiasts, families, schools and comGarden Days will run 10 days from June 9-18 this year. munities. Take part in a local event or get inspired at your local garden centre or travel to a nearby destination garden. See a August 24 full listing of events or register your own event at 1st Annual Highway of Heroes gardendays.ca.

St. James Park spring maintenance

April 26

Golden Horseshoe Chapter Meeting

Legion Hall (East Room), 12 King St. E., Stoney Creek Avoid costly fines and learn about municipal bylaws and the legal issues surrounding them. Full details at horttrades.com/goldenhorseshoe.

May 8-10

Grey to Green Conference

Chestnut Conference Centre, downtown Toronto Presented by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the Green Infrastructure Foundation and in partnership with the City of Toronto, the fifth annual conference for architects, landscape architects, policy makers, manufacturers, growers, landscapers and green infrastructure professionals has been expanded this year to include over 50 presentations. A trade show, networking events, workshops and tours of projects in Toronto also take place. Full details and registration online at greytogreenconference.org.

Garden Days

Living Tribute Golf Tournament

August 17

Trial Garden Open House

Landscape Ontario, 7856 Fifth Line S., Milton Learn how this year’s plants performed at the trial garden site from trial garden manager Rodger Tschanz. In the afternoon, an open house will take place at the trial gardens at the University of Guelph. Watch horttrades.com and LO enews for details.

August 18

Golden Horseshoe Chapter Golf Tournament

Willow Valley Golf Course, 8475 English Church Road, Hamilton Registration is now open for the chapter’s annual golf tournament that will raise funds for the MS Society of Canada. Sponsorship opportunities also available. Visit horttrades.com/goldenhorseshoe.

Port Hope Golf & Country Club, Port Hope Golfers of all levels can join hosts Mark Cullen and Dr. James Cubine for this fun day of golf to raise money for the HOHLT. To register or sponsor the event, visit hohtribute.ca/2017-golf-tournament.

Sept. 12

Industry Auction

Brookdale Treeland Nurseries, Schomberg The annual industry auction on is your chance to purchase the best nursery stock in Ontario while raising money for industry research and scholarships. The free event is open to all sectors looking to purchase plant material and includes lunch courtesy of our host. Suppliers can donate product or enter into the Growers Awards of Excellence Program. Watch industryauction.ca and LO enews for details.

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SCHOLARSHIP PROFILE Jeryn Mackey finds green profession a natural fit 2016 Cullen Family Scholarship Program recipient Jeryn Mackey didn’t always have her sights set on a career in the green profession. The Fort St. John, B.C., native started her post-secondary career at the University of Victoria, studying biochemistry.

“I really love science, but I was having some trouble because I still wanted to do some creative things,” she explained.

Mackey is now a second-year landscape student in the University of Guelph’s landscape architecture program. “I found out about the Guelph program from one of my cousins, who went to the university, and I decided that it sounded a lot more like what I wanted to do.”

Though Mackey did not have any formal landscaping experience — gardening

at her family home notwithstanding — she landed a job in the Fort St. John, B.C. office of Urban Systems, which provides strategic planning, engineering, environmental science and urban design services to public and private sector clients throughout Western Canada. After her first year at U of G, Mackey was able to apply her skills and knowledge with the firm, participating in small design projects and community engagement for a municipal parks and recreation master plan.

Mackey will return to the company this summer, and plans on pursuing a master’s degree in planning after completing the four-year landscape architecture program.

“I really love the university and the program” said Mackey. “Being so small, you can really get to know your professors and the people you’re with. And I love the work that we are doing.”

This semester, Mackey has been working on a number of site construction projects, and she has really enjoyed the hands-on nature of the program.

“We have been doing a lot of site engi-

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Helping with community projects is also something Mackey really enjoys.

neering and more technical things this year, and it has been fun to be learning things that we will actually be able to build now,” she said.

Mackey is also involved in the university’s student society, which recently hosted local kids and helped them build models with clay at an annual open house event.

“While our classes are great, and I really enjoy learning about the profession, the outside of school part is a lot of fun as well.

The student society has been an excellent way for me to get involved,” she said.

She also expressed her gratitude to the Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation (OHFT) program and the Cullen Family Scholarship Program for the $2,000 contribution to her studies.

“I am so appreciative of the scholarship,” she said. “It makes a real difference for me, and I want to thank the Cullen family and the OHTF.”

Cullen Scholarship Program The Cullen Scholarships are designed to encourage and inspire leadership qualities in students who have a passion and enthusiasm for the landscape profession. They are awarded to contribution-oriented candidates who possess integrity, honesty, perseverance and initiative and who care about fellow students, teachers, community and industry.

Candidates are selected by their peers and teachers. The program coordinator hosts an election process and submits a brief profile of the winning candidate to Mark Cullen and the OHTF each year. The profiles outline the character attributes of the successful candidate. To donate or apply, visit ohtf.ca.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Overall, the summit is designed to help landscape companies: • Create product offerings that eliminate competition.

• Learn how to measure sales activity and build a winning sales process.

• Take customer service to new levels and understand why it is worth it.

• Understand how to motivate teams to think like entrepreneurs.

The second annual Leaders Summit provided a forum for business owners and managers to learn and share ideas.

Leaders Summit teaches how to implement change About 170 green professionals gathered at Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood, Ont., Feb. 21-22, to learn the “ultimate strategic planning program” at the second annual Leaders Summit.The event was sponsored by LMN and Landscape Ontario. Led by Mark Bradley and the LMN team, the summit included educational sessions, keynote speakers and

social events for networking.

The summit featured two learning streams: one for business owners and another for their key staff members.

While separated for numerous educational sessions, each group was brought back together for brainstorming sessions throughout the program; collaboration was a key theme of the event.

Dave Wright, president of Wright Landscape Services, returned to the event after having a great experience at the summit in 2016.

“Last year’s summit was very good, and I knew that, with LMN involved, it would be even better this year,” said Wright. “Last year I was amazed by how many actionable items I came away with from every session, and it has been the same this year.”

He added, “Last year they introduced the four o’clock four, and we were able to implement that program by the end of the session. By four o’clock that day we were getting it done, which was pretty amazing.”

Keynote speakers included Olympic gold medalist Heather Moyse, Lawn & Landscape editor Chuck Bowen, Compass Creative owner Jason Bouwman, president of Wentworth Landscapes Scott Wentworth, and Limestone Trail and Shadeview Structures CEO John Verhey.

Educational sessions were led by Mark Bradley, LMN CEO and co-founder of TBG Environmental, who specializes in strategic planning, marketing and sales and operational strategies.

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INDUSTRY NEWS LMN, ran sessions on estimating strategy and job costing, while business coach Jeffrey Scott moderated a talk on how to focus a strategic plan, as well as a session on “growing people.”

Garry Reisky of Terraform Contracting attended the summit for the first time based on the recommendation from industry colleagues.

“It’s a bit like drinking through a fire hose,” he said, near the end of the program. “There are so many things that you can use, the question becomes, how many of them can you implement?”

Hosted at the Village Conference Centre, walking distance from the Blue Mountain Resort village, the event also included an après social gathering and plenty of networking opportunities. LMN plans to hold the event again in 2018. For more information, visit golmn.com/leaders-summit.

CFIA COST RECOVERY INITIATIVE

The Canadian Food inspection Agency (CFIA) have undertaken a cost recovery initiative, with the intent of updating their current user fee structure and service standards. Most CFIA fees have not changed since the Agency was created in 1997, with the result that today, CFIA recovers less than 10 percent of its costs from fees. Additionally, current service standards are nonexistent or outdated.

The Agency has proposed a twophased consultation approach. Phase one is currently underway and seeks input from all user groups to help them to better understand impacts of cost recovery and industry-appropriate service standards.

CFIA will engage with all related industry associations, including the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA), as part of their ongoing consultation process.

However, it will be particularly important that nursery growers and all other compa-

nies that are regular users of CFIA inspection services, respond directly to the survey as indicated below.

The deadline to participate in phase one consultations is April 21, 2017.

To take the survey, visit gfl.me/h3ko.

NEW EDITIONS OF LANDSCAPE EXAM MANUALS

The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) presents the latest edition of business management training manuals — the recommended study material for professionals challenging the Landscape Industry Certified Manager (CLM) exams.

The technical content and management perspectives do not vary significantly from the last edition; however, the information and graphics are presented in a fresh, updated and easy-to-read format.

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22 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO APRIL 2017

To purchase, visit csla-aapc.ca/standard

These latest-edition manuals are a useful resource on industry standards, best practices and business guiding principles.

There is one manual for each of the seven modules covered in the CLM exams, namely: • Corporate Financial Management • Human Resources • Marketing and Sales Management • Leadership and Corporate Citizenship • Strategic Planning • Exterior Production Operations and Horticulture • Risk, Law, and Contracts Despite the updated manuals, the CLM exam has not changed and candidates can adequately prepare for the exam using the previous edition of manuals.

To order manuals, download and complete the Study Manual Order Form and return it to Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, 7856 Fifth Line S. Milton, ON L9T 2X8 or email to certification@canadanursery.com, or contact CNLA at 1-888-446-3499.

The order form, as well as more information about industry certification programs can be found online at landscapeindustrycertifiedmanager.ca.

The Grey to Green Conference features tours of green infrastructure projects around Toronto.

NEW LOCATION FOR GREY TO GREEN CONFERENCE

Now in its fifth year, the Grey to Green Conference will run May 8-10 at a new location; the Chestnut Conference Centre in downtown Toronto. Adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square, the location is

also directly north of the city’s Financial District.

Presented by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the Green Infrastructure Foundation and in partnership with the City of Toronto, the event focuses on the value of green infrastructure and has expanded

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INDUSTRY NEWS to include speakers on health, food production, economic valuation, new storm water policies, new design guidelines and award winning projects.

The conference features a trade show, networking events and workshops, some of which include tours of projects in Toronto.

The event boasts over 50 speakers, among them, keynote speaker Tony DiGiovanni, Landscape Ontario executive director, will talk on how investing in green infrastructure helps to create jobs.

Grey to Green attracts more than 300 architects, landscape architects, policy makers, manufacturers, growers, landscapers and green infrastructure professionals to discuss the benefits, growth and tangible effects of the green infrastructure industry.

New this year, a free public event featuring keynote speaker, Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Planner with the City of Toronto, will kick off the conference at Ryerson University on May 8.

In addition to a full pass, options are available for individual tours, an evening reception and a live webcast. Full details and online registration can be found on the conference website at greytogreenconference.org.

Landscape Ontario, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, Ontario Parks Association and Ontario Association of Landscape Architects are among the many sponsors of the event.

ANNUAL TULIP FESTIVAL RUNS MAY 12-22

The Canadian Tulip Festival celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2017 and has planned activities for all ages to mark Canada’s 150th Tulips will take over Ottawa for 11 days in May. birthday. workshops, a tulip market, and Friendship This special edition Stage, where varied music and entertainof the festival also marks a partnership with ment, including children’s performers and the Canadian Garden Council to create a representative acts from the Festival’s Tulip “Garden Promenade” as part of expansion Friendship countries will perform. plans to showcase and promote Ottawa as Massive art installations will also appear a garden tourism destination — a growing on the City Parkade in ByWard Market, segment of the tourism industry.

Ottawa’s central city marketplace.

“Not only is 2017 a milestone year for Self-guided or escorted tours of Ottathe festival, it is also the year we welcome wa’s public gardens exploding with millions back Michel Gauthier who operated the of tulips in bloom from the Governor Generfestival for 15 years from 1992 to 2005,” al’s residence to the Central Experimental stated David Luxton, chair of the Canadian Farm and back to Parliament Hill via GatinTulip Legacy, sponsor and supporter of eau comprise the Garden Promenade. the Canadian Tulip Festival. “Many friends A number of special events are schedof the festival from over the years know uled throughout the 11-day festival, includMichel’s talent for vision and his passion for ing a Mother’s Day Dutch Brunch, Swing the Tulip Legacy. We congratulate him on Dance Night and fireworks. his vision and passion to expand the Canadian Tulip Festival into a Capital garden Started in 1953, the Canadian Tulip experience for residents and visitors,” LuxFestival is one of the largest events of its ton added. kind in the world, celebrating Ottawa’s Displays will be held at various locaofficial flower as a symbol of international tions, including a Garden Tulip Experifriendship and peace. The Canadian Tulip ence at Commissioners Park featuring live Festival is an event of the Canadian Tulip musical entertainment and artists at work Legacy, a non-profit charitable organization among the tulip beds. established to celebrate the historic royal Lansdowne Park is the primary festigift of tulips from the Netherlands to Canaval venue where visitors can take part in dians after the Second World War. a number of events and activities, includTickets for the festival can be purchased ing vintage military displays, art and floral online at tulipfestival.ca.

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EXECUTIVE DESK Discover your purpose advance their own businesses and the industry as a whole.”

• “To represent the landscape profession and be the medium between professionals and consumers.”

• “To bring together professionals of the landscaping industries to promote, educate and network with members and the public.”

• “To promote the profession of horticulture as a whole, internally as well as the public including our future team members.”

• “Involve our industry in the promotion, education and professional development that makes our industry world class.”

• “Education on all levels – public, professionals, potential members.”

• “To promote the honesty, integrity and creativity of the industry.”

• “Educate members and general public about the horticultural profession.”

• “Community of professionals which improve (excel) members.”

• “LO is about sharing ideas to make professionals more prosperous and raise awareness of the profession to the public.”

• “To give back to the profession that we are a part of.”

• “Promote landscaping professions to the public and private sectors.”

• “Is to present vision of a family of enthusiastic people in a unique profession, like no other in our society.”

• “To connect like-minded individuals in an effort to produce a collaborative effort towards improving the industry and the people in it.”

• “To provide leadership within our

Tony DiGiovanni CHT LO Executive Director

I

am a big fan of author Daniel Pink and subscribe to his monthly “Pincast.” His most recent entry suggested a very simple way to “discover your purpose.” You can find a link at gfl. me/h3kv.

I encourage you to try this exercise in your organization to find out how aligned everyone is in understanding the purpose of your company.

At a recent meeting, we asked the LO Provincial Board of Directors and staff to “describe the purpose of Landscape Ontario.” Based on their responses, it is not surprising to see how remarkably aligned and unified they are. This unity and aligned vision is a big reason why Landscape Ontario is such a vibrant, successful and engaged community of members. Below are some of the responses about the purpose of Landscape Ontario: • “Elevate professionalism of industry and image in public.”

• “To promote Ontario’s green profession.”

• “To recognize Ontario’s landscape entrepreneurs as the heroes they are.”

• “To promote professional members as trained, honest companies with integrity towards customers and staff.”

• “To provide a community to help members

profession for our members.”

• “LO is an industry leader that helps develop and support the growth of our green profession.”

• “To grow the green industry from within; like-minded landscape companies that want to better the industry as a whole through education, aspiration and professionalism.”

In summary, we are a community for mutual improvement and benefit dedicated to promoting professionalism, education and public trust.

In his book “Drive,” Daniel Pink highlighted three attributes that motivate us; autonomy, mastery and purpose. Spending time understanding and communicating our purpose will lead to enhancing our organizations.

Time for succession

For about 10 years, my many mentors have been urging me to develop a succession plan. I have resisted until now.

I am very pleased to announce the creation of a new position within Landscape Ontario called Executive Manager. For the last five years, our trade show manager, Heather MacRae, and her team have done a remarkable job improving our trade show, conferences, symposiums and special events. I am happy to announce Heather will be adding the challenge of the executive manager role to her existing title. I know she will do well.

I look forward to working with Heather over the next few years to ensure a smooth and successful succession focused on growing a prosperous, professional, ethical and contribution-oriented profession. With this change, as with so many others, I am reminded of the saying, “Change comes bearing gifts and the best is yet to come.”

Tony DiGiovanni may be reached at tony@landscapeontario.com.

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PUBLIC RELATIONS Province-wide promotions

By Denis Flanagan CLD Manager of Membership and Public Relations

J

ust as spring is starting to come to life and Landscape Ontario members are preparing for another busy year, it amazes me how so many of you are dedicating your time and talents to promoting our profession and our association at events across the province.

Canada Blooms was a fantastic showcase for the landscape and horticulture profession again this year and received rave reviews from the public and the media. As part of the LO promotion at Canada Blooms, we distributed three skids of our annual Garden Inspiration magazine. Produced by LO’s communications department, the format for Garden Inspiration changed this year, thanks primarily to the hard work, vision and dedication of LO home office staff members Scott Barber and Kim Burton. The popular publication

continues to highlight new plants arriving in garden centres in the near future (with a red and white theme to coincide with Canada 150 celebrations), as well as local community greening projects by all LO chapters and a selection of interesting projects built by LO members. In the magazine, homeowners share their experience working with a professional member of LO and how their lifestyle improved along with their new outdoor living space. The LO member also talks about the project which allows their passion, expertise and professionalism to shine through.

Thanks also go to the LO staff that helped to hand out the magazine at Canada Blooms and to the many volunteers, led by Ottawa Chapter coordinator Martha Walsh, who made sure visitors to the home show received a copy of the magazine.

Martha, along with some dedicated Ottawa Chapter members, also helped to distribute another 5,000 copies at the Living Landscapes feature in the Ottawa Home & Garden Show the week after Canada Blooms.

Chapters take up the challenge Chris Power from Bellaire Landscapes, a long-standing member of LO’s Wind-

Copies of Garden Inspiration were distributed at the Ottawa Home & Garden Show

sor Chapter, visited Canada Blooms and left with 20 boxes of Garden Inspiration to hand out at the chapter’s booth in the Windsor home and garden show.

The province-wide promotion tradition continued in late March in Kitchener/Waterloo, where that chapter created a welcoming entrance garden for the KW Home & Garden Show, and gave out the magazine with a free package of wildflower seeds to show attendees.

LO’s Golden Horseshoe Chapter hosted their ever-expanding Gear Up For Spring event on March 28 which, among a whirlwind of other activities, also featured a lively presentation from Paul Zammit from the Toronto Botanical Garden on container gardening. Paul’s presentation was an effort to entice local Master Gardeners and horticultural societies to the event.

And if all that was not enough, LO was also involved in a new show called Design Outdoors at the International Centre in Mississagua, Ont. in late March. This trade show catered to both interior designers and landscape designers, in an effort to promote collaboration and ideas between the two groups. Thanks to Janet Ennamorato, Creative Garden Designs and Connie Cadotte, Garden Retreats, for creating a garden at the show that promoted Landscape Ontario and encouraged networking between interior designers and landscape designers/contractors.

A big thank-you to all members who get involved in the numerous home and garden shows throughout Ontario. There is no doubt your efforts to educate the public also help to grow our membership.

Denis Flanagan can be reached at dflanagan@landscapeontario.com or at 905-875-1805, ext. 2303.

26 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO APRIL 2017

MEMBERSHIP The most wonderful time of the year

By Myscha Burton Membership and Chapter Coordinator

T

his April marks my three-year anniversary with Landscape Ontario. It’s hard to believe when I joined the LO family, I was still writing my final exams for my last year of university. That feels like a lifetime ago. In the last three years I have gotten married, bought my first house, been on my first plane ride, played my first game of golf (which still has yet to improve) and I’ve been on stage with Mark Cullen and the legendary DeeGees band. These are just some of the highlights of a very amazing three years.

In three years, the LO membership family has grown to over 2,600, new endorsed supplier programs have been added, chapters have been busier than ever and the horticulture profession is thriving in many new ways.

Last month’s Canada Blooms was a magnificent showcase of the work by LO member companies and the sights of the show were the perfect way to kick-off the 2017 landscaping season. April marks the start of one of the busiest times of the year in the landscaping world, so pick a date on the calendar for some time in early July to have a special outing with your family and/ or significant other.

chapter tournaments) later in summer when things are a little less hectic.

Fostering a positive team environment and utilizing the resources available to you to do so, is a win-win-win for you, your staff and your business.

Summer member events

beyond their paycheque. When staff members feel they are valued in a company and there is room for growth and development in their career, they are far more likely to perform to the very best of their abilities and also return the following season.

Here are some ideas to help kick-start a happy team environment this spring: Company clothing is a great way to make your staff feel like part of the team. It also shows an added level of professionalism to your clients when your staff are uniformed. As an added bonus, you could purchase LO’s special Canada 150 Horticultural Professional shirts for your staff. These are available for order at horttrades.com/canada-150-shirt.

Mark’s Work Warehouse discount cards are available to all LO members and their staff. Why not give your staff the discount card so they can save on their annual purchase of safety boots, rain gear, etc.

Discount cards are available for pick-up at Landscape Ontario, or we would be happy to send them to you.

After the wild ride of April and June, reward your staff with a fun day on the golf course (possibly at one of the many LO

Your membership team is looking forward to a summer full of golf and baseball tournaments, site visits and member appreciation days. If you have a job site you are extra proud of this season, please let us know. We love visiting members at work and this gives us a chance to thank your clients for hiring a Landscape Ontario member. We are continuing our member appreciation days this summer and our goal is to host at least one of these events in each chapter throughout the summer.

If you are looking for an additional way to motivate your team, bring them to one of our member appreciation days and let us treat them to breakfast. If you have a garden centre, nursery or supply yard and would be willing to host us for the day, please let me know. Member appreciation days begin this May, so be sure to check LO’s weekly enews and coming events on horttrades.com for locations and details.

Wishing all the best to you and your staff this season!

Myscha can be reached at myscha@landscapeontario.com or 1-800-265-5656 ext. 2333.

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Priorities this season

With the new season underway, what are your goals for the year? Are you trying to grow your company, increase sales, or take on larger projects? Perhaps you have new staff members on your team this year. How do you plan to onboard these individuals and keep seasoned staff motivated in their work? Your crew is a direct reflection of your success and your staff help to shape your company’s reputation with clients and industry colleagues.

Aside from hiring the most qualified workers for a position, it is also key to have a team that creates a healthy workplace environment where staff are actively engaged in the company they work for,

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APPRENTICESHIP Celebrating women in Apprenticeship In honour of International Women’s Day on March 8, we profile two female apprenticeship students from LO’s Upper Canada Chapter. These two apprentices and their employer, Pam McCormick CLP of Simply Landscaping & Garden Designs in Odessa, Ont., are great examples of women who have benefited from the Apprenticeship Program.

Simply Landscaping currently has four registered apprentices in the program, with one close to completion.

Pam McCormick has been in business for 22 years and is fully aware of the many benefits of the Apprenticeship Program.

What benefits do you see in training your employees through the Apprenticeship Program?

“It keeps them engaged in the off-season and also makes them feel that they have a career and not just a job. I also like that different instructors bring different and/or new ideas and methods, which I encourage the apprentices to share with us. I feel this, in turn, makes our company better. I’m a big believer in continuing education.”

What would you say to another employer who might be considering putting their staff through the Apprenticeship Program?

“This is an amazing opportunity and a winwin situation for the employer. Tax breaks aside, education builds confidence and will bring higher quality performance to your jobsites. And the bonus is that there is no cost to the employer.”

Jodi Whan is a Level 1 Apprentice at Loyalist College.

Whan has one year of experience in the profession and loves working outside with plants.

What were your top three reasons for registering in the Apprenticeship Program?

1. Career 2. Employer wanted me to 3. A better life for my children What interests you about the landscape profession?

“Lots of things. I love flowers and I want to learn more about trees and their diseases and how they can be cured.”

In two sentences or less, what would you say to someone who might be thinking about registering in the program?

“I would highly recommend it, that is, if they enjoy being outside. It’s a great short program, but very condensed.”

Rachel Craig is a Level 1 Apprentice at Loyalist College.

Craig has two years of experience in the profession and enjoys softscape construction.

What were your top three reasons for registering in the Apprenticeship Program?

1. To broaden my knowledge in different aspects of the landscape industry 2. To become accredited nationwide 3. For more training in the landscape industry, to further myself in my career What interests you about the landscape profession?

Softscape design and construction.

In two sentences or less, what would you say to someone who might be thinking about registering in the program?

“I have learned a lot through the in-class portion and the training standard is a helpful tool to make sure I’m becoming skilled in multiple facets of the industry. I would definitely recommend registering for the apprenticeship program.”

Employers and employees benefit from Apprenticeship Program

By J. Alex Gibson LO Eastern Ontario Apprenticeship Program Development Coordinator

W

ith summer quickly approaching, companies across the province are gearing up for another busy season.

Now is the time to promote training and register your staff for the Apprenticeship Program. Registration is easy, and Landscape Ontario will support you from start to finish.

Apprenticeship is a mix of on-the-job

28 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO APRIL 2017

training and two, 12-week, in-class sessions that will create a knowledgeable and confident employee.

The program offers a number of benefits, both tangible and intangible to both the employer and the employee. The employer benefits include: improved staff retention and loyalty, no financial cost, tax and grant incentives, and more confi-

dent and skilled staff.

Employees who take part in the program benefit through: $4,000 in grant money, hands-on learning, ability to obtain Red Seal status, a nationallyrecognized designation, diversifying their professional knowledge.

If you have staff interested in registering to upgrade their skills or require more information, please contact Alex Gibson, LO’s Apprenticeship Program coordinator at jagibson@landscapeontario.com or 613-809-5093 or visit horticulturetechnician.ca.

UNDERGROUND WORLD Help yourself to faster locates

By Terry Murphy CLM

W

ith the start of another excavating season, locate providers are starting to get orders from ON1CALL and utilities and their customers are planning their spring activities.

These companies are very similar to the landscape or fence contractor because their workload peaks dramatically in early spring and doesn’t slow down until summer. Staffing of qualified locate specialists is always a problem for a locate provider.

This is the same as looking for a qualified landscaper in early spring. The question I have every spring for contractors is: “Are you doing everything possible to forecast your locate requirements and prioritize your job schedule requirements for ON1CALL?” Remember, the locate providers are trying to schedule things to meet the excavator’s requirements. Are you doing your own critical path scheduling to help them do their job?

In a perfect world, a landscaper knows what schedule they are going to follow when the season starts. While one hopes it will not change, you know that it will. Items such as job site conditions, weather, material availability, staffing and many unknown factors will require you to alter your existing schedule. When you revise your work

that says by law, locates must be delivered in five days. If the locate provider does not complete the job in five days and you are in a real jam and need the locate immediately, then please call the locate provider noted on your locate ticket from the locate provider. If you still can’t get a satisfactory solution, you can call Steve Waugh at ON1CALL and he will investigate and get your problem solved. But please remember, the locate provider is under extreme pressure in early spring, just as you are. In spring, we need to help ourselves by only getting the locates that we really need and by forecasting jobs accurately.

Backyard locates

schedule, don’t forget to advise ON1CALL or your locate provider. Forecasting in advance saves everybody time and money, however, when plans change, the locate provider also needs to know the new schedule so they can adjust as well.

The locate process

You must call ON1CALL before you dig.

This is the law. ON1CALL will then schedule your locate request with a locate provider. The process is supposed to take five working days from the time you call until the markings are on the ground and you have the paperwork. The person who digs needs to have the paperwork on their person to commence digging. Now let’s be honest, the exact same reasons why a contractor sometimes cannot deliver on their promise is exactly the same for a locate provider.

Due to unusually large volumes of locates required in the spring, five days will probably not be achieved in many cases. Fortunately, we have legislation in our favour

A call for locates to ON1CALL will give you markings from the street to the property entrance. It will not include a side or backyard locate. You are responsible for those locates yourself. Three seminars were held at Landscape Ontario this past winter that trained contractors on how to do their own backyard or side yard locates. In order to do this, you need to know how to do the locate and have the appropriate equipment to locate a utility line. The seminars were well attended and contractors were happy with the information provided.

Conclusion

Please review your job schedules and plan your construction projects as much as possible. Call ON1CALL with your schedule requirements so they can plan their scheduling with the locate providers. Let them know of any changes so they are not doing locates on properties you are not going to work on in the near future. This will help everybody to do their jobs as efficiently as possible.

Terry Murphy may be reached at tvmurphy@ca.inter.net with any comments, suggestions, or questions.

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PROSPERITY PARTNERS Slow down to speed up

By Jacki Hart CLM Prosperity Partners Program Manager

I

t’s counter intuitive, especially at this time of the year, to listen to someone tell you to slow down. And believe it or not, it’s the best possible advice you can get.

When spring hits, most of us get pulled in so many different directions, often in the roles of fire extinguisher, ball juggler and averter of disastrous profitability threats. When the pressure is on (and it will be in the weeks to come), it is very hard to force yourself to change old habits and stick to new processes and routines.

Old habits die hard.

I remember the feeling I had every year in early April when I ran my landscaping business — an odd blend of excitement and impending stress. Every spring, I started off with the best intentions. I would pack a lunch every day, take a thermos of nice tea, and promised to force myself to actually take breaks with my staff whenever I was on site with them and on my own when I wasn’t. By May 1, I was always out the door with no food and no thermos, and never stopped until I was late for dinner. Endless voicemails, dispatch issues, site visits, plants to sort and dozens of other tasks always got in the way. Add in a sprinkle of truant employees, equipment breakdowns and ‘what were they thinking?’ disconnects — and those best intentions of a well-paced day quickly went south… until it snowed.

During my lengthy masters degree from the Contractors’ School of Hard Knocks, I eventually learned the faster I

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went, the faster things unravelled around me. Keeping myself pinned down by that fever pitch of ‘doing,’ I had denied myself access to my best possible business advantage: my ability to be proactive, rather than reactive.

For many years, I worked hard each winter developing new systems and policies for my staff to follow. Did they work?

Inconsistently, and unsustainably, for the most part. Why? Because I hadn’t yet learned the important steps to manage change and create parameters for accountability. I was in too much of a hurry to actually train, manage and tweak the systems I had created. There was no accountability to stick to the new ways, because I didn’t create any.

I am too busy!

Accountability conjures up a wide range of images in our minds, usually ones with punitive measures attached for non-compliance. Accountability actually works better when it is inspired, rather than directed, and it’s something I work on constantly with business owners looking to improve their business systems. The most common problem I see is business owners struggling with what happens when they are too busy wearing multiple hats, and micromanaging people wearing others, to be able to manage rather than ‘do.’ They leave themselves no time or ‘brain space’ to communicate, train, monitor, assess and adapt new initiatives. Without mapping out what will be different when a new process or system is working well — and communicating that to everyone involved, it’s going to fall by the wayside in fairly short order.

And when it does, that’s when I see many business owners start to unravel.

If you’re too busy to manage your people, then your priorities are mixed up just a tad. Just when we feel like we have

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30 LANDSCAPE ONTARIO APRIL 2017

the least amount of time to assess and train staff, that’s when we need to do it the most. Taking 10 minutes to clearly explain an hour or days’ work to someone else is well worth it in the long run.

In order to be proactive, we need to have the presence of mind to take a bird’seye-view of all the moving parts in our business, and anticipate. When you’re running flat out, that’s pretty tough to do.

So, no matter what you’ve worked on improving for this season, here’s something to help you pause and take stock of what’s going on around you, and to nudge yourself back to being on top of your game this spring: Just breathe.

Here’s a simple technique I can suggest to help you dial it back a notch on those intense days; take what I call a Manager’s Minute.

Force yourself to sit quietly for one minute. Close your eyes and breathe. That’s it. Break the frenetic cycle and slow everything down. Breathe in through your nose as deeply and as slowly as you can. Then exhale through your mouth, forcefully, quickly, and completely. Repeat this three times. That takes up to half of the minute.

For the other half of the minute, breathe in just as deeply, then breathe out more slowly, through your nose. Calm down, slow down.

When your Manager’s Minute is up, notice if you feel a bit calmer and if your next steps seem clearer. I can pretty much guarantee that before long, you’ll see the benefit in this short exercise and repeat it often, every day. It doesn’t matter where you are for your Manager’s Minute: In your truck, in your office, at home, on a skid of brick, it doesn’t matter where. What matters is that you take the time to connect with your own brilliance as often as possible and move forward through each busy day ahead just a little bit more in control of your best potential.

Jacki Hart may be contacted at info.peertopeer@landscapeontario.com.

Sept. 28-29

Peer to Peer Muskoka Summit

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CLASSIFIEDS All classified ads must be pre-paid by credit card.

Rates: $50.85 (HST included) per column inch. Min. order $50.85. 15% discount on ads run for entire calendar year. Box Numbers: Additional $10. Confidentiality ensured. Deadlines: 20th day of the month prior to issue date. (eg: June issue deadline is May 20th). January deadline is Dec. 10. Space is limited to a first come, first served basis. To advertise: E-mail your name, phone number and ad to Robert at classifieds@landscapeontario.com. Online advertising: Website only ads are available for $67.80 (HST included) for Associaton members and $90.40 HST included for non-members. Website ads are posted for 31 days.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES BOLLIGER LANDSCAPES LTD. The following job opportunities are available: Stone Masons $30/hr.

Landscape Foreman $25/hr.

Landscape Technician $18/hr.

Landscape Maintenance $18-$25/hr. (preferably female with a Horticulture Degree to work on an all-girl team).

Wages negotiable.

Working in the Caledon/Etobicoke areas.

Please send your resume to karen@bolligerlandscapes.com or call 416-584-4040.

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Get $400 Off 1on a new Z915E mower.

Not only is spring in the air but so is a great deal on a new ZTrak Z915E zero-turn mower. Because right now, we’re offering $400 Off 1 this incredible ZTrak E Series mower. Better yet, if you’re a GreenFleet Platinum 1 member, you can get an additional $560 Off 2 instantly. See your John Deere dealer today for a deal on the ultimate zero-turn mower.

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JohnDeere.ca/MowPro

1

Offer available April 1, 2017 - June 30, 2017. Get $400 off the agreed upon purchase price of a new John Deere ZTrakTM Z915B or Z915E commercial mower in Canada only. Attachments and implements sold separately.

Some conditions apply. Prices and models may vary by dealer. See your participating dealer in Canada for details. Offer subject to availability and may be discontinued or modified. Taxes, setup, delivery, freight and preparation charges not included.

2 Get an additional $560 off a new ZTrak Z915E or Z915B commercial mower with your GreenFleet™ membership. Offer ends 10/31/2017 or when your platinum membership expires, whichever comes first. See Terms & Conditions at JohnDeere.ca/GreenFleet for details. To be eligible for the offer, purchaser must be or become a GreenFleet member and meet qualifying purchase levels. Amount shown above is based on Platinum level 1 savings. Qualifying levels and savings will vary depending on the quantity and combination of equipment purchased. See complete membership information and discount details at JohnDeere.ca/GreenFleet or a participating John Deere dealer.

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