January 2016 VOL. 38, NO. 1
landscapetrades.com
The wisdom of trusting your intuition Overhead doubts? Ask Kenny Rogers Mentor Guinane supports prices by charging
Employee to entrepreneur SUCCESS STORIES On-board employers lose a worker, to gain a colleague PM40013519
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Contents
JANUARY 2016 VOL. 38, NO. 1
Win-win independence 6 Many established contractors
have mentored special employees, who eventually launched on their own; three success stories. BY LEE ANN KNUDSEN
FEATURES
14 Nursery production costs get a system
A rose grower applies activity-based accounting to understand true p roduction costs for specific products. BY JOEL SCHRAVEN
20 Succession planning, Part II
Resources and success strategies are available to assure your c ompany’s next chapter. BY HELEN LAMMERS-HELPS
22 Gear up for Congress 2016
Industry enjoys a warm homecoming at Canada’s green industry s upermarket.
26 Tree production: Turn down the drip
Research shows nursery production succeeds with lower water inputs. BY NEWTON TRAN AND JARED STOOCHNOFF
28 Mulch options, side-by-side
Cost and weed control efficacy compared for five mulches. BY PATRICK HUBER-KIDBY
34 Memory improvement for business owners
COLUMNS
40 MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS Overhead ratios rise and fall as companies grow; tips to manage the cycles 46 LANDSCAPE DESIGN Profile of Haig Seferian, a champion of meaningful credentials for designers 48 ROAD TO SUCCESS Seasoned business owners have learned to trust their intuition 52 LEGAL MATTERS Debt collection protections for contractors as jobs near completion 54 MENTOR MOMENT Peter Guinane on decisions that translated into success for Oriole Landscaping
DEPARTMENTS
NEW PRODUCTS 56 INDUSTRY NEWS 60 CNLA NEWS 64 ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN UPDATE 66 COMING EVENTS 68 CLASSIFIEDS 69 WHERE TO FIND IT 70
Keys to retaining essentials; a Congress Conference preview. BY RON ROSENBERG
36 Disney horticulture magic
Conference preview: Epcot Flower and Garden Festival portfolio. BY ERIC DARDEN
38 Vancouver shows off the green urban future
Canada hosts the International Green Cities Conference and Tours in March. JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
3
greenpencil First impressions define your company’s value
Good, better, best! W
hether you are making a presentation
to a new client, filing a Request For Tender package, meeting at a mandatory site visit or defending your company’s actions in a potential slip-andfall discovery meeting, first impressions say absolutely everything about you, and your company’s professionalism and business ethics. This is your chance to put your best foot forward, to show your accomplishments and passion for what you do. A well-prepared presentation will tip the scales more in your favour than you will ever know. And, sadly, the opposite is also true. Because of organizations like Canada’s provincial trade associations, Smart About Salt and others, it is easy to become accomplished in our industry. This knowledge, along with a good dose of humility, will help you sign up clients — at your price — because of your knowledge, ability and passion. Remember, only politicians think it is cool to critiBy Brian Perras cize the opposition. That only works against you in the real world, something politicians will never understand. Earn your clients’ respect by showing them what you bring to the table, what you can do for them, how you can make them a better-respected corporate player in these environmentally sensitive times. And once they become your clients, keep them in the loop with our industry changes and advances. So if it’s that simple, why do I see so few follow what I just suggested? When I go to mandatory site meetings, I see company owners dressed like they are going fishing. Some are smoking, so during the walk-around, they throw cigarette butts on to the pavement of a property that they are hoping to acquire! Others show up with nothing to write on, and the client doing the tour says, “You should take note of the following …” Then the client reviews some very important notes, while those contractors are trying to borrow paper and pens from others. This is so
4 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
very unprofessional and generates No Confidence from the people you are trying to impress. When the potential client has questions, so few contractors know the answers about simple issues in our industry. There is such huge opportunity for all those in this industry to better themselves, and their companies, by joining some of the organizations and furthering their knowledge of this industry, in which they call themselves experts. I find it frustrating when I see people representing our industry so poorly; an industry I have worked very hard at for the past 34 years, always trying to be as resourceful as possible to represent us as stewards of the landscape, since that is what we are. Years ago, at a discovery meeting regarding an alleged slip-and-fall, I presented notes of all the visits we made to the site in question, when the weather started and ended, what we did, the air and asphalt temps, the rates we applied salt products, and so much more that we won this one. Later I was talking to my insurance rep; he said he wished more contractors would keep better notes. He recalled years earlier when a plaintiff’s lawyer asked a contractor when he salted. The contractor, who had no paperwork, responded, “When it snowed!” Another thing really gets my blood boiling. We have to abide by all the rules of workers’ compensation insurance and the Labour Board; one rule is that we cannot remove any safety guards put on by manufacturers. But most landscape contractors have open trailers, with all their line trimmers displayed on the side rails, almost all with the guards removed. And you call yourself professionals! Our insurance costs are not going down, and it could be from all of you who fail to abide by the rules. Remember, if you don’t take care of your customer, somebody else will. It is a privilege to be on clients’ properties. Never forget that, and continue to earn their respect and confidence by being the best you can be. Ours is a professional industry, please respect it for that. LT Brian Perras operates B.P. Landscaping & Snow Removal in Caledon, Ont.
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Win-win
independence BY LEE ANN KNUDSEN
In April, a key hand suddenly announces the time has come to start his own company; most established contractors know what it’s like to get that news. And many have re-hired that employee, once the would-be entrepreneur understands how difficult it is to manage stress, cash flow and sales. On the other hand, many of those same contactors have had a special employee that ended up launching independently, with the established owner’s blessing. In these cases, the employee/employer relationships were different before, during and after the fact. And the relationships continue in terms of mutual respect. For example ...
6 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
Kevin McAulay “You have got to give it a shot,” says Kevin
PHOTO BY MIKE SCHRAM
McAulay about his decision to start his own company. Allweather Landscape is an established Toronto contractor, headed by Phil Charal. Charal remembers his reaction the day employee Kevin McAulay broached the idea of heading out on his own: “Why would anyone but an idiot ever want to go into landscape contracting?” Failing to convince McAulay otherwise, Charal settled into a cooperative relationship with his former employee and the new company, McAulay Design Build. Today, Charal uses McAulay as a sub, and McAulay feels comfortable dropping into Allweather often. McAulay says Allweather’s reputation and profile prevented him from going on his own even earlier. “It’s a great business to work for. I was privileged to work on a team doing quarter-million-dollar jobs. I felt that I was more than just an employee; that Phil and I could talk at another level.” McAulay’s father was a long-term foreman with Allweather. Brian “Ollie” McAulay passed away in 2005, the year Kevin graduated from high school. Kevin McAulay began to work on Allweather projects at a young age, and was promoted to foreman. While still employed with Allweather, McAulay’s own contacts often phoned him for weekend jobs. He eventually felt he had enough experience, and enough work lined up, to launch on his own. McAulay had known he was destined for the business from a young age: “Other kids bought playstations, I bought tools.” He was proud of his personal tool collection during his time with Allweather. The practice gave him a big advantage at his launch, as he already owned nearly everything but a skidsteer and a dump trailer. “I keep my tools organized in my truck. I have three stone saws, because I hate down time.” McAulay says he is a big fan of quality work, and recognizes that quality is more than a motto, “Things are very different when you are playing with your own money.” Asked what his advice would be 20 years from now, if a young employee approached him the same way he had approached Charal, McAulay says, “I would tell him it is hard to find good guys. I will be there for you, and I will shoot some work your way.” McAulay says Allweather has had a lot of guys go back to the company, because they found being on their own too stressful. They had no weekend time. McAulay says balancing time is the biggest challenge, but he is determined to make it work: “I am planning for the future; I have a fiveyear-old daughter to make time for.” JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
7
Nick Alexiuk Claywork Landscape Design
PHOTO BY BRAD CESARANI
and Construction of Winnipeg, Man., founded by Nick Alexiuk and now in its fourth season, has carved a successful niche in high-style landscape design and installation. Would Alexiuk recommend business ownership to other, would-be landscape contractors? “Yes, if you enjoy the leadership role and are a self-motivated type.” His confidence today may have a lot to do with Keith Lemkey of Lemkey Landscape Design, who gave a chance to a young, unskilled Alexiuk. Lemkey said, “Nick did not know hand tools. After one summer, he found out he enjoyed tools and outdoor work with his hands.” Over the years, several Lemkey employees have indicated ambitions to strike out on their own, and Lemkey developed a strategy in response. “I ask them to continue working for me while they take apprenticeship or another training program, and then we both decide that when they are ready, they can go work for themselves, as well as become one of my sub trades.” Lemkey hires his mentored subs at set job rates; the plan has worked very well. “Negotiating a price with a company that I trained provides me with a fixed cost to my labour, no different than what my plant materials will cost.” Alexiuk earned a degree in landscape architecture from the University of Manitoba during employment with Lemkey. While university-taught design values are critical to his business model, he is also enthusiastic about on-the-job lessons learned through his landscape coach. For example, which suppliers to use: “Keith already knew exactly where the premium product was located, found the suppliers that genuinely wanted to work with you and would go out of their way to accommodate your needs. I think the fact that our company didn’t have to go through a rigorous process of finding the right suppliers prevented a lot of mistakes.” Nick also noticed Lemkey’s efforts to communicate with clients. He said, “Keith has excellent relationships with his clients. He always stressed the importance of keeping constant communication. I have witnessed other tradesmen overlook the need to maintain communication with a client; the outcome can lead to a tainted relationship — it is easy to lose trust this way.” Keeping clean job sites is another lesson learned. “Claywork has emulated this aspect of Keith’s operation, and we have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on our cleanliness from so many clients.” From his perspective, Lemkey enjoyed watching Alexiuk’s view of the landscape business mature. Lemkey says, “I share a lot with my staff, but many of them see morning meetings as my only responsibility.” Lemkey says Alexiuk eventually told him, “I had no idea what you did all day. Now I have so much more respect for what your business entails.” Lemkey seems proud that Alexiuk is mirroring his footsteps: “Do well, be creative, satisfy the client.” Claywork is currently a small operation, consisting only of Nick Alexiuk and his brother Luke; the importance given to maintaining standards and design detail has been a factor that limited growth. “My brother and I understand that change is inevitable, and we will not be young forever. My fiancée calls me a workaholic, a personal challenge I have is developing a more appropriate balance. It seems that all the hard work and long hours are paying off though; I’m excited to see what is in store for the future.”
8 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
Dave Milburn “ Rod knew my plan was to go out on my own; no
PHOTO BY JAMES WEST
employer is ever happy to lose an employee, but Rod was supportive, gave me attention and went out of his way to help me.” Dave Milburn started his Fredericton, N.B., company, Focal Point Landscape Design and Installation, in 2008. He credits much of his success to his seven or eight years’ work experience with Rod Wetmore of Wetmore’s Landscape, Sod and Nursery. During his first summer at Wetmore’s in 2000, Milburn worked in all areas of the diversified company, but landscape piqued his interest. He eventually managed Wetmore’s landscape department. Milburn’s formal education included two years at the University of Fredericton and four at Nova Scotia Agricultural College. “I got more and more excited; I finally decided I have to do it now! When I first told him the news, Rod was disappointed, but when the smoke cleared, Rod immediately extended me contractor rates for his supplies and plants.” Rod Wetmore says, “It was time for Dave to move; he has a quality of passion for the industry. If I have to lose an employee, I might as well gain a customer, and sell him some stuff.” Milburn especially appreciates the tips he learned from Wetmore on estimating. “Another big thing I learned from Rod was efficiency, making the most of resources, maximizing billable time. Rod always asked me about doing things faster — that challenged me.” Milburn says Focal Point does many things differently from Wetmore’s, but he hopes that Rod “sees us as a professional company.” Miburn is a big believer in hands-on learning, as well as school. “I needed both to get my opportunities. If you don’t have a learning curve from an older generation, you are not going to cut it. Be humble, start from the bottom, and work. There is lots of opportunity, but you cannot seize it fully if you have not worked your way up.” Both Wetmore and Milburn believe in supporting the industry; Wetmore is a past president of Landscape New Brunswick, and Milburn serves as its current president. Wetmore says of Milburn’s involvement and industry ownership, “He saw me do it, but I don’t think we ever talked about it.” Rod Wetmore is a second-generation business owner; he participated in the family business since he was 12, and says he knows what it is like to dig in the rain. Milburn recalls hearing Wetmore tell his guys, ‘Thanks for the help!’ every day. “So I make sure to thank my guys LT every day.”
Landscape Trades readers would like to hear about other stories like those above; please write to editor@landscapetrades.com. 10 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
12 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
Systemized production costs BY JOEL SCHRAVEN
A rose grower applies activity-based accounting, to understand true costs of his products
N
ot long after I finished high school and started full time in our nursery, my father sent me out to the sales yard to price some upright junipers we had dug over the previous few days. Standing amongst the Skyrockets and Mountbattens, he handed me a list, a yardstick, and a pencil. Next to the botanical name there were columns with a variety of heights with a wholesale and retail price adjacent to where I was to record the quantity of each. Eager to learn I asked dad, “How did you come up with the prices?” “I looked in Neil’s (Connon NVK) catalog and got the wholesale price and doubled it for the retail.” he replied. Though I didn’t think of it at the time, I am now 100 per cent certain that our costs of production for those plants were not the same as they were at Connon Nurseries. Your pricing and production decisions need
to be based on conditions present in your business. To make the right decisions you need to know what your true costs are. You know how much labour costs are for a full day of action by your potting crew. You know how many finished plants they turn out, and how many containers, and how much potting mix they used. These are direct expenses and are the basis of establishing the cost of production. But how much overhead do you attribute to that potting activity? How much fuel, maintenance and depreciation were attributed to the loader that filled the hopper or the tractor that towed the trailers to the hoop houses? How about office administration? The selling price of those plants has to recoup these costs (in many cases — several years’ worth) as well as provide a profit. Determining your true cost of production is a complex issue, and its analysis will require time and commitment, but it is worth the effort for every business. For example, the activity-based accounting (ABC) system was introduced in 1988 by Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan in response to the needs of manufacturers to track their costs in an increasingly complex and competitive business environment. As an aspect of management accounting, ABC was conceived as a means of associating overheads to complete production processes. The original article by Robin Cooper and Robert Kaplan, Measure Costs Right: Make the Right Decisions is available online, and provides an excellent introduction to the concept.
Knowing the true costs of your growing strategy is essential for determining your pricing.
14 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
COMPONENTS OF ABC The essential premise of the ABC model is that costs are reallocated proportionally from the general-ledger accounts based on the actions that make up a process to create a product or other output of the firm. The model follows a two-stage approach to assign costs to the cost objects based on resources and activities. In the first stage, overhead costs or resources, as recorded in general ledger accounts, are distributed to predetermined activities in rates determined by the resource driver. The newly aggregated costs are now charged to cost objects using activity drivers. Resources are expenses that are identified from the chart of accounts and represent the capacity to perform work. Let’s say you are running your potting machine. It consumes electricity, maintenance labour and materials, and both the machine and structure are depreciated yearly. All these items can be combined to become a resource which can be allocated proportionally through a resource driver. To do so means that you have to disaggregate the appropriate amounts from the general ledger accounts to assign a value to the resource. Resource drivers are a measure of the quantity of resources consumed by an activity. They are expressed as measurable units such as square meters of floor space, gallons, or with the example of the potting machine above — machine operating hours. The second stage is creating the activities. This is the most difficult aspect of developing an ABC system, but using the information gathered through the creation of a process map makes it easier. Activities are tasks grouped together to perform a function that are governed by
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ACTIVITY
the same driver and same level of resource consumption. They determine how labour hours are used to perform the activities, which resources are required and the value of the activities to the organization. The more detailed the list of activities, the more complicated and expensive the system will be to implement and maintain, so multiple actions should be aggregated into a single activity. For example, a “shipping activity� may include document preparation time, packaging and packing, and loading, but because a grower likely handles multiple sizes or formats of products they may need multiple shipping activities such as bare-root shipping and balled-and-burlapped shipping. There is a practical limit to how many resources or actions can be aggregated to an activity, because at some point the ability of a driver to accurately trace the resources utilized decreases. Activity drivers are a factor used to assign cost from an activity to a cost object, or the quantity of the activity used in the creation of the cost object. In the shipping activity mentioned above the driver could be linear meters of loaded trailer, 10 meters bare root, 20 meters two- to five-gallon, fivemeter balled and burlapped, with each plant format being an activity to reflect different resource consumption.
DEVELOPING AN ABC MODEL The first step of an ABC analysis, therefore, is to choose what to analyze, and to analyze what matters, so choose a product you believe to be an important part of your offerings. Next you need to develop a detailed process map or flowchart. These are a visual representation of all the activities (in sequence) that are performed in a work process. They include material and labour hour inputs and a timeline. To begin the analysis direct costs such as labour, materials and equipment are applied to each stage. To establish an hourly equipment cost, gather appropriate amounts from the expense accounts. These will include depreciation/amortization, fuel, equipment maintenance, and loan interest to arrive at a total yearly cost for the piece of equipment. Then you need to calculate the hourly cost by dividing this figure by the hours the machine worked.
16 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
ACTIVITY DRIVER
Clean, grade and prepare for planting seedlings processed Apply fertilizer, pesticide till field machine hours Plant field seedlings processed Plan production labour hours Prepare field for bud grafting machine hours Bud graft field grafts completed Check success and count labour hours Remove tops of understock machine hours Count field labour hours Trim and prepare plants for harvest machine hours Harvest field labour hours Bring into storage, grade and store finished plant count
CREATING RESOURCES AND RESOURCE DRIVERS Resource pools are defined by the driver. RESOURCE POOL
Machine use resource Employment resource Administration resource Facility cost resource Vehicle use resource
DRIVER
machine hours labour hour transactions square meters kilometers travelled
In this example the other expenses are gathered into a business-sustaining cost object. A final cost object gathers costs that are not allocated to a process but can be applied later. In most cases these amounts should be small enough so as not to be significant, otherwise they should be reexamined and allocated to a resource pool.
CREATING ACTIVITIES AND ACTIVITY DRIVERS Using the tasks from the process map and by reviewing the direct costs, resources can be associated with each task that consumes similar types of direct costs. These can be grouped to create ABC activities: Clean, grade and prepare for planting Permanent labour Direct cost Employment Resource Facility cost Resource Apply fertilizer and herbicide and till field Management labour Direct cost Equipment costs Direct cost Fertilizer and herbicide Direct cost Machine cost Direct cost Machine use Resource Employment Resource Vehicle use Resource Administration Resource
Plant field Understock Permanent labour Management labour Machine cost Employment Machine use
Direct cost Direct cost Direct cost Direct cost Resource Resource
By associating the activities with the resources consumed, unique ABC activities (collection of resources plus direct costs) are identified that are involved in the production of a field of roses. To flow the costs of these activities to cost objects, in this case a bare root rose plant, an appropriate driver must be chosen. Reviewing the nature of the costs and resources provides answers for choosing Activity Drivers. The chart above lists the proposed drivers for each activity. This illustrates the total cost of the cost object (rose bush) at each stage of production. This production process is now finished and there are two cost objects. One is business sustaining and the other is the finished plant, ready to use. At this point the plant may be sold as is, or placed for sale later in the season. The business-sustaining cost object could be allocated at this point on a per unit basis. This would be calculated based on the percentage of total revenue of the firm the product represents and should be accumulated over the entire production process if it takes place over multiple periods. This is likely an imperfect solution, but it will allocate sustaining costs to a product and ensures that all expense amounts are accounted for. LT
Joel Schraven is the owner of Pickering Nurseries in Ontario.
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Documents, planning and communication for successful succession BY HELEN LAMMERS-HELPS
Part 1 of this story appeared in the June 2015 issue of Landscape Trades
E
ventually every business owner will have to hand over the reins. It’s inevitable. However, the odds of a successful transition increase substantially with advance planning and ensuring key documents are in place. “An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure,” says New Hamburg, Ont. lawyer Randy Thomson. By putting good documents in place at the outset, a lot of expense and grief can be avoided down the road. Not only will this save the business money, it can also prevent families being torn apart by conflict. Almost everyone can think of one family that is no longer on speaking terms following the death of a parent, or the sale of a family business. That doesn’t have to be the case. Several professionals weigh in with their advice to help ensure a successful succession for your business. GET DOCUMENTS IN ORDER Although a will and power of attorney are personal documents, Saskatoon lawyer Al Haubrich says they ensure legal operation of a business if the owner dies suddenly, or becomes incapacitated. These documents enable someone to sign cheques for the owner. For corporations, the assigned individual can vote for the shareholder of an incorporated company. “Otherwise it’s like a ship at sea, with no captain,” he says. The will should be specific and thorough, 20 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
especially regarding joint property, continues Haubrich. He recommends reviewing your will every five years to see if it still reflects your intentions. Are the executors and beneficiaries you named still the right ones? If you are one of the many people without a will, don’t run out to the stationery store to pick up a standard kit. “Kits don’t cover everything and things can go terribly wrong,” says Haubrich. “No two wills are the same,” agrees Thomson. They should reflect each individual’s circumstances, he continues. Haubrich recounts the tale of one client who had worked hard his whole life to build up a business, but was too cheap to spend money on estate planning. “He left a mess,” says Haubrich. It was difficult to get a property guardian appointed and bonded, and his beneficiaries were not set out in the will with certainty. “A good-quality will is a gift to your loved ones,” says Haubrich. SPELL OUT AGREEMENTS Wills and powers of attorney aren’t the only business documents that are important. “Shareholder and partnership agreements set out the rules of doing business and provide for the Three Ds: death, disability and disagreement,” says Thomson. “It’s much cheaper and more cordial to decide ahead of time over coffee,” he says. It’s much more expensive to go to court and have the judges decide, he adds. Thomson had one client who died young and his wife inherited his shares. The other shareholders were able to buy her out using the pay-out from a shareholders’ life
insurance policy. Thomson says it all went smoothly because everything was put in place ahead of time. It is estimated that 70 per cent of businesses are operating without an agreement between the owners. This can lead to many complications. What happens if a partner becomes disabled, dies or wants out? Agreements can prevent conflict by answering questions such as, Can a child take over the parent’s share? Or, If one partner dies, how long does the surviving partner have to pay off the partner’s spouse? Even, or maybe especially, family members should have agreements in place to describe their business relationship. This includes siblings, parents and children, even spouses. Haubrich knows of one sad case where two men were in business together and each carried life insurance on the other. Unfortunately there was no legal agreement in place among the owners, and without a buy-sell agreement, the survivor kept the life insurance money and purchased the deceased owner’s interest for a much lower amount. TRANSFERS: ALL IN THE DETAILS Once you’ve agreed upon the terms of the sale, a legal document is necessary to set out the conditions of the sale and the transfer of control from the owner to the successor, says Thomson. Most transitions involve gradually transferring responsibilities and ownership. Michael Henry is the managing partner of the law firm Houser, Henry and Syron LLP in Toronto. Henry specializes in working with entrepreneurial and family businesses and has
been a director of the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE), a national organization that aims to promote the success of family business. Even when the right documents are in place, Henry says a successor will have a limited chance of success unless the right mix of people, products and procedures is also in place. “There’s a lot of work on the business side that should be done ahead of time to set the business up for future success,” he says. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, only half of businesses have a succession plan. Fewer than 10 per cent have a written plan. Henry recommends business owners consider their five-year plan during their annual review of financial statements. He urges clients to map out a plan with a timetable. He sees the steps as, “Have a vision, make a plan, get advice, carry out the plan, and review.” If it’s not working, update the plan. Doing nothing is still a choice but it can be costly, says Henry. “It leaves the business, employees and clients adrift if something happens.” Too often business owners procrastinate on creating a succession plan. Sometimes this happens because the owner thinks he or she is too busy to plan, does not want to let go or has difficulty choosing a successor. Unfortunately, the issue will eventually be forced by a health crisis or death, says Henry.
If an owner has trouble imagining life after work, Henry likes to include the owner’s spouse in discussions. “This can often help owners have a vision of what else they could be doing; it gives a fresh light to future planning.” PERSONALITY PLAYS A ROLE Also essential for continued success of the business is choosing the right successor. This person needs to have the right skills and drive. If more than one person is taking over, can they get along? Henry reflects that fights within a family are expensive and take an emotional toll. “We try to keep our clients out of the courts. Litigation is a blunt and expensive mechanism for achieving goals.” Lawyers and accountants can ensure the right documents and tax structures are in place, but communication throughout the process is also critical, says Henry. “Unexpressed, unvoiced expectations are a minefield.” Andrew Pigott, founder of The Succession Bridge in Oakville, Ont., and a board member of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise, helps businesses navigate the succession process. He helps business families engage in an exploration of some of the tricky subjects such as ownership, how decisions are made at the family and business level, and facilitates understanding on the key issues that get captured in wills, estate planning and shareholder agreements.
“It’s essential to get the issues out on the table,” he says. He encourages parents to have dialogue with their kids that will inform them about what the future looks like, and to start the succession process years in advance. A frequent problem for small and midsize businesses is the absence of an effective board of directors or even an advisory panel. “When good corporate governance is missing, succession planning suffers,” remarks Henry. “If the owner is the president and the dominant director on the board, it’s like an echo chamber. There is no constructive outside perspective, and these owners don’t have the resources to tackle steep challenges like succession.” Pigott agrees. “Surround yourself with experienced people who bring an independent perspective and talk to people who have gone through it,” he says. While you may think you don’t have the time or financial resources to seek out professional advice on managing succession, investing the time and money upfront could save you much more down the road, both LT financially and in heartache.
Helen Lammers-Helps is a freelance writer based in Ontario. She reports on topics related to business, agriculture, horticulture, the environment and parenting.
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Congress 2016 welcomes th “I can’t believe this place.” An experienced landscaper had that reaction at his first Congress. The impressed delegate was a longstanding employee of Nature’s Way Landscaping, Gananoque, Ont.
Owner Terry Childs is also past chair of Landscape Ontario’s volunteer Congress Committee. Childs described how his employee’s jaw dropped, and credits Congress with helping his staff member appreciate the size and professionalism of the landscape industry. Congress 2016 stages its 43rd edition Jan. 12 - 14, Tuesday through Thursday, at the Toronto Congress
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Centre. Exhibitors display the full range of products and services for landscape contractors, as well as other green industry sectors. The show is massive, featuring over 600 vendors — Childs calls it an “eightacre supermarket.” In fact, Congress ranks as one of Canada’s Top Ten tradeshows. Productivity and profitability solutions line every aisle, and the newest offerings are on display at the New Product Showcase. Since Congress is such an important national gathering, many associated industry events are scheduled
around the show. Its ambitious Conference is the top professional development opportunity for Canada’s
w technology
e trade
green industry. On Monday, Jan. 11, all-day conferences on Integrated Pest Management and landscape
design will take place, as well as an intensive business management workshop. The Conference continues all three days of Congress, offering something for every green industry sector. Many sessions include lunch. Everyone who has ever seen an Awards of Excellence ceremony will be impressed by the eye-popping entries and by the event’s scale and class. The ceremony takes place Tuesday evening after the floor closes, opening with a wine and cheese reception.
Launching in 2016 is Hardscape Live, a new idea supporting the paving stone industry. Live demos take place throughout the show, and sought-after speaker Pat McCrindle delivers two presentations each day. The Tailgate Party is a unique Congress tradition; it is free, and every badge holder is invited. The annu-
al Wednesday evening event features entertainment and a massive dinner buffet. Terry Childs especially appreciates the show’s warm, friendly atmosphere — usually a sharp contrast with temperatures outside. Find complete details and LT registration information at LOcongress.com.
JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
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irrigation Scheduling based on humidity and plant requirements allows dramatically lower nursery drip irrigation rates
BY NEWTON TRAN AND JARED STOOCHNOFF
T
he horticultural nursery industry continuously strives to improve management practices; this is especially true with irrigation. Many nurseries have converted from overhead to drip irrigation management in an attempt to have more control over their water consumption. Drip irrigation can dramatically reduce water consumption, provided nurseries have optimal scheduling (frequency, duration, timing). Drip irrigation schedules are typically subjective and largely based on the grower’s experience. Research conducted by the University of Guelph has revealed that conventional drip irrigation schedules, determined by the nursery growers, excessively irrigate plants. Excessive irrigation schedules arise from the fact that nursery managers have no reliable method to determine the plants’ actual water requirement. To target this problem and improve the reliability of irrigation scheduling, researchers at the University of Guelph, funded and supported by Landscape Ontario and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, have attempted to establish an irrigation schedule that is triggered by the relationship between plant water stress and environmental conditions, specifically humidity, to ensure irrigation events are based on plant water requirements. Ongoing research conducted at Connon Nurseries C.B. Vanderkruk Holdings for the past two years have used an innovative stem psychrometer sensor to determine the plants’ water requirements and how they vary depending on 26 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
While it is not practical for growers to install and monitor stem psychrometer sensors, research will determine species-specific coefficients that can be used with a weather station for field applications.
species-specific traits, soil properties, and environmental conditions. This research has demonstrated a strong linear relationship between plant water stress and environmental conditions, indicating that plant water stress can be reliably predicted based on conventional environmental variables. Extending from this, new irrigation schedules can be developed to significantly help reduce water consumption, without affecting total growth. In several trials, optimal irrigation schedules dictated by on-site weather station data applied only 25 per cent of the volume typically applied by the nursery, but achieved the same result in height and caliper measurements. Stem psychrometer sensor technology is unsuitable for industry distribution due to complex operating procedures. In order to ensure efficient technology transfer, irrigation scheduling must be based on simple and affordable technology that can be easily adopted by the growers themselves. The end goal of this research is to create species-specific irrigation schedules dictated by small, off-the-shelf, on-site weather stations to approximate the plants’ water requirements. The frequency, duration, and timing of irrigation events (initially dictated by the psychrometer data) was converted into weather station magnitudes. These new irrigation schedules approximated plant water requirements based on weather station data and the species-specific linear relationship coefficient.
Future research will determine the magnitude of the coefficient relating stem psychrometer measurements and humidity measurements to create optimal irrigation schedules for many economically important nursery species. This will allow irrigation managers to approximate plant water requirements for many different species, based on a single weather station measurement. In order to implement these conservative drip irrigation schedules in your nursery, all you will require is the ability to monitor relative humidity and our relationship coefficient. This research will lead to the production of a simple weather station, or a weather station add-on, that accumulates relative humidity data and then wirelessly transmits instructions to a remotely controlled irrigation valve. This will ensure reliable irrigation based on approximate water requirements, as opposed to subjective schedules. This technique will significantly reduce water consumption, nutrient run-off and irrigation water costs. Linking irrigation scheduling to the actual physiological requirements of the crop will reduce the impacts of nursery production, LT and reduce overhead costs.
Newton Tran and Jared Stoochnoff are graduate students from the University of Guelph, advised by Dr. Michael A. Dixon.
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Some new faces for New mulch alternatives for landscape applications
BY PATRICK HUBER-KIDBY
Landscaping is a never-ending battle against weeds, and new management tools are always of interest to Home owners, Businesses, and Landscaping Professionals. Wood bark is the commonly used mulch for landscape gardens. This past summer at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute (GTI) (Guelph, Ont.) and at Landscape Ontario, (Milton, Ont.), a preliminary study was carried out with different mulches on garden beds plants in small demonstration plots. Beginning in late June 2015 at the GTI, five different types of mulch were applied to garden plots in an area just over two square metres. These plots, containing six Angelonia (A. angustifolia) each, were replicated in three different locations at the site. The trial examined the emergence of new weeds each week, beginning one week after the mulches were applied. Three sample areas of 0.15 m² were randomly selected using a quadrant and weed counts were taken,
and removed each week. The data generated was analyzed to quantify for weed suppression effectiveness per dollar. METHODS The five mulches studied include: Bark Mulch: Shredded pine mulch was applied at 15 litres per square metre Composted Sawdust used was from the University of Guelph’s horse barns and is composed of sawdust and animal waste. It was applied at 14 litres per square metre. Chopped Miscanthus was one of two purpose- grown biomass crops that were tested in this trial. It is a perennial grass currently being looked at for livestock bedding, and as an alternative to petroleum based commodities including energy, chemicals and biologically derived materials for a host of applications. The miscanthus mulch was chopped to 2 to 3 inches in length was applied at 20 litres per square metre. Switchgrass Pellets: Switchgrass is another purpose grown biomass crop, with similar potentials uses as Miscanthus. Pelleted switchgrass (finely chopped switchgrass that is then compressed and heated) have been developed for heating applications, just like wood pellets. The switchgrass pellets were applied at 14 litres per square metre. When irrigated, the switchgrass pellets expanded to 3 to 4 times their dry volume, creating a much thicker layer of mulch. Liquid Polymer Mulch: From Advanced Micro Polymers (AMP), this mulch is a liquid Weed counts were taken inside this quadrant; weeds were pulled out after the counts were taken. Photo shows angelonia plants and chopped miscanthus mulch.
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formulation comprised of organic materials that solidify upon drying. It was applied at two kilograms per square metre with a small piston pump but can just as easily be applied in smaller quantities by watering can. FINDINGS Switchgrass pellets were the most effective mulch per cost and efficacy for weed suppression, letting through 0.06 weeds/m²/$ when applied at 14 litres per square metre, followed by the chopped Miscanthus at 0.87 weeds/m²/$. The switchgrass pellets performance is likely related to its expanding properties and longevity (it takes an extra year to break down). As dry pellets, switchgrass pel-
lets were comparable in quantity to the other mulch applications but swiftly expanded to 3-4 times the volume, giving 3-4 times the barrier for weeds to contend with. During this trial other factors such as plant health were observed and measured however there was such variability amongst health and vigour of the Angelonia that no conclusions could be reached. None of the mulches had obvious positive or negative effects. This trial was conducted over a three month period and during that time yielded some valuable data, but more research is necessary to replicate our results. The mulches efficiency will continue to be monitored at the plots, and their transitions from winter to next spring will be closely monitored; es-
Patrick Huber-Kidby with switchgrass pellet mulch.
pecially for their physical qualities and level of degradation. The author wishes to acknowledge, OMAFRA for the summer job and the project team, Mahendra Thimmanagari and Jennifer Llewellyn (OMAFRA); Rodger Tschanz, University of Guelph; Gildale Farms, St. Mary’s; Forman Farms, Seeley’s Bay; Switch Energy Corp, Clinton; All Weather Farming, Simcoe; Advanced Micro Polymers, Milton; Gro-Bark, Milton for providing mulch samples for the trials. For more information, contact: Mahendra Thimmanagari, Crop Bioproducts Specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), 519-826-4593. LT mahendra.thimmanagari@ontario.ca
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interview
A DV E RTO R I A L
THE LANDSCAPE OF A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS
BY:
JUSTIN O’CONNOR With over a decade of experience, Justin O’Connor knows the landscaping business inside and out. After graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Contracting (with options in both Landscape Design/Build and Landscape Management), he gained the foundation needed to become President of Growing Seasons, a family-owned and operated company located 15 miles South of Pittsburgh. Here, he shares his insight, discusses the steps taken along the way to achieve his company’s current success and tells us how real-time technology has helped his landscaping company thrive. Q: Can you tell us about your family history and the generational transition involving the management of your business? A: Growing Seasons Landscaping is family owned and operated and we’re located 15 miles south of Pittsburgh. We took ownership in 2007 after the previous owner decided to sell the company. Before we took over, the company was geared more towards turf and landscape maintenance at the time. We decided that we also wanted to pursue landscape construction and focus more on business-tobusiness projects, as well as snow and ice management. With the growth of the gas and oil industry in our area, we also expanded our services to include erosion control, which has also helped our company grow over the past several years. In addition to our unparalleled Landscape Division, Growing Seasons also offers a 24/7 comprehensive Snow & Ice Management service and a USDA certifi ed Firewood Division for residential and restaurant use.
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Q: Family-owned businesses can be as unique and distinctive as the families that own them. How does being family-owned and operated work to your advantage, and how does it help set you apart from your competition?
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A: [Jim O’Connor]: Being faced with the task of managing the business along with two of my sons, we decided to hire a business coach. What this has done for us is to keep each of us in “our lanes”. What I mean by lanes is Justin is in charge of sales and estimating, Josh is in charge of operations and equipment and I am in charge of finance. We discuss our areas and do help each other when needed, but hiring a coach keeps us focused and accountable. My middle son Ryan doesn’t work in the business, but he is our insurance advisor. My wife Sue does not work in the business, but she is a huge asset in keeping us all grounded. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing your sons grow,
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CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Double your memory BY RON ROSENBERG
Let’s face it, there’s just too much going on in our lives to be able to keep everything in order. Between work, home, and leisure activities, our lives are so chock-full of details it’s amazing we remember anything at all. Plus, with customers becoming more demanding, there is little room for error in your interactions with them. A strong memory can help you transform your level of service from adequate to exceptional. Like any skill, improving your memory takes a bit of effort. But the practical benefits make it a good investment of your time. Here are some of the ways a strong memory can help you grow your business: l Helps your customers feel comfortable with you and your team l Makes working with you a memorable experience l Let’s you demonstrate exceptional knowledge of your products and services l Makes every employee in your company feel special
in 60 minutes
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE MEMORY There are many strategies you can use to develop a great memory, but they’re all based on several easy-to-master principles. First, learn how to make associations. To help you retain information, it’s useful to link one piece of information you know with what you want to remember. This is how we start to learn from an early age, and it’s simply a matter of recognizing, incorporating, and retaining the new information. Next, it’s important to have a vivid imagination. The more unusual or bizarre the associations you make, the better the impression will be. You remember what’s unique and different, so it’s good to use “exaggerated visualizations.” You can exaggerate your visualizations in quantity or size, forcefulness, or in how bizarre they are. This will help them stick better in your memory. And to remember people’s names and faces, the approach is straightforward, and often fun! For starters, you must pay attention. To remember a person’s name, it’s im-
Take advantage of two opportunities to learn from Ron Rosenberg’s systems on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Landscape Ontario’s Congress. He will present Double Your Memory in 60 Minutes at the Interactive Lunch Session and Fuse! How to Ignite Your Future and Take Back Your Life in the afternoon. Purchase your Conference pass at www.LOcongress.com.
34 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
portant to actually listen when you’re being introduced. How many times have you met someone, only to forget that person’s name seconds later? The key to remembering a person’s name is to make a ridiculous association between the name, and an outstanding feature of the person’s appearance. For example, the person’s name is “Mike” and he happens to have noticeably large ears. You can imagine taking a handheld microphone and actually hitting him on the ear with it. Remember is to keep your associations to yourself. You don’t want to let Mike know he has huge ears! APPLY MEMORY SKILLS TO YOUR BUSINESS Understanding the basic concepts of memory skills will help you apply these tools to enhance your customer relationships and increase revenue in the process. For example, your salespeople can memorize a list of options, that can be easily and confidently explained to prospective customers. Your field teams can use these skills to easily memorize details of a specific job, and mentally check off each item as it is completed. You can learn and remember the names of your customers and recall details about their projects, even when you meet them away from the job site. With all the mental clutter you carry around in your head, between work, family, and friends, it just makes sense to use every tool at your disposal to stay on top of your many overwhelming responsibilities. LT
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Disney horticu The Flower and Garden Festival takes place each spring at the Epcot Centre, Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Disney character topiaries are far and away the most popular element.
Floral elements are very popular. The Festival Blooms planting consist of 70,000 bedding plants; after the festival it goes to turf.
The Epcot Flower and Garden festival engages with the community through agriculture connections and outdoor kitchens.
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ulture magic CONFERENCE PREVIEW PHOTO PORTFOLIO BY ERIC DARDEN
Over the years there have been dramatic changes in the Disney character topiaries; shown are vintage and current versions of Mickey Mouse and Snow White. Eric Darden manages the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. His stunning plant and topiary displays go beyond attracting guests, to inspiring families with the magical kingdom of horticulture. Darden keynotes Landscape Ontario’s Congress Conference on Wednesday, Jan. 13, when he will present Disney’s Epcot Flower and Garden Festival: Horticulture Takes Centre Stage. Purchase your Conference pass at www.LOcongress.com. JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
37
International Green City Conference
Van hosts 2016’s
greenest event This March 16 - 18, Canada is hosting a world-renowned International Green City Conference in Vancouver, B.C. Delegates will attend a day-and-a-half conference, listening to influential speakers on the latest trends in green infrastructure, and tour green sites throughout the city. By the end of the conference, attendees will have the tools they need to support or implement their local urban green initiatives. Topics covered include the link between society and green spaces, an overview of the green roof and wall industry, storm water management techniques, and local as well as international green cities in action. After the conference, delegates will be offered tours to explore Vancouver’s greenest sites, as well as get a taste for the local culture. The International Green City Conference is hosted around the world each year, giving delegates a chance to see innovations in urban green infrastructure and planning on a global scale. The 2016 conference is being organized by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association and the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH). Register at www.cnla-acpp.ca/greencity.
38 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
managementsolutions
Overhead and growth: Know when to hold ’em, fold ’em, walk or run
BY MARK BRADLEY
Hopefully, managing your company’s overhead is nothing like playing a poker game. But don’t write off Kenny Rogers as a consultant just yet. Advice from The Gambler can help put your company’s growth and overhead planning into perspective. When you’re first getting a new business off the ground, hiring a foreman to replace you in the field is one of the first big steps. Then you have a few foremen. Then, you start to need some admin/overhead help. You start to feel like things are on the upand-up, then you start having people and training problems that you never had when you were smaller. And right after you start to figure out the people problems, new problems arise. You’ll need a bigger shop/yard, and more equipment. The cycle repeats itself over and over again. Many companies watch their profits fluctuate up and down with these business developments and changes. Jobs go well, when overhead is high as the crews are well managed. When overhead costs drop, profits should increase, but field productivity suffers because jobs aren’t managed well. At each stage of your businesses growth overhead goes up and down and up again. You can shave years of hard lessons and increase your bottom line by learning how to ‘surf’ these overhead waves. The numbers suggested in the waves below are just averages. There are no hard and fast rules. Companies can be profitable at any size. The numbers below represent typical benchmarks for company growth and change.
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Wave 1: The new company ($0 – 300K in sales) When a new business starts out, overhead can be higher than you’d think! To be in this industry, you’re going to need a pickup, some equipment, a website, a phone, a laptop and other basics. But if your sales are $100 - $150K, those basic overhead expenses are going to eat up most of your revenue! Basic overhead expenses can eat up 30 – 50% of a new company’s revenue. It’s likely too much overhead to be able to price work competitively. Kenny’s advice: “Run” The overhead graph is red at this stage. Small businesses can be profitable, but a typical landscape business must hit approximately $300K in revenue before it becomes consistently profitable. There’s plenty of advice out there saying, “Don’t grow too quickly.” Sometimes this is true, but this stage is not one of those times. Your overhead/operating expenses will eat up your income
OVERHEAD RATIOS AND COMPANY GROWTH
quickly. Grow your business quickly on guts and hard work and get to the $300K mark to start seeing some consistent profit.
Wave 2: The sustainable company ($300 – 500K) Once a business hits about $300K in annual revenue, sales are enough to maintain some basic overhead expenses. The overhead graph here starts to turn from red to green. Now the business can afford some structure, the owner can draw a modest wage and will be looking for key people that can help expand capacity. Kenny’s advice: “Walk” Now you can start to expect a consistent, but modest, profit. You can manage most of the business “in your head,” but this won’t last long, so start thinking about building systems to train people to do what you do. Keep growing, but focus on slower, more deliberate growth and systems that will help (continued on page 42) people replace you.
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managementsolutions Wave 3: The profitable company ($500 – 700K) This is a sweet spot. For many businesses, this wave is where the owner banks the most profit! The business is small enough that the owner can (almost) stay on top of everything. Sales are busy, but not quite overwhelming and there were just enough crews that one owner can manage the pulse of the daily goings on. Kenny’s advice: “Hold ‘em” The overhead graph is solid green here. Enjoy this spot while you can. The next phase will feel like you’re starting your business all over again. Here’s a great spot to slow your growth down. Your overhead is likely fairly low, you can price work competitively and you can stash away some profit. If your goal is to keep growing those, invest those profits in systems, because you’re going to need them for the next waves!
Wave 4: The overwhelmed company ($700 – 900K) Have you heard the story of the landscape contractor who made just as much net profit running one or two crews as he did running three or four? It’s true, and the same story has played out thousands of times. At this wave, the wheels start coming off. Too many sales meetings. Estimates are rushed out the door. There’s not enough time to plan/prepare jobs. Staff are new and untrained, and the business lacks structure and operating procedures. There are too many jobs for the owner to manage at once. In short, you’re overhead’s low enough to make good profit,
42 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
but your efficiency and productivity is falling apart. You feel like you need help in the office, but that salary would would consume that profit you just got used to making. Kenny’s advice: “Fold ‘em” or “Run” The overhead graph is a yellow here – be warned. You don’t want to get caught in this wave for long. You’re too busy, doing too many things, for not enough money. You have two options. Fold ‘em – Kenny doesn’t mean close your doors, but he might suggest taking a small step backward. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is slow down. One option at this wave would be to dial back a bit, go back to Wave 3, and create some systems and procedures so that you have a solid foundation on which to grow. Run – Feeling lucky (or ready)? Then here’s where you invest in overhead to grow… but make sure you grow quickly from here. The minute you pull the trigger on a new hire (or other significant overhead expense), your overhead just jumped back up in the red area again. It’s now too high to be profitable and/or competitive. Your job is to grow your company’s sales quickly so that your overhead ratio comes back to the green and you can be competitive, and profitable again.
Wave 5: THE (new) re-invented company ($900K – 1.1M) Consider yourself almost a new company again. You’ve pulled the trigger on some overhead expenses and now you need to
grow your sales, quickly, to get your overhead back down so that its manageable and affordable again. Kenny’s advice: “Run” Grow your sales and drop your overhead expense ratio quickly. You won’t compete well on price with high overhead, so you need get it back to balance. Don’t tread water here. Get to the next wave quickly. Just when you think you’ve made it to where things would get easy, this cycle will repeat itself over and over again. As soon as you solve problems, new and different problems will arise. Just because you broke a million in sales doesn’t mean you ‘made it.’ All it means is that you’re about to face new and different challenges and you need to be prepared to face them. Sound a bit hopeless? It’s not. As you grow, these challenges become more and more familiar, and they get easier each time. And don’t forget, growth isn’t everything. You can run a great business of any size, just as long as you are profitable. So get to know where you can balance profits, work/life, and your ambition and you’ve got the recipe for LT a successful landscape business.
Mark Bradley is president of TBG Landscape and the Landscape Management Network (LMN), based in Ontario.
designersnotebook
A home for designers BY AUDRIANA VANDERWERF CLD
An interview with Haig Seferian, principal of Seferian Design Group in Burlington, Ont., and a leading champion for establishing and promoting meaningful credentials for landscape designers.
It was the mid 1980s, and young Haig Seferian sat alone on a park bench in California.While studying landscape architecture at the University of Guelph, Haig found a way to complete a year of his studies at the School of Environmental Design at California Polytechnic Institute Pomona. However, he began late and fell behind quickly. He even pulled 14 all-nighters in a ten-week stretch to catch up. Haig Haig Sefarian
didn’t have enough money — he worked for $3 per hour cash at a nursery — and had to sleep on a floor among cockroaches to remain in his course. His head dropped into his hands, as he wondered how he could have made such a colossal mistake. An older man sat on the bench beside him, and began speaking. Haig politely carried on the conversation; as the gentleman got up to leave, he held out his hand and said, “If there is ever anything I can do for you, just let me know.” With that kind remark Haig looked a little harder; he was shaking hands with Francis Dean, an original principal of EDAW, one of the world’s premier landscape
architecture firms. By the end of the day Haig had a new mentor, a city host, and a reinvigorated spirit that carried him through 30 years (so far) of inspired designs, TV and speaking appearances, a book, and continual contributions to his communities in Ontario. “Francis Dean gave me private tours of gardens, took me along the coastline to see the erosion, and introduced me to influential people in the field, such as some of the authors who had written my textbooks. And I met Takeo Uesugi, from whom I received free lessons in Japanese garden design.” Haig recalled the giving nature of these illustrious landscape architects with gratitude, “So you
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ask me if there’s anything about my success I can attribute to my time in California? It was that meeting on the bench. Of course I learned the business, but from there on I learned to give back. Still today, I will always give back or pay forward.” AV: In an earlier article, the writer called Landscape Architecture “trendy.” Do you agree with that term? With barely a pause, he said, “No, not ‘trendy’. People are getting more educated. Information is more available. Also there is a shift taking place. Thirty years ago we thought nothing of packing the car and spending four hours in traffic to get to our cottages. Now technology is allowing us to make year-round gardens: heaters, fireplaces, cabanas, outdoor rooms. The environment is on people’s minds; they are getting savvy and they want to give back. Our industry will only grow because of this.” Haig advises landscape contractors and designers to stick with classic design, not trends, but keep up with what’s new, especially with products and technology.
AV: What advice would you give our readers who cannot sell their clients on a landscape design? Many of them are still winging it with a quick sketch. Seferian said, “Follow the design process. This is very important. You must convince clients that design is a necessity. If you are not charging for your design, it will not be treated with the same respect as a plan they’ve paid for. Think of a plumber, for example. You get one detailed quote, and then another guy comes along and says, ‘Oh we can do it tomorrow for $50.’ Who are you going to trust? “You must have a goal: to be proud of your work. Be a class act from the moment you drive up. Designers: get savvy! Have a website, with testimonials. Learn 3D. Be confident, and provide justification for every line on your design. “Be a member, be certified, and tell clients! Make sure your knowledge is up to date.”
“I started it. I was teaching at Humber and Sheridan, and I would see all these talented designers, and they would graduate and that would be it… they were left on their own. It wasn’t right. So I went to Tony DiGiovanni of Landscape Ontario and told him: these designers need a home. He said, ‘Great! Get them one!’ “So from the beginning I created a mandate, a base and it has grown as you know. There are members across the country and there is interest from the U.S. to purchase the CLD license.” AV: How would you describe Haig Seferian to a friend? “You know,” he says finally, “My father always advised me, ‘Volunteer and it will come back to you tenfold.’ That’s what I’ve done, LT and that’s what has happened.” Audriana VanderWerf is a landscape design pro and a Certified Landscape Designer.
AV: With all your credentials, tell us what the Certified Landscape Designer designation means to you.
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roadtosuccess
It pays to respect intuition
My brain has lied to me but my gut never does. Now, to steal a line from Richard Nixon, let me make myself perfectly clear. I would never suggest that anyone not use his brain. God gave us this amazing thing between our ears, it allows us to chart paths and plan trajectories. It is there to be utilized. Yet there are times when some indefinable feeling overcomes all of us telling us something that is not visible, still exists. Radio waves are also not visible, yet they exist as well. We cannot explain the feeling or even why we have it — but that feeling tells us something. The brilliant Canadian author, Malcolm Gladwell, wrote a book titled Blink in which he asserts our first instinct regarding a situation is usually right. He tells of a museum hiring experts to authenticate a statue. The experts had all the time they needed to test
BY ROD McDONALD
and think about it. Their conclusion: The statue was authentic. An artist came along, took one glance, and declared it a forgery. It was true. How, in one blink, did he know? The statue did not ‘feel right’ and the artist’s instincts knew there was something wrong. Describing, defining and defending a feeling or an ‘it does not feel right’ is difficult beyond belief, yet it is important that we listen to the inner voice. Often, when we refer to someone as being experienced, we are acknowledging he is perceptive and can spot a wrong situation well in advance. Do you remember when The Don in The Godfather tells Michael that whoever from the family tries to broker a peace pact, will be the traitor? That was the voice of experience and also the proverbial gut feeling at work or at least a movie version of it. As we grow through this trade of ours, all
of us reach that point where we sit back and smile, thinking of how many years ago we were taken advantage of by a situation that would not happen today. Experience is the foundation of intuition.
Intuition is instinctive, for parents As a child, I could never understand how my parents knew when I was telling the truth and when I was not. My parents may have possessed instinct but, as I look back, my fibs had so many holes that a ship could have passed through. As a young parent, I quickly learned that my instincts told me who had done what, when and where. The ‘why’ part of children’s behaviour escaped me, but not the other three. One night we had an apple crisp for dessert. I wanted to save mine for later so I hid it, out of sight and reach, in the upper cupboard. At nine p.m., I went to retrieve my
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treat. It was gone. We have three sons and I didn’t need to ask; the guilty party had to be the youngest, five at the time. He had to take a chair, climb on the counter, walk across the stove onto another counter, and climb up on the fridge to find my dessert in the top cupboard. It does not take long, as a parent, to figure who does what amongst kids. You just know, and you learn to rely on your instinct. Many years ago, we were looking for a grower for my greenhouse. There were
several applicants; one candidate impressed the HR head, and she in turn had the greenhouse manager conduct an interview. He was also impressed. I was called in to provide my stamp of approval on this promising, prospective employee. My interview method is to ask openended questions. Stock questions such as, “Do you work hard?” never gain any advantage. I began with, “What types of plants do you enjoy growing?” She told us all the plants she grew at
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home, and how her enthusiastic passion for growing was ingrained in her soul. Fair enough. Good answer. I asked, “Where do you purchase your supplies?” She hesitated and replied, “A little bit from all over.” That satisfied the others, but I sensed she was being evasive. I pressed her, “No, I want to know exactly where you purchase your seeds, soil, grow lights, fertilizer, and all the things one needs to grow plants. I will not be offended if you don’t shop at my place. I just want to know where you buy from, and how each place compares to the others.” When I have that conversation with true gardeners or growers, I can’t shut them up. They go on for an hour describing what they like to buy from mail order companies, garden centres, greenhouses and they will often mention obscure places. I do the same thing. I sat there; the sweat was rolling down her brow. It was a detective movie from the ‘40s. I asked her to name one greenhouse and what their specialities were. No answer. I asked her to name one mail order house. No answer. The interview was over. My intuition had picked up that when she rattled off the plants, it sounded as if it were from rote. She mentioned plants, but not varieties. She presented herself as a plant person, wanting to kick it up a notch and grow in a greenhouse. But she was missing the details. I interviewed a true plant person another time, asked the same question, and she gave me an incredibly detailed synopsis of my place compared to every other greenhouse and garden centre in the area. She even had the courage to tell me where I fell short. I hired her. She was legitimate.
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Intuition is very necessary and effective in interviewing people for employment, salespeople wanting you to buy their products and services and potential customers wanting to hire you. I really wish I could write about a foolproof method where the reader could avoid all mistakes, but, if I knew it, I would have to explain why I still get burned. There are people who are very adept at hiding their true colours. They have learned, through experience, to avoid exposing those colours in order to achieve their goals. They 50 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
2015-11-18 10:56 AM
know, only too well, that to expose their colours, others would avoid them as if they had the plague. I am not certain what to write about those people. The only suggestion I have is to check them out. Find out whom they have worked for, sold to or been a customer of, prior to making contact with you. See if you can learn something about who they really are. I can write this with a degree of certainty. If you let people talk long enough, chances are their true colours will emerge. Most people can present well for a while, but given enough time, their words will feed your intuition with the information that you seek. Company manners do wear off quite quickly. All of us have had phone calls from potential customers, whe and indefinable intuition tells us something is wrong with this conversation. Sometimes it is easy to spot, and other times, a bit more tricky. Easy to spot are those who start complaining about other contractors. Those who begin by, “I need you to slap down some sod,” “I want your best price,” and, “I am shopping around for the best deal,” are telling you just about everything you need to know. Along with those lines, the phrase, “I wouldn’t lie to you,” has always set off the warning bells, both in my gut and my brain. Intuition is not always bang-on, but remarkably, it has an exceptionally high rate of being right. My long-time assistant manager Heather Lowe and I would discuss potential clients on a regular basis. Heather walks into my office, and informs me the client has mean-mouthed three other landscaping companies in their first meeting. “Oh, oh!” To take that client on would mean we would be the fourth on her complaint list. There are those people who suggest that taking on difficult clients and making them happy is a challenge we should all be willing to accept. My response has always been that my job is to complete landscaping projects, not change personalities. Those chronic complainers and bargain hunters will remain that way; no amount of accommodation will change them. A strong statement, but one that I will not back down from. When you are young and starting out, as I was years ago, I had to take the jobs that were offered to me as I had little choice. When doing estimates and proposals, I felt a need to tap dance. As I grew in experience and reputation, I could choose those clients I wished to take on. I no longer felt the need to tap dance. As the prospective clients interviewed me, I was interviewing them as well, subtly. Those who raised red flags with attitude and unreasonable demands did not make it. Life is too short to play with the difficult people. Intuition can be wrong, as can any judgment that we make, but we can develop intuition and hone our perceptive skills. All we need besides a willingness to do so is time and experience. If you develop LT that skill set, then the road to success lies ahead for you.
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Rod McDonald owned and operated Lakeview Gardens, a successful garden centre/landscape firm in Regina, Sask., for 28 years. He now works full-time in the world of fine arts, writing, acting and producing in film, television and stage.
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legalmatters
Debt collection, Part III At completion BY ROBERT KENNALEY
This month we complete
our series of articles on debt collection with a discussion of what contractors, subcontractors and suppliers might do to protect themselves as a job moves towards completion. At this time, in particular, unpaid suppliers must be careful to consider their options and to prepare, and document, their files. As suggested in our last article, it is extremely important to understand the notice provisions and other contractual prerequisites to a claim. If your claim is for extras or delay, your contract will often impose conditions to be met in seeking payment. While a failure to meet these conditions might not be fatal, it is better to take the issue off the table, rather providing a reason for non-payment to the other side of a dispute. A common mistake is the failure to prop-
erly compile documentation necessary to support a claim. For example, trades who seek additional compensation as an extra under their contracts often fail to properly track the work for which they are claiming. They may invoice for time and materials, for example, without documenting the support for the amounts claimed.
Documents are key As lawyers brought in to enforce the claim much later on, we all too often find that the backup to the claim is sorrowfully lacking. Our clients will tell us, for example, that they put two men on the extra work, for eight hours, while incurring $1,000 in material costs. Yet, by the time we have the file, the only backup to these costs are timesheets that show the men were on-site for eight
hours on the day in question. By this time, of course, it is impossible for these men to actually tell us what they were doing on that day. This leaves the other side to argue that the time might have been spent on the original scope of work, or on deficiencies. Further, if the actual invoices or materials price lists are not attached to backup your claim for material costs before the job is complete, it is often extremely difficult to locate such documentation later. The time to document the backup to your claim is when you are on site, when the details are fresh in your mind and when the men and required information are readily available. It is also very important to respond to any suggestion that your work is incomplete or deficient, particularly as a project draws to a close. This is because, firstly, it is towards the
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end of the job that the owner and its consultant will generally issue deficiency lists. Also, it is to common for a party who has run out of money on a project to issue somewhat dubious lists of deficiencies and incomplete work as a basis for non-payment. In addition, allegations of delay may be made as a way to offset your claim. These should also be responded to. Claimants should also understand the difference between, and keep separate, correspondence which puts your factual position on the record and correspondence with sets out your position on settlement. This is because if the two are combined, any suggestion that you might take less might be admissible in a trial and taken as an admission that your claim is not as strong as you say it is. Settlement proposals should be sent separately, and be clearly marked “without prejudice� so that the letters will not be admissible in evidence.
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Avoid litigation when possible We would also suggest that settlement possibilities be explored at an early stage. This is because, unfortunately, litigation can be very expensive and time consuming. If the lawyers are to be involved, however, (and depending on the amounts in issue) they should be brought in at an early stage to help protect your position and to ensure that all possible options are explored, including information requests potentially available under construction lien legislation, mediation or arbitration, bond claims, lien claims, trust actions and other legal proceedings. Your lawyer, if experienced in construction matters, should also be able to assist you, as required, to draft letters in response to allegations of delay or of deficient and incomplete work made by the other side. In the end, it is easy to focus on getting the job done, leaving debt collection issues to be dealt with later. Yet contractors, subcontractors and suppliers who take steps to manage debt collection throughout the life of a project will generally find themselves in a better position LT to collect at the end of the day.
Robert Kennaley is a former Landscape Design Build Contractor and an Honorary Member of Landscape Ontario who now practices construction law in Toronto and Simcoe, Ont. He can be reached at 416-368-2522 or at kennaley@mclauchlin.ca. This material is for information purposes and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers who have concerns about any particular circumstance are encouraged to seek independent legal advice in that regard.
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mentormoment
Support value — by charging This month’s mentor is Peter Guinane, CEO of Oriole Landscaping in Toronto. He has held many leadership positions, including board member for both Canada Blooms and Landscape Ontario, chair of its Contractor Sector Group, and member of the Landscape Canada Committee.
30 years this spring and it has been great, in the successes and the lessons (read failures). Q. We seem to win enough jobs/contracts/work but never make a profit. What are we doing wrong?
Q. Can you give readers a snapshot of your company?
A. The two most common ways to struggle with under-pricing for profit are; not realizing how much overhead should be allocated to a project, and not completing a project within the hours estimated. When we were smaller we believed we had lower overhead but in reality were simply discounting the time we spent on sales calls, administration, training, collections, safety, and the value of paid assets like equipment we own. The second cause – productivity – is a moving target. Every project is slightly different so expecting it to go smoothly every time is risky, so building in some buffer for the unknown is the only way. For understanding both of these you need to know your costs. You need to have a good accounting system that tracks these costs and then an estimating system that passes your costs back to the jobs with profit.
A. I began landscaping the day I finished high school. My neighbour, George Urvari, wanted to start this business and I figured it would be a good way to work through university. I had wanted to be an architect like my father and grandfather, and hoped to end up with a design-build construction company one day. Well after four years of a summer business, learning about all of the possibilities in this industry, our fledgling business was already dabbling in design-build and I was hooked. George and I decided to make it a year-round business and grow it into a proper professional operation. Oriole has 32 staff with a few extra students in the summer. We focus on design-build, but do Peter Guinane, Oriole Landscaping tender build work as well with a handful of landscape architects. We do some horticultural maintenance, but no snow removal. We have a construction division that does more work in the winter to provide continuous work for some of our staff. We often have masonry and carpentry work that continues through the winter as well. Oriole Landscaping is celebrating
Q. Is there one specific moment or action that took your company to the next level? A. We identified high-end residential design-build as our goal. We thought it would have higher margins and less economic volatility. We made that our goal after the recession in 1990. We have since learned it is not that easy, but it did spur us to plan, to drive sales in that direction, to build our fleet of trucks and equipment to serve that market. To find staff for the office and the field who shared our understanding of the value in quality and service. If there was a turning point for us, it was that plan over 20 years ago.
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Q. How do we find the money and/or make the time to train people? A. Many of our staff are hired with very little experience in landscaping. But we do hire people with a good attitude and aptitude, and who are willing to learn. We team new hires with an experienced crew. We offer incentives to our crew leaders based on overall productivity of the company. So, they are not disadvantaged with a less experienced crew member, but are able to show them our way to work. If our focus to hire is based on a positive work ethic, attitude, and aptitude, then crew leaders gain a hard working labourer who makes a meaningful contribution. Most of our skills training is on-site and we maintain a record of training for staff. We establish goals for staff to learn new skills each season and include them in their performance reviews. In this way, new staff slowly gain skills and contribute to our productivity. We do have staff on occasion that don’t fit well with some crews and are willing to move them to a better fitting crew before recommending a different company. Our culture may not be uniformly instilled in all staff at all times, but I think they all realize that nobody is perfect and everyone has something to learn.
low up service, to warranty work if needed. Figuring out how to answer all the questions or issues, to juggle the staff to take care of all the projects without sacrificing the current builds. An issue with quality at a site can be corrected quickly, but a loss of trust if you don’t fulfill a promise to a client is not so easy to fix. That keeps me up at night.
When it works, it earns me another satisfied LT customer.
If you have a question to suggest, or a mentor to recommend, please email editor@landscapetrades.com.
Q. How do you avoid wasting time on dead-end calls? A. Our breakthrough came when we started charging for designs. At first it was selective; many of our competitors still gave free designs as part of their pitch back in the ‘90’s. We realized once clients agree to pay for a design, they are both more inclined to hire you for the landscape work and pay for what they get, just like the drawing. We have since raised our minimum design fee to reflect the types of projects we want to build. Q. What business-related issuestill keeps you up at night? A. Service is our most valuable product. We have to take care of our clients in a timely manner so they know they matter to us. From the sales call, the construction, folJANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
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Reversible snow plow Ace Torwel introduces reversible snowplows in 10- and 11-ft. widths designed for daily use on commercial trucks. The 10 ft. straight plow is built of heavy gauge steel, weighs in at 1,650 lbs. with mount and has a height of 39.5 ins. The 11 ft. straight plow weighs in at 1,800 lbs. with mount and has a height of 44 ins. Adjustable 5 ½-in. dual trip springs allow moldboard to trip when cutting edge hits a solid object and returns to plowing position when obstruction is passed. www.acetorwel.com
Utility vehicle with extra storage The XUV 825i Special Edition Gator from John Deere features two integrated cargo tool boxes ideal for carrying tools or supplies, plus LED roof lights for added visibility. The two cargo boxes are situated on the driver and passenger side of the 50 hp., 812 cc vehicle. The driver’s side box opens from the top and has two divided compartments with a removable tray. The passenger side box opens from the side and features one open compartment. Both boxes have 75 lbs. of capacity. www.JohnDeere.com/Gator
Improved mini track loader Bobcat Company introduces the new MT85 mini track loader, offering more power, increased lifting capabilities, additional stability and durable components to help operators efficiently complete everyday or challenging tasks in limited-space jobsites. The MT85 has a 35 percent higher rated operating capacity (ROC) than prior mini track loader iterations — rated at 850 pounds — to lift, carry and dump materials. For additional productivity, MT85 operators can lift materials higher with an increase of 12 percent in lift height. www.bobcat.com
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Pallet Fork with Single Arm Log Grapple
Telehandler Bucket
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Stone Fork New compact models available for 2016
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Pallet Fork with Power Tine New 2 year commercial warranty available on all 3000, 4000, and 5000 series snow blades.
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newproducts Hitch adapter Worksaver now offers the Skid Steer to Cat Quick Hitch adapter, which allows the operator to use Cat non-PTO powered implements on skid steers. This new adapter is ideal for mounting any of the following on a skid steer: box scrapers, landscape rakes, three-pt. blades, harrows, soil pulverizers, single shank rippers and similar attachments. This quick hitch features lower hooks designed to capture and retain 7/8-in. lift pins without the use of bushings. Other features include an adjustable top hook for attaching to implements of varying heights and a floating top link bracket for implements that will not accept the top link hook. www.worksaver.com
Redesigned zero-turn mowers Gravely unveiled a redesigned series of Pro-Turn 200 and Pro-Turn 400 commercial zero-turn mowers; the series features smarter components, a smoother ride and more intuitive controls. An all-new constant-belt tensioning system enhances the unit’s overall performance. The new system maintains a constant belt tension; which produces a consistent blade tip speed; eliminates belt slippage that can damage belts and pulleys; improves engine efficiency and reduces the load, which saves fuel and engine life; and eliminates spring adjustments. A new deck level system features an exclusive design requiring only a four-point adjustment, reducing parts by 50 percent, which helps the mower maintain its best cutting performance. www.gravely.com
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Polymeric sand for paver joints Techniseal HP NextGel Polymeric Sand ensures the stability and durability of paver joints; applied dry, it hardens when activated with water, and retains a degree of flexibility with moisture. Unlike mortar, it resists cracking because it follows the natural movement of soil caused by moisture changes as well as freezing and thawing. This optimalstrength formula is recommended for false and wide joints; heavysloped and high-traffic areas; high-humidity areas and pool decks; natural stone installations and commercial, residential, industrial and public projects. www.techniseal.com
Plow for utility vehicles
Buyers Products introduces the new SnowDogg VUT65 plow for utility vehicles. The new plow is ruggedly designed and versatile, offering operators aggressive snow removal in tighter spaces, with more control. Features include optimized weight, designed to work with most full-size utility vehicles; optimal V-plow design with narrow, 60-in. width (at V), a 70-degree attack angle and fast-acting hydraulics and an aggressive flared moldboard. www.snowdoggplows.com
Battery-powered handheld blower The new Stihl BGA 100 handheld blower is the lightest, quietest and most powerful handheld blower in the company’s line. The 5.5 lb. blower is part of the Stihl Battery KombiSystem, which means no gas, no cord and no exhaust emissions. Instead of an on-board battery, the BGA 100 uses a battery belt or backpack battery. This unique feature aids in reducing weight, which reduces operator fatigue. A variable speed throttle trigger delivers four performance levels, and its rear-mounted air intake allows the blower to be used right- or left-handed. www.stihl.ca
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industrynews Manitoba Green Show is now Grow16
sented on the list, with Dutchmaster Nurseries of Brougham, Ont. Chairman of the international jury and AIPH Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association is revitalizing its premiere event by introducing a new Past-President, Vic Krahn, commented on the name, a new date, a new venue. On Thursday, entries, “The jury was very impressed with February 25, 2016, attendees can take part in the exceptionally high standard of the entries over 20 educational opportunities for every sec- received this year. It was a huge task with so tor of the landscape and horticulture industry. many more entries than previous years.” AIPH Focusing on what matters most to our mem- Secretary General, Tim Briercliffe added, “We bers, Grow16 will allow more opportunities for have been so pleased with the response from industry leaders to connect face-to-face and growers around the world to the call for entries in this expanded global contest. There will be grow those relationships. The conference is open to anyone in the more winners this year than ever before and I landscape and horticulture industry. Manitoba hope the industry will join us to celebrate when Nursery Landscape Association members re- the winners are announced in January.” The AIPH Grower of the Year for 2016 will be ceive preferred pricing on conference registration. For more information on Grow16, please announced on Jan. 28 at a gala dinner during IPM Essen, in Germany. visit grow.mbnla.com.
Dutchmaster on short list for Grower of the Year Nine growers from around the world are finalists in the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) International Grower of the Year Awards 2016. Canada is again repre-
Picnic on the Bridge, complete with sod, was announced at a media event.
Manderley to supply sod for bridge celebration
anniversary of Canada’s confederation. On July 2, 2017, the iconic steel truss structure that In November, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and spans the Ottawa River between Ontario and Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin of Gatineau Quebec will be transformed into a grassy haven announced a new joint initiative as part of for a Canadian first — the Interprovincial Picnic the year-long celebrations to mark the 150th on the Bridge. To create an authentic picnic atmosphere the Alexandra Bridge will be adorned with fresh sod donated by Manderley Turf Products, based in Ottawa. Following the event in 2017, the sod will be donated to local community organizations. “When we approached the Ottawa 2017 Bureau with an offer of support, we never imagined that we would get to deliver such an innovative and inspiring tribute to Canada’s 150th birthday. We are very proud to be a part of it,” said Greg Skotnicki, president of Manderley.
Prepare for June Garden Days The Canadian Garden Council invites all gardens, garden centres, hort societies, garden clubs, garden-focused businesses communities and municipalities to celebrate Garden Days on June 17 - 19, 2016. Garden Days is an exuberant celebration, taking place annually over the Father’s Day weekend. Its purpose is to draw attention to our national garden culture and underscore the importance and value of public and private gardens and gardening as a whole. All garden-related activities and promotions may be registered at www.gardendays.ca website prior to May 2016 at no cost. 60 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
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industrynews Movement promotes black eyed Susan Canada celebrates its 150th birthday in 2017, and still lacks a national flower. A movement has begun to support black-eyed Susan as Canada’s National Flower. The perennial grows in all 10 Canadian provinces, and is readily available in the wild or from garden centres. Butterflies love them and they are hardy and beautiful. Visit canadasnationalflower.com for more.
is a division of a major Canadian construction equipment business. SMS Rents employs over 200, and operates 15 branches across Ontario and Quebec. The two branch networks will continue to operate under their current business names for the immediate future and through a transitional phase in the New Year. The service areas of the 21 locations have almost no overlap and there are no store closures anticipated.
Cooper to acquire SMS Rents
Little Lime hydrangea in the spotlight
G. Cooper Equipment Rentals of Toronto has announced an agreement to acquire SMS Rents, a division of SMS Construction and Mining Systems. The transaction is expected to close by December 31, 2015. Cooper, backed by Canadian private investment firm SeaFort Capital, based in Halifax, is a leading compact equipment rental company in the Greater Toronto Area, operating six fullservice equipment rental locations. SMS Rents, a member of the Sumitomo Corporation Group,
Little Lime hydrangea has been selected as the 2016 Plant of the Year by Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Shrubs. Since its introduction, the dwarf hydrangea has become an undeniable favorite among landscapers, gardeners, and homeowners. In summer, its vibrant lime green blooms open on strong sturdy blooms. As it ages, rich pink coloring emerges to prolong the show through the fall season. In September 2015, Little Lime was awarded a Gold Medal from The Royal Boskoop Holti-
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cultural Society. Other awards include a 2013 Plantarium Gold Medal, 2013 Green is Life Bronze Medal and 2011 American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) Management Clinic Best New Plant award.
New service manager for Takeuchi
Takeuchi-US has announced Scott Herr as the new Northeast Regional Service Manager. Herr’s responsibilities include service and warranty support for the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. The support includes handling service issues, warranty issues, technical support, and service training. Herr has been working with Takeuchi since May of 2015, Scott Herr where he was previously employed by CNH Industrial America for over 20 years and he also worked at Manitou for five years where he held similar service positions.
Equipment rental platform launched Dozr announces the province-wide launch of its contractor to contractor equipment-sharing platform, making it available to all contractors in Ontario. Using Dozr’s platform, contractors can rent high-quality but underutilized equipment to other verified contractors in Dozr’s network. Co-founder Kevin Forestell says, “The capital required for equipment purchases can be a major barrier for many small contractors. By supplementing payments with rental income expensive equipment suddenly becomes more affordable.” 62 | JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
All America Selections announces 2016 winners This November nine new plants that have been trialed by horticulture experts throughout North America were deemed worthy of the All-Amer-
data on the global production and trade of ornamental flowers and plants. New for this year are: two additional plant types in the Products chapter – Flowering plants (indoor) and Green plants (indoor), Vietnam has been added to the Area and Production chapter, and trade data for Australia and Vietnam is also included in the External trade chapter. Published by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) in association with Union Fleurs, the International Flower Trade
Association, International Statistics Flowers and Plants 2015 is the result of extensive research and data compiled by Leibniz University of Hannover. This 63rd volume of the Yearbook features 182 pages of extensive research presented as an easy to use, illustrated PDF containing tables, diagrams and maps. To purchase a copy, visit www.aiph.org/statistical-yearbook. LT
Geranium Brocade Cherry Night
ica Selections brand. The following new plants were trialed during the 2015 growing season and exhibited outstanding garden performance: l Geranium Brocade Cherry Night (National) l Geranium Brocade Fire (National) l Pepper Cornito Giallo F1 (National) l Pepper Escamillo F1 (National) l Pumpkin Super Moon F1 (Regional: Southeast and Great Lakes) l Salvia Summer Jewel Lavender (Regional: Southeast, Heartland, Great Lakes) l Strawberry Delizz F1 (National) l Tomato Candyland Red (National) l Tomato Chef’s Choice Green F1 (National) All-America Selections was founded in 1932 and continues as the oldest independent testing organization in North America.
Group supports women in snow The Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) is creating a support network for women in the snow business. Facilitated by Leslie Boomer, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, this peer group will be a self-governing forum to meet and work with other women who face the same issues. Visit www.sima.org for more.
Statistics yearbook on flowers and plants available
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cnlanews Click Before You Dig goes nation-wide Online underground infrastructure location requests are now available across North America at www.clickbeforeyoudig.com. Easily access your local Dig Safe website through this one portal. More information is also available on developing safe digging best management practices and how to foster education.
group session. The collective results of this workshop will be reviewed and analyzed and will result in a strategy document that outlines key deliverables that the Ontario nursery sector and the municipal green space managers can implement to achieve improved success with urban tree and shrub plantings. For more information, contact rita@canada nursery.com
Improving planting and purchasing for urban trees
Improving tree health, one highway at a time
With funding assistance from the province’s Growing Forward 2 program, Landscape Ontario has undertaken an initiative to work cooperatively with their colleagues in the municipal sector to improve decision-making at the municipal government and developer levels for the supply and planting of trees in the urban landscape. This objective was achieved by bringing together a select group of nursery growers and municipal green space managers to participate in a one-day professionally facilitated focus
Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) is screening urban tree species to develop guidelines for the nursery landscape industry, critical to sustain healthy trees along Canadian highways. Trees planted near multi-lane highways need to be robust because care is limited during the establishment phase. Findings suggest that not all trees classified as urban-tolerant are suitable for planting in unmaintained sites. As well, it was found that shrubs benefit trees in roadside environments,
because they are able to help surrounding trees adapt to harsh environments. The team will continue to conduct research at their two test sites near Niagara, Ont. This project was funded in part through Growing Forward 2 (GF2), a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Agricultural Adaptation Council assists in the delivery of GF2 in Ontario. More information on this project can be found at www.vinelandresearch.com
Promoting the turf sector Turf continues to be under attack. Beginning with the ‘cosmetic pesticide’ ban, turf was demonized by the environmental left, and made a scapegoat, only to be left in a defensive position province by province, municipality by municipality. Forgotten in all the rhetoric and environmentalist momentum were two major factors; science, and turf’s beneficial contribution to the environment and people’s health and well being. CNLA’s Turf-Producer Sub-Committee has four major initiatives in progress to position
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turf within industry and government, as well as to better serve turf producers across the country. They are: promoting the benefits of turf, representing turf as a crop at the Pest Management Centre meetings in Ottawa, creation of a crop profile for turf, and the development of a National Occupational Analysis for turf production.
Are you taking full advantage of your membership? With a new year underway, this is the perfect time to assess your company’s needs and see how your provincial association can help meet them. CNLA has a variety of Member Savings programs, from vehicle and equipment discounts, to health and safety training, to insurance. All the information is available on the CNLA website or your local provincial website. Most programs only take a phone call to start using, call us today!
A new tool for retailers Thanks to funding from Agriculture and AgriFood Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program, Garden Centres Canada (GCC)
is developing a tool that you can use to better understand your business. GCC is currently working with a software developer to create online benchmarking software that will be simple to use and more importantly, take up as little administrative time as possible! Weekly data reports will be available for your own store so you can easily compare your sales week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to-year, etc. You will also be able to look at how sales turned out for garden centres by region, and nationally. All data will remain anonymous, and only the aggregate data of all participants will be shared. You must enter your information to get the reports back. Keep an eye on the GCC Retail News for more information as it becomes available. A sign-up form is available on the CNLA website.
The world is coming to Canada in 2017
Toronto area, and will also highlight Canadian culture, sights and attractions. Although this is an international conference, we hope to see a number of Canadians at this Congress as well. Sponsorship opportunities are available to anyone interested in reaching out to this global audience. Visit the CNLA website for more details. Advancing women in agriculture The Canadian Agriculture and Human Resource Council (CAHRC) has launched a survey to discover barriers to the advancement of women in agriculture. The survey is open to both men and women, so that the resulting actions reflect the true needs of the industry. The survey is available on the CAHRC website. LT
The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association is the federation of Canada’s provincial horticultural trade associations. Visit www.cnla-acpp.ca for more information.
CNLA will be hosting the IGCA Congress in Niagara Falls, Ont., from September 17-22, 2017. We will take delegates to garden centres, nurseries, and gardens in the Niagara Falls and
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albertaupdate Landscape Trades devotes space in each issue to provincial association news. This issue features an update from Landscape Alberta and Landscape Saskatchewan. The newly formed NDP government of Alberta campaigned on a promise to raise the minimum wage from $10.20 per hour to $15.00 by 2018. Landscape Alberta consulted with Premier Notley and the Minister of Job, Skills, Training and Labour, Lori Sigurdson, on the impacts to our industry. Landscape Alberta sees the rapid elevation of the minimum wage as having an inflationary effect on wages. The first increase to $11.20 per hour took effect Oct. 1. Landscape Alberta hosted a Soil and Compost Symposium on October 1. This session featured international experts Ron Alexander and Britt Faucette, Ph.D. who presented the latest research on the benefits of soil and compost quality. Landscape Alberta was pleased to be bring Alberta’s largest Green Industry Conference to
Calgary Nov. 19 - 20, 2015. We’ve hosted our annual fall conference and trade show in Edmonton since 1990, and in response to popular demand, we will alternate between Calgary and Edmonton annually. Conference attendees had access to two exciting mornings featuring more than 20 educational opportunities for every sector of the ornamental horticulture industry. Combine that with a 230 booth trade show, The Green Industry Show and Conference is an annual must-attend event. Join us in Edmonton in 2016. The City of Edmonton has updated Zoning Bylaw 12800 to include additional provisions in the Landscaping section (55). The provision of landscaping is a condition of the issuance of a development permit, and every application will require submission of a detailed landscape plan. The Landscape Alberta board recently approved a honorarium program for competitors in the Skills Canada Alberta event. Gold medal-winning teams are now eligible to receive $1,000, with the second and third place teams
Jeff Oostlander and Josh Van Hierden took home gold from the Skills Canada competition.
eligible for $500 each. The team advancing to the National Skills Competition will be granted an additional $1,000 to help cover lost wages and other expenses. Two teams from Olds College competed in
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G & S Landscape & Excavation Services advances from Saskatchewan’s awards program to the National Awards of Landscape Excellence.
The Landscape Awards program received 31 entries, with 27 awards handed out. Congratulations to Alpha Better Landscaping, Earthlings, Homescapes Complete Residential Landscaping, Julia’s Alpine Garden, JVR Landscape (2006), Salisbury Landscaping, Solid Landscape Construction & Design, ULS Maintenance and Landscaping and Year-Round Landscaping. We would also like to congratulate those companies whose award-winning entries have been nominated for the 2016 National Awards of Landscape Excellence: ULS Maintenance and Landscaping, JVR Landscape (2006) and Salisbury Landscaping.
Landscape Saskatchewan update As of October 1, Saskatchewan minimum wage earners will earn $10.50 per hour. Since 2007, Saskatchewan’s minimum wage has increased by 32 per cent, with eight increases from $7.95 to $10.50 over the past eight years. Dutch elm disease was discovered in a Saskatoon tree, for the first time in that city. Crews
removed the tree and inspectors searched nearby yards in an effort to pinpoint a source as part of the city’s response plan. Five additional elm bark beetle adult pheromone traps were also placed in the surrounding area to monitor bark beetle populations. The annual Landscape Saskatchewan Awards Presentation was held on March 17 at the Saskatoon Inn. The Landscape Awards program featured four award-winning entries this year. Congratulations to G & S Landscape & Excavation Services whose award-winning entries, Byers and Willows, here nominated for the 2016 National Awards of Landscape Excellence! Landscape Saskatchewan’s spring workshop was also help on March 17. Mike Lysecki from LMN joined us to talk to members and non-members on a variety of business management topics. LT
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this springs provincial competition; congratulations to Jeff Oostlander and Josh Van Hierden from Infinity Property Care on their gold medal win. They moved on to the Skills Canada National Competition in Saskatoon, May 28 - 29, 2015, where they also took home gold. Landscape Alberta’s own Kyla Hardon also took home a gold medal for excellence in organization of the competition areas. Thank you Kyla for your great work! The City of Edmonton continued with its public education campaign following the ban of all herbicides on City lands in 2015. Exemptions include eradication of provincially-regulated weeds in parks, athletic and golf facilities and for treating hard surfaces as required for infrastructure maintenance and safety. Our annual Landscape Alberta Awards Presentation and Dinner was held March 11 in Calgary. Executive Choice Award recipients were Gord Koch from Olds College; George Yeaman from Lawn Doc; Barry Paxton from Alpha Better Landscaping; and Harold Voogd from Sunstar Nurseries. Retired Executive Director, Nigel Bowles, was also honoured as a Lifetime Member of Landscape Alberta.
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comingevents January 6-8, The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, Baltimore Convention Center, Md. www.mants.com January 6-8, Indiana Green Expo, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Ind. www.indianagreenexpo.com
January 18-20, Your Next Level, Hyatt Pier 66, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. www.yournextlevel.org January 19-22, Sports Turf Managers Association 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition, San Diego, Calif. www.stma.org
January 11-13, CENTS 2016, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio www.centsmarketplace.com
January 20-22, The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE), Greater Fort Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. www.fngla.org/tpie
January 11-15, CGSA/WCTA Canadian International Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show, Toronto, Ont. www.golfsupers.com
January 25-27, Great Lakes Trade Exposition (GLTE), Lansing Centre, Lansing, Mich. www.glte.org
January 12-14, Congress 2016, Toronto Congress Centre, Toronto, Ont. www.locongress.com
January 26-29, International Plant Fair, Essen, Germany, www.ipm-messe.de
January 13-15, Northern Green Expo, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minn. www.northerngreenexpo.org
February 3-5, iLandscape: The Illinois Landscape Show, Renaissance Schaumberg Conference Centre, Schaumburg, Ill. www.ilandscapeshow.com February 16-18, Salon du Vegetal, Parc des Expositions, Angers, France. www.salon-du-vegetal.com February 17-19, ISA Ontario Conference, Ottawa Conference & Events Centre, Ottawa, Ont. www.isaontario.com February 18-20, Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals annual conference, Atlanta, Ga. www.aolponline.org February 26, Grow16, Winnipeg, Man. www.mbnla.com
January 31-February 4, Toronto Spring Gift Fair, International Centre and Congress Centre, Toronto, Ont. www.cgta.org
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Landscape Trades is published by Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association 7856 Fifth Line South, Milton, ON L9T 2X8 Phone: (905)875-1805 Email: comments@landscapetrades.com Fax: (905)875-0183 Web site: www.landscapetrades.com
PUBLISHER Lee Ann Knudsen CLM | lak@landscapeontario.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sarah Willis | sarahw@landscapeontario.com ART DIRECTOR Kim Burton | kburton@landscapeontario.com EDITOR Allan Dennis | adennis@landscapeontario.com WEB EDITOR Robert Ellidge | rob@landscapeontario.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mike Wasilewski | mikew@landscapeontario.com ACCOUNTANT Joe Sabatino | joesabatino@landscapeontario.com SALES MANAGER, PUBLICATIONS Steve Moyer | stevemoyer@landscapeontario.com INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS REPRESENTATIVE Greg Sumsion | gsumsion@landscapeontario.com COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Angela Lindsay | alindsay@landscapeontario.com ADVISORY COMMITTEE Gerald Boot CLM, Paul Brydges, Laura Catalano, Mark Fisher, Hank Gelderman CHT, Marty Lamers, Jan Laurin, Bob Tubby CLM, Nick Winkelmolen
LANDSCAPE ONTARIO STAFF Darryl Bond, Myscha Burton, Rachel Cerelli, Tony DiGiovanni CHT, Denis Flanagan CLD, Sally Harvey CLT CLM, Jane Leworthy, Heather MacRae, Kristen McIntyre CHT, Kathy McLean, Linda Nodello, Kathleen Pugliese, Ian Service, Tom Somerville, Martha Walsh, Cassandra Wiesner
Landscape Trades is published nine times a year: January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October and November. Subscription rates: One year – $46.90, two years – $84.74; three years – $118.64, HST included. U.S. and international please add $20.00 per year for postage and handling. Subscribe at www.landscapetrades.com Copyright 2016. All rights are reserved. Material may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Landscape Trades assumes no responsibility for, and does not endorse the contents of, any advertisements herein. All representations or warranties made are those of the advertiser and not the publication. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the association or its members, but are those of the writer concerned.
ISSN 0225-6398 PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES AGREEMENT 40013519 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT LANDSCAPE TRADES MAGAZINE 7856 FIFTH LINE SOUTH, MILTON, ON L9T 2X8, CANADA JANUARY 2016 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |
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where to find it COMPANY
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A.M.A. Plastics Ltd Allstone Quarry Products Inc. Alpha Precasts Arborjet Inc. Avant Tecno USA Inc Beaver Valley Stone Ltd Best Way Stone Limited Bobcat Company Daniels Plows DEWALT Canada Echo Power Equipment Canada Exmark Manufacturing Co Inc Fibertop First Editions Plants G & L Group Gravely Greenhorizons Group of Farms Ltd Gro-Bark (Ontario) Ltd GRYB - Groupe RY Beaudoin Inc Horst Welding Hustler Turf Equipment Landscape Management Network M Putzer Hornby Nursery Ltd Mahindra Makita Canada Inc Miller Compost - The Miller Group Ltd Miska Trailers MK Martin Enterprise Inc National Leasing Neudorff North America Oaks Concrete Products by Brampton Brick Permacon Group Inc PRO Landscape by Drafix Software Pro-Power Canada Inc Proven Winners ColorChoice Sakata Seed America Inc South Oakville Chrysler Fiat Stihl Limited Stonemen’s Valley Inc Techniseal Thames Valley Brick & Building Products The Belden Brick Company The Salt Depot The Toro Company Unilock Limited Winkelmolen Nursery Ltd Zander Sod Co Ltd
PHONE
WEBSITE
42 800-338-1136 ama@amaplas.com 63 905-939-8491 info@allstonequarry.com 48 905-457-4911 info@alphaprecasts.com 29 781-935-9070 ajinfo@arborjet.com 58 847-380-9822 sales@avanttecnousa.com 30 416-222-2424 info@beavervalleystone.com 35 800-BESTWAY info@bestwaystone.com 61 infocenter@bobcat.com 68 905-658-9905 briansauto@hotmail.com 41 800-4DEWALT 51 877-324-6660 info@echo.ca 15 402-223-6300 21 905-203-0816 sales@fibertop.ca 43 50 888-907-7258 seany@gandlgroup.com 71 800-472-8359 info@ariens.com 53 519-653-7494 info@justsodit.com 9 888-GRO-BARK keith@gro-bark.com 67 819-604-1396 info@gryb.ca 57, 68 519-291-4162 sales@horstwelding.com 60 800-395-4757 sales@hustlerturf.com 32, 33 888-347-9864 info@golmn.com 66 905-878-7226 putzernursery@primus.ca 44, 45 64 b.collens@makita.ca 47, 65 866-887-6457 compost@millergroup.ca 27 800-306-2111 sales@miskatrailers.com 68 855-664-2752 sales@mkmartin.ca 56 866-586-5501 sales@nationalleasing.com 59 250-652-5888 tim.tripp@neudorff.ca 2 800-709-OAKS info@oakspavers.com 72 800-463-9278 31 800-231-8574 sales@prolandscape.com 24, 25 800-361-0907 info@propowercanada.ca 18, 19 800-633-8859 sales@springmeadownursery.com 55 408-778-7758 info@sakata.com 62 289-644-2250 fmackenzie@southoakvillechrysler.com 5 519-681-3000 info.canada@stihl.ca 54 905-841-8400 info@stonemensvalley.com 39 800-465-SEAL info@techniseal.com 67 905-637-6997 info@thamesvalleybrick.com 49 330-451-2031 52 905-479-1177 info@saltdepot.ca 17 800-348-2424 LCEproducts@toro.com 12, 13 800-UNILOCK georgetown@unilock.com 11 519-647-3912 sales@winkelmolen.com 46 877-727-2100 info@zandersod.com
www.amaplas.com www.allstonequarry.com www.alphaprecasts.com www.arborjet.com www.avanttecnousa.com www.beavervalleystone.com www.bestwaystone.com www.bobcat.com www.danielsplows.com www.dewalt.com www.echo.ca www.exmark.com www.fibertop.ca www.firsteditionsplants.com www.gandlgroup.com www.gravely.com www.justsodit.com www.gro-bark.com www.gryb.ca www.horstwelding.com www.hustlerturf.com www.golmn.com www.putzernursery.com www.mahindracanada.ca www.makita.ca www.millergroup.ca www.miskatrailers.com www.mkmartin.ca www.nationalleasing.com www.neudorff.ca www.oakspavers.com www.permacon.ca www.prolandscape.com www.propowercanada.ca www.provenwinners-shrubs.com www.sakataornamentals.com www.southoakvillechrysler.com www.stihl.ca www.stonemensvalley.com www.techniseal.com www.thamesvalleybrick.com www.beldenbrick.com www.saltdepot.ca www.toro.ca www.unilock.com www.winkelmolen.com www.zandersod.com
INTERNATIONAL GREEN CITY CONFERENCE, MEETINGS AND TOURS
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