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HOW WE DO IT Community Outreach at Ruppert Landscape
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By Lindsey Getz
EACH YEAR, THE NALP Community Partnership Award recognizes companies who demonstrate leadership in helping restore or revive communities. NALP presents the awards to companies actively engaged in community outreach. It also highlights the aesthetic, environmental and quality of life benefits the landscape industry brings to communities across the country. This year, the first award goes to Laytonsville, Maryland-headquartered Ruppert Landscape.
“It is a great honor to receive this award as it helps raise visibility around the needs that exist within our communities. It also highlights how the landscape industry is partnering with deserving people and charitable organizations to meet those needs,” says Phil Key, president of the company. “We feel very fortunate to be in a position that enables us to help.” The company has always believed in giving back throughout its 40-year history. In fact, over the years, Ruppert has helped thousands of deserving causes and given in excess of $5 million. The company typically commits more than 5,000 hours each year to community service projects—both big and small.
“The company has a strong commitment to giving back to the communities where we work and where our employees live,” says Amy Snyder, director of public relations for Ruppert Landscape. “We donate 5 percent of our profit to support charitable causes. More importantly, we involve our employees
Ruppert Landscape employees volunteering to improve the grounds at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
in charitable projects to ensure each of them experiences that feeling of goodwill that comes with giving to those in need. The company encourages employees to make their branches a part of charitable efforts that are dear to them. Their causes can be breast cancer walks or feeding the homeless or other ideas.”
The company’s branches directly manage 2 of the 5 percent slated for giving, Snyder says. This ensures employees directly involve themselves in choosing the charitable projects.
FIELD DAY IS AN OUTREACH HIGHLIGHT One of Ruppert’s recent large-scale community service efforts was its Atlanta Field Day event. More than 100 employees from the company’s Lilburn and Mableton, Georgia and Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina branches worked together with parishioners to transform the grounds of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The company’s annual Field Day is a long-standing tradition that enables employees to give back to the community. It combines charitable giving, training and friendly competition among branches.
The church campus had a number of existing landscape issues Ruppert addressed. This included areas of vegetation overgrowth and eroded turf, drainage issues, unhealthy trees and damaged concrete. The site also
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lacked visual appeal and did not create an inviting space for parishioners to enjoy the church’s outdoors.
Beyond fixing problems, a portion of the day was spent installing new plant material to give the campus a fresh feel. Nine caliper shade trees were planted in the parking islands and three ornamental trees in the front of the church. Over 500 shrubs and 135 perennials were also installed in four high-visibility locations throughout the site. Lastly, mulching of all the newly installed plant beds and existing beds totaled approximately 120 yards of mulch.
In total, over 800 man-hours and approximately $100,000 was involved in making this project a reality. Since its completion, the congregation has been spending more time outside worshipping, gathering and enjoying the benefits of feeling one with nature.
HELP SPANNING MANY MILES Field Day is just one of many ways Ruppert has partnered with communities both near its headquarters and its 23 branches. The company has performed cleanups, enhancements and installation projects for many organizations and establishments. These include HeroHomes (a non-profit dedicated to providing housing for wounded veterans), the Ronald McDonald House and the Armed Forces Retirement Home, among many others. The company has donated both landscaping skills, materials and time. For instance, in January 2019, several of the company’s Raleigh landscape management and North Carolina landscape construction branch members volunteered with the Special Olympics of North Carolina to help sort and package uniforms for the 300 U.S. athletes and coaches heading to the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.
22 The Landscape Professional //January/February 2020 Ruppert donating time and services to a Virginia-based charity (above). Ruppert’s Atlanta Field Day (below).
In April of 2019, the Baltimore landscape management team participated in Pigtown Main Street’s “Bloom the Boulevard” event. Together with a team of community volunteers, they cleaned and “greened” a section of Washington Boulevard from MLK to Carroll Park. They removed trash and debris, installing 15 trees, mulching tree rings and cleaning and re-planting the planters. They also donated annuals for the flower sale and held two planting workshops for community residents.
BUDGETING FOR OUTREACH Though Ruppert is a massive company, spanning multiple states, “giving back” is scalable to any level. As a result, it’s possible for any company. In the early years, once the company reached $2 million in sales, they started doing larger events like Field Day.
But Key says an event like this has multiple benefits. “We saw it as more than just an opportunity to give back to our community,” he says. “It was really an investment in our training and team building. It was a way for us to check our skills and identify areas where we needed improvement while creating a competitive, fun environment and ultimately building morale and pride in our company.”
When the company grew, Key says budgeting for giving became more systematic and planned for over time. “Once we grew, we set aside a percentage of our annual revenue for giving. We always look for causes that will enable us to not only help in our communities but also to train, compete and hopefully continue to build our team and underscore what we value,” he says.
GETTING MORE INVOLVED Key says charitable involvement and giving is ultimately a very individual decision that a company has to make. But the landscape industry has many ways in which it can offer its talents and skills to those in need.
“Deciding on dollar amounts, degree of involvement and what causes are deserving of assistance can be very personal. It must resonate with a company and its employees,” advises Key. “With the opportunities and successes with which we’ve been blessed comes an implicit obligation to help those who have not been as fortunate and perhaps haven’t had the same opportunities that mentoring, education and certain life experiences provide.” Having a social conscience is “self-perpetuating,” Key adds. It helps the community, motivates employees and gives them pride in the company. “Those employees work hard at keeping customers happy because they work for an organization they believe in. In turn, the company will continue to enjoy financial success, which enables more contributions to worthy causes,” Key explains. “Perhaps the most important takeaway for us is that by involving employees directly in the giving, many more people get to experience firsthand the kindness and feeling of goodwill that comes with giving to those in need.” TLP
THIS IS THE EVENT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
44 TH ANNUAL
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE LANDSCAPE COMPETITION March 18-21, 2020
East Lansing, MI
Platinum Sponsor
2020 VISION A LOOK AHEAD Landscape professionals are gearing up for growth but have a foot over the brake if labor pains force a sales slowdown.
By Kristen Hampshire
The phones are ringing. Homeowners are asking about design/build and landscape renovation projects to improve their outdated properties. Companies that run maintenance routes are keeping trucks and equipment busy. “We continue to see a demand for outdoor living spaces—patios, hardscapes, outdoor kitchens,” says Jeff Garner, president, Garner’s Northwest Landscaping, Monroe, Washington. But there’s one thing. Finding people to do the work is a seemingly immovable barrier to growth. “We took a good, hard look at our business and decided to focus on profitability rather than revenue growth,” Garner relates, noting that last year he streamlined routes to cut windshield time to make the best use of his crews’ time. “Then, we started cutting unprofitable accounts. We’re trying to thin down [routes] so we can manage with a smaller workforce.”
The opportunity is there—but the labor is not.
This is a consistent theme for landscape professionals as we turn the calendar page to 2020. The No. 1 business concern that will keep contractors up at night is employee recruitment and retention, according to a 2020 NALP Lawn & Landscape Business Forecast. In fact, 71 percent of respondents named labor as their greatest pain. The next greatest area of concern for business owners is the high costs of doing business (7 percent), including fuel prices, health insurance and workers’ compensation.
But there are many bright spots—and, with a continued strong economy and demand for services, 21 percent of the landscape professionals we surveyed expect to grow in 2020 by 7 to 10 percent, with 15 percent planning for a 11- to 15-percent gain next year.
Louis Palazzi, owner, Palazzi Landscape Gardening, Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, says 2019 was the best year since 1972. “I don’t see demand slacking off,” he says, noting that Baby Boomers are requesting lawn renovations. Looking ahead, he says, “I think 2020 is going to be a great year.”
However, in a service industry stressed by labor woes—and in a seasonal business that can get hampered by weather—some of the challenges owners are anticipating in 2020 are somewhat out of their control. “If we do not get our H-2B workers next year, I don’t know what we are going to do,” says Michael Kukol, president, Horizon Landscaping, Wyckoff, New Jersey. “It is a time to reflect on how we will have to change to survive.”
WAY TO GROW How do you feel about 2020? When asked, landscape professionals say optimistic, cautious, growth—and survival. Josh Wise, owner, GrassRoots Tree and Turf Care, Acworth, Georgia, says, “Explosive.”
In 2019, Wise began franchising his business and in 2020, the company will have six new territories. His company grew 21.9 percent, and customer retention was high with an 11.2-percent cancellation rate compared to an industry average that’s closer to 20 percent. The NALP survey showed 81 percent of respondents expect to retain 81 to 100 percent of their customers for the 2020 season.
Wise says his greatest challenge will be growing too fast. “I’m concerned about my time and how I’ll handle that,” he relates. So, he is upping his workforce by adding four team members to the home office to field customer service calls for new franchisees. “That way, we can protect the brand and make sure customer service stays the same way we have it,” he says. In 2019, Wise had one dedicated salesperson. Next year, he plans on recruiting two more sales associates to help manage additional territories and support new franchisees. Why will 2020 be “explosive?” He sees great potential with franchising his brand. “When I talk to potential franchisees who are looking at starting their
Å GROWTH GOALS
WHAT ARE YOUR GROWTH PLANS FOR BUSINESS IN 2020?
Q More than 20% loss 5%
Q 10% to 20% loss 4%
Q 5% to 10% loss 5%
Q 0%
Q 1% to 3% gain 8% Q 4% to 6% gain 12%
Q 7% to 10% gain 21%
Q 11% to 15% gain 15% Q 16% to 20% gain 11%
own business, they’re interested when you talk to them about the landscape industry,” he says. “I think all in all, the industry is strong.”
Matthew Wagoner, manager at Landscape Consultants LLC in New Cambria, Kansas, feels cautious about 2020, following two years of record commercial design/build business that is drying up. Their region experienced a building boom and capitalized on the new landscape jobs. But, Wagoner says, “I think that is running out of steam in our community. We are not seeing the commercial bids come up.” On the other hand, the residential market shows growth potential, says Laura Stroda, marketing director at Landscape Consultants LLC. “And, our maintenance division has grown every single year since we moved to our new location in 2014,” she reports, noting that maintenance is about 30 to 40 percent of the company’s overall sales. The garden center division of Landscape Consultants is also in growth mode, Wagoner points out. That includes an extensive tree farm and native plant offerings—a different angle than nearby stores that sell typical annuals and perennials. “We are going to be selling some trees on the open market because I see a continuing shortage of certain calipers and species of trees, so we’ll push those and native plants,” he says.
Palazzi says his company has been enjoying the benefits of pent-up demand for landscape services. Since pulling out of the 2008 recession, he has noticed an uptick in interest. “Now that the economy has rebounded, demand is going to be very strong for next year,” he predicts.
IN-DEMAND SERVICES So, what areas of business are landscape professionals expanding in 2020? Design-build opportunities are strong, with 37 percent of NALP survey respondents indicating the most revenue growth from this type of work. Close behind is landscape maintenance/mowing at 34 percent. Less essential offerings like water features and holiday lighting barely made the radar, at 0.62 percent and 0.31 percent respectively. No one said landscape lighting would promise revenue growth.
At Landscape Consultants LLC, a new water well drilling service comple
ÄService Stats HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH SERVICE PRICES IN 2020?
We are holding prices steady in order to retain customers. 20% We are raising prices as necessary. 80% We are decreasing prices in order to retain and attract customers. 0%
IN WHAT ONE SERVICE AREA DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE THE MOST REVENUE COME FROM IN 2020?
Landscape maintenance – mowing 37% Lawn care - pesticide and fertilizer applications 20% Landscape design/build 22% Tree care 3% Irrigation 4% Landscape lighting 3% Water features 1% Hardscapes 7% Snow and ice removal 3% Holiday lighting 1% IN WHAT ONE SERVICE AREA DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE THE FASTEST GROWTH IN 2020?
ments irrigation. Wagoner says, they bought the business from a retiring owner who focused only on the drilling. “It fits in real well,” he says, noting that it adds value to the irrigation division. “We are looking at some packages with the water well drilling and irrigation,” he says of plans for 2020.
Hardscape will continue to be an in-demand service, Wagoner adds. “It used to be a basic patio, and now we are doing rooftop patios, flagstone walkways and elaborate outdoor living spaces with water features and pergolas,” he says. “This whole segment of the industry continues to evolve.”
Wagoner adds, “In our market, renovations to high-end and middle-market homes are where we are focused and doing well.”
Maintenance grows every year at Landscape Consultants, but labor limits the company’s ability to add new accounts. So, the company is selective and partners only with clients who want full service. “We want to take care of their mowing, lawn care, pruning and irrigation—and if they want to add a deck, we can do that, too,” Stroda says. “Our clients appreciate that they can pick up the phone and make one call.” Wise says that demand for lawn care in the Southeast hasn’t slowed. He can tell because with little marketing, his company grew more than 20 percent last year.
LABOR PAINS—AGAIN You can sell all the work you want. But who will do it? Labor is the greatest challenge landscape professionals face, and it will force many to change the way they do business. Kukol calls labor “out of control,” and notes that there are few “American blue-collar workers” left.
“The blue-collar worker of today is going into IT—technology,” Kukol says. He received 140 responses to a help-wanted advertisement in spring 2019 with a pay rate starting at $16.81. “Less than half took the time for a phone interview,” he says. “Of that, only 15 showed up for an in-person interview. Five took the job and two showed up for work. Six months later, both were gone.”
He hired some temporary workers— but they left for the Police Academy, got called by a Union Hall or decided to go back to school. “How do you run a business like that?” Kukol relates.
Matthew Wagoner at Landscape Consultants LLC feels cautious about 2020, following two years of record commercial design/build business that is drying up. Their region experienced a building boom and capitalized on new landscape jobs. But “I think that is running out of steam in our community. We are not seeing the commercial bids come in.”
ÈCustomer Retention WHAT PERCENT OF YOUR CUSTOMERS FROM 12 MONTHS AGO DO YOU EXPECT TO STILL BE YOUR CUSTOMERS IN 2020?
0% to 20% 2% 21% to 40% 2% 41% to 60% 2% 61% to 80% 14% 81% to 100% 80%
Kukol applied for H-2B employees, as he always does. “We have to go that route because there are no other options for help,” he says matter-of-factly. In spring 2019, Kukol says he turned down “tons of work” because routes were full. “What else can we tell people? We say, ‘Sorry, we are full.’ We couldn’t even send a salesperson out. We let a lot of work slip by.”
Kukol doesn’t want to do that this year, but labor will dictate how much the company can sell rather than vice-versa.
Every business NALP interviewed cited labor as a chief concern. Landscape Concepts is trying to get ahead of a labor shortage by offering referral bonuses to its staff. After 30, 60 and 90 days, the referral source receives a monetary incentive. “The ideas is that they not just bring anyone to fill out an application and work for two days—it makes them think about who they pick,” Stroda says. “They are putting their own reputation on the line a little bit.” Retention will be a major initiative. “We do pretty well at it, but we want to get better,” Stroda says.
Wise agrees that with record low unemployment rates, “The ones who don’t have jobs are the ones who don’t want to work. It’s hard to find good, quality employees.” He hires more people than he needs. “I try to keep an extra technician around and forecast our future growth,” he says.
Of course, hiring extras is easier said than done. And, doing so can feel impossible when you’re turning down work because of a labor shortage and refiguring your routes to accommodate a thinning staff. Garner says during March-April 2019, his business lost five of its 12 employees. “The sad thing is, there were only six who I wanted to keep but we were too scared to get rid of the others with how tight labor is,” he says. “We should have gotten rid of those five in the first place.”
They left after not qualifying for pay raises due to poor quality work or attendance issues. “So, we said, ‘We have to cut back,’” Garner continues. “We cut out our ‘pain point’ clients who were constantly calling us about this or that.” After thinning the book of business, his team could manage the routes and deliver the quality the company promises.
Garner has used Craig’s List and iHire Landscaping to recruit workers. “We offer bonuses to our employees if they bring in other workers, and that has helped,” he says.
PRICING & PAY The cost of doing business today will never be less than it was yesterday— and it’s only going up. Nearly 80 percent of professionals who responded to the NALP survey say they will raise prices as necessary, and few customers are complaining about it. They get it.
Garner will increase prices, “And we think everyone else in the market will, too,” he says. His business now offers
ÈMARKETING MONEY
HOW WILL YOU GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS IN 2020? Most pros know that marketing has moved online, yet referrals and clean, branded trucks continue to bring in the bulk of business for many NALP members.
“We have a fairly large fleet and we invested in it to make sure we have nice, clean trucks,” says Matthew Wagoner, manager, Landscape Consultants LLC, New Cambria, Kansas.
The greatest source of referrals for his business: People who say, “Hey, I saw your truck down the street.” The second biggest marketing move. “My neighbor told me about you.” Third is Google.
Laura Stroda, marketing coordinator, adds, “We have invested into building our existing website and making sure that we are the top result in our area.”
Of the NALP members surveyed for the 2020 Lawn & Landscape Business Forecast, 63 percent say their marketing spend will stay flat. One-third of respondents plan to increase their marketing budget. And a few, 4 percent, will decrease the dollars they dedicate to advertising.
One of those is Michael Kukol, president, Horizon Landscaping, Wykoff, New Jersey. His reasoning? “With no field labor, marketing will be reduced.”
WHAT ARE YOUR MARKETING PLANS FOR 2020?
We are increasing marketing spending 33% We are maintaining marketing spending at our current level 63% We are decreasing marketing spending 4%
health insurance—an added expense— to compete with other employers. “We are looking to add some sort of retirement benefit,” he says.
Kukol hopes to charge more in 2020. “Costs for everything keep going up, and if the smaller companies will realize what it costs to stay in business, then they will raise their prices, as well,” he says. “Too often, people go into business, think they are making a lot of money, then grow to two or three trucks and realize that they are barely braking even. After five to seven years of deflating the market and making other companies that are in it for the long-haul look like thieves, they sell everything and get out of the business. Or, they stay small enough to be under the radar and pay their employees cash.”
Paying cash is trouble, Kukol adds. “That doesn’t happen in a good company.”
Wise won’t raise prices this year, after hiking them up slightly at the end of 2018. “I feel like I’m priced competitively in the market, and we are high enough that we don’t get customers who are just looking for the cheapest price and will cancel in three months when someone shows up at the door with a price that is a dollar cheaper,” he quips. “I’m happy with our sales and growth, and I don’t feel there is any need to move that pricing needle.”
As for pay, minimum wage is a moot point for owners who must pay more than that to attract quality people. “Not even worth discussing—we are already double minimum wage,” Kukol says.
TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE Finding ways to work smarter—and with fewer employees—will be a continued focus for landscape firms facing a continued labor shortage. This includes implementing scheduling and routing software, trading pen-and-paper for tablets in the field and experimenting with the latest robotic mowers.
Kukol is interested in robotic mowers, but not ready to jump into it yet. “I think the robotic mowers, or something like them, are the future,” he says, adding that Horizon Landscaping is using technology wherever possible in its operations.
Garner invested in new business software that he hopes will shave time off routes. “We are also trying to buy bigger and better equipment that can
cut down on labor,” he notes. Also, after meeting with some companies that are testing robotic mowers in the field, he’ll do the same in 2020. “We are looking into it,” he says.
NALP’s survey indicated 9 percent respondents who will increase equipment spending next year plan to invest in specialty mowers such as propane-powered or robotic.
Business management software and a garden center point-of-sale system are a tech focal point at Landscape Consultants LLC. “We have some inhouse systems built by talented staff that are helping us with scheduling and tracking jobs and creating work orders,” Stroda says. “And, we invested in LMN and will roll that out during the next year.”
Meanwhile, as companies consider ways to improve productivity, they’re also keeping an eye on potential jags that could sideline their companies— namely, regulations. Kukol says the last couple of years have been a learning experience for his business, and he is considering renaming his human resources person as “compliance.” “There are so many issues to stay abreast of, and ignorance is no excuse when they knock on your door,” he says.
Labor-related regulations intensify the stress of retaining qualified, legal employees.
Palazzi notes that in Pennsylvania where he operates, lawn care and landscape businesses are “pretty heavily regulated,” and he is keeping an eye on whether the state will restrict phosphorus in the future. “My big thing is, we are paying all the fees to have licenses and certifications, and there are many other companies out there operating illegally,” he says. “There is no way the enforcement agency can oversee all of that. So, companies get away with it.”
For Palazzi, supply chain issues have been more prominent than regulatory concerns in the past year. And, he figures this could continue. “We have had some—not a lot—but some, pressure with regards to supply,” he says, referring to plants and Milorganite fertilizer. Because of long-term relationships with suppliers, Palazzi says “we have been able to adjust well.” As for Milorganite, prices are up about 5 percent—“That, we can handle”—while the bag size continues to decrease. He used to buy the product in 50-pound bags, and now they are sold in 32-pound packages.
The key with regulations, supplies and technology is to connect with industry peers and share knowledge. As Wise notes, “There is great camaraderie in our industry. Overall, we are really strong.”
OPTIMISTIC. GREAT THINGS. HOPEFUL. BULLISH. The one-word forecasts for 2020 by NALP members are mostly positive. “Better than 2019.” Sure, there is a healthy dose of caution. “Be alert for downturn in the economy.” But, for the most part, industry professionals are steering into this new year with a mind to grow and prosper.
ÉLabor Pains
WHAT ONE BUSINESS CONCERN DO YOU EXPECT WILL KEEP YOU UP MOST AT NIGHT IN 2020? Hiring-recruiting and retaining enough workers to get work done 71% Pricing/estimating work properly 4% Growing too fast to keep up 6% Lack of business growth/stagnant 4% Work/life balance 5% Low-ball competitors 2% High costs of doing business (fuel prices, health insurance, worker’s compensation) 7% Regulations/bans on pesticide/fertilizer use 1% Regulations/bans on noise/equipment use 0% Regulations/bans on water/irrigation 0%
ÐCOVERSTORY ÊInvesting in Iron
More than half of the landscape professionals (56 percent) who participated in NALP’s 2020 Lawn & Landscape Business Forecast survey say they plan to increase their equipment purchases and leases. While 36 percent will maintain what they have, 8 will decrease equipment expenses—so they’ll save purchases for another year.
Jeff Garner, president, Garner’s Northwest Landscaping, says his Monroe, Washington-based company is investing in equipment that reduces labor. In 2019, he added a leaf vac to the fleet and a couple of 52-inch mowers. “Now we can mow faster with less downtime, and we are looking to add two more of those mowers in 2020,” he says.
Trucks and trailers will be the most common purchase, with 63 percent of respondents planning to increase spending, earmarking dollars for vehicles. Next up is mowers, with 47 percent noting that they’ll add to their fleets in 2020. Louis Palazzi, owner, Palazzi Landscape Gardening, Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, is trading out his diesel trucks for gas-powered vehicles, and he’ll add a dump truck to his fleet. “Because of the technology with gas now, you can run the trucks efficiently with less cost,” he says.
IN WHAT AREAS DO YOU EXPECT TO INCREASE YOUR SPENDING THE MOST IN 2020? Mowers-traditional 47% Mowers-specialty (robotic, propane-powered, etc.) 9% Handheld power equipment 37% Skid-steer loaders/utility track loaders/compact utility equipment and attachment 28% Pesticides/fertilizers 21% Trucks & trailers 63% Technology (business & design software, etc.) 26% Spreaders/sprayers 16% Nursery materials (plants, trees, shrubs, etc.) 18% Snow & ice equipment 15% Water features and related equipment 3% Landscape lighting and related equipment 10% Irrigation systems and components 13% Tree care-related products 5%
HOW DO YOU PROJECT YOUR ANNUAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES/LEASES TO CHANGE IN 2020?
Increase 56% Decrease 8% Stay the same 36%
Summit WORKFORCE
Champion:
A Think-Tank for Industry Professionals March 1 – 3, 2020 Washington, DC
landscapeprofessionals.org/workforcesummit
Å What one word or phrase would you use to describe your expectations for your business in 2020?
GROWTH OPTIMISTIC EXCITED GROWING GREAT
FOCUS POSITIVE
STEADY STABLE SOLID LABOR STRONG WORK
FORWARD CONTINUED GROWTH
CONCERNED CHALLENGING BUSY MAINTAIN PROFITABLE STEADY GROWTH GOOD
CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC HOPEFUL PROFITS CAUTIOUS SERVICE
Cutting Edge Performance & Productivity from Billy Goat ®
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Hoffman Landscapes revamps a residential property into a clean, elegant space. By Heather Tunstall
THE OUTDOOR SPACE OF A BEAUTIFUL ESTATE HAD BEEN languishing under a lack of proper attention for some time. Before Hoffman Landscapes took over maintenance, their client’s property was subject to incorrect pruning, services not being performed in a timely manner, insect and disease issues and poor communication over multiple providers.
“The homeowner could see her vision was structurally there, but was suffering horticulturally,” says Michael O. Hoffman, president, Hoffman Landscapes. Hoffman Landscapes took over property maintenance, and immediately things began to change.
FROM MISMANAGED TO MARVELOUS The homeowner wanted to keep clean, straight lines and wanted the structure of her landscape to be impeccably manicured year-round. She employed Hoffman Landscapes in 2017 to execute a comprehensive maintenance plan, including weekly mowing, irrigation, bed care, fine gardening, seasonal cleanups, new planting installation and renovation, hardscape maintenance, seasonal decor, and a
complete plant health care program.
“The landscape design is very formal, yet flows very naturally, which makes the property unique,” Hoffman says. “Our work on this property is also special because of the client herself. Very rarely do we come across a client this involved, even to the point of working side-by-side with the perennial care team. It makes a world of difference to have a client who truly enjoys the landscape, and we absolutely love working with her.”
The estate sits on a 3.3-acre lot, which includes meticulously shaped Hawthorn trees along the driveway
and crisp Boxwood hedging throughout the property. A zen garden featuring a dozen Shademaster Honeylocust trees provides a peaceful respite over a gravel terrace. The hedges, trimmed to a sharp, perfect right angle, line the shrubbery and tree beds for a monochromatic contrast of textures. The hardscapes’ color palette complements the main house’s castle-like facade—simple, yet pleasing to the eye.
NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES The home is part of a private community with strict time constraints as to when the Hoffman team can be in the neighborhood. They have to be extremely efficient with each visit to get everything done in their allowed time. Irrigation management is also a challenge. The Hoffman team are constantly balancing the needs of plants and turf with system constraints and water use restrictions in the area. “Possibly our biggest challenge lately has been a very high prevalence of boxwood blight throughout this region, which has made boxwood care in 2019 much more complicated than it was in the past,” Hoffman says. “To combat the spread of boxwood blight, hand pruning has been combined with shearing, irrigation has been converted from spray to drip, and all tools are disinfected prior to arriving on site and again in between planting areas.”
The Hoffman team took on aspects of property care in June of 2017 and have added to their list of responsibilities every season since.
“Our work here is ongoing and will never truly be complete,” Hoffman says. “Through interaction with not only the property, but the client, our understanding of both has deepened and we are able to be proactive with many issues.”
A Phased Approach to a Cohesive Landscape
R.P. Marzilli & Co. transforms a Massachusetts residential property. By Heather Tunstall
THE OWNERS HADN’T BEEN PLANNING ON PURCHASING A HOUSE. But one day, they were dropping their kids off at a friend’s place and noticed an open house sign down the street. Curious, they decided to take a look, and they immediately fell in love with the property, decided to buy it, and moved from their neighboring town into their new home.
The house was old and needed some updates, and besides, they wanted to give it their own personal touch. It had several renovations and additions over the years, without much continuity in design. The owners began work on the inside of the house as well as the outdoor property immediately.
“They purchased this property and they hired an interior designer and an architect to re-fab the interior of the home,” says Chris Johnson, project manager for R.P. Marzilli & Co. “They decided to work with the same interior designer and architect to create a pool house and start to redo the landscape to create more of a systematic feel instead of a segmented feel within the property. With the series of additions, it wasn’t as cohesive as they would have hoped.” The interior designer and home architect teamed up with the landscape architect Hawk Design to bring it all together.
THE VISION The owners wanted a seamless landscape that would highlight the historic home’s beauty in a way that flows each part of the property together— the entryway, the home, an entertainment pool area and a rear terrace.
The outdoor areas were planned in phases: phase one was the pool space, phase two was the rear terrace and phase three was the entryway. When they were ready to start phase one, they called in R.P. Marzilli & Co. to be the landscape contractor.
“We tried to bring more of a purpose
or connection to these spaces by creating an area where they could entertain, grill and have some fun, then the rear terrace was more secluded, more private, more intimate than the pool area, which was more recreation,” Johnson says. “Then the third phase was creating an entry, a sense of arrival, from the two entries they have.”
Phases two and three began concurrently about halfway through completion of phase one, so at one point, they were working on all three phases simultaneously.
The existing entry had 25 to 30 steps leading from where guests parked to get to the front door. The Marzilli team regraded the drive to slowly transition upward, so that once guests arrived at the entry court, they were closer to the finished elevation and the experience was more welcoming than parking down below and having to walk up dozens of steps.
“We got together with them, solicited a little help from the interior designer
and a couple of other people, and worked through a circulation of what really worked for them,” says Bob Marzilli, president of R.P. Marzilli & Co. “With that, we pretty much arrived at a design for an entry court, so that you actually drive up into a courtyard. You got that sense of you’ve arrived at the house versus you’ve arrived at the garage doors.”
The Marzilli team, led by foreman Gil Cabral, was responsible for all aspects of the landscape, including planting, irrigation, lighting, masonry, site work and drainage.
THE CHALLENGES In Weston, every tree over a certain size is tagged and documented by the town. Prior to construction, the design team had to work with the town and engineers to understand the grading process and which trees would be affected by grading.
“Any trees that interfered with construction to the point where they couldn’t remain had to go in front of the town, so we had to seek approval to get removals on those trees,” Johnson says. “Then anything that was approved for removal had to be mitigated for it, meaning some of the trees and shrubs were mitigation plantings.”
In order to grant permission to do the removals and move forward with the project, they had to do mitigation for compliance. And because the property abutted a stream, wetlands and a conservation area, they had to be conscious of that and follow the order of conditions provided by the town and the conservation commission.
The team next planted large deciduous trees and evergreen trees to provide a natural screening from the neighboring streets and create privacy for the house and the landscaped spaces. The third layer of plantings were shrubs and perennials, which were used to create definition of the spaces and add seasonal color.
The existing large trees were critical in providing scale within the property, and the team had to be particularly careful in not performing construction tasks over the roots of those trees.
“We had to put up tree protection fencing and create limits of work where our construction crew could not operate equipment so that we were protecting those trees,” Johnson says. “While excavating for foundations and even doing plantings, we had to be careful as to maintain the integrity of the existing trees.”
They also had to work with the town in regards to the walls.
“For the entry court walls, we had to present our design to an engineering firm who worked with us to make recommendations and structural plans that were stamped that allowed us to build these structures that would hold back the grade and be safe,” Johnson says. “It was really two part: we had to have structural drawings for our retaining elements and also we couldn’t exceed more than a 10% increase of impervious surfaces within our design.” The entryway court offered its own set of challenges. Having to grade the property to ease the elevation change, the Marzilli team took the grade change up in lifts and compacted it. “They’re usually 6- to 8-inch lifts,” Marzilli says. “You don’t want any sinkholes. You want to make sure that you’ve got 99% compaction so that way it eliminates the possibility of pavement moving, or any depressions over time. You have to keep a mind on proper compaction as you lift the grade.”
Another major consideration was the New England weather. The Marzilli team worked year-round to complete the project, and that meant winter temperatures and other meteorological adversaries would present challenges. When the weather got frightful, they focused on hardscaping elements and staged areas under tents with heaters in a series of setting up and taking down.
THE RESULT The project took two full years to complete all three phases. The clients were living in the house while the outdoor construction was going on, and they laid out milestones for the team to focus on so that they could use parts of the outdoor space throughout the project.
“We worked very closely with them and because they were living there, we did everything we could to give them usable spaces to enjoy while other areas of construction were going on,” Johnson says. “When we got our professional photographs taken, we put a book together of the site and we gave it to the clients and they were thrilled. They love our team, they love the guys who were onsite every day; they knew them on a first name basis.”
The clients even threw a cookout for the crew after at the end of the first phase.
“We really wouldn’t be here without the craftsmen who are working with us,” Marzilli says. “These are guys that year in and year out just build beautiful work for us. We’re really lucky to get to work with them.”
Detailed workmanship creates fascinating elements within a sprawling estate By Heather Tunstall
THE R.P. MARZILLI & CO. TEAM BEGAN WORKING WITH A PROMINENT client in the Boston area in 2004, the same year that the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 88 years. Call it a momentous year.
Fifteen years later, the property is an evolving, sprawling space with a series of intriguing themed outdoor corridors and “rooms” worked into a masterful grand plan by landscape architect Brian Frazier of Brian Frazier Design.
The property owner, Ernie Boch Jr., is from a family of highly successful entrepreneurs who own a number of auto dealerships in the area. A musician and philanthropist who does a lot of outdoor entertaining and charitable events, he is well known in the community. His vision for the property was inspired by Dumbarton Oaks Garden, the famed estate in Washington, D.C.
The Pebble Terrace and Garden Pavilion area of the property received Special Recognition and Gold Award in the 2019 National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence.
PREP WORK Before work was to begin, there were years of preparation put into the property. “Originally, the property was a neighborhood with about 13 or 14 single-family homes,” says Chris Johnson, project manager for R.P. Marzilli & Co. “It was the client’s father’s original house, and over
the course of a decade or two, probably closer to two, the client’s father and the client slowly, one-by-one, bought these single family homes. The whole master plan and the garden pavilion and pebble terrace could not start until all of the properties were bought out.”
Then came the demolition and construction. All of the houses came down, and all of the utilities were cut off on the street.
“It was pretty intensive with the town and different utility contractors to get the site leveled out while he was still living in his house, which kind of bisected the property,” Johnson says. “Construction fencing went from his existing house and property out to the entry gate so he could still come in and out and have
usable space, and not be impacted by years and years of construction.
Once all the houses were gone, the Marzilli team brought in more than 250 mature evergreen trees to line the perimeter of the property, enclosing it and giving it a sense of definition while creating a barrier to the construction.
From there, several buildings went up, including the North and South Carriage Houses and the Garden Pavilion. Utilities had to be run from all of these buildings, which have full foundations and elevators that go down to basement levels that are below grade.
“There was a series of drainage, electrical, gas and radiant heat so areas didn’t freeze, and all of these utilities had to be put in below foundations,” Johnson says. “The Pebble Terrace excavation was upwards of 20 feet in depth to get the proper pitch back to the street. That drainage line came all the way from the garden pavilion underneath the pebble terrace out to the street on the opposite side of the property, which was the only point the line could be tied into the street.”
METICULOUS ARTISTRY The foundation of the Pebble Terrace was in by winter of 2016. To keep the Pebble Terrace from cracking and shifting, proper compaction and radiant heat were crucial elements of the foundation. Many of the walkways and the Pebble Terrace won’t accumulate snow thanks to the radiant heat within the concrete subsurface.
“All of that tubing was installed by plumbers and it’s glycol that comes back from one of the mechanical areas and gets pumped underground through the walkways, the driveways, and the Pebble Terrace,” Johnson says. “You need to know where your conduits and your pipes are so when it comes to landscaping and planting we’re not ripping stuff up and doing damage. It’s just very intricate, both what you see above ground but also what’s below ground that you don’t see.”
From there, contrasting Mexican beach stones went into the foundation one-by-one with a select, controlled group of five craftsmen. The work was incredibly complex, with attention to the radius and dedication of the team to go in every day and focus on selecting the pebbles based on color, width, length and shape.
“They were sorted really intentionally to follow the design intent that you see in the intricacy of the pebbles,” Johnson says. “That was all done in three months over that winter. We couldn’t do small portions at a time, we really had to tent this whole area up so we could have reference points in our symmetry throughout the terrace.”
A Buxus hedge lines the shape of the Pebble Terrace, with Russian sage and hydrangea adding color and dimension to the space.
The Garden Pavilion has an elegant sunken lawn, with London Plane trees setting up the North to South axis. A tremendous amount of planning and exactness in execution were put in to ensure the axis lines were exact, giving the space a peaceful and beautiful symmetry. “Really we wouldn’t be here without the craftsmen that are working with us,” says Bob Marzilli, president of R.P. Marzilli & Co. “John Dias, who put together the pebble terrace … we feel very fortunate that we’re allowed to work for the craftsmen we work for.”
COMING TOGETHER The Garden Pavilion and the Pebble Terrace are aligned on an east to west axis—the center of the Garden Pavilion is in line with the center of the Pebble Terrace. From the lower lawn, a ramp and twist staircase lead up to the Pebble Terrace, where the Garden Pavilion starts to come into focus.
“There are fire features and pergolas, there’s an amphitheater, there’s the Pebble Terrace, there’s the Garden Pavilion...” Johnson says. “These series of spaces were meant to allow entertainment, but when you’re within these spaces you feel private and secluded and you could do things like concerts at the amphitheater and make it comfortable in a residential setting for entertainment purposes.”
The R.P. Marzilli & Co. team not only worked on the construction, installation, lighting and irrigation on the property’s landscapes, but they also maintain them. “They really are dedicated to being the best they can be and delivering the highest level of quality to our clients,” Johnson says. “That’s so obvious to me every day working here, and it’s one of the reasons that makes it so awesome to come to work. We wouldn’t be winning these awards if it wasn’t for the ability of the people in the field who execute it day in and day out in the most extreme conditions of winter.”
The property’s master plan should be completed in a year, Marzilli says. The final stage will be an auto salon with an apartment and surrounding landscaping. TLP
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information, visit landscapeprofessionals.org/aoe.
