Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022

JULY/AUGUST 2022

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Where are We in 2022?

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WELCOME

W E LC O M E M

y team and I have spent the last couple of years chatting, learning and discussing the industry with all of you. Our industry is such a dynamic and exciting place to be, and we want to be a small part of enthusing the next generation to join the workforce! We have realized that it’s time for us to forge a new way forward that encourages the industry to “become one.” We are going through a rebranding and plan to announce it soon. There will be one name for our magazine, website and event so that we are more united. We want to have more communication with our audience and our new platform will reflect this.

Our second FutureScape USA event is booked and we are buzzing with ideas. Do you have a topic to suggest for our next panel discussions? Do you want to do a demonstration of your product for the audience? We are booking sponsorships and exhibitors now! Save the date for the event: February 7, 2023, in the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta. If you are bringing your team, contact us for a group discount for over three people from the same company!

Those who attended the first event on March 24, 2022, know that this was a unique opportunity to bring together people working in the fields of design, build and maintain, and this second event promises to grow from that beginning. This daylong symposium will bring

together leaders and innovators in landscaping. It will feature exhibitors and speakers sharing ideas, best practices and new technologies, while building essential connections for success. Now is the time to plan your trip and to let us know if you want to be a sponsor, exhibitor, speaker or attendee.

connecting the

DESIGN + BUILD + MAINTAIN sectors of the south

In this issue, we are considering, as we always do, ideas and lessons that are labor-saving, including new ways of training, employee retention and technology.

Among the projects highlighted in the “Inspire” section is the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace Garden in Savannah, Georgia, the home of the founder of the Girl Scouts in the U.S. This project is unique, as the garden was originally designed and built by the first female-certified landscape architect in that state. In Austin, Texas, we take a look at a bus station that is likely the most attractive and sustainable bus station you’ve ever seen, and then a beautiful residential project from King Landscaping of Georgia.

We’ve included an equipment supplement with this issue. Take some time to catch up on new equipment offerings from some of our favorite vendors and advertisers. Through the hot summer months, we wish all of you fulfilling work days followed by the pleasures of summer!

Angelique Robb Managing Director angelique@gogreenpublishing.com Anna Priddy Production Editor anna@gogreenpublishing.com Aimee Almaguer Advertising Coordinator aimee@gogreenpublishing.com Mary Kate Carson Writer marykate@gogreenpublishing.com

Angelique

RICHARD E. MOYA BUS PLAZA IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022

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CONTENTS

INSPIRE 22 26

35

Empowering Girls, Then and Now Juliette Gordon Low Garden Barge Design Solutions Prairie Circles Empty Urban Landscape Turned Hub Studio Balcones

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Life Outdoors Wood Valley Back Yard Living King Landscaping

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INFORM 08 10 13 14 15 19

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News Industry News and Dates to Save Agenda Labor Saving Ideas Emphasizing Efficiency Deborah Cole Deborah Cole Connections

22

Progress with Less Brooke Inzerella Horticare Landscape

NURTURE

Let’s Hear it From Michael Mayberry Level Green Landscaping Company Profile Yardzen

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30

35 36

alterNative Groundcovers for Sun Plant Shortages Persist Where Are We in 2022?

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CONTENTS

J U LY / AU G U ST 2 0 2 2 E D U C AT E 39 42 43 44

Perfect your Paver Prep Four Ways to Set Pavers Time Saving Products Tools for Labor Saving Gross Profit vs. Net Profit Jeffrey Scott Jeffrey Scott Consulting Employee Retention Jay Worth Single Ops

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39

26

50

PEOPLE 47 50

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Teenage Landscaper Christian Schloegel C+I Services LLC Little Interviews From the People in Our Industry

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WELCOME

CONTR IB U TOR S DEBORAH COLE

BROOKE INZERELLA

As the founder and president of a commercial landscape firm with multiple locations throughout Texas, Deborah Cole has learned the importance of a people-centric leadership and communication. She now devotes herself full time to speaking, writing and consulting with a heavy dose of visual storytelling (photography) included.

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WWW.DEBORAHCOLECONNECTIONS.COM

Brooke Inzerella is a licensed landscape horticulturist and owner of Horticare Landscape Company in Louisiana. As one of the area’s leading landscape companies, Horticare is known for superior service, swimming pools, landscaping and outdoor living spaces.

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WWW.HORTICARELANDSCAPE.COM

Marc elliot

Jeffrey scott

Marc Elliott is the CEO and co-founder of GoMaterials, an online marketplace for sourcing plant materials for landscaping professionals.

Marc has experience in industry operations, finance, sales, management, strategic planning and customer service.

Jeffrey Scott, MBA, is a leading authority on growth and profit maximization in the landscape industry.

He grew his landscape company into a successful $15 million, multi-discipline enterprise, and he’s now devoted to helping others achieve profound success.

WWW.GOMATERIALS.COM

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WWW.JEFFREYSCOTT.BIZ

Jay worth Jay Worth is the marketing manager for Single Ops, which specializes in business management software for the industry. He brings to them over 20 years of experience in green businesses. He has done sales and marketing and supervised teams and now shares his knowledge widely in editorials.

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WWW.SINGLEOPS.COM

CONTACT ELJAYS44 LLC 323 Polk St. Lafayette, LA 70501 Managing Director Angelique Robb angelique@gogreenpublishing.com (337) 852–6318 Production Editor Anna Priddy anna@gogreenpublishing.com (225) 444–9888 Printed by Allen Press Inc. www.allenpress.com Published by ©Eljays44 LLC

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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022

Writer Mary Kate Carson marykate@gogreenpublishing.com (903) 283–0513 Designer Caitlyn Wallace Subeditor Erin Z. Bass

Pro Landscaper USA South is published six times a year and distributed to 5,000 qualified members of the green industry. Postmaster: Send address changes to 323 Polk St., Lafayette, LA 70501. Pro Landscaper USA South verifies information as much as possible. The views expressed by editorial contributors and the products advertised herein are not necessarily endorsements of the publishers. Reproduction of any part of this magazine is strictly forbidden.

Pro Landscaper is a trademark of Eljays44 Ltd. 3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3DA United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1903 777 570 eljays44.com UK Directors Jamie Wilkinson jamie.wilkinson@eljays44.com

Cover image: Juliette Gordon Low garden

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WELCOME

2023

WHEN: WHERE: HOW:

February 7, 2023 7:00 AM–5:00 PM COBB Galleria Atlanta, Georgia

Visit our website to register for tickets and to sign up to be a sponsor or an exhibitor (or both!)

www.south.futurescapeusa.com

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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022

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INFORM

INDUSTRY

NEWS STRESS IN LANDSCAPING

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roLandscaper USA wants to know more about how landscapers are coping with their stress. In collaboration with GoMaterials, we are surveying landscapers to investigate the factors that contribute to their stress. The second edition of the survey in 2022 will help landscape professionals build strategies to combat stress triggers more effectively.

Workplace stress is often seen as a necessary part of the landscaping industry, but it is time for this to be challenged.

You can make your opinion and experience count by taking the 2022 Stress Survey! Your anonymous input will help us find the best ways to manage workload and stress for the industry. The findings from the survey will be published in a report later in the year.

TAKE THE STRESS SURVEY NOW

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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022

5,000 MOWERS RESERVED

S

cythe Robotics, the creator of advanced, commercial grade autonomous solutions for the landscaping industry, has reached a significant milestone by surpassing 5,000 reservations for its all-electric, fully autonomous commercial mower: Scythe M.52.

M.52 increases productivity while also improving the quality of cut and worker safety.

The mower features a suite of sensors that enable it to operate safely in typical landscaping environments by identifying and responding to the presence of humans, animals and other potential obstacles. M.52 also captures valuable property and mower performance data, which helps landscape contractors improve workflow, identify upsell opportunities, schedule more efficiently and manage labor costs. www.scytherobotics.com

ASLA’S WOMEN OF COLOR ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM

A

merican Society of Landscape Architects announces its first class in their program, which aims to improve the representation of underrepresented groups in professional landscaping. The first class includes 10 women who will be supported on their way to gaining licensure. The program will provide each with funds to cover the cost of sections of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam, along with exam preparation courses, resources and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect. www.asla.org

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INFORM

HOW DID THESE INDOOR PLANTS THRIVE WHEN OTHERS PERISHED?

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hen office buildings shut down during the pandemic, many indoor gardens languished, but not the garden at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. The landscaper there, Leon Anderson, never stopped tending to the plants. Every month, he streams water from above at a forceful pressure to dislodge dead and dying leaves from the trees. He uses another spray to control pests. The indoor plants need special

attention because they do not benefit from wind, rain, sunlight and air available to those plants that are outdoors. Richard Sayers, the director of property management for the Ford Foundation, says that they spend $200,000 on the garden annually. Vital to the public pre-pandemic, the garden reopens on June 1.

Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/ interactive/2022/05/17/nyregion/fordfoundation-garden-reopens.html?shared=1.

COLORADO TO PAY FOR WATER-WISE LAWNS

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olorado is planning a program to incentivize residents to replace their grass lawns with landscaping that needs less water to maintain.

The law requires the Colorado Water

Conservation Board to develop a statewide financial incentive program to inspire voluntary turf replacement for homeowners, local governments and nonprofits.

The new law will allocate $2 million to finance the “Turf Replacement Fund,” which could include expanding statewide existing city programs that pay between $1 and $3 per square foot of grass that is removed.

Under the bill, “water-wise” landscaping includes replacement turf and droughttolerant plants that require less water to grow. The bill is especially targeting non-native grasses used for private and commercial lawns, school fields and other ornamental outdoor spaces, such as road medians. www.coloradopolitics.com

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ANOTHER HOT SUMMER

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he summer of 2021 brought record-breaking heat to many parts of the country, and many are not prepared for another heatwave.

2021’s unprecedented heat brought a host of unexpected woes. Even with the Portland tram running on 100 percent renewable energy, cables warped and wires expanded and sagged under record-breaking heat, causing the system to be shut down. Asphalt roads in Washington buckled, and parts of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) hit records never seen before on the heat index.

A heat dome phenomenon created 2021’s PNW heatwave, and experts are saying it is likely to happen again. The frequency and intensity of heat waves across the country are expected to cause temperatures to continue to rise, with climate change the cause of the current heat dome. Make a plan to deal with high temperatures: www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/are-weprepared-for-another-heat-wave/

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INFORM

AGENDA

WHAT ARE WAYS TO OPERATE EFFICIENTLY WITH SMALLER TEAMS ?

Paul Meehan OWNER OF NATCHE Z TREE COMPANY LAMAR, MISSISSIPPI Here at Natchez Tree Company, lean operations and creating value for our customers is our central focus. With five employees and over 100 acres in production, we grow Grade 1 trees twice as fast, with half the staff and half the input cost as other farms. Through precision agriculture, a narrow product mix and a consistent production model, we have been able to eliminate waste.

From both my personal and professional experience, smaller teams tend to be more efficient and flexible. With the current state of our economy, smaller organizations have some distinct advantages over our larger counterparts.

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Jack Moore PRESIDENT & CEO OF GRASSPERSON LAWN CARE & LANDSCAPE LEWISVILLE, TEXAS There are no singular, easy answers or approaches. Our first priority is maintaining our existing team members, and we do that by maintaining a good company culture; providing at or above average pay scales in our area; providing upward room for growth; and adding more useful employee benefits every year. We care for people, help them when the need arises and work hard to keep them busy throughout the year. The best source for good candidates is through our internal referral program, where we compensate the current team member for making referrals that become new hires. Our mantra is “Always Be Recruiting,” so we will talk with anyone at any time that may be a good candidate. Beyond HR strategies, we have reduced the crew sizes from either four to three or three to two-person crews depending on workload, routing and property size. We strive to optimize routing efficiencies through the use of technology. We focus on quality to minimize call backs and warranty work. We only utilize equipment that is under warranty, thereby reducing unscheduled downtime due to equipment failures. We also maintain a significant amount of backup equipment in case we have an unexpected failure. Good equipment is also a contributor to company culture, as no one likes to be stuck with old equipment that breaks down on a regular basis.

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INFORM

Jimmy Loyd BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT NORTH CAROLINA TURF CARE WAKE FOREST, NORTH CAROLINA We locally have ramped up recruiting in the form of college career days; better training from within to promote employees and achieve better retention; strengthening company culture to attract better talent and more skilled labor; and increasing employee referral programs to hopefully have current employees deliver trained labor to our current workforce. Equipment technology is advancing rapidly and very well could be the future in our industry. Automation providing lower cost and less manpower would be advantageous to providers nationwide. Locally, we are investigating new automation by Husqvarna in auto mowers such as Ceora, a larger auto mower for commercial sites reducing labor as well fertilization and equipment maintenance. In turn, we will hopefully lower our headcount and increase working profit margins on sites.

Mike Diemer DIRECTOR OF LANDSCAPE SERVICES AT RAINBOW ECOSCIENCE SATELLITE BEACH, FLORIDA Many landscape maintenance companies are experiencing a higher than average labor shortage, which has increased overtime and limited H2B workers and lowered quality. A helpful tool is our Shrub Growth Regulator Trimtect, which research has shown reduces shrub pruning labor demands by 50 to 70 percent.

It also reduces debris removal, fertilization and watering needs by 30 to 50 percent. Less pruning limits ladder work that can lead to high-risk injuries. Homeowners and property managers rave about dark green foliage and the appearance of more flowers.

Lindsay Raleigh DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS AT LANDSCAPEHUB CHICAGO, ILLINOIS While tools and equipment evolve somewhat and improve the quality and speed of work, fundamental innovations like LandscapeHub can significantly impact streamlining the industry supply chain and saving landscape and nursery businesses time. With the continued presence of the global pandemic, businesses need to continue to adopt new technology to conduct business online. Tools like LandscapeHub are becoming essential to running a business for landscape professionals and suppliers alike. For example, HubSheets, a new tool from LandscapeHub, is an intelligent materials list builder that allows buyers to convert and upload their materials lists directly into LandscapeHub, saving time typically spent adding items to a list individually while calling suppliers to validate available inventory and costs. Using HubSheets, project material lists are translated into real-time estimates based on available inventory and accurate pricing, empowering landscapers to make more informed purchasing decisions.

COMING UP: WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING WITH OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY?

E-MAIL OUR EDITOR MARY KATE CARSON AT MARYKATE@GOGREENPUBLISHING.COM TO BE INCLUDED IN OUR NEXT ISSUE.

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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022 11

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INFORM

DEBORAH COLE EMPHASIZE EFFICIENCY DEBORAH COLE ON DEVELOPING A BUSINESS THAT DOES MORE WITH LESS

E

fficiency is one of the often-elusive keys to profitability. In our industry, we find ourselves in the ever-present struggle to concoct clever methods that will eke out more work from fewer people.

Occasionally, heavy-handed punitive methods are used, leading to less productivity rather than more. Studies in productivity consistently indicate that happy employees are up to 20 percent more productive than unhappy employees. When salespeople are specifically studied, happiness has an even greater impact, raising sales by almost 40 percent. This data almost immediately leads us to either dismiss happiness approaches to business as “soft stuff” maneuvers or, conversely, to run out and buy happy pills or hire a staff comedian to jolly up the troops. Neither move would be effective.

Happiness in our industry can be defined as job satisfaction. Measures of job satisfaction should be narrowed down to attainable goals for leadership’s consideration. These aims are simple, but not easy. Building a company culture that is a true environment of belonging takes time and must be apparent from the top down. Key activities to promote happiness/job satisfaction are much more than “Taco Tuesdays” and occasional pep talks.

satisfaction for an employee is a feeling of safety and security in the workplace.

This does not mean simply providing everyone with PPE and a healthy environment. Safety is a culture of everyone being treated fairly, equitably and with jobs not at risk because of whims of management. Leaders must be attuned to any signs of discrimination or mistreatment and encourage open communication and prompt action if it occurs.

2.

Satisfaction in any situation requires continual communication. It is imperative to let direct reports know when they’ve done a great job and to make it known publicly. Rewards for exemplary performance should not only include public recognition, but also tangible or non-monetary compensation such as paid time off. Conversely, if employees need course correction, any warnings should be actual teaching moments that happen quickly. Anger or reprimands at review time aren’t effective.

3.

Employees must be compensated at a rate commensurate with their skill level and with the market. Underpaying staff to minimize budget impact only serves to destroy employee satisfaction, happiness and productivity.

Companies that report high rates of employee engagement incorporate the following into their company culture: 1.

The most important factor in job

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4.

Every employee must have the training

they need as well as opportunities to advance in their careers as they would like. An untrained employee is a frustrated employee. Viewing training as frivolous leads to lower productivity, which leads to lower profits.

Developing a happy, and therefore more productive, workforce takes time. An improved culture isn’t created overnight. By making the shift a top priority, employees will be happier at work, happier at home, and productivity will increase, which is the trifecta of a successful work environment.

ABOUT DEBORAH COLE Deborah Cole is the founder of a commercial landscape firm with multiple locations throughout Texas. She now devotes herself full-time to speaking, writing and consulting. www.deborahcoleconnections.com

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July/August 2022 13

INFORM

BROOKE INZERELLA PROGRESS WITH LESS BROOKE INZERELLA ON MANAGING BUSINESS OPERATIONS WITH SMALLER TEAMS

I

’ve been in business long enough to know that bigger is not always better—or more profitable. In fact, it can often be the opposite. So, when the labor shortage of 2020 met the increased customer demand of 2020, I knew I had very little time to retool our processes so that we could continue operating with the team members that we already had and at the level of professionalism that our clients expected. A couple of shifts in paradigm helped me through this moment: Let go of what you don’t want to make room for what you want more of.

First, I knew I had to be really strategic about the work I accepted. It was very hard for me to turn down good projects, but I’ve had to flex that muscle a lot these past two years. I had limited resources to get work done, and my usual methods for attracting and hiring staff were not working. I had to make daily decisions on projects to pass on. I always thought this would be the defining moment of “success” in my business, but it was way harder than I thought it would be. Because of this shift, I’ve been able to set the course for apprenticeships for a few younger guys wanting to learn more skilled trades, like irrigation and lighting.

Let challenges become opportunities.

In the past two years, I’ve had to rely on subcontractors and freelance workers more

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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022

than ever. I have two teams of carpenters that I relied on for custom carpentry work for our outdoor kitchens, pool cabanas and other structures. These are skilled and talented craftsmen that I knew, if willing and eager, could learn new skills and work on different types of projects. I communicated regularly

with my subs about upcoming projects and let them know that if they were willing to accept challenges and pivot out of their comfort zone, I would have enough work to keep them busy every day for the foreseeable future. This resonated with them, and they enjoyed our work relationship enough that working for us on a day-to-day basis was appealing to them.

Before we knew it, we had a framing crew building concrete terraces, laying synthetic turf and planting large specimen trees.

Another was put prepping and laying cobblestone and constructing Koi ponds. We even had a 67-year-old carpenter’s helper become an expert painter—a job he loved doing and wanted to do every day! I discovered there wasn’t much these crews couldn’t do and do well. These crews were energized to learn new skills, and I was happy

to keep them busy. At the same time, I found freelance architects willing to work on a project-by-project basis. And at a moment when our design side was in high demand and we needed some project management help, my best hardscape and landscape crew leader became my righthand man by learning Google Sketchup, CAD and project management skills to rival a 20-year veteran.

There may be a remarkable story such as this right there in your organization. He is loving this new job role, and I could not have survived the past two years without his contribution. Even though we are still looking for additional full-time design and project management help, we’re not desperate and we can take a little time to find the right candidates.

I imagine the labor supply shortage will level out at some point. Or maybe this is a challenge the industry will face for a while.

Figuring out how to do more with less has definitely been a challenge for me, but I do think it’s been a positive change overall.

ABOUT BROOKE INZERELLA Brooke Inzerella is a licensed landscape horticulturist and owner of Horticare Landscape Company in Lafayette, Louisiana. www.horticarelandscape.com

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INFORM

Let ’s Hear it From

MICHAEL MAYBERRY CTO OF LEVEL GREEN LANDSCAPES

C

EO, president, project manager, branch manager, developer. These are all common positions within landscape companies. Each plays an important role in the group’s success. A less common title is quickly becoming a critical piece for businesses, though. The chief technology officer (CTO) is responsible for the information technology department and managing the integration of technology into company operations. CTO is a common role in many industries, but has taken some time to reach the green field.

“So often, people are kind of happy to do things the way that they always have, but we don’t like that. Technology was something that was not on anybody’s minds at all, so we

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decided to be among the first in the industry,” says Michael Mayberry.

Michael is a passionate computer programer and landscaper. He combined these passions to spearhead a new role within his Maryland team at Level Green Landscaping. Michael became the company’s CTO in 2016, stepping into a brand new position that would bring big changes for a company ready to dive into the world of tech.

Michael actually joined Level Green Landscaping as an operations manager and worked in the position for several years. His green industry career began when he was 15 years old on a golf course. He worked as an assistant superintendent in Florida until

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INFORM

2008, then switched to be an operations manager with Brickman Group in Maryland.

He always had a passion for computer science, though, and developed programs in his free time. In fact, he considered a career in the field, but wanted to spend his time outdoors.

When Level Green’s owners noticed his tech skills, they decided to put them to use.

“I started doing both roles: first the project management and then programming in my spare time,” he says.

MY TEAM GAVE ME THE SPACE TO BE CREATIVE IN MY SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS AND APPLICATIONS, AND IT REALLY BEGAN MOVING US FORWARD “We started doing things that were unheard of in the industry by using automation and technology to make life easier. They saw that opportunity and wanted me to be on the forefront of it, and that has been paramount to our success.”

As Michael developed in his CTO position, he began incorporating new business techniques into the company. One of his first ideas came in 2017. He coded a property service report software that allowed crews to record the work they did on a site, then the information would be shared with the site’s property manager and owner. It helped speed up the communication process and keep records of a site’s development. Since 2017, 55,000-plus service reports have been sent.

“Account managers were using pen and paper, long emails or worse—phone calls—to keep records of things,” he recalls. “Property managers rarely had time to digest the information when it was given to them, so having automated reports in a concise digital paper trail made a big difference.”

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INFORM

Michael says his ideas are rooted in one goal: efficiency.

I THROW MY KNOWLEDGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND HOW TO PROGRAM INTO MY WORK BECAUSE I KNOW THERE ARE BETTER WAYS “I came through the field, so I know what needs to be done to make things easier for the people in the field.”

The team is still largely focused on finding ways to automate their work. These days, they are getting familiar with robotics and how automated mowers can ease their workflow.

Michael believes robotics will be a part of every crew in just a few years, so he wants to learn the ins and outs of these new machines now. Michael is leading demos with different robotics companies and trial sessions on different work sites. He is also training team members and preparing to bring on more staff with expertise in this area.

Level Green plans to deploy several new robotic tools this year and says they are one of the few companies testing many of these products. The team is determined to stay ahead of the curve.

“We will already have the systems down as other companies just begin integrating them,” Michael says.

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INFORM

WHEN THEY’RE FIGURING OUT ROBOTS, WE WILL ALREADY BE ON TO THE NEXT THING

MICHAEL AS A CHILD

Level Green anticipates the next gamechanging development will come through artificial intelligence. The tech is already integrated into the robots through sensors and cameras. Michael says at some point the robots will collect information about a property and provide an incredible amount of data to teams. This could include things like land grading, overgrowth and even dying plant material. The robots will drastically expand a team’s reach without the team having to actually expand.

“Technology will play a huge role in addressing workforce issues, because the more you can automate, the more efficient you can be,” Michael says. “There are a lot of things in landscaping that require a lot of thought, pruning and picking weeds and things of that nature. That’s what we want our human beings to focus on. On the account manager side, if we’re automating some proposal writing based on whatever the robots are seeing, then it allows our account managers to save time and create better connections with our clients. It gives them time to build those relationships instead of doing admin work, which we can automate.”

Michael admits that it could be five to 10 years before these developments are fully implemented into businesses, but urges companies to start planning now. He says a CTO role is becoming more important each day.

“You must have someone who is in charge of it in the company, and it shouldn’t be the owners,” he adds. “Owners don’t have time.

Technology is changing quickly, and you need someone who is passionate and who can be focused. I guarantee that there are people who are building computers on the weekend, playing with code or even automating their house using little Raspberry Pis.”

THOSE PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE, AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY FAN THAT FIRE

C O N TA C T Level Green Landscaping Tel: (202) 544 – 0968 www.levelgreenlandscaping.com

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INFORM

COMPANY PROFILE

YARDZEN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FIRM USES DESIGN S OFTWARE TO CONNECT COMPANIES NATIONWIDE

T

he industry is creatively finding new approaches to doing business, especially amid a thinning workforce. Many groups have started working together to ease the gaps in their internal teams by coordinating with similar businesses on projects and tasks.

Crossovers between design, build and maintenance groups is not new, but closer networking and communication with other landscapers is becoming easier. This is largely due to advanced technology and accessible digital platforms. Yardzen, a California landscape design and build firm with nationwide service, is embracing this idea.

They are helping industry teams network and

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CEO ALLISON MESSNER

coordinate, and the tactic is helping them quickly grow to be one of the most widespread groups in the country.

Twenty-two people died, 5,000-plus buildings were destroyed and 36,000-plus acres were scorched across Northern California during the Tubs Wildfire in 2017. The disaster is one of the largest wildfires in state history. Allison Messner and her husband lived on four acres of land in Northern California at the time. They watched helplessly as flames overtook the community near their 100-year-old farmhouse.

Allison says, by some miracle, the fire spared their home. But their land, outbuildings, fences and even rain gutters were destroyed.

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“We basically had a patch of scorched earth that we had to had to restore and rebuild,” she says. “We had never worked with a landscape architect before, but started reaching out to find help. That is when the bids started flooding in. Many were in the tens of thousands of dollars just for a design plan.

We thought, there's got to be a better way to do this.”

With no background in the landscape industry, the Messners launched Yardzen.

The design company is an online service that helps ease the landscaping construction process for homeowners by connecting them to landscape architects and landscape contractors. People using Yardzen can pick a custom design package that factors in price, time, styles and location. The team uses a large network to connect homeowners to a designer and contractor that best match their needs. The goal? Optimize business.

“A lot of landscape contractors offer design services because there's demand for design services, but it might not be their core competency,” explains Allison. “In a lot of cases it's even a negative cost center for them. We have contractors that actually send their clients straight to Yardzen to come up with a design, then we all work together when it is time to build. There's a lot of nuance to the working relationships, but we make it easy for landscape architects and contractors to work together.”

Yardzen clients use custom-designed software to pick their personal design packages. They can choose to create simple botanical designs, add in hardscaping or even lay out specific details of their home to create elaborate plans—things like building swimming pools or sports courts or large patios. Clients use inspiration photos to help designers understand their tastes and even discuss maintenance requirements to get an idea of the cost commitments required after completion. Yardzen incorporates sustainability plans that are specific to the location of the project, using plant material that will thrive in certain regions and support the ecosystems there. The team uses three-dimensional technology to show renderings of the completed project during

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the day and at night. They say most clients communicate primarily through the digital platform, sending messages on their time and providing feedback on the project plans.

“Five years ago this wouldn’t have really existed,” says Allison.

NOW, BECAUSE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THERE ARE SO MANY NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Yardzen takes on tens of thousands of projects each year using a network of principal designers, all landscape architects, with expertise on different regions. They can choose the project, location and client they want to work with and conduct business on their time. Yardzen also has a support team for contractors. During a project, they help communicate necessary changes and find solutions to any issues.

“Completing a project is a fluid process, so we want there to be a partnership,” Allison says.

“We want to bring everyone to the table, including the homeowner, the designer and the contractor, so everyone has a say in where the project goes. The technology makes it easier for everyone to communicate, and the end result is that the project gets done better and more efficiently.”

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and moving east. Many of their most successful southern sites are in Texas, Tennessee and Alabama. The team only expands to new cities and regions when they have team members with expertise on the area. They want to be familiar with the plants, materials, weather patterns, even the style.

When Yardzen works with clients in southern states, they often demonstrate a strong desire to gather with family and friends in their outdoor spaces —both in the back yard and the front yard. There are many requests for fire pits, pergolas and outdoor dining spaces.

Some clients are also moving away from traditional lawn designs by choosing pollinator-supporting plants throughout their yard and creating functional spaces with hardscaping.

Allison says Yardzen is quickly becoming one of the largest landscape design firms in the country.

She hopes to continue growing the expert, in-house network of landscape contractors and material suppliers, in addition to their client base.

As the effort continues, Allison promises to find ways to elevate the service and ease the landscape construction process.

The group is also committed to sustainable landscaping. They outline their efforts in what they call the “American Rewilding Project.”

“We want to help restore wildlife to the natural ecosystem,” Allison says. “This happens by planting plants that are native and climateadapted and can attract birds, bees and butterflies. That in and of itself is a huge deal.

We don’t only want successful landscapes, but ones that are helpful for the environment.

It takes a little bit of effort to figure out how to do that, but once you do, you realize there's so many benefits to this. Most of our clients support the initiative as well; they just need a little bit of education and a nudge in the right direction.”

The group also uses a network of material suppliers, many who focus on sustainable

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manufacturing techniques and products.

They know which materials will be used on a site before construction begins to be sure all costs are shared upfront with a client.

OUR BAR IS PRETTY HIGH. WE WANT GREAT CONTRACTORS, SUPPLIERS AND EVEN CLIENTS TO BE SURE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE Yardzen began in California, then moved to the southern regions by branching into Austin

“Investing time and money into changing your home can be emotional and intense,” she concludes. “It can be intense for the teams involved, too. We hope to create opportunities for businesses by helping them connect with really great clients and find really great partners. I think it is working and, honestly, I think we’re doing a lot of good things in people’s lives.”

More details on Yardzen’s network and ways to engage are outlined online.

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Owners Allison and Adam Messner Home in Mobile, Alabama Rendering of a back yard in Cane Ridge, Tennessee Back yard rendering of a home in Florence, Alabama Pool rendering of a Dallas, Texas, home

C O N TA C T Yardzen Sausalito, California www.yardzen.com

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EMPOWERING

GIRLS, THEN & NOW

barge design solutions JULIETTE GORDON LOWE GARDEN REIMAGINED

T

he Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in downtown Savannah Georgia, in the heart of the National Landmark Historic District, has recently gone through some interesting renovations, particularly to its garden. The changes have resulted in a new space for use by residents and visitors of Savannah and reflect the work of many women— from the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, to the first certified landscape architect in Georgia, Clermont Huger Lee. The site is the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low and is currently a house museum.

The house grounds include the garden, which is believed to have originally functioned as an informal garden and play area for Low in her childhood. Low’s time spent and reflecting in nature at the birthplace and then beyond are believed to have played an important part in the development of the underlying values that led her to start the Girl Scouts.

For this reason, the Girl Scouts of the USA, which acquired the property from the Low family in the middle of the 1900s, understood that the garden was an important asset. They engaged Clermont Huger Lee, a Savannah-born landscape architect who was one of the first female landscape architects in the United States, to create a design for the garden.

Lee’s garden—walled off from the public and frequently underutilized by the visitors—matured over time into a place that Savannah’s historic preservation community embraced

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as an important remnant of Lee’s work.

Unfortunately, Lee’s formal parterre garden did not lend itself to being a gathering place for young people, an ongoing issue that had been a concern for many years. Lee had been brought back in over many decades to continue to wrestle with this problem. Maintenance issues were chronic since its inception.

Lee’s garden design reflected the period in which the garden was built. Despite her talents, her stature as a female landscape architect in a male-dominated profession meant that commissions with large budgets and robust materials were not widely available. As a result of these and other factors, the garden had several constraints to barrier-free design, among them too-narrow pathways, loose gravel paths and trip hazards that resulted from settling, aging materials.

After many design studies, it was determined that the garden could not meet the standards for both historic preservation and universal design. The Girl Scouts created a carefully contemplated vision for a new, barrier-free garden space that is inspired by Lee’s original design. Understanding the many significant challenges, including Lee’s importance and historic preservation concerns, the Girl Scouts of the USA understood that any garden improvement should respect the original design while balancing the organization’s goal to be inclusive to all.

The woman-led architecture firm Greenline Architecture was brought in to lead and build the team for the improvements. As Shannon Browning-Mullis, executive director of the Juliette Gordon Birthplace, says, “It was important for us to work with woman-owned, local businesses whenever possible.

AS GIRL SCOUTS, WE ALWAYS SUPPORT WOMEN AS LEADERS, AND THE BIRTHPLACE IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE SAVANNAH COMMUNITY Laura Ballock, a landscape architect formerly with Barge Design Solutions, served on

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BEFORE RENOVATIONS

AFTER

the project design team led by Greenline Architecture. Laura states, “The Girl Scouts had ambitious goals for the garden and the vision started long before. Given that the space was less than 3,000 square feet, we explored several design concepts with them to understand what was sacred.”

One of the most significant changes to the garden space to achieve barrier-free access was to open the garden as the entry to the house museum. It required creating a break in the walled and fenced garden and organizing the garden features to create an entry sequence in a formerly secluded space.

Local residents can enjoy the garden space in a casual manner without visiting the museum.

The new garden has been phenomenally successful, as the many visitors who stop and linger can attest. As Jonathon Rhangos of Savannah Surfaces says, “Now the gates to the garden are open every day for the public.”

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IT’S A SITE THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST WANDER INTO, AND THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE ALL DAY LONG The design of the garden became a fusion of different sources of inspiration. Geometric patterns in the hardscape became an interpretation of Clermont Lee’s design. Some of the materials were reclaimed from the site.

There were also reclaimed, old Savannah Gray bricks that were pulled up and cleaned and then reused in the courtyard space. There were some bluestone cobblestones that were already in the garden and matched the natural bluestone

along the front sidewalks of the property so that what is there now is a mix of the original antique bluestone and new bluestone. Old World Tabby porcelain pavers, stylized after the coastal building material “tabby,” were effective in creating a subtly textured paver field that is durable and barrier-free. Jonathon says, “Old World Tabby is a product that was developed by our company, designed and manufactured by Savannah Surfaces. We manufacture it in Italy, and it allows us not to have to reuse real oyster shells. It is a porcelain product that is not only cost-effective but very durable that offers the aesthetic that the garden was looking for.”

The parterre geometry of Lee’s garden is reflected in the pavers that also introduce a permeable surface to support stormwater infiltration. In addition to this, Jonathon says, “There are 12 or 14 inches of gravel underneath all those pavers to absorb runoff. Stormwater management was important to the Girl Scouts.”

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The raised planting beds were filled with lush and colorful plants that echoed Lee’s original plant palette. Laura states, “As much as possible, we tried to specify the plants that Clermont Lee had specified in her original design. But there were some choices made then that we would not make today.” For instance, there were species of azaleas that Lee utilized that were replaced by another species due to the Dwarf Azaleas available today. On a contemporary note, pollinator plants, inspired by the Girl Scout badge that can be achieved for the protection of

pollinator species, were introduced as a nod to ecological planting design. Challenged with the desire to create a garden feeling in a small space that required a substantial hardscape, Laura says, “We wanted to create a sense of lushness in the garden.” Vines and climbers on vertical walls and screens, in addition to the Chionanthos Virginicus, will eventually create just that. The garden is the result of the work of many women (and some men, too!) to create a space that reflects its storied past and continues to inspire the values of the Girl Scouts into the future.

Juliette Gordon Low was born in Savannah, Georgia. She was named for her grandmother, but nicknamed Daisy. Later, her family and friends sometimes called her “Crazy Daisy.”

One thing that seems to run through her early biography is an unceasing desire to learn new skills and to join groups.

Juliette Gordon Low 1860–1927

A marriage to a local Savannah boy who had settled in England caused her to move there; she and her husband had homes in England and in Scotland. Her numerous childhood ailments had left her deaf, as well as unable to have children, and the marriage was not a happy one for either spouse. Her husband died while they were in the midst of divorce proceedings, and a contestation of his will allowed her some funds and the Low house in Savannah.

Clermont Lee was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1914. She went to Barnard College in New York City before transferring to Smith College and earning a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture in 1939. She returned to Savannah during the Depression and found work as a landscape architect through federal programs with the U.S. Housing Authority.

Clermont lee 1914–2006

Her interests in gardens tended toward the traditional and historic, often designing from research she did into older garden designs.

In 1949, she established her own business, becoming the first female professional landscape architect in private practice in Savannah. Her designs can be found throughout Savannah, including in the Savannah Squares.

Even then there was an interest in historic

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All photos of the property were taken by ©Andrea Gold

C O N TA CT Andrea Gold Savannah Surfaces www.savannahsurfaces.com Laura Ballock, PLA Barge Design Solutions, Inc www.bargedesign.com

In 1911, Low met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts. She then became involved with the Girl Guides, a sister group run

by Baden-Powell’s sister, forming patrols of Girl Guides in Scotland and London. In 1912, she brought the program to Savannah. Through her tireless work and social connections, the Girl Scouts grew to be the preeminent group for young girls in the U.S. The youngest of the Girl Scouts are called “Daisies.” When she died in 1927, Low was buried in her Girl Scout uniform.

Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace was listed as a National Historic Landmark. She has been remembered on postage stamps, many commemorations, inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

preservation in Savannah, and Lee’s work reflected that. In 1953, after the Girl Scouts acquired Juliette Gordon Low’s Birthplace, Lee was commissioned to design the garden. Her plans included the use of plantings that were popular during Low’s girlhood. Low was born in 1860 and lived in the house until 1886. The garden was designed as a parterre, with beds surrounded by gravel paths in an ornate design.

In 1950, Lee joined the American Society of Landscape Architects and later worked to establish the Georgia State Board of Landscape Architects. She was the first woman landscape architect to be registered in the state. She remained active professionally and personally in her field throughout her life and was brought in to consult on the Low Birthplace garden throughout the years.

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PRAIRIE

CIRCLES STUDIO BALCONES EMPTY URBAN LANDSCAPE TURNED HUB

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PROJECT D E TA I L S Budget $3.1 million Size 1.8 acres Awards SITE Silver Certified

T

he Richard E. Moya Bus Plaza represents a true evolution of space, turning an empty, barren landscape into a hub for people to use and enjoy that seamlessly enhances—and seems to have grown—from the Texas Blackland Prairie. This plaza, located in Austin, Texas, was achieved through the combined efforts of the Capital Area Rapid Transit System (CARTS), Jackson McElhaney Architects, McCann Adams Studio and Civilitude. The city of Austin’s bus system flows through here, as do buses coming in from other, smaller towns.

The plaza serves more than 600 riders every day.

Previously, the site was ecologically bereft of anything. It was an urban site. Those involved wanted to create a space for everyone and anyone to gather.As Jennifer Orr explains, “It was a client that cared. This project was definitely thoughtful.”

Jackson McElhaney Architects designed the circular building that anchors the design. The site radiates out from the building. There, among the large system of buses coming in and out, are two verdant plazas where riders can wait, but the unusually peaceful nature of the design seems to invite anyone to stop a while.

The site architects were inspired by this round building. It reminded them of natural drainage patterns found on the local prairie. They then attempted to mimic a more hilly landscape with lots of dips in the design. These dips help in managing stormwater. All stormwater is dealt with on-site through either rain gardens or grating. The site has the capacity to retain all stormwater from a 100-year storm event.

Ilse Frank was the main person at Studio Balcones in charge of this project. “This project is a perfect example of followthrough,” she says. “SITES gives a guideline to follow. This makes it easy to push for the sustainability that you would like to have. This is a showcase project for dealing with native material and stormwater.”

One of the greatest challenges, as well as the most rewarding part after it was accomplished, was becoming SITES certified. As Jennifer Orr of Studio Balcones

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Empty lot before renovations A viewpoint of the bus stop before renovations Sketch of the soon to be bus plaza Aeriel view of the site

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explains, “SITES certified projects have many requirements, such as where your materials are sourced and so on. It is like an eight-point documentation process. The design, the space, stormwater requirements, plants, soils and products have to come from less than 100 miles away. It is more rigorous in many ways than LEED certification, because of the consideration for the landscape. After doing it enough, it becomes something one considers all the time.”

The project began in 2016, because this process required long-range planning and patience. Studio Balcones gave the contractors plant lists very early. They looked at the local nurseries to see what they grew.

There is signage identifying the plants, another aspect that speaks to the thoughtful nature of the project.

“All the plants are native to Blackland prairie,” adds Orr.

THIS WAS A CHALLENGE. WE HAD TO ORDER THOSE PLANTS AHEAD OR HAVE THEM GROWN

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PA R T N E R S & S U P P L I E R S Pavers Keystone Hardscapes www.keystonehardscapes.com Irrigation Ewing Irrigation www.ewingirrigation.com

After projects such as this, that incorporated and used local sourcing, Orr has learned that there is a great benefit to keeping sources local. She says, “Now I do choices to the client that are limited to a more local source.”

The project build took place just before the pandemic, and so it was an unusual time to debut this new plaza. In addition to pandemic shutdowns, Texas had a historic freeze in 2020. Everyone involved held their breath about the installation, but the plants survived. This speaks to their nativity in the area. Another pandemic-related challenge was that between the pandemic and bad communication, the maintenance crew didn’t come for a few months. Orr says, “We were worried the weeds would kill it, but again, it bounced back. We had the right soil and the right plant material. It is resilient.”

Photo courtesy of ©Patrick Y. Wong / AtelierWong.com

One important part of the SITES certification is that they require maintenance for five years. The landscape architects wish that all projects had this stipulation, as the maintenance part of the process can sometimes get overlooked. Studio Balcones is required to do walks and check on the site.

This is part of the construction administration.

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“I would like to write this into every single contract,” says Orr.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE LEARNED THERE. A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT HATES TO SEE A PROJECT DIE.

Soil Organics by Gosh www.organicsbygosh.com Mulch Round Rock Garden Center www.roundrockgardens.com Plants Plant Resources www.plantresourcestx.com Turfgrass King Ranch www.king-ranch.com Stone Texas Crushed Stone www.texascrushedstoneco.com Trees Better Trees of Texas www.plantant.com Other Materials: Geo Solutions www.geosolutionsinc.com Hanes Geo www.hanesgeo.com Gardenville www.garden-ville.com Site One www.siteone.com

C O N TA CT Studio Balcones Austin, Texas www.studiobalcones.com

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HOME MOVES OUTSIDE King Landscaping A WOOD VALLEY BACK YARD BECOMES AN OASIS FOR OUTDOOR LIVING

PROJECT D E TA I L S Build Time 6 months Size Just under an acre

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H

olly Brooks, of King Landscaping, who designed and projectmanaged the Wood Valley back yard, says, “It’s a beautiful project.” The yard features all the desirable elements a family could want, fulfilling the client’s brief to get them a more enjoyable and livable space for themselves and their four kids. They wanted a way to not only engage their family but also to host church activities and youth group gatherings and to host large groups of people in style and comfort.

When King Landscaping came to the project, what they found was a pool that was dated, and there was no real pool deck area to speak of. Instead, there were little areas of concrete where you could put a table or a couple of chairs. The yard was overgrown with a lot of large shrubs and trees that subsequently left debris in the pool. The property is just under an acre, and King Landscaping did work in the front and the back in an attempt to create a cohesive landscape across the whole property.

What the family has now is a fully functioning extension to the living space. They have an outdoor kitchen that features a grilling station with a gas grill and smoker, a refrigerator and cabinetry. As Holly explains, “It’s a big enough space that we could fit a living room and a dining room. When you think about outdoor spaces you think of them as rooms, and so it’s an outdoor living room and an outdoor dining room with a little kitchenette, and then the pool space that we renovated. We redid the decking and the coping and there was a wall behind the pool that was a dated stone, so we matched limestone throughout the interior of the covered structure. It’s a beautiful limestone and then the pool decking itself is bluestone that extends throughout the pool area, and you exit the backside of the pool into a large fire pit. At the fire pit there are built-in bluestone benches that have wood storage underneath them. Then there’s a large lawn space.”

The time spent building this project was in the area of six months, during which there was a tremendous amount of rain. King Landscaping started it in the winter, and it was very slow going with the masonry work since that can’t be done when it is wet out. Holly says, “The weather slowed us down a good bit, but you know a project of that scale to take six months is not out of the question.”

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PA R T N E R S & S U P P L I E R S Plants Stovall and Company Nurseries www.stovallinc.com

For any landscape in Atlanta, drainage is the No. 1 issue. There are neighboring properties that drain onto this property, and so one challenge was to get water to exit their property successfully. In an older part of town like this one, the street elevation was higher than the house and garage, and so water ran onto the property that way as well. Getting the yard to drain properly was important in order to have part of the yard remain a nice level play space for the kids.

When the project began, there was a huge hedge of six foot tall azaleas behind the pool and part of the yard was visually cut off by these. King Landscaping pulled out the hedge and graded in a retaining wall of dry laid boulders. At the end of the wall there are big stone steps that go to the lawn area, with a grand stair-like descent that also facilitates drainage. Holly explains that they

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were then able to grade that lower area more successfully to help it drain and then ran a dry creek bed from the rear of the property all the way out toward a drainage culvert.

Another way to help with drainage is through plant selection. Holly says, “Largely what we tried to do was be very minimalist with the planting, so we used things more so to provide privacy and visual interest with blooms. We used water-loving plants where we needed to. When you permit anything in the city of Atlanta with the intent to add hard surfaces, you have to impound the rainwater that you’re displacing. We built a rain garden at the terminus of the dry creek bed. It was a neat opportunity to use a lot of water-loving and native plants.” And so this project is a case of form and function meeting, creating something usable and beautiful from the space they were given to work with.

Stone Stone Center of Georgia www.thestonecenter.com Building Mosaic Design & Build www.mosaicdesignbuild.com Sod North Georgia Turf www.ngturf.com

C O N TA CT Holly Brooks King Landscaping www.kinglandscapingatl.com

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aMbooo aMbooo is greener living with bamboo! aMbooo is the best of both worlds in decking. It has all the beauty and natural characteristics of exotic hardwoods and all of the performance you would expect in a composite. Available in multiple colors, so you can find something to add to your outdoor space. A few of the many features that separate aMbooo from the competition are that it is extremely stable, UV-resistant, Class A fire rated and nearly as strong as steel.

It is beautiful and sustainable. It is aMbooo decking, cladding and fencing products. www.ambooousa.com

FIBERON Wood-alternative decking, railing and cladding manufacturer Fiberon offers a wide array of decking options, providing the warmth and beauty of natural wood. Fiberon’s PVC and PE composite decking is a great way to refresh an aging deck or build a new one that will last for decades. The company manufactures its products using recycled plastic and recycled wood fiber to create deck boards that last. Fiberon’s decking materials are used in homes and commercial construction around the world and are backed by industryleading warranties, including stain, fade and performance. www.fiberondecking.com

DECKING MATERIALS FOUR PRODUCTS TO CONSIDER

TREX For nearly 30 years, Trex has invented and defined the composite decking and outdoor living categories. Today, the company is the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking and railing and markets a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance, lowmaintenance outdoor living products that are beautiful, durable, low-maintenance and sustainable. In addition to its world-famous composite decking, Trex’s industry-leading product lineup includes railing, deck drainage, LED lighting, outdoor kitchen components, pergolas, spiral stairs, fencing, lattice and outdoor furniture. www.trex.com.

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THE ARMADILLO ONLINE DECK DESIGNER Designing the composite deck of your dreams just got easier! Get started from your laptop or desktop computer.

Armadillo Composite Decking comes in a stunning range of colors, from the pale sophistication of White Sand to the warm and traditional look of Walnut. Whatever your home, whatever your style, there is Armadillo Decking that matches it perfectly.

At Armadillo Composite Decking, we offer FREE samples of our composite decking so that you can be 100 percent sure you have found the right color for you. www.armadillodeck.com

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P lay outside long after the sun sets.

LAUNCH INTO

OUTDOOR LIGHTING

Transform your customer’s outdoor living space with high-performance outdoor lighting. Coastal Source lighting systems are easy to install, reliable, and profitable. Best of all, Coastal Source’s flexible fixtures will guarantee the perfect lighting solution for the ultimate outdoor retreat.

Lighting fixtures displayed above: Coastal Source Niche Bullet Light with Surface Mount

Available through authorized dealers and contractors. coastalsource.com | 800.719.1996

WunderCovers™ seamlessly blend manhole, drain, or utility access covers and vaults

Custom covers, built to order, low volume, any size or configuration

Our covers are made to fit a wide variety of uses

Simply input the surrounding hardscape into the cover

Seamlessly blend into the surrounding landscape

Tel. 775-400-2883 info@wundercovers.com

www.wundercovers.com

NURTURE

LAWN ALTERNATIVES

Invasive plants

Lawns are typically one species, usually non-native and require herbicide and pesticide use for optimal upkeep. Common non-native, full-sun grass choices include Tier 1 invasive species (currently having severe or widespread negative impacts on wildlife or natural communities in Louisiana) such as Bermuda Grass, Centipede Grass and Common Bahia Grass. Two native alternatives, Mimosa strigulosa and Phyla nodiflora, can be used instead to provide a low, hardy groundcover for full sun that has pretty blooms, can be mowed, is low maintenance and supports the local ecosystem.

AlterNATIVE choices

PHYLA NODIFLORA, FROGFRUIT, MATCHWEED Benefits Phyla is from the Greek for “tribe,” and nodiflora translates from Latin as “flower knots.” Other native species include P. lanceolata and P. strigulosa, as well as intermediate hybrids. This low, herbaceous perennial sprawls across the ground forming a mat of tangled stalks with green foliage and ascending stems of tiny white flowers, with yellow or pink-purple throats, bunched around a purple center. The flower shape gives it another common name, Matchweed, with blooms from early spring to late fall. An ornamental in the Verbena family, it is native from northern South America to the southern U.S. Found through most of Louisiana in disturbed areas. Evergreen if no hard freeze.

It grows quickly, roots at stem nodes and is easily transplanted. Each plant spreads to 3'3-12" in height. Takes full sun to light shade, moist to dry soil. A good nectar source that attracts many pollinators and is a larval host for the Phaon Crescentspot, Buckeye and White Peacock butterflies.

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MIMOSA STRIGULOSA, PINK POWDERPUFF Benefits Mimosa comes from Greek for “mime” in that this plant mimics active life, the leaves folding within seconds when disturbed. There are five native species of Mimosa in Louisiana, but the rest are known as Sensitive Briars as they contain prickles. M. strigillosa is named after the ancient Greek for stirgils, tools used to scrape sweat and dirt off the body, which the pair of stipules at the base of the leaf resembles. It is a member of the legume family and found throughout the state in disturbed, sunny soils, favoring the heavy clay of the Mississippi floodplain. Sun to light shade, moist to dry soil.

It is a perennial evergreen with small, fern-like leaves on alternate sides of a prostrate stem; it does go dormant in cold weather. The bloom is held above the leaves on a stem 1-2" tall. A multitude of miniscule florets are arranged in a globose head about 1" wide, from which extend up to 10 pink stamens topped with golden pollen giving it a powderpuff look. The above-ground stems root at nodes and overlap so as to form a mat. The stems can turn woody, so this is actually a shrub, but due to its growth habit functions as a herbaceous groundcover. Usual height is 2-8" with stolons that can “run” several meters.

With extensive roots that can fix nitrogen, hold soil and tolerate drought, it does best in open, disturbed spaces such as streetside. Can be grown with grass and mowed.

Larval host for Little Sulphur butterfly.

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Species copy and photos by Susan Norris-Davis of the Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans.

BERMUDA, CENTIPEDE AND BAHIA GRASS

NURTURE

PLANT SHORTAGES PERSIST MARC ELLIOT EXPLAINS WHERE WE ARE IN 2022

I

t has been almost a year since the plant shortage crisis of 2021. No doubt the status of the shortages in 2022 is the most important question right now for the industry. The short answer is that the shortages are persisting, and the industry will have to adapt. Since the nature and expanse of the plant shortages is not identical to 2021, it makes procurement and landscaping operations more challenging.

Here’s your quick primer on what’s different this year, key shortage trends that will impact your business and some helpful guidelines to cope. You can read a more in-depth analysis in the 2022 Plant Shortage Report released

by GoMaterials. The report is based of off proprietary data from thousands of plant orders and estimates across the U.S. What’s Making the Plant Shortages Persist in 2022?

The root cause of the shortages stems as far back as the 2018 recession, when many nursery businesses downsized their operations or were

forced to close doors. It’s estimated this reduced nursery production by as much as 50 percent.

Fast-forward to 2022, rising inflation and higher input costs have further restrained the capacity of wholesale nursery businesses.

Fertilizer costs, for example, have increased by almost 100 percent, in addition to higher fuel and labor costs.

In addition, supply chain blocks triggered by the pandemic are nowhere close to subsiding.

Resins are still in short supply, impacting nursery pot supplies. We also have a fullblown truck driver shortage at hand, making out-of-state sourcing more challenging.

On the other hand, new housing starts and federal funding have fired up the demand for landscaping and thus for landscaping plants and trees.

Difference Between the 2021 & 2022 Shortages A first difference is the breadth of plant categories impacted by the shortages.

For example, in 2021, ornamental grasses accounted for 36 percent of all shortages in the plant variety. In 2022, the shortages are more evenly spread with both perennials and ornamental grasses at 19 percent and shrubs at 25 percent.

Another key difference is the pricing trends across categories and sizes for the plants in short supply. For instance, prices for smaller pot sizes such as one- to three-gallon pots of Foxtail Fern and Pink Muhly grass have cooled off a little, pointing to a slight recovery. At the

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NURTURE same time, new top contenders have emerged for the “hard-to-find” plant materials category.

The difference in overall price increases compared to 2021 can also be the silver lining to the shortage cloud. While many of the severely short plants reported a 40-50 percent price increase last year, the numbers are more reasonable this year. The average percentage price increase for low-stock plants and trees is reaching close to 22 percent in the South.

When it comes to sizes impacted, original shortages from last year are no longer restricted to larger pot sizes. Wax Myrtle, for example, which mainly reported a shortage of seven gallon or bigger sizes last year is becoming harder to find even in three gallon in 2022.

Part of the reason can be the industry choosing to substitute with smaller sizes to fill the immediate requirements. The net result, however, is the deepening of the shortage crisis across all sizes.

Key Plant Shortage Trends to Watch What many of us thought was a blip caused by the pandemic is turning into a chronic supply chain issue. Many of the base materials used by nurseries, such as pots, are still unavailable in the wholesale market with months of backorders pending.

A recent article in Landscape Architecture Magazine reported that some pot manufacturers are now requesting one–or two–year advanced commitments from the nurseries. This is likely to cause a more selective planting schedule for the nurseries and an increase in procurement complexity.

It may become more commonplace for wholesale growers to focus on their specialty and team up with other nurseries for other types of materials to fulfill their orders.

growing your network of partners or opting for a professional plant brokering service, such as GoMaterials. However, in a highly competitive procurement scenario, you constantly need to ask if this crisis can be resolved by just focusing on procurement. Here are a few recommendations for landscaping businesses to help stay profitable in the long term.

Creating Awareness At times, there’s just no going around the difficult conversations. There just aren’t any good replacements for species like the Ginkgos.

It’s perhaps better to take initiative and inform customers, landscape architects and city inspectors about the state of the shortages.

Last, but not the least, early trends indicate that the demand for “drought-tolerant” and hardy plants will increase as more governments and cities issue new water conservation policies. Two of the top three hardest-to-find plants this year fall under the drought-tolerant category. As the busier season rolls in, more drought-tolerant plants may join the list.

Optimizing Prices & Operations It’s a common industry practice to estimate jobs based on older catalog prices. However, as the plant shortages continue, old pricing equations may not be accurate, which could result in underestimating the project costs.

Landscaping businesses would be better served by getting confirmations from their suppliers before bidding or accepting a project.

How to Deal with the Shortages The obvious question is what to do about the shortages? There are easy ideas such as working with trusted nursery partners,

Having a Plan B, C and D in Place Going by the trends this year, it’s a fastmoving world when it comes to substituting plant materials. As the industry switches

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gears, many projects will eventually make the same substitution choices, leading to a forever-changing shortage landscape. The importance of having multiple backup plans cannot be overstated!

To sum it up, it’s going to be yet another year of operational challenges; however, there’s a lot to take inspiration from. The consistent demand for landscape materials will help the horticulture industry build confidence to scale up its operations to pre-2008 levels again. Additionally, the plant shortages may be a blessing in disguise when it comes to increasing plant diversity.

More than anything else, updating and sharing knowledge about the latest trends can be the best way forward for the industry.

A B O U T M A R C E L L I OT Marc Elliot is CEO and founder of GoMaterials, an online marketplace for sourcing plant materials for landscape professionals. www.gomaterials.com

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EDUCATE

A PROPER BASE MAKES THE

DIFFERENCE FOUR METHODS FOR PAVER SETTING

S

tone pavers can provide a long-lasting, durable and beautiful material for landscape designs in public and private spaces. However, the way those pavers are set can make all the difference.

If you want your pavers to last, a strong foundation is crucial.

Pavers can crack or become uneven if the wrong paver base is used or it is improperly installed. Understanding the differences in installation methods and what base to use in landscape paving is essential for a successful project.

Ultimately, discussing your paving project with an experienced stone supplier will help ensure its successful completion and maintain its beauty and performance for many years.

What is the Best Material to Put Under Pavers?

Many factors contribute to the right choice of base material and installation method, including geographic location, drainage requirements, planned use and more. Materials to put under pavers include mortar, sand, bituminous materials or pedestals.

PAVING JOINT SECTION

It would be a mistake to think that you don’t need a paver base.

Laying pavers without a base will lead to a disappointing outcome. If the pavers are unable to support the weight and pressure placed on them and have a lack of adequate drainage, the pavers will crack and deteriorate.

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EDUCATE

Should I Lay Pavers on Sand or Mortar?

This depends on several factors. The mortar set method is most popular and is typically used in pedestrian or vehicular areas where a rigid system is required.

The joints are grouted as part of a mortar system. Mortar also provides a degree of flexibility to the setting bed, enabling the effective setting of large and irregular-shaped pieces. In many areas of the United States, mortar systems provide a long-lasting, high-performing setting system. Evacuating surface water is important in a mortar set installation, so proper drainage is important.

PAVING JOINT SAND SET SECTION

TENNESSEE BICENTENNIAL CAPITOL MAP

Can You Use Sand For a Paver Base?

Yes, you can use sand for a paver base. A sand set installation method may be best if a concrete slab is not an option. This system offers permeability and some flexibility.

What Kind of Sand Goes Under Pavers?

Polymeric sand may be used to fill the joints and reduce movement. Repair is usually easier and more economical than it is with a mortar system. Like other methods, uniform support of the paver is critical. If the water cannot properly drain from a sand set system and gets underneath the stone pavers, the liquid will eventually move the sand and create a rocking scenario, compromising the pavers’ durability.

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COLUMNS AT MEMPHIS'S CENTRAL LIBRARY

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PAVING JOINT BITUMINOUS BED SECTION

What is the Best Installation Method in Cold Climates?

The bituminous set installation method is growing in popularity.

Since it is oil-based and less rigid than mortar, a bituminous set installation flexes and moves more easily with freeze-thaw cycles. Thickness tolerance of the paver is critical—a bituminous system does not allow for paver height adjustments like mortar or sand systems. Therefore, smaller piece sizes are a common way to accommodate this.

PAVING JOINT PEDESTAL SECTION

Which Installation System Should I Choose for Good Drainage?

Pedestal systems can work well in many environments because they do not rely on a mortar, sand or a bituminous setting bed.

A pedestal set system, ideal for fountains and reflecting pools, feeds water through the paver joints, providing drainage beneath the surface of the paving. Depending on the paver size, pedestal set systems may require thicker pieces of stone than other methods, such as a mortar or bituminous set system. Pedestal set systems are often used in rooftops and plazas at the street level—anywhere draining or eliminating water is a concern.

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EDUCATE

GROSS PROFIT VS. NET PROFIT JEFFREY SCOTT ON WHERE YOU SHOULD FOCUS YOUR BUSINESS

T

o achieve a good net profit, how much gross profit should you earn in each of your divisions? That depends … your profitability is not always driven by your gross profit.

Some companies can achieve high gross profit but still end up with a low net profit, and other companies are vice versa. They achieve a low gross profit but end up with a high net profit.

If you diagram Gross Profit Margin (GPM) vs.

Net Profit Margin, you will see there are four types of landscape profit models in the world:

wrongly) on its pricing and margins. Or it has simply not grasped how to price or manage its work. Fortunately, this company also keeps its overhead so low that it is making good money, at least for now. But can it scale its business with such lean overhead?

Low GPM, Low Net This company is in deep trouble, underpricing, under-executing and underperforming, even if its crews are highly trained. It may grow each year but it’s a struggle. This company is weak, like a tree with no root structure; it could blow over in a strong storm.

High GPM, High Net These are companies that have benchmarked their numbers, figured out how to maximize pricing, client value, operational efficiency and overhead. These companies should have great cash flow if they are low debt and have optimized the use of their equipment.

Having a strong balance sheet is meant to protect you from bad weather, but this type of company is in danger no matter what.

High GPM, Low Net This type of company has figured out how to make money with what they sell, but they have not yet figured out how to scale properly and/or how to manage their overhead.

The surprising dynamic that I have witnessed in my 50 years in this industry is that companies don’t realize how to take advantage of their strengths.

This company has potential but must move decisively to unlock the opportunities in front of them.

Low GPM, High Net This type of company is competing (rightly or

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to exploit an already strong division vs. overinvesting critical resources trying to fix a weak division.

Sometimes the value comes from focusing even more on where a company is already doing well.

Should we fix the weak division? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Making money in an integrated mixed-service company can require counterintuitive moves in order to unlock the value of one’s brand and business.

P.S. For a resource article on 9 Proven Profit Strategies, go here:

Your Challenge: Figure out how to move the needle on both your gross and net profit margins.

ABOUT JEFFREY SCOTT As a society, we are so focused on our weaknesses that we overlook what truly sets us apart.

When I consult with companies to identify areas for profit improvement, I am often happily surprised to find numerous ways

Jeffrey Scott, MBA, is the leading authority on growth and profit maximization in the landscape industry. For more information on how you can grow your landscape business, please visit his website: www.jeffreyscott.biz.

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EDUCATE

SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH

EMPLOYEE RETENTION HIRING COST MONEY

A

s you’re looking at ways to save time and money with your landscaping business, one area that’s often overlooked is employee retention.

THE RESEARCH

According to research from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), it can take as much as three times the offered salary to recruit a new employee. This means if you’re offering a position that’s going to pay $45,000 annually, it can cost your company up to $135,000 to staff that position.

That figure doesn’t include training your new hire. Research done by payroll firm ADP showed the average to train a new employee across all industries was $1,886 in 2017. It’s more expensive when you’re talking about lower-wage, hourly employees. The Houston Chronicle’s Small Business section cites

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research showing it can take over $9,400 to train a replacement for a lower-wage, hourly employee.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS?

As I mentioned, keeping the employees you’ve got is a fantastic starting point. There are several factors that contribute to employee retention. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but these items are critical to successful retention.

PATH TO ADVANCEMENT

One study showed that 60 percent of employees who have been with your company for less than one year value the opportunity to advance more than they value training.

Stated another way, these employees would rather you show them how to get ahead than invest time and money helping them become better professionals.

I would suggest the two are not exclusive. You can create a pathway to advance through the

organization with some intentional focus. Start with your frontline workers and create a list of measurable, achievable goals that any person in that role would need to accomplish in order to get promoted within their department. Once you’ve done that, keep moving up the organizational ladder all the way to CEO. Showing your people how to advance will keep the most ambitious people in your workforce engaged.

GIVE THEM PURPOSE

Creating, defining and communicating your company’s core values will do several things for you.

It tells your current and future employees what your company stands for and what values are most central to how you run the business.

It also helps people who are not a good fit “self-eject” from the company. These are people who would have created problems of

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EDUCATE

one sort or another down the road, so this isn’t always a loss.

Lastly, it keeps people who really believe in what you’re doing engaged. When they’ve got a purpose or a mission to fulfill, they’ll stay with your company longer and work harder while they’re there.

CREATE A HEALTHY CULTURE

I cannot oversell the importance of this point.

If you need research, the Harvard Business Review states that companies with positive work cultures and highly engaged employees “enjoyed 100% more job applications.”

If you need anecdotal evidence that this is true, ask yourself a very hard question: Why aren’t your current employees referring people to come work for you? It’s not because they don’t want these massive “referral bonuses” that have become popular. It’s because they aren’t willing to sacrifice those relationships for that amount of money.

Healthy company culture is defined by trust, open and consistent communication and expectations being clearly stated. People are tasked with work and then given the tools and resources needed to succeed in those tasks.

Their time outside of work is respected, and any asks above and beyond the normal working hours are either communicated weeks in advance or asked of employees rather than expected.

Anything short of these basics, and you’ll be setting yourself up for an unhealthy working culture.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE

Truly, this should simply be called “life balance.” A person’s job, however invested they are, is only one aspect of their existence.

If you’ve recruited well, you’ve hired wellrounded, driven people. Those people often have commitments outside of work to consider. They’ve got families to take care of, Little League to coach and food pantries at which they volunteer.

You must give them time for the other things that energize them so they can give their best

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when they come to work. That means not working them an insane amount of hours and justifying it by saying “well, you get the winter off,” especially if you offer snow removal services.

Give people the time they need to live fulfilled lives, and you’ll find they’re more present and productive while at work.

A PLAN FOR ONBOARDING

Think about onboarding in two separate “buckets.” There is onboarding that every employee needs (regardless of their role or title). There is also information that needs to be communicated to a new hire that is specific to their job.

Ask a friend who doesn’t know anything about your business to help you with this.

Pretend they’re new and you’ve hired them for an open position. What things do you need to communicate with them? These might include: • Where to park • How to clock in and out • Any software logins they’ll need to use on a regular basis • A review of benefits and the deadline to make elections • Uniforms or dress code • A review of the company’s core values, with examples of how to implement these on a day-to-day basis EMERGENCY EXIT PLANS & PROCEDURES

After that, you need to provide individuals with training based on their roles. How you want functions performed (hand edging, hand pruning, mulching, etc.) and how to use any equipment you’re expecting them to use.

PAY & BENEFITS

Green Industry work carries some of the most significant risks of injury and death. In 2016, almost 60 percent of safety occurrences for arborists were fatal. Between 2001 and 2017, research done by the National Institute for Occupatioinal Safety and Health showed that almost one in five worker’s compensation claims in the landscape industry were “serious injuries.”

We cannot reasonably expect people to work in a dangerous industry without compensating them well.

You should be offering your people benefits.

Many payroll services will allow you to buy in at their group rates rather than purchasing them on your own. Leverage their group discounts to offer your employees protection.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) compiled a Living Wage Calculator. This shows what it takes to live a normal life in every state, county and metro area around the country. Reference this when setting wages for your frontline workers, and use it as a baseline for considering what to pay your managers and C-suite hires.

CONCLUSION

“Getting your house in order” is a great way to ensure you save time and money. You’ll dramatically reduce costs in recruiting and training and add consistency to your business.

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A great way to do this is to start with the “everyone” training and then give one-onone or small group training to people based on their job function.

Ignoring onboarding is a huge mistake. When you don’t set your expectations out clearly from the very beginning, you’re setting your team up for failure. If they know what you expect from day one, minute one, you’ll be in a much stronger position as a company.

C O N TA CT Jay Worth Marketing Manager www.singleops.com

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PEOPLE PEOPLE

CHRISTIAN SCHLOEGEL ,

OWNER OF C+I SERVICES LLC A TEENAGE LANDSCAPER GROWS FULL-SERVICE MAINTENANCE COMPANY

A

landscape maintenance company is quickly growing in the Chicago area. The team provides a variety of services, including commercial and residential lawn care, plant installation and snow removal. They have committed staff members, an experienced leader and a long list of loyal customers. Their clientele is rapidly growing thanks to referrals from those happy customers and strategic business software tools, like Jobber. The group is also expanding its arsenal of tools, even looking to invest in updated batterypowered equipment. C+I Services is progressing the way any landscape group would hope to. What makes the team stand out, though, is that it is owned and managed by a 19-year-old.

Christian Schloegel is a teenager, college student and business owner. He has been in the business for nearly a decade, after launching his landscape company when he was only in the fifth grade. Inspired by the landscapers managing his own front yard, he began taking care of his neighbors’ properties. Word traveled around his neighborhood, and soon he was providing services to dozens of homes nearby. Christian’s business grew as he moved

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PEOPLE

through middle school into high school and now is a fully functioning LLC. “I think my first year I had three lawns,” he says. “In my second year I had about 10, then my third year maybe closer to 40. It especially started growing when I got my driver’s license.”

He now offers a variety of services and employees three to seven crew members, depending on the time of year. Most team members are like him, in their late teens hoping to balance work and attend local colleges or trade schools. Many actually grew up together and started working with Christian during high school. They each have at least four years of landscaping experience before their 20th birthday.

“It’s a lot of work,” Christian admits. “I don’t do a lot of typical things a 19-year-old would do. I’m not at a university far from my house. I don’t think of a Saturday as a day off. Most of the time I’m awake, I spend either working in the business or studying for school.”

Christian’s dedication is paying off, though, which motivates him to keep working hard.

“It’s tough to get a business off the ground,” he says. “That is why I keep going. I’ve come so far and already have a strong client base. I want to keep going. I want to give it 110 percent.

Plus, each year I learn more about having responsibility, being a leader, caring for our equipment and managing our team. Through our slow, gradual growth, I’ve gotten a better grasp on it all and I feel like you can’t learn that in a classroom.”

BEING ABLE TO DO IT FIRSTHAND REALLY MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE As he keeps going, Christian wants to grow his knowledge base and offer more services to clients, like hardscaping for patios and retaining walls. He also wants to build a home base for his company with equipment storage for the cold winter months. More than anything, though, he plans to grow his snow removal operation. It is his favorite service to offer.

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“I want more commercial clients, trucks, blowers, salters and skid steers,” he says.

“Snow removal is fun to me because the majority of the work is done overnight. You don’t have to worry about cars or people around, so it’s very peaceful. Just you, your crew and maybe some music. It’s a great time.”

For now, Christian will continue working to earn his college degree while juggling his landscape business. It’s a hard task, but one that will surely lead him to success in the years to come.

C O N TA CT Follow C+I Services on Instagram @candiservicesllc and check out their YouTube channel C&I Services LLC.

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PEOPLE

THE LITTLE INTERVIEW

PRO LANDSCAPER ASKS QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS TO GAIN A SMALL INSIGHT INTO THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP OUR INDUSTRY. TO TAKE PART, EMAIL MARYKATE@ GOGREENPUBLISHING. COM

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WAY N E K R E I F E L S

K AT H Y J E N T Z

VP SALES, ROBIN AUTOPILOT HOLDINGS, LLC MCKINNEY, TEXAS

GARDEN SPEAKER-WRITER, WASHINGTON GARDENER MAGAZINE SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

www.robinautopilot.com

www.washingtongardner.com

What inspired you to get into the industry?

I was inspired when I was in high school working for a John Deere Dealership setting up outdoor power equipment and loved to see how technology changed year to year. After that, I decided to open my own dealership and run that for several years and have remained in the industry ever since.

Other than the U.S., which country’s landscape inspires you the most?

China

If you weren’t in the horticulture industry, what would you be doing?

If I wasn’t in the industry right now, I would probably be farming. I have always enjoyed growing a garden and raising animals.

One thing that you think would make the industry better?

Breaking up the “good old boy’s club.”

Newest gardening trend in your opinion?

Introducing new technologies into the industry such as robotic mowing to help with sustainability and labor shortages.

Couldn’t get through the week without …

Going to the movies

Who would play you in a movie of your life?

I would say that Jason Sudeikis would play me in a movie.

Your most used saying or cliché?

“It’s a fugazi” from “The Wolf of Wall Street” Karaoke song of choice?

“Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi

If you weren’t in the horticulture industry, what would you be doing?

Hmm, hard to say. Maybe fashion design.

What would you blow your budget on?

A geothermal heating system for my house.

Newest gardening trend in your opinion Smaller scale, jewel box gardens

Best invention in recent years?

The wall-mounted corner cat comb, so they can groom themselves!

Your most used saying or cliché?

Done is better than perfect.

What three things would you take to a desert island?

A towel, pack of cucumber seeds and a good book

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PEOPLE

SHIREEN SALEHI

TA D D U P U Y

L I N D S AY K O S A K O W S K I

CO-FOUNDER & CMO, GOMATERIALS MONTREAL, CANADA

PLA, EDENSCAPES LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA

SALES MANAGER, PENDER NURSERY WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

www.gomaterials.com

www.lafayettelandscapingservices.com

www.pendernursery.com

What inspired you to get into the industry?I The impact I knew GoMaterials would have on landscaping businesses struggling with procurement challenges.

What inspired you to get into the industry?

Having spent a lot of my childhood in my grandfather’s garden, landscape architecture was a natural fit for me.

It allowed me to be creative while continuing to work with plants.

If you weren’t in the horticulture industry, what would you be doing?

I would probably be bartending.

Other than the U.S., which country’s landscape inspires you the most?

I love anywhere with lush tropical landscapes!

What would you blow your budget on?

Traveling to the south of France or Greece.

One thing that you think would make the industry better?

Investment and innovation in standardized nursery inventory management systems.

Newest gardening trend in your opinion?

Drought-resistant gardens and rock gardens Best invention in recent years?

FaceTime Couldn’t get through the week without …

Coffee Who would play you in a movie of your life?

Mila Kunis Role model as a child?

My mom … and probably the Spice Girls.

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If you weren’t in the horticulture industry, what would you be doing?

If not horticulture, I might have explored architecture or psychology.

Other than the U.S., which country’s landscape inspires you the most?

That’s a tough one, but a trip to central and southern Mexico proved to be very inspirational and memorable. It’s a beautiful country.

What would you blow your budget on?

It’s easiest to blow a budget on an over-designed hardscape.

What advice would you have for those starting out in the industry?

The industry is diverse. Follow your passion and pursue your interests.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?

Every aspect of the profession is challenging. That’s what makes it fun!

Other than the U.S., which country’s landscape inspires you the most?

I love Japanese gardens. Japan has so many cool, funky, native plants the create a simplistically serene environment.

What would you blow your budget on?

Japanese Maples and Hinoki Cypress The one person in the industry you’d love to meet?

Michael Dirr. I have used his books many, many times. They really helped me out when I first got in the industry when I was trying to learn as much as possible.

One thing that you think would make the industry better?

More women! This industry is very male-dominated and could benefit from more women.

What advice you have for those starting out in the industry?

Go for it! Regardless of your background, you can find a path that you’re passionate about.

Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022 51

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