Mini Interviews: Extended Version

Flor Espinoza, Landscape Designer at Ellis Pros LLC inn Dallas, Georgia

What inspired you to get into the industry?

I grew up in the industry and what inspired me was the impact every before and after made on each customer. We were solving customer issues and creating unique spaces while working outdoors.

What’s the best part of your job?

Getting to create functional spaces for customers with their own personality. I ask lots of questions to learn from them.

What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

Guanajuato City, Mexico

What would you blow your money on?

Definitely invest in real estate!

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

To be a Latina woman in a male-dominated industry.

What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?

More transparency in quoting, realistic designs, their process and the true impact. For example, the biggest one is recycling materials that end up in landfills.

Who do you most admire in the industry?

Stanley “Dirt Monkey” Genadek and Keith Kalfas

What’s your best childhood memory?

Going to deliver and drop newspapers with my dad and brothers.

Where’s your happy place?

Traveling anywhere with my husband and two dogs.

What’s the key to great design?

Immediately my brain goes to functionality. The designer in me makes sure the space is functional and it flows well with different elements, heights, colors and textures, but I also make sure that it contributes to the ecosystem as much as possible.

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

A rope, machete and tent.

What has the quarantine taught you?

ResourcefulnessWhat’s your ideal Saturday?Going to the farmers or arts market.

What are you most proud of?

Being a first-generation immigrant who has created a successful career that has allowed me to grow and care for my family. I’m even more proud of the impact I’m making now being a mentor to others.

What is your favorite phrase, slogan?I

t’s the smallest things that make the biggest impact.

What is something not many people know about you?

I really have no idea what I’m doing. My brain has an idea and I just execute.

What’s the best advice you have received for your career?

Always qualify your customers. Never go out of business to try to accommodate unrealistic budgets.

What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry?

I would tell them to learn at their own pace but to start by hands-on experimenting with the materials. And ask lots of questions.

What is your favorite karaoke song?

“When we were Young” by Adele

Rob Mumford, Owner of Paradise Pavers of SWFL in Fort Myers, Florida

What inspired you to get into the industry?

I love working outside. My office view changes daily.

What’s the best part of your job?

The satisfaction of a well-satisfied customer and establishing a friendship with them.

What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

Boca Grande, Florida

What would you blow your money on?

Helping animals

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

Adapting to the ever-changing green industry and starting my business in Florida not knowing a soul.

What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?

Expanded education on proper business management so owners understand the meaning of “profitability.” Low prices are not the driver of success.

Who do you most admire in the industry?

My 8th grade social studies teacher Roger Myers, who started his landscape design/build company as a summer job and grew it to be widely successful before selling to a large chain and retiring to Florida.

What’s your best childhood memory?

Spending time with my grandparents on a summer evening in a small town in northeast Ohio.

Where’s your happy place?

On my boat 100 miles offshore.

What’s the key to great design?

Listening to your client’s needs, wants and desires then applying your knowledge and experience to bring them a one-of-a-kind experience.

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

Fishing pole, survival knife, pencil and paper.

What has the quarantine taught you?

That our industry is resilient and if you adapt to change, you can still be profitable.

What’s your ideal Saturday?

A daybreak three-hour run to my favorite fishing spot in the Gulf of Mexico, limit out on fish early, then a stop at the sandbar for some R&R.

What are you most proud of?

My two sons’ success in the professional world after losing their mom at a very young age.

What is your favorite phrase, slogan?

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” - Benjamin Franklin

What is something not many people know about you?

I’m actually a shy person.

What’s the best advice you have received for your career?

Always get a deposit on a project.

What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry?

Stand behind your work. The customer is not an interruption of your work, he’s the purpose of it.

What is your favorite karaoke song?

“Mustang Sally”

Sarah Fitzgerald, Associate at SWA Group in Dallas, Texas

What inspired you to get into the industry?

Building physical spaces that touch people's lives. Public spaces are my favorite, as I believe that everyone deserves access to nature, and those who build memories with nature are more motivated to preserve and care for the Earth.

What’s the best part of your job?

Seeing end-users enjoying, learning from and engaging with designs is simply the best!

What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

The Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain.

What would you blow your money on?

An electric tractor for my future farm.

What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?

More direct conversations between those who design, build and care for landscapes. It takes a village, and the more we can integrate and share our relative expertise, the better our collective results will be.

Who do you most admire in the industry?

Kate Orff. She put landscape architects on the map as a profession that can help combat climate change. It's up to us to step up as a larger field and prove that we can!

Where’s your happy place?

The tiny cabin my husband built on my grandparents' farm outside of Texarkana.

What’s the key to great design?

Big, environmentally-sensitive ideas, grounded in the realities and uniqueness of a site. Collaboration is also key!

What has the quarantine taught you?

Individual behavior alone isn't enough to solve the climate crisis. We need bold policies to ensure a healthy, vibrant future for people and the planet.

What’s your ideal Saturday?

Sleep late, sip a couple cups of coffee while I catch up on my favorite publications (Places Journal, LAM, Synkd … ), explore a new bike trail around town, get crafty and end the day with a homecooked meal and either a night out dancing Brazilian Zouk or a movie in bed.

What’s the best advice you have received for your career?

Persist. Just because it hasn't been done yet doesn't mean it can't happen.

Chris Semko, Branch manager at FloraLawn in Lakeland, Florida

What inspired you to get into the industry?

I truly wanted to turn something that didn't look good into a masterpiece, giving the owner something to come home to and bring them joy. And being in the outdoors and not being locked up in an office all day had so much appeal.

What’s the best part of your job?

I love working with the customers. My motto is always to build partnerships and some have turned into friendships.

What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

The country of Peru was breathtaking and so beautiful.

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

Dealing with customer expectations as the economy has changed. From labor, plant shortages, gas price surge and so on, it has built character and caused me to be creative. Never making an excuse or having a woe-is-me attitude but pressing forward and seeing how we can make the customer happy.

What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?

Floralawn has a great reputation of having customers for over 10 years-plus. The only way you do that is being honest about where your shortfalls are and where the customer needs are. It seems like a simple word but we need more of it.

Who do you most admire in the industry?

There are so many hardworking people in this industry. Living and working in central Florida conditons can be very hot and almost unbearable at times. We have guys and you see guys at other companies consistently coming to work every day to perform at a high level. They are the truly heroes of our industry.

What’s your best childhood memory?

Going to my grandparents house in the summer. I would stay several weeks at a time. It was in New Jersey and it had a very nostalgic feel of the past.

Where’s your happy place?

Being with my family.

What’s the key to great design?

Listening to what the customer wants and executing that vision. Listening is key in our industry.

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

Matches, a water purifying system and a volleyball.

What’s your ideal Saturday?

Being with my family and doing things around the home, going to the kids’ soccer games and spending time with my wife.

What is your favorite phrase, slogan?

Stop talking and start listening and then put it into action.

What is something not many people know about you?

I love to read and enjoy quiet moments more than anything.

What’s the best advice you have received for your career?

You can't take customer feedback personal. You have to absorb and hear what they are saying.

What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry?

If you love the outdoors, being a people person and a little sweat, this is for you. If you don't like any of those things, I wouldn't suggest it. Our industry has so much flexibility and that can be really enjoyable in itself.

What is your favorite karaoke song?

“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond