The saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure can be applied to many aspects in the landscape. The one I want to focus on is when you are in the market for a new home. Regardless if it is a brand new home or a two hundred year old Victorian you would hire a professional home inspector to protect and educate you about any possible problems that may exist. The landscape is a very big part of the home’s value and appeal and should be thoroughly checked as well. I have spent countless hours with proud new home owners educating them about the problems I observe upon a visit for an estimate. More often then not they had no idea any problems existed in the landscape or how much it would cost to properly address the issue.

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When I was a kid I always wanted to do what my friends were up to. I would run to my parents and ask if I could also do as my peers. My parents would often say no and I would quickly say but everyone else is doing it! To answer me they would say “if your friends jumped of the Brooklyn Bridge would you”? 

This familiar childhood problem can be compared to how most people select the landscape for their homes. They see their neighbors and friends installing a project and they purchase a similar style project at their home. Our homes already are losing their individuality in these vast developments of modern center hall colonials. Why would we want our landscapes to be so similar as well? Or if we do have a different style home why should its landscape look alike as well. There is inadequate public appreciation for the value of design and planning in enhancing the quality of life in our communities.

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Remember shag carpeting? Not too popular anymore. Many trends happen in home décor, fashion, and virtually everything we do. Landscape design and the products used are also part of the trend cycle. How do we avoid the “shag carpeting” in our choice of landscape materials?  Take a look at the things that never go out of style.

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Segmental Retaining Walls (SRW) are probably the most popular type of retaining wall being utilized today. You won’t have to look far for an example of an SRW. They are what are commonly referred to as “interlocking concrete block walls”. There are many different manufacturers and countless styles and colors.
 

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We recently received yet another damaging downpour. This was after the extreme flooding from the previous weeks. Millions and millions of dollars in property damage are recorded by events like these. Yet not all of the costs are taken into account. As the owner of a landscape company, I experienced thousands and thousands of dollars in loss in just this downpour.
The loss occurs with the flash flooding of some of our jobsites that recently had topsoil and grass seed installed, as well as new root mulch applied in the planting beds. Before the new grass has germinated and no grass roots are there to “hold the soil” the erosion can be devastating. Even with the use of stray hay and/or Penn Mulch-type product newly installed lawns can end up partially or completely washed out. Additionally the topsoil and mulches can end up in the street and or the surrounding properties.

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If you compare a professional landscape service with other services that come to your home it is really quite a bargain. Plumbers and electricians have man hour rates averaging seventy five to over one hundred dollars an hour. Carpenters average fifty five to seventy five dollars per hour. By contrast the average landscape maintenance firm has hourly labor rates of thirty to forty five dollars. These numbers are from my un-scientific polling. All of these trades require skilled labor. The landscape maintenance contractor shows up with a far greater investment in trucks and equipment than these other trades on most occasions. I would estimate the average truck, trailer and equipment used today to average around sixty to eighty thousand dollars. The average life span of that equipment is about five years.

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It is a well proven fact gardening and viewing gardens/landscaping is a soothing way to unwind. With the modern low voltage lighting systems available today our homes can be very welcoming and soothing in the dark.

Unfortunately most home owners and landscape professionals overlook all the benefits of low voltage lighting in our landscapes. By adding a well designed system we can improve safety and security, illuminate our entry sequence, highlight our best features in the landscape, and set up dramatic “scenes”.

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One of the main complaints that homeowners have about landscape firms is they don’t return phone calls. Most of these phone calls are initial contact for new work. There are however some key things you should not say when you leave that all important first voicemail. Remember the landscape firm is qualifying you from that all important first contact. You may cause the best firm for your needs from even calling you back.

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The landscape industry has grown over the past two decades. More and more people are engaging the services of landscapers to maintain and design/build there landscapes. Also as urban sprawl continues it is mainly the landscaper designing our outdoor environments. As a seventeen year veteran of the landscape trade I must say our industry could be doing this much better. Some landscapers have horticulture degrees while some just buy a truck and dive in head first. What standard and measures has our industry set? How is the average homeowner to have confidence that the landscaper they engage for services is truly a qualified professional? It can become confusing to say the least.

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Safety in the landscape does not get a big priority. Beyond railings on porches and fencing in swimming pools most people overlook many common hazards around their properties. Here are a few items to consider.
 

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