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garrettboudreau · 5 years ago

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Day In The Life Of A Landscaper

Lots of people see landscapers around their town especially in the spring and summer time. Whether it be on their commute to work or maybe landscapers are doing work at their homes. The life of a landscaper is not much different than any other job really. I have had a landscaping job for the past four years. I currently have two landscaping jobs, but I will be chronicling my job at the Parks in the Town of St. Albans in Vermont. At the Town of St.Albans, the Parks crew maintains the Bay Park and Cohen park which are roughly 10 minute drive from one another. We also maintain the grounds of the Industrial Park, where businesses such as Ben and Jerry’s and Barry Callebut are located. We also maintain the Firestation’s grounds, which have a ditch that is a disaster to weed whack. This piece will examine a day in the eyes of a landscaper, through my eyes from a day last August.

I start my day at 6, because even though the Bay park is a 5 minute drive I hate mornings and take me awhile to actually get up. After getting coffee and some breakfast, I drive to Cohen Park for 7 o'clock to open up that park. It’s important to realize that, I live literally right between the Bay Park and Cohen. It's the same distance and time to drive to each of the parks. So I turn left and open up Cohen, the gate has a padlock. While the bathrooms require an actual key. It takes about 5 minutes total to open up Cohen, so I drive back to the Bay now it’s 7:15am. The Bay is almost always opened by my supervisor Robbie by the time I get back. Once I park my car and get to the office, we look at the white board. Robbie and I and my other coworkers look at the day’s objectives. The jobs for the day are make sure the building is clean, blow out the pavilion with a leaf blower. Plant trees at Cohen, mow Cohen, weed whack the medians at the Bay. As well as, weed whack the Firestation ditch, check trash, clean the bathrooms. By 7:30 am after being briefed we split up and get to work.

This particular day was a sunny and warm day, about 80 degrees, but not too warm that it made work unbearable. Weather plays a big factor on what landscaping jobs we do on a particular day. If it rains, we clean inside the Bay Stone House building. If it’s too hot, which is basically 90 degrees and above, we don’t go crazy and try and get a heat stroke.This day was one of the good ones where we could check a bunch of marks off the list.

Blowing out the pavilion might be one of the easiest jobs I have. Although it’s not all glamorous, as you can get dirt in your eyes and the machine is incredibly loud, and you typically have to cold start it. We have a gas powered backpack blower, that is heavy but does the job well. That's roughly a 10 minute job so after that I top off the gas and put it back in the supply closet. At about 7:45 am, supervisor Robbie calls me over to help him plant trees at Cohen. We load up the truck with shovels and string and tape measures and head out, we get there around 8 am. We plant them approximately 15 feet in front of the pavilion and space the trees six feet apart from one another while using a string to make sure the line was straight. Having uneven trees or not having them evenly spaced makes the end product look sloppy. We are paid by tax dollars, so we owe it to the town residents to make sure the end product looks good. I admire the work and it looks satisfying to me so we head out. That job takes about an hour so now it’s 9 am.

After that we mow Cohen, Robbie always uses the zero turn Kubota, while I use the riding Kubota. The zero turn mows the large field while I mow the tree line. The tree line has branches and rocks, so it’s better to use that mower and not mess up the blades on the zero turn. Mowing is one of the more satisfying jobs at the Park. One, because of the undeniably great aroma of freshly cut grass, and looking and seeing you made straight lines is always satisfying.

That job takes about two hours so now it’s 11 am. After that I get back to the Bay and weed whack the medians that takes a little bit of time as there is a huge traffic circle that takes about 45 minutes to do alone. We have straps to make using the weed whackers less painful. However, I choose not to use them, because it restricts my movement with the machine. At the end of weed whacking your body aches but it’s worth it when you made the yard look presentable. Furthermore, it’s required that we use protective ear wear, and eye protection. So, I use headphones that have a radio in them so I typically listen to pop music on the radio while I work. It certainly makes the work go by faster. The medians in total usually take more than an hour to do. After that it’s about 12:15, time for lunch.

Our schedules at the park for morning shift is 7- 3:30, with a 30 minute unpaid lunch break. While the night crew does a 12:30-9 shift, again with a 30 minute food break. After lunch the night crew shows up. My coworker goes with me to weed whack the firestation ditch. We load up the weed whacker string, the weed whackers, the mixed fuel, and some reflective vests. Everytime, you load up the weed whackers there is a one hundred percent guarantee that your hands will smell of gasoline. We get there around 1:15 pm. The ditch we have to weed whack is long, and steep, you literally have to weed whack vertically. We have to wear the vest, because we are working right next to a road. Also, the visibility is not great as drivers have to come up a hill before they pass the ditch.

The problem with the ditch is that it’s super steep so you have to weed whack upwards, also the ditch is never dry. You run out of string all the time, and have to replace it. Luckily we don’t use spools we use 2 pieces of string at a time. In total it is a 2 hour project. So now it is about 3:15 pm. We head back to the Bay and it’s quitting time for me. I fill out my timesheet and leave for the day. After a long day it feels great to grab your car keys and head home. It feels even better when you know you had a productive day and accomplished everything on the checklist. It’s only 3:30, so naturally I rolled down the windows and listened to the radio. It’s a warm August day and I’ve already put in a full day of work.

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garrettboudreau · 5 years ago

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Review of Landscaping

There is a common misconception that to make a high salary you have to do a white collar job. The reality is you can do manual labor, and make just as much if not more money doing landscaping work. The work is tiresome, and your body may ache at the end of the day. However, once you’ve completed a project there is no better feeling than looking at it and admiring it. It takes years of practice to perfect landscaping, like any job. I’ve done landscaping in the summer time for four years, and have gained invaluable skills that I can use to do projects for myself or for others. Instead of hiring a landscaper, I can do my own work, save money and be proud of what I did.

My love for landscaping developed when I was five years, old and I had a toy Tonka Truck, and a mini shovel. I would help my dad do yard work such as raking grass and shoveling dirt, even though I was making a mess more than I was helping. Over the years my dad has taught me how to drive a tractor, and use a zero turn mower. When I was in 7th grade, I would mow my lawn, trying to get perfect lines with each pass. Furthermore, I would help my dad transplant trees and mulch our tree beds. I also learned how to use a Collins axe, this past summer I took out a raised bed garden in my lawn using the axe. These skills I acquired helped me land a job at the Town of St. Albans Parks in May of 2017. I also got a job this past spring with Flagg’s Landscaping in Beverly, Massachusetts. Having two jobs has helped my development as a landscaper and learn landscaping and life lessons. My boss at the Town of St.Albans is Alan Mashtare, who has over thirty years in the industry. My boss at Flagg’s Landscaping is Mark Flagg, who has over fifty years in the industry.

You don’t have to go to college to be a landscaper. Mark Flagg went to UMass Amherst to get a degree in landscape architecture. Mark is an old school landscaper who believes the job should be done efficiently. One such instance is when I was loading and unloading bricks for a patio on a dolley. I was not doing it right, and I kept having my coworker help me. Mark said that it is a one person job, he proceeded to show me a trick to unload the dolley by myself. For the rest of the day I was able to do it by myself which in turn made the process more efficient.

Alan Mashtare did not go to college, he joined the workforce. Alan is a kind family man that has specific visions for projects. One such instance is when he had me mound mulch in a garden bed. I wasn’t doing it correctly so he showed me how to do it. I then proceeded to complete the task to his satisfaction. Initially I thought it was embarrassing to be called out, but I now know they were not trying to be mean but rather have me be a better landscaper, and to make sure the project was done correctly. Each of the two men have been working in the industry for a long time, and have different views of how to do things. However, they have a common and shared belief of seeing a raw project being completed from the ground up.

What many people do not know is that there is way more to landscaping then simply showing up and doing a project. As Flagg told me, you have to first contact the client. Then you budget for the materials needed once an estimate is completed. Then you have to make sure you have the right tools for the job. For instance, Mark has a Bobcat loader that has a bucket and pitch fork. It’s used for carrying pallets of bricks or scooping dirt or gravel. Alan has much bigger equipment at his disposal, as he has a pay loader, a tandem truck and an excavator. It really at the end of the day, depends on what you are doing and have the right tools for the job. If you're simplifying mowing a lawn you don’t need an excavator. From talking to individuals in the industry efficiency is key. In Vermont at my job I had to mulch a rock garden. So we used the payloader to scoop up the mulch and dump it in the garden. We had used a smaller tractor beforehand but it was too time consuming.

There are many things you can do in landscaping whether it be yard maintenance clean up work, or hard scaping. Each of which is time consuming, but the end product looks good when done correctly. Yard maintenance consists of mowing, and weed whacking, and mulching, and edging. When mowing it is important to create straight lines. When you are edging you want to create straight lines as well. When you mulch you want it even and don’t go too far up the trunk. Hard scaping is arguably the most physically demanding. You have to haul bricks as well as stack bricks and stones.

Landscaping is a profitable industry. In fact according to Mark it is a two hundred billion dollar industry. Landscaping is physically demanding, however, it is lucrative if you build clientele and if the final product is good. Landscaping is also practical as anyone can learn how to landscape. It can save you money when you want something done around your house. All you need is some patience and a willingness to learn. I would highly suggest a High Schooler or a College kid to take a landscaping job in the summer and develop some skills. Who knows they might be handy down the road. You can even complete a project, look at it and know you created it.

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garrettboudreau · 5 years ago

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Success From The Ground Up

Alan Mashtare is the Public Works Director for the Town of St. Albans. Mashtare is a long time resident of St.Albans, Vermont, originally he grew up in nearby Alburgh, Vermont. Following graduating from Bellows Free Academy High School in St. Albans, Vermont Mashtare got his Commercial Drivers License, and started working in construction. Mashtare has worked in paving, construction and management for over 30 years. Mashtare began working as the Public Works Director in December of 2016. Since taking over the Public Works director position, Mashtare has given the green light to many projects such as a walking path in the Bay Park, as well as building a pavilion at Cohen Park. Since Mashtare is in a management position he oversees landscaping projects and does not perform the tasks as he has in previous jobs. When I met up with Mashtare he was at his desk looking at emails while joking around with two of his crew members at his desk. Mashtare wants the job done, however he always makes jokes and likes to lighten the mood and boost morale. Prior to working for the Town of St. Albans, Mashtare worked as the foreman for the City of St. Albans for 5 years. Mashtare has primarily worked in construction for most of his professional career. All of those years of experience have prepared Mashtare to successfully implement landscape ideas. Because Mashtare has been working in construction for so long he knows how to budget landscape projects accordingly. As well as make sure the project gets done correctly. So that the Town can be proud of the work Mashtare and his crew are doing. Question: So can you tell me about yourself?

Answer: “ I am a family man self motivated caring, I care about my family and friends and like having a good time my hobbies are camping and boating and just hanging with my family and friends and having a good time.”

Question: Can you tell me about your earlier life and how it got you interested in landscaping?

Answer: “I love the outside, I love working with my hands. Everything about nature and just being outside and enjoying the weather intrigues me. I feel comfortable at home when I am outside”.

Question: Can you tell me about your core values?

Answer: “I would say the biggest one for me is I’m a man of my word. When I give the word to someone that I would do something no matter what the conditions I will get the job done. I’m always true to my word and I feel this is huge in this day and age”.

Question: What made you interested in construction?

Answer: “My father was always in construction so I had a little bit of it in my background. When I got out of High School construction paid more money than most jobs so that interested me too. And that’s how I got started in it”.

Question: Did you take building trades or any construction classes in High School?

Answer: “In High School I did not take any building trades classes. I actually took culinary arts. I thought about being a chef”.

Question: Can you elaborate on why you wanted to be a chef?

Answer: “I love food and I love to eat. I like trying new foods and I like to cook. So I thought maybe becoming a chef it would give me the chance to create some really unique dishes and make people enjoy food as much as I do”.

Question: What was your first landscaping job?

Answer: “My first landscaping job probably was when I was working construction and we were redoing the University Mall in South Burlington. We had to put in the green spaces, trees, mulch and etc”.

Question: What years did you begin working in your previous jobs?

Answer: “I have been a Director of Public Works for 3 ½ years. I worked 5 years in public works before that, and have 30 plus years of experience in construction and management”.

Question: Did you always want to be a Public Works director?

Answer : “I always enjoyed working outside and I had worked construction for quite a few years, so I got into the public works sector. From there I learned a lot and wanted to give back more in my community. So when the opportunity came up for the director’s job in my town I went for it”.

Question: Do you feel that your previous jobs helped you manage landscaping projects?

Answer :” My previous jobs play a big part in how I manage my job. Everything from cost, how to do things, to talking to the public about how it will help”.

Question: The parks are affiliated with Public Works. What are some typical projects that are done?

Answer: “Lawn and ball field maintenance, mowing, weed whacking, Harley raking, planting flowers, planting trees”

Question: What are some examples of projects that when you drive by you are proud of?

Answer: “I’m proud of the walking path at the Bay Park being finished. It’s very enjoyable being able to see older people in wheelchairs being used on the walking path at the park. Where it is safe, with a beautiful view for people to see”.

Question: What are some landscaping projects you typically do?

Answer: “We do the typical flower gardens and tree planting in our town parks, with mulching and we do grass cutting, weed whacking. On the public works side we maintain and landscape around our stormwater retention ponds, tree grooming, brush hogging, planting of certain plants and trees required by the state. We also put in rain gardens, to catch stormwater to naturally filter it”.

Question: What is your favorite project you have ever completed?

Answer: “I would say paving a handicap pool for a handicap school. I had to make the slopes of the pools just right so the wheel chairs could wheel down into this pool. So the kids could swim even if they were handicapped. The whole pool was made of asphalt and it was sealed with a special paint. So being able to drive by and see the handicapped kids being able to get into the pool easily and enjoying the water was satisfying”.

Question: What does a typical day look like?

Answer: “A lot of emails , phone calls, and follow up of my crew”.

Question: What time of year do you do the most landscaping projects?

Answer: “First of summer is the best time to work on our retention ponds and most landscape projects, and most planting of trees are done in early fall”.

Question: What are the most important aspects of the landscaping process?

Answer: “The finished product. When you can step back and see what you have just done and be happy with it”.

Question: How did you develop your landscaping skills?

Answer: “I develop my landscaping skills by watching and doing during construction. The more you see other companies do certain things you actually learn different ways of doing it and getting better at it”.

Question: How do you advise your staff to complete landscape projects?

Answer: “ I advise my crew to do the job as if they’re doing it for their own property. If you take pride in a project it will turn out good”.

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garrettboudreau · 5 years ago

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Grounds for Success

There is a common misconception that to make money you need to have a white collar job. However there is money to be made in blue collar jobs such as landscaping. Mark Flagg is the owner of Flagg’s Landscaping and Irrigation in Beverly, Massachusetts. Flagg can often be seen performing the tasks that his crew members are doing. Whether it is installing a sprinkler system, laying bricks, or mowing a lawn. Flagg has been working in the landscape industry for 50 years.

When I approached Flagg he was taking out bricks from a patio and replacing them at Misselwood on Endicott’s campus. Flagg greeted me with a jolly hello and explained what he was doing. Flagg is an old school landscaper, who believes that the job should be done efficiently and quickly. When asked when he would be done for the day he said around 4:30 p.m., then he joked after the work was done he would go home because it’s “miller time”. He of course is referencing how he would crack open a Miller Lite after work.

According to Flagg’s website Flagg has been serving his clients since 1988. The website mentions that the services that are offered are landscape construction and hardscape, irrigation, landscape lighting, and landscape maintenance. Flagg’s website also lists testimonials, one testimonial is from Keith Buckley of Endicott College. Buckley said the following, “For the last 20 years Flagg’s Landscape & Irrigation has provided tremendous support to the grounds department at Endicott College. Mark’s courteous and professional staff always gets the job done often under tight time frames”. Another testimonial that is listed on their website mentions a client who is beyond satisfied with their irrigation work. Peter F. of Boxford, Massachusetts says the following, “I am writing to thank you for the excellent job that you and your crew did on our lawn in Boxford. The sprinkler system works perfectly and the grass is greener and thicker than we could have hoped for”.

Flagg began working in landscaping in 1970 at Arello Inc in Worcester, Massachusetts which is where he is from. Flagg attended UMass Amherst, where he was a Geology Major he enjoyed the field trips and labs but soon realized in his second year he wanted to change majors. He then transferred to the department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, which contained his major Urban Forestry and Park Management. Flagg’s passion for landscaping, as he explains it, “stems from my desire to work outdoors”.

Flagg has had numerous outdoor jobs including being a ski lift operator, working on a dairy farm, and working in arboriculture and landscaping. A typical day for Flagg looks like the following. Flagg gets up at 5:30 a.m., then eats breakfast, does some office work, and checks emails. Then Flagg bikes his four mile commute to work from his home on Hale Street to his office on Dix Way in Beverly Farms. Once he gets to work Flagg checks in with his crew and goes over the day’s objectives, assists with logistics materials and equipment. The last thing Flagg does is meet with clientele, as well as taking sales calls and job estimating and then making purchasing decisions. When discussing how Flagg builds clientele he said that he uses online, website, word of mouth referral, sales calls and print advertising.

The most challenging part of being a landscaper is as Flagg explains it, “finding qualified individuals who possess a desire to learn and succeed in the landscape industry. Flagg added, “there is low ball competition and it’s a $200 billion dollar industry”. The toughest landscaping job Flagg has had to do is snow and ice services, which they no longer offer. When asked about what makes landscaping enjoyable, Flagg replied, seeing the project to completion. Flagg replied, “ It’s very satisfying to complete a project transforming a raw site into something that is aesthetically pleasing and functional”.