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Why Should We Think About Our Winter Gardens Right Now?

Few readers have an appetite for winter when spring is currently doing all the things that spring does in all of the ways spring does them. But for those who have already grown weary of scrolling 4.6 million posts on the #springgarden, I have a few thoughts about the #wintergarden, or at least the thoughts that occurred to me as I challenged myself to 85 days of documenting it on Instagram from January through March.

Next winter will come around faster than we expect, and choices we make (or don’t make) now during the planting season, have a huge effect on whether a four-season garden is in our future.

Or indeed, the products of a four-season garden.

It’s about patience

This is the first year that I felt there was some ‘body’ to my winter garden. It surprised me that all that planting and planning was beginning to coalesce into something that, viewed from a certain angle, at a certain time of day, with a reasonable amount of alcohol in one’s bloodstream, might be considered a winter garden. In six years.

Dusk does wonders but a light tidy would have been nice.

It’s about managing expectations

The winter garden builds upon itself the same way that the rest of our seasons do – it’s better and bigger with another go around the sun. But where we give our growing season gardens a huge amount of leeway to disappoint and frustrate us, we are less forgiving with our winter gardens.

Most likely due to the fact that we’re cold and irritated. And our winter garden doesn’t instantly look like Longwood…or Kew.

What? You don’t have a fully mature Libani cedar with accompanying yew hedge?

Or giant Christmas balls?

Or a birdhouse tree?

And it’s not as if books, magazines, or social media platforms are all clambering to show us a winter garden that is in its infancy to help us measure the quality and pace of our own garden-building. The minutiae of garden making is not a particularly inspirational process in the summer, much less the winter. We’re simply not going to find that kind of honesty.

Even the warmth of May isn’t making this process look better.

Five years later and structure in the kitchen garden makes all the difference – whether January, March (when photo taken) or May. Glad I took photos.

It’s about finding good information

Instead, most authors/influencers/publishers are desperately trying to tempt us into something we didn’t feel we needed to do with the finest examples of where we might end up if we tried. If you’re going to sell an editor on a story about the niche market of winter gardens, you’d better do it with gobsmacking images. There’s no click-bait in tiny shrubs peppering a grey wasteland, or a white, snowy one.

Hard to get excited…

Now that’s better – three years almost to the day, and not even tidied.

Yes there is merit in aspirational images. But as so much of a winter garden is about structure (even more so than a summer garden), so much of a winter garden is about time. And taking time is sooooo 20th century.

Faced with ideal vs. reality, it’s way too easy to feel discouraged. So we plant a few snowdrops and a bag of Tête-à-têtes near the front door, it looks scant and tundra-ish, and we give up.

This’ll sort it, surely?

It’s like showing someone Gisele Bundchen in Downward Dog to get them to start a yoga practice for increased flexibility and tone, when what they REALLY need to see is their yoga-loving next door neighbor looking better in a dress than she did last year.

Better curves than Giselle’s – but just as aspirational. (From Naomi Slade’s The Winter Garden)

The winter garden builds upon itself

Better to banish the little demon of self-doubt telling you ‘why bother,’ put Gisele the hell out of your head, and continue to add shrubs, bulbs, perennials and hardscaping this spring with an eye toward whatever your particular shade of winter brings.

In a few years you’ll have a moment down the line where you say, “Wait. I think I see it coming together.” Or at least, “I see where this is going now.” That was my moment this year, and it is incredibly motivating to continue the process.

Ten years ago the thought of where to start was overwhelming. In summer much less winter.

Pieces of a Whole, Not Single Elements Carrying The Show

It’s not just about the early Tête-à-têtes. It’s about many cultivars of early daffodils and cold hardy perennials supported by the February foliage and flowers of healthy hellebores – hellebores that had just finished decorating the January ankles of witchhazel, cornus, and maybe even some pedestrian box.

It’s not just about the snowdrops. It’s about the snowdrops peppering a bed of Iris reticulata, or adding an elegant touch to a brick wall or a well-placed group of stones. Or creating a river of gray green in a woodland with wide, strong foliage and promiscuous tendencies.

It’s not just about lollipop spruce and gumball box. It’s about broad leaf evergreens and variegated evergreens and weeping evergreens giving foil to a rich mix of stems, berries, seed heads, bark, and tawnied grasses.

It’s about lichens and mosses in a warm up, and ice sculptures on the coldest day of the year.

Sometimes it’s about cleaning up. Sometimes it’s about leaving the structure.

It’s about building a winter garden, not instantly having one. We just need to give our winter gardens a chance to grow. – MW

Why Should We Think About Our Winter Gardens Right Now? originally appeared on GardenRant on April 4, 2024.

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Green Industry Veteran Nick Jiannas Joins Kress Commercial

Kress Commercial has announced that Nick Jiannas has been hired as VP of Kress Dealer Sales and Operations. Jiannas joins Kress after a 26-year career with Stihl where he served as VP of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Jiannas led the end-user engagement arm of Stanley Black & Decker‘s outdoor-independent retail channel.

Nick Jiannas

“Nick is a proven leader who has worked in nearly every role on the OEM side of our industry during his three-decade career,” said Michael Jones, president and CEO of Positec North America, parent company to Kress. “Jiannas has a demonstrated track record of building partnerships with dealers. He operates with honesty and transparency and has earned the trust of independent business owners throughout the US. He’s a great fit for our culture and I’m thrilled to see his impact on Kress’ continued growth.”

Jiannas’ experience includes dealer onboarding, warehousing and logistics, field testing, and product and channel management. He has also led regional and national sales teams. At Kress, Jiannas will oversee the US sales team with a focus on expanding its dealer base. He will also work to deepen relationships with new and existing partners.

“Kress is balancing its pursuit of innovation – through products, technology and business modeling – with a clear commitment to independent dealers, who I believe are the bedrock of our industry. It is the best of both worlds and is one of the many reasons I am so excited to join the team – to help this brand continue its strong growth,” Jiannas said. “Our industry is experiencing a considerable transition, and right now there is a golden opportunity for Kress to reshape the future. Yesterday’s brands will not be tomorrow’s leaders, and I’m excited to join Kress as it establishes itself as an industry innovator.”

For more recent Green Industry personnel news as covered bu Turf Magazine, click here.

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Get Equipped: Pesticides, Herbicides & Fertilizers

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From the February 2024 Issue

This collection of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers will help keep your clients’ lawns green, healthy, and pest and weed free.

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Envu Acclaim® Accelerate

Envu is launching a new line of herbicides, primarily for cool-season turf. Starting this Spring, lawn care operators will have even more options and expert solutions to improve their treatment programs. Acclaim® Accelerate will provide enhanced crabgrass and summer broadleaf weed control. It will also be labeled for foxtail, torpedograss, clovers, English daisy, black medic, wild violet, and more.

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NuFarm’s Allstar™ Herbicide

Exclusively from Nufarm and launching this year, Allstar™ is a unique four-way broad-spectrum selective herbicide. Allstar single-handedly controls grassy weeds, nutsedge, and tough broadleaf weeds like spurge, clover, dollarweed, ground ivy, oxalis, wild violet, and Virginia buttonweed. Allstar is a fast-acting herbicide for use on selected cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses..tdi_16,.tdi_16 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_16,.tdi_16 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_16 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_18{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_18>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_18>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_18>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_18>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_18>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

Hydr8 Liquicure™ From Greene County Fertilizer

Hydr8 Liquicure™ Soil Surfactant/Wetting Agent liquid concentrated formula is a soil applied block polymer surfactant. It improves the infiltration and penetration of applied irrigation water in ornamental plants and managed turf. It is formulated to minimize repellency of hydrophobic soils, enhance adhesive tension and relieve cohesive tension in water. Applications can be made via commercial tank sprayers, ride-on spreader/sprayers, hose end and pump sprayers, and most irrigation systems. Hydr8 Liquicure is safe for use on all turf types, ornamentals, and bedding plants..tdi_20,.tdi_20 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_20,.tdi_20 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_20 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_22{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_22>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_22>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_22>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_22>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_22>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

LESCO® Low Odor Broadleaf Herbicide From Site-One®

SiteOne® recently debuted LESCO® Three-Way LO, a selective herbicide that targets broadleaf weeds. Three-Way LO contains three active ingredients, 2 4-D, MCPA, and Dicamba, for post-emergent control of a wide variety of stubborn broadleaf weeds like clover, dandelion, henbit, and plantains. Its low odor formula and flexible application rates make it easy to combine with liquid fertilizers or liquid iron materials. In university trials, Three-Way LO proved to be effective and safe for warm and cool season grasses, making it ideal for both residential and commercial turf, golf courses, sports fields and sod farms. Three-Way LO is available in several different sized containers..tdi_24,.tdi_24 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_24,.tdi_24 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_24 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_26{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_26>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_26>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_26>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_26>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_26>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

Lebanon Turf’s ProScape

ProScape fertilizers and fertilizer-combination weed and insect control products offer a wide selection of solutions. The ProScape brand of products includes exclusive technologies: Meth-Ex, a high efficiency methylene urea; MESA, a specially formulated nitrogen known for delivering brilliant color response; and MESA-XP, the cutting-edge nitrogen source that optimizes turf performance while minimizing environmental impact. Homogeneous granules from MESA-XP provide a unique combination of nitrogen in two distinct forms, delivered through three separate mechanisms, and include a controlled-release potassium source. By incorporating potassium sulfate into the granule, MESA-XP ensures superior nutrient distribution, improved plant uptake, and significantly reduced leaching loss..tdi_28,.tdi_28 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_28,.tdi_28 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_28 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_30{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_30>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_30>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_30>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_30>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_30>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

Arkon™ Herbicide Liquid From PBI-Gordon

Arkon™ Herbicide Liquid utilizes the proprietary active ingredient Pyrimisulfan to provide post-emergent control of sedges, kyllinga, dollar weed, chickweed, henbit, and many other labeled broadleaf weeds. Additionally, research has shown the liquid herbicide reduces the number and viability of nutsedge tubers. Part of PBI-Gordon’s “Powered by Vexis” family of herbicide products, Arkon is a low-rate, non-phenoxy product. It is labeled for use on established cool- and warm-season turfgrass species across a wide variety of use sites: residential and commercial lawns, golf course greens, fairways and roughs, sports facilities, and sod farms.

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Syngenta Compendium

Compendium™ fungicide® by Syngenta combines the strength of two leading active ingredients to control every major lawn disease. It’s designed to fit the agronomic and economic needs of lawn care companie. With Compendium, users can simplify disease control, preserve work, and enhance profitability potential—all with the convenience of a single product. Compendium controls key turfgrass diseases, including brown patch, dollar spot, fairy ring, gray leaf spot, gray snow mold, large patch, microdochium patch, pink snow mold, Spring dead spot, Summer patch, and rust..tdi_36,.tdi_36 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_36,.tdi_36 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_36 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_38{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_38>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_38>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_38>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_38>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_38>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

FMC Durentis

FMC Corporation has received federal registration enabling the commercial launch of Durentis™ insecticide. This proprietary formulation provides lawn care operators with season-long protection from above and below ground chewing pests, including all species of grubs and Fall Armyworms. Durentis™ is a highly concentrated formulation of the active ingredient chlorantraniliprole with the lowest use rates in the diamide class of chemistry. It requires a single application for season long control. Durentis is fast acting and provides a zone of protection around the roots, and its systemic properties allow upward translocation. There is no signal word – making it safe for applicators and the environment; including pollinators. FMC recommends applying Durentis™ early for best results..tdi_40,.tdi_40 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_40,.tdi_40 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_40 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_42{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_42>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_42>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_42>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_42>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_42>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

Octane Herbicide From SePRO

Octane® 2% SC Herbicide improves broadleaf, nutsedge, and grassy weed control, making it an excellent addition to any tank-mix. Octane is an efficient and cost-effective post-emergence solution, delivering rapid and visible weed control. Effective in all climates, Octane ensures consistent performance whether it’s hot or cold. Designed to meet the demands of today’s lawn care market, Octane ensures that customers don’t have to wait long to see the results they desire. With rapid kill of weeds, visual symptoms are evident within 24 to 48 hours..tdi_44,.tdi_44 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_44,.tdi_44 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_44 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_46{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_46>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_46>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_46>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_46>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_46>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

Read more Get Equipped features here.

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Defending Bad Taste

I’m absolutely amazed by how many plants there are.

I know the plants in my garden well; I have paid for them and chose them above others. Yet every time I visit a garden or a nursery I see plants that are new to me. It’s rather wonderful.

I love this Narcissus ‘Ellen’ but don’t grow it myself

But I don’t yearn for every plant I see. I’ve written about a plant that I pretty much hate, but what about the huge gap between the plants I truly adore and couldn’t be without, and the single plant that I really, really don’t like?

It’s A Matter Of Taste

Some plants are similar to some that I grow already, others I like to see in other gardens but don’t want in my small garden, and there many plants that are just not to my taste.

Not sure what this is, but it’s not to my taste

And I mean that, they’re not to my taste.

n Important Distinction

Why do some feel the need to become arbiters of what is in good taste and what is not?

We must, in our gardens at least, be allowed to embrace the things that make us happy. It’s wrong to suppress joy under the leaden pall of garden taste.

Aucubas, ‘spotted laurels’, tend to polarise opinion

We all like what we like. A knee-jerk response to the plants that irk us is understandable, yet I cannot help but think that we must learn to temper our responses. Just because we would never consider allowing a plant to grow in our own garden doesn’t mean that the plant is ‘bad’ or worthy of scorn.

Some plants are just not to our taste.

Points Of View

The gardening world is littered with people who will tell you what to grow. Some of these people are kind folks who would like to draw your attention to a plant they think has great merit.

House plants can be hard enough to grow without complaining about their colours

Some gardeners seem to think that their personal tastes represent what is right and good in the world, and this is just not right.

I’ve had to learn how to distinguish between plants that are ‘bad’ and ones that I just don’t like. It’s sometimes difficult to have an objective view, but I think it’s important to at least be aware of our personal tastes when it comes to the plants that we encounter. If a plant is reliable, does what it is supposed to do really well, and makes a gardener happy, then by any sensible definition it is a ‘good’ plant.

I was told by wise old gardeners to hate Narcissus ;Jetfire’ for its orange trumpet, but I’m now wise enough to know that I love it

And so I might not be willing to give a plant room in my own garden, but by the grace of all that is good in the world I will defend your right to grow it in yours.

Defending Bad Taste originally appeared on GardenRant on March 11, 2024.

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The myth of the “wild-type” or “straight species”

Guest Rant by Joseph Tychonievich

There has been a lot of discussion in gardening circles about “nativars.” Is the term useful? How is it defined? The latest surge of comment coming from this generally excellent article in the Washington Post.

But there is a concept that gets thrown around in all these discussions that makes me want to scream: That is the idea of a “wild type” or “straight species.” This is generally put forward in contrast to cultivars, the idea being that they are the species as it is in the wild, untouched by human hands.

Here’s the problem.

There is no such thing as a singular wild type or straight species. Wild plants – and all other organisms – do not exist in a single form, they are genetically diverse and variable populations, each individual different. So every single plant you purchase or grow, whether it has a cultivar name attached to it or not, is a selected form. Maybe it was selected because a nursery owner thought it had unusually beautiful or interesting flowers. Or maybe it was selected just because it happened to grow in a meadow where a plant propagator got permission to collect seeds one sunny late summer day.

If you think this is all academic nitpicking, let’s give a concrete example.

Here is a photo of one of my favorite native plants, Hepatica americana. I adore this plant and seek it out everywhere I can every spring. Which one is the wild type? White? Light blue? Dark blue? I can tell you that all these color forms are very common. Sometimes I’ll visit one park and find a population of nearly all blues, then drive just 20 minutes up the road to another woodland and find population that is entirely white, and other times all growing mixed up together like this. Less often, I’ll find pinks, but they’re not that rare; I pretty consistently find a pink or two every large population I’ve seen. Which form will you get if you purchase “wild type” or “straight species” Hepatica americana? Who knows. You will get some selection from natural diversity with no cultivar name attached; you just don’t get any information about what the selection is.

‘Jeana’ phlox at Mt. Cuba Center

This reality plays out in very weird ways. Every thoughtful article I’ve read about nativars cites Mt. Cuba Center’s excellent research on how attractive different varieties are to pollinators and specifically mentions the cultivar Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’. Here’s how the Washington Post article describes it: “Another surprise nativar standout was Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’, which outperformed the species “by a huge margin,” Hoadley says.”

Let’s unpack that. By “the species” they mean a Phlox paniculata selection from the wild with no cultivar name attached. In contrast to ‘Jeana’ which is… wait for it… ALSO a selection of Phlox paniculata from the wild. And, because ‘Jeana’ does have a name, it is easy to google and find out that it was first collected by a woman named Jeana Prewitt, who found it growing along the Harpeth River in Nashville, Tennessee.

In other words, the comparison here is not between a wild plant and man-made hybrid; it is between two selections from the wild, one of which we have some information about because it was given a name, and the other about which we know nothing because no one bothered to name it.

Now, of course, not all cultivars are wild selections. Some are complex hybrids, significantly modified by years of active work by plant breeders. But it is easy to differentiate between a selection from the wild, like Phlox ‘Jeana’, and a man-made hybrid, like Phlox ‘Fashionably Early Flamingo’, because they have names attached. Names we can look up to get more information about how they were created. Names that let places like Mt. Cuba compare them and give us all useful information about how many pollinators they attract.

Keeping cultivar names attached to plants isn’t just useful for helping pollinators. Sometimes it is key information about how a plant will – or won’t – perform in your garden. My beloved Hepatica americana has wild populations around me in northern Indiana, and the range extends from the Florida panhandle and all the way up into Ontario. That means most gardeners in the eastern half of North America can grow this wonderful little wildflower, but if the nursery just lists it as “the straight species” who knows what you’ll get. It could be a selection from your part of the country, or it could be one from a far extreme of the range that is going to suffer horribly in your conditions.

So we need more “nativars” in the world. More names. More background on how and where and why a plant was selected. And we need to stop pretending that a plant without a cultivar name attached is anything other than a plant about which we don’t have very much information.

‘Jeana’ photo source.

Joseph Tychonievich is the author of “The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food” and several other gardening books. He lives and gardens in northern Indiana.

The myth of the “wild-type” or “straight species” originally appeared on GardenRant on March 2, 2024.

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Ganador del concurso de rayado de césped de Turf: ¡Orlando Chávez!

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By Christine Menapace From the February 2024 Issue Spanish translation by Jennifer Buritica-Lopez, Martha Lopez

Turf se complace en anunciar que Orlando Chávez es el ganador del concurso de rayado de césped de Turf. El pasado mes de Noviembre, Turf pidió a ustedes nuestros lectores, que enviaran sus fotos más impresionantes del rayado del césped. Y vaya si quedamos impresionados. No fue una tarea fácil, pero redujimos las entradas a los 10 finalistas. Que luego se publicaron en la página de Facebook de Turf para la votación a través de “Me gusta.”

Con un total de 1.438 “me gusta” entre los 10 finalistas, Chávez obtuvo 532 para convertirse en el ganador.

Tanner Schoenhard quedó en segundo lugar con 274 votos. Cabe destacar que se utilizó una foto del trabajo de Schoenhard para promocionar el concurso. Turf recibió la foto con un artículo de Weller Brother’s Landscaping, que se publicó en el número de Octubre, “Navigating Growth.” Su participación en el concurso fue igualmente impresionante, con unas líneas realmente fenomenales. Vea más de su trabajo en Instagram @lawnwizard2081.

Todos los 10 finalistas merecen un reconocimiento por su increíble trabajo, entre ellos: Matt Hitchcock, Chris Reisenberg, Jeff Haag, Kyle Gerhardt, Brad Nelson, Landon Scmidt, Brad Williams y David Ganio.

Intentar ponerse en contacto con Orlando Chávez en enero no es tarea fácil, aunque sea para hablar de sus victoriosas líneas de césped. Como director de operaciones de Executive Property Maintenance en Plymouth, Michigan, supervisa a un equipo de 25 personas y ha estado trabajando largos turnos para quitar la nieve y combatir el terrible clima del “efecto lago” de Michigan. Nacido en México, bromea diciendo que no le gusta el frío. Además, arar no te permite crear las mismas rayas llamativas que cortar el césped, o al menos no con una reacción positiva. Orlando Chávez, Gerente de Operaciones, Ejecutivo de Mantenimiento de PropiedadesChávez empezó a trabajar en paisajismo en 2007 y lleva seis años en su puesto actual, recibiendo un ascenso sólo seis meses después de incorporarse a Executive. Durante todos esos años en Executive, Chávez se ha encargado del mantenimiento de la gran finca que aparece en su entrada de rayado, realizando visitas semanales durante la temporada de cultivo. El cliente solicitó específicamente a Chávez después de ver la calidad de su trabajo.En cuanto al rayado del césped, fue idea de Chávez. “En realidad no hago diseños así, pero el año pasado pensé: ‘Quiero cambiarlo, déjame probarlo”. Su primer diseño llamó naturalmente la atención. Al cliente le encantó y al jefe de Chávez también, a pesar del tiempo extra que le llevó hacerlo.Algunos compañeros, sin embargo, no estaban tan entusiasmados, diciendo “eso lleva demasiado tiempo, y no da dinero,” o “no nos ayudas tanto.” Aun así, Chávez subraya la importancia de este cliente en particular, un concepto claramente apoyado por su jefe. “No hacemos esto para todo el mundo,” dice. “Tenemos este cliente desde siempre. El propietario también tiene una empresa en la que hacemos el mantenimiento comercial.” La entrada ganadora del concurso de rayado de césped de Turf..tdi_22,.tdi_22 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_22,.tdi_22 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_22 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_24{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_24>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_24>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_24>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_24>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_24>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}Chávez abordó el diseño de las franjas con inteligencia, desde la perspectiva del propietario. “Siempre digo que la primera impresión es el paisaje,” comenta. “Cuando llegas, vas de la calle a la entrada, así que corté recto a lo largo. Luego empiezo a cortar en un ángulo de 45º. Al principio hacía diamantes. Vi un vídeo en TikTok y él giraba mucho, pero yo lo cambié un poco, así que cada cuatro rayas, yo giraba. La primera vez me llevó una eternidad. Pero la segunda vez fue mucho más fácil.” En total, el proceso duró unas dos horas y media en la gran propiedad.El destino quiso que, justo cuando Chávez empezo a crear diseños de franjas, el director de la oficina de Executive informo a todo el mundo del concurso Turf. Chávez decidió arriesgarse, sacaron el dron para una foto, y con 532 votos después, se convirtió en el ganador.Resulto que un concurso en las redes sociales era el lugar perfecto para destacar el talento de Chávez. Y por una razón importante: proporcionó a la comunidad Mexicana de Detroit una forma de devolver el amor y el apoyo que Chávez les ha mostrado durante los últimos años. Todos los lunes, Chávez había producido un podcast para la comunidad en el que se debatían temas como las razones por las que abandonaron México, las luchas a las que se han enfrentado y otros asuntos. El podcast también organizaba eventos y ponía en contacto a la gente con recursos y profesionales como abogados, agentes inmobiliarios e incluso psicólogos. Desafortunadamente, cesó su producción debido a COVID. “A mucha gente le gustaba de verdad,” comenta Chávez. “Intentamos ayudar a la comunidad.”.tdi_26,.tdi_26 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_26,.tdi_26 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_26 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_28{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_28>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_28>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_28>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_28>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_28>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}

Algunas de las rayas ganadoras del concurso que Chávez creó en el césped de su cliente. Más del trabajo de rayas de Chávez.

.tdi_30,.tdi_30 .tdc-columns{min-height:0}.tdi_30,.tdi_30 .tdc-columns{display:block}.tdi_30 .tdc-columns{width:100%}.tdi_32{vertical-align:baseline}.tdi_32>.wpb_wrapper,.tdi_32>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{display:block}.tdi_32>.wpb_wrapper>.tdc-elements{width:100%}.tdi_32>.wpb_wrapper>.vc_row_inner{width:auto}.tdi_32>.wpb_wrapper{width:auto;height:auto}El propio Chávez no es ajeno al tipo de luchas a las que se enfrenta su comunidad. Como ya se ha dicho, llegó a Estados Unidos en el 2007. No hablaba inglés y dependía de un tío que trabajaba en jardinería, quien le enseñó todo lo que sabe. Chávez, el mayor de cuatro hermanos, financió la educación en México de su hermano pequeño y sus dos hermanas. Trabajador incansable, fue ascendido a supervisor de una cuadrilla de verano de angloparlantes antes incluso de conocer el idioma. Consciente de la actitud negativa que tenían hacia él, hizo todo lo posible por comunicarse con dibujos en papel y lápiz. Hoy se pregunta cómo consiguieron hacerlo. Chávez adopta una pose divertida en su cortadora de césped.Aunque Chávez intentó asistir a clases de inglés después del trabajo, se dio cuenta de que faltaba mucho debido a su horario. “La forma en que aprendí inglés fue empezando a escuchar la radio. El programa empezaba a las 6 de la mañana de camino al trabajo y lo escuchaba todo el día, todos los días, todos los días con los audifonos. También preguntaba mucho a los compañeros de trabajo ‘¿Cómo se dice esto?’ Incluso cambié mi teléfono al inglés.”Teniendo en cuenta este obstáculo lingüístico y la cantidad de hispanohablantes que hay en el paisajismo, ¿tiene alguna recomendación para el sector? Menciona la dificultad a la que se enfrentó para aprobar las pruebas escritas para obtener certificados del estado y de otras organizaciones debido a la barrera lingüística. Desde entonces ha hablado con la Asociación de Gestión de la Nieve y el Hielo (SIMA) y dice que están en proceso de traducir ciertos artículos. Si la industria pudiera “cambiar algunas cosas al español, sería más fácil para todos.”

“Tengo una gran comunidad aquí en Detroit. Cuando les hablé del concurso de rayado de césped, me dijeron que me cubrían las espalda

Además del riguroso horario de la temporada de nieve de Michigan, Chávez está muy ocupado tres días a la semana ofreciendo su tiempo como voluntario después del trabajo con la Fundación CasArt, una organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a empoderar vidas a través de la educación y la práctica de la cultura, el folclore, la danza y el arte mexicano. Defensor desde hace mucho tiempo de su comunidad, es evidente que abogan por él, emitiendo suficientes votos no sólo para ganar el premio a las rayas, sino también para dar vida a una historia más grande. Una historia de trabajo duro, determinación, orgullo, corazón y talento. “Tengo una gran comunidad aquí en Detroit,” dijo Chávez antes de empezar la entrevista. “Cuando les hablé del concurso de rayado de césped, me dijeron que me cubrían las espalda.”

¿Te interesa mostrar tus rayas? ¿Crees que tienes lo que se necesita para ser nuestro próximo ganador? ¡Asegúrate de tomar fotos de tu mejor trabajo esta temporada y mantente atento a nuestro próximo concurso!

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Desert Front Gardens, and Back Gardens with Pools

Marilyn Monroe in downtown Palm Springs, Calif

This is my 4th and final post about my trip to California last month. That should satisfy the Western reader who complained that I don’t cover gardens in California nearly enough. (I live in the East.)

I’d never seen Palm Springs, California but had heard nothing but good things about it so when I got an invitation to stay with old friends, I went. And my immediate reaction was “Wow, I’m definitely not in Maryland anymore!” The landscape looked other-worldly to me, starting with the palm trees, wind farms and nearby mountains that I saw on my drive from L.A.

As I did in Santa Monica, I hoped to cycle through the best residential neighborhoods in Palm Spring, gawking at/photographing stunning homes and gardens so unlike anything back home. So I was sorry to discover that most residential neighborhoods in the area are walled- and gated-off, so off-limits to gawkers like me.

Then one quick search failed to turn up bikes for rent in the city (which I now see, upon second googling, are actually available), so I settled for a drive-through via the rented Chevy whose functions I never fully grasped. (Running out of gas but unable to open the gas cap, I was rescued only by a how-to video on YouTube.)

After all that, I headed for the tourist-accessible residential areas suggested by my friends and found – just a few gardens I was moved to photograph.

Central Palm Springs Homes and Front Gardens

I saw lots of homes like this – massive in square footage but spread out, all on one floor. Rocks, palm trees and succulents.

Here’s another typical planting, with more modern architecture. That’s a lot of driveway, huh?

After driving through block after block of beige homes and beige gardens, I stopped to admire this wall in Mexican burnt orange and tiles, with just a hint of more color on the other side. Forgetting that I was driving a car, not riding a bike, my stopping to gawk nearly caused an accident. That’s what a sucker I am for color.

For safety’s sake I resolved never to garden-gawk by car again.

Golfing Communities just outside Palm Springs

Newer, slightly less expensive housing continues to pop up nearby, like The Springs just seven miles away in Rancho Mirage, where I stayed. This gives you a great view.

That’s where I learned that there are nongolf residential communities and golf ones. While The Springs is a “golf one”, centered on the handsomely landscaped clubhouse above, residents’ monthly fee doesn’t include golf – so only golfers pay for the golf course.

Here are some gardens I saw on my morning walk through the neighborhood.

Color – yay!

I love this look, including the stones as groundcover, though I’m afraid that plants like this wouldn’t give me enough to DO. Or the ability to touch them without thick gloves.

I wonder if they put down landscape fabric under the stones, or if weeds just aren’t a problem here, where there’s just about 5 inches of rain yearly. No bark or wood chip mulch in sight, anywhere. More shades of grey and beige, very typical.

Total commitment to gravel, with daily raking?

Almost anywhere in the community you have views like this. Snow-capped – who knew?

The Promised Back Garden with Pool

Finally, this is my friends’ home, where I got to see inside the roughly 3,000-sf home, spread across one floor.

The pool and hottub take up a lot of the open space, but who in their right mind would want to live in the desert without a pool? (Average high temperature in July – 108 degrees F.)

Pool and all, this green-loving Easterner fell for the back garden, with its blue tiles, furniture and accents, beautiful landscaping and that view of the mountains.

So yes, I think I could adjust to life here, despite those summer temperatures. Hell, I have to get up predawn to garden in hot+humid Maryland, anyway.

You can spot the hottube here, center-left.

With plant-covered 8-foot-high walls seen in this pano view, neighbors can be quite close without losing privacy.

I love residential architecture that feature views of the garden, like Joe and Kevin’s home does. So unlike the beige sameness so dominant in the desert, the view here is of lush, colorful landscaping that’s actually touchable.

One More Back Garden – in the San Fernando Valley

And closer to Los Angeles, my nephew and his family have a similar back yard, probably typical of Southern California – mostly pool, hottub and hardscape. This time the privacy is provided by a tall hedge of something or other.

gain with the Shearing!

When I saw the shrub above in my nephew’s yard I had a visceral urge to ruthlessly cut off all the dead plant parts and reveal its lovely structure. (I’m assuming it has one). Sad to say, no pruning tools were available, so I’m left with a rant-worthy “before” photo.

The landscape seen in these last photos, around a retiree residence in Palm Springs, sports hundreds of bizarrely shaped shrubs. Sigh.

Look at what untrained laborers can do to some poor Bougainvilleas!

Desert Front Gardens, and Back Gardens with Pools originally appeared on GardenRant on February 16, 2024.

The post Desert Front Gardens, and Back Gardens with Pools appeared first on GardenRant.

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Schill Acquires BAM Outdoor to Expand in Indianapolis Area

Schill Grounds Management is expanding westward into the Indianapolis area with the acquisition of BAM Outdoor, Inc., a locally owned and operated company that provides commercial landscaping, lawn care, and snow removal services.

Jerry Schill

BAM serves the Indianapolis market, including the suburbs of Westfield, Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville, and plans to expand service across the entire Indianapolis metro area. BAM’s clients include numerous multi-family complexes, homeowner associations, logistics and distribution facilities, and other commercial customers. BAM’s service area is adjacent to Schill’s territory in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and extends Schill’s reach deeper into Indiana.

Jeff Kontor, Jared Winn, and Michael Linton, owners of BAM, will help oversee the integration into Schill and will continue to have active leadership roles in growing the business across Indianapolis. The trio were employees of BAM Outdoor for many years and bought the business from a previous owner in 2019. With their vision and leadership, they were able to rapidly grow the business before partnering with Schill.

After partnering with BAM, Schill has reached about 1,100 employees and continues to grow organically as well as through acquisitions.

Like Schill, BAM provides year-round comprehensive commercial landscape management services that include lawn maintenance, lawn care, and snow and ice removal services.

Schill plans to retain the BAM name and branding in the Indianapolis market, and BAM plans to make additional acquisitions in Indiana and beyond.

BAM is the 12th acquisition since 2020 as Schill continues to drive consolidation in the fragmented industry. Schill is developing an “owner’s network” model that keeps former owners closely involved in running the business while providing strategic recommendations and sharing best practices among the Schill group of companies.

The addition of BAM complements Schill’s previous acquisitions, which include:

Enviroscapes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West VirginiaFredericks Landscaping in Cincinnati and Northern KentuckyGrassCor in Cincinnati and DaytonGrounds Elite in CincinnatiMcCoy Landscape Services in Columbus and MarionOhio Valley Group in ClevelandTLC in London, OntarioWard + Thornton Landscapes in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

For another recent Turf Magazine article on corporate expansion within the Green Industry, click here.

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Yanmar Unveils e-X1 Prototype For Zero Emission Ag Tasks

Yanmar Agribusiness Co., Ltd. (Yanmar AG), a subsidiary of Yanmar Holdings, has revealed its e-X1 concept, an electric drive compact electric agricultural machine designed to achieve zero emissions. The prototype was unveiled at a stakeholder event, with a view to begin market monitoring by 2025.

The e-X1 machine can accommodate various implements such as rotary tillers and grass cutters at the front and rear, enabling tasks like weeding, snow removal, and cultivating. Opting for crawlers instead of wheels ensures stable operation on slopes and uneven terrain. With no driver’s seat, the machine guarantees operator safety during tasks through remote control. The incorporation of autonomous driving features is also under consideration.

Yanmar AG plans to actively progress toward mass-production through rigorous design and testing, with the goal of contributing to the decarbonization of the agricultural sector. Within the Yanmar Group, the YANMAR GREEN CHALLENGE 2050 initiative is driving efforts toward realizing a sustainable society.

Compact electric concept e-X1

Model namee-X1PowertrainBattery electricProposed operationsTilling, mowing, ridging, snow removal etc.Release dateMarket monitoring is scheduled to start in 2025

Concept model of the e-X1 compact electric agricultural machine.

In related news, see:

Yanmar North America Announces Expansion Plan

Yanmar Scores Naming Rights Deal For Grand Rapids Arena

Get Equipped: Equip Exposition

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A season of bare trees and gray light

Gray is known as a scale rather than a color in the world of photography. I like that word for it; it evokes music. The outside world in Western New York is a tone poem of gray and white right now, with blindingly bright intervals when the sun plays off the snow. It’s a beautiful time.

With due respect for Marianne’s current project of celebrating the winter garden, my mileage varies. For me, this is not a time for gardening and it’s impossible to think of the white landscape surrounding my house as needing that kind of attention. Nor is winter interest a gardening goal for me. It is a dumb term and I’ve made fun of it many times. Unfortunately, my favorite rant about this, “The myth of winter interest,” seems to have disappeared..

But I do love the winter scene: the bare trees seem equal in beauty to any summer display, especially when they’re covered in frost or ice. Niagara Falls, one of my favorite winter destinations, is the place to go for this.

Birds also seem at their best at this time, especially cardinals. This is when we really keep the feeders going.

Nearby nature preserves keep their trails more or less cleared and this is arguably the best time to visit them. The snow creates a hushed experience that’s impossible in any other season.

When it’s time to retreat inside, the outdoor conditions have provided the best excuse possible – if such were needed – to fill the house with as much colorful plant life as possible. Not just plants either. I may be in the minority, but my favorite book by Rant co-founder Amy Stewart is her Flower Confidential, which came out when I first joined in 2007. It was an expose, sure, of certain practices in the cut flower world, but it also couldn’t help but celebrate the glory of fresh flowers on demand, especially when there are none to be had outdoors.

Since reading it, I’ve tried some of the artisanal flower delivery services she mentioned that do out-of-the-box bouquets. And in the interim, I’ve found that supermarket flowers have greatly advanced in sophistication and variety, at nearby Wegmans and – especially – Trader Joes. I came away with a huge selection, including bunches of veronica and godetia, neither of them varieties I had ever seen for sale as cut flowers before.

TJ’s was also overflowing with forced hyacinths, tulips and daffs, but I always have them on tap at home.

The truth is I am all too willing to take a break from gardening – at least the outdoor part of it. Fussy houseplants, forced bulbs and seeing how long I can keep a protea going are interesting enough for now. Winter has a different glory here.

A season of bare trees and gray light originally appeared on GardenRant on January 23, 2024.

The post A season of bare trees and gray light appeared first on GardenRant.

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Sneak Peek At The 2024 Equip Exposition

Equip Exposition, the award-winning trade show for the international landscape, outdoor living, and outdoor power equipment industry, will once again take over the city of Louisville on October 15-18, 2024. “Only this year, we’re making some fundamental shifts and improvements that will elevate the show to the next level,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), which owns and manages the show.

From new exhibitor space to new entertainment options and more opportunities to connect and network, 2024 attendees can expect:

A Tuesday evening Welcome Reception at Churchill Downs, which is marking the 150th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby this year, where attendees can see the recent upgrades to the racetrack. Sponsored by Caterpillar. Kevin O’Connor

Kevin O’Connor from This Old House as keynote speaker Wednesday morning. Sponsored by Kress.A special happy hour in Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC) starting just after the show closes on Wednesday. House band, the Crashers, will perform at the event.A Thursday evening arena concert at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville featuring multi-platinum entertainer and musician, Trace Adkins, sponsored by SENIX.Expanded Spanish-language education focused on helping crew leaders become better managers.The return of the very successful and well-attended Women’s Reception on Thursday evening, sponsored by SiteOne and Belgard.More opportunities to connect in-person with social media influencers at events like the Morning Show at Expo, sponsored by Kohler, and ENERGIZE.Improved logistics, including a shuttle bus drop-off at the West Wing which will improve parking lot congestion.

“We’ve listened to our attendees, and are adding new experiences to give them more of what they want: Being with their peers, talking about business struggles and getting real answers,” says Kiser. “… Whether you need help with people, products or processes, the answers to your questions are at Expo.”

Equip Expo provides a dynamic experience with over a million square feet of exhibits and a sprawling 30-acre Outdoor Demo Yard. Expo is the only show in the outdoor living industry where attendees can dig, cut, mow, mulch and test equipment before buying it. The show is also a hub for professional growth, offering essential certifications and educational resources to help industry professionals transform and expand their businesses.

The 2023 show brought together more than 27,000 participants from all 50 states and 46 countries. Landscape contractor registrations increased by 20% over the previous year, and dealers were up 5%. “We’re always in expansion mode. Due to space demand last year, we opened up the West Wing to exhibitors to great success,” says Kiser. “And we’re going to improve the exhibitor experience there in 2024 by making the West Wing a much larger hub of activity, including putting our pet adoption event Mutt Madness, and the main food offerings there, as well as the Drone Zone, a golf simulation, and an attendee lounge.”

Equip takes place every October in the Derby City. “Louisville is a fantastic place for us; it’s the home for our global industry event. We’re committed to the city, and it’s committed to us,” says Kiser. “But since we take over Louisville for four days, I’m giving one word of advice: book your hotel and airline tickets early if you want to attend this year’s show. Those two things will grow scarcer with every passing month. And you won’t want to miss Expo—not this year.” Housing opportunities through the show’s official housing provider will open in February.

In 2023, the show received two Grand Awards in Trade Show Executive’s Gold 100 Awards program: “Most Innovative Show” and the “Slam Dunk Award: Best New Idea.” Registration for the 2024 show is now open. Tickets to the 2024 Equip Exposition are currently at $25 per person, but prices will increase April 1. Register here today.

For related articles, see:

Get Equipped: Equip Exposition

Five OPE Dealers On Top Sellers, Industry Trends & Companies To Watch

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Garden strategies that will help you restore and revive your landscape

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Have you ever gazed at your garden and felt something was amiss? The once-vibrant landscape now appears cluttered and lackluster, leaving you yearning for the days when your garden flourished. The late summer and early fall are excellent times for landscape assessment. At The Garden Continuum, we love this time of year to plan for fall work and the edits we will make in the fall or the upcoming spring.  

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Timberline’s Holiday Lighting Service Pays In More Ways Than One

‘Tis the season when landscaping work in some parts of the country can grind to a halt if there’s no snow plowing. But that’s not the case for Timberline Landscaping in Colorado Spring, CO. Owner Tim Emick bought into a Christmas lighting franchise called Christmas Decor in 2001, and the service has been gangbusters since the start.

“When we started offering holiday lights in 2001, it was an opportunity to fill the Winter time,” says Shawn Brewer, Timberline’s lighting manager. “Yeah, we do snow removal, but it doesn’t snow 24-7. So it was a good way to fill that gap and keep everyone busy. So that’s why they started the Christmas lighting part of the business.”

Franchise Support

Being part of the Christmas Decor franchise has given Timberline an advantage—especially for handling unexpected hiccups like the shipping and supply delays of 2020/21 that kept other lighting businesses from getting the equipment they needed. “We were still able to get stuff in. So it’s kind of a network system that we use, and they help us with all of our lights,” says Brewer.

He continues, “Also, we learned some techniques from them that I would have to say make us stand out. For example, the way we light our trees really sets us apart here at Timberline. We lay lights in the trees so they appear individually placed, versus that string going around like a candy cane.”

Individual Attention

Timberline also emphasizes customer service. Just one example is that they perform proactive checks and repairs for all their lighting installations. “After we get everything installed, I break down my spreadsheet into areas of the town, and I have individuals go check out each one of those jobs.” says Brewer. “They go to the job, check the timer, make sure everything’s good, turn everything on, make sure everything’s working, make sure the roofline is straight, make sure nothing is missing and there’s not something that maybe the homeowner hasn’t seen.”

He continues, “We get probably 20 comments a year from people asking, ‘What are you guys doing here?’ We say ‘Oh, we’re here to check your lights.’ And they go, ‘Oh, that’s awesome!’… So I think what puts us on the map are those proactive checks. And if there’s an issue, I try to get someone out there to fix it the day of.”

Building Reputation

Today, roughly 25% of Timberline’s lighting clients are residential, and 75% are commercial or apartments. “When it started it was more residential based, and then as our business developer [fostered] all these relationships, we realized how commercial could mean big business for holiday lighting,” says Brewer. “After all, if we put lights on your building or draw attention to your shopping center, more people want to come and see it. You get more people in the door, and you can use it to set yourself apart from the shopping center next door. So the commercial business grew from there to the point where now we even do whole commercial districts in a town.”

One example of this, which Brewer says is a fun job, is Manitou Springs, CO. It’s a little tourist town, just west of Colorado Springs, and Timberline does the entire town—from garlands on all the light poles to trees on all the crosswalks, as well as the big signature tree in the center of town. Timberline has become “known” for Manitou Spring’s Christmas lighting.

Building Relationships… And SEO!

Though Timberline has around 300 employees, it’s still run with the tenet of “building relationships” that Emick started with in 1986, says Brewer. This keeps the company feeling like a family, both in terms of employees and their long-time customers. This is especially evident right on Timberline’s web site, which appears  more like a community events board during the holidays due to its Christmas Lights Guide, an interactive map of the houses and businesses with lights displays. People are proud of their beautiful Christmas displays and they love to be added to the Timberline Guide, says Brewer. In his opinion, the guide is one of their best marketing tools all year round.

“It’s been amazing!” he comments. “People can add themselves to the guide, and we also add coffee shops and little places you can stop and get hot cocoa and stuff like that. I think this year we have 166 lighting displays in the guide. The amount of work that our team puts into it, and the amount of traffic that it creates for our website is so worth it,” says Brewer. “It creates enough traffic for us that it gets us through the whole year with Google in terms of SEO. So that is some great marketing!”

Check out Timberline’s Christmas Lights guide here!

For more on lighting services, read:

Year-Round Revenue For Landscapers? Here’s How

Get Equipped: Landscape Lighting

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The Lantana and Verbena Report: Did they attract pollinators as you promised?

(L) Coleus in front of ‘Little Joe’ Joe Pye Weed; (R) Persian Shield with sweet potato vine.

About a year ago I asked you guys – the savvy, experienced gardeners who read this blog – for what “Potted Annuals for Pollinators” you’d recommend. I was unhappy with some annuals I’d been growing near my front door – which do soooo well but attract nothing. But what could I grow instead, here and in the tomato-red pots in my back garden where the ‘Standing Ovation’ Little Bluestem weren’t standing after all, and were so lackluster that even a commenter here on the Rant called them “underwhelming”? The truth hurts!

(I’m keeping the Persian Shield+sweet potato vine combo shown above despite their lack of appeal for pollinators (though holes in the vine tell me it’s supporting something). Look how great they still looked on November 1 when this photo was taken! And in this spot very close to my front door, I’m okay with no flowers and no bees, which I don’t want in my house.)

Back to the question I asked readers – out of concern for wildlife, sure, but also, selfishly, so that I could enjoy watching them from my patio – your answers were almost thrilling in the possibilities they opened up for this old gardener.

You suggested:

Annuals: Salvia ‘Lady in Red,’ butterfly sage (Salvia guaranitica), Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, blue salvias generally, lantana (several votes), verbena, verbena bonariensis, pentas, ‘African Blue’ basil, bronze fennel, zinnias, Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) (several votes), ‘Truffela Pinks’ Gomphrena, Lacy Phacelia, Teddy Bear sunflowers.Perennials: Red Valerian, lavender, Calamintha nepeta, single dahlias, catmints, gaillardias, “almost anything in the mint family, which includes Salvias,” wax begonias for hummingbirds, and as a filler, small hostas like ‘Golden Tiara’ or ‘Rainbows End.’

Wow!

What I Bought – Lantana ‘Red Spread’

After reading Ranter Elizabeth’s praise for the annuals she buys online, I chose one of her favorite suppliers (Select Seeds) and ordered some lantanas, and boy, did they perform! They bloomed like crazy until the first hard frost, and the growth pattern is perfect – mostly horizontal, so there’s need to hack them back to prevent flopping. I love the bold, vibrant color! Another wonderful surprise is that they don’t need deadheading. Not only do they bloom just fine without it, but the dying blooms (above) still look good right up until they fall off, so why bother?

Pollinator-wise, they performed like the champs you guys promised they’d be. Honestly I’d need a much better camera to capture the critters in stills, but I took videos throughout the season and I’ll have a short compilation to show you soon. (Preview: it’s the hummingbirds, sometimes two at a time, that steal the show.)

Here in my back garden, by mid-July I’d given up on the grasses in these pots and replaced them with some ‘Havana Red Sky’ lantanas that I found at my local farmer’s market. They took off right away and at the end of the season they were this size. And what a great match for the pots!

I was also happy to learn that lantanas are less thirsty than other annuals – I don’t think I ever saw them wilt.

What I Bought – Verbenas

The other completely new-to-me plant I bought from Select Seeds is this ‘Vanity’ verbena, which did attract some bees and butterflies but didn’t have much impact in my border. I’m going to try a shorter, bushier variety next time.

Extended Season for Pollinators – Done!

My tiny front garden was already attracting critters to the Joe Pye Weed, bronze fennel, Nepeta and wood aster, but with the addition of tropical annuals like verbena and especially lantana, the wildlife action now goes on continuously for a very long season.

Happier Gardener – Done!

So yeah, I love upping my garden’s game at performing important eco-services, like supporting pollinators.

But I’ll tell ya, adding SO many flowers to this small space outside my front door, near the patio where I sit and gaze upon the garden – that’s been thrilling! The combination of floral beauty with stunning insects swarming over them in the sun. You could say it’s upped my mental well-being.

Flowers just make us happy! They attract people to gardening and then reward their efforts with beauty to be enjoyed by them and their family and visitors.

Next month I’ll be ordering even more of your suggestions, for planting in pots and also to fill in open spots in my borders:

More ‘Red Spread’ lantana, plus some ‘Cherry Sunshine’‘Graffiti’ pentas‘Lollipop’ verbena‘Black and Blue’ salviaCosmos seedsPurple Bell vineI’ve already ordered a dwarf canna from a specialist, to replace the (nonblooming) banana in my largest pot.

That’s a lot to look forward to, for not a lot of money, or effort.

The Lantana and Verbena Report: Did they attract pollinators as you promised? originally appeared on GardenRant on December 22, 2023.

The post The Lantana and Verbena Report: Did they attract pollinators as you promised? appeared first on GardenRant.

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Fueled By Data: Creating A Blueprint For Landscape Business Success

By Mike Carden From the December 2023 Issue

Providing quality service and a top-notch customer experience is only part of what it takes to thrive in the Green Industry. To truly excel and stay ahead of the competition, businesses like yours need to adopt a systematic approach that optimizes efficiency, maximizes profitability, and fosters sustainable business growth. You need an actionable blueprint for success, fueled by data derived from a robust operating system. Let’s take a look at the essential items your blueprint should include, and how they can transform your Green Industry business.

In the Green Industry, having an actionable blueprint driven by data is key to sustainable growth. (Source: Adobe Stock / HONGWEI)

Don’t Leave Money On The Table

When services are skipped, missed, or canceled, you leave potential profits on the table. This is why it’s essential for your business to implement a system for measuring daily route completion. If you are seeing patterns where services are being skipped or missed, you’ll need visibility into why this keeps happening in order to rectify the situation. A good place to start is by focusing on how you can manage and prevent controllable reasons or service interruptions.

You should also evaluate service or customer cancellations by “reason” to shed light on ineffective sales processes or other underlying issues. Are customers who cancel not getting the services they were expecting? Do the same customers cancel repeatedly? Do you have numerous canceled service appointments that still need rescheduling? Look for trends among different divisions or sales departments that can lead to process or communication improvements.

Finally, track adherence to budgeted or estimated labor hours, both on a daily basis and throughout the season or contract. Was a job underestimated just so it could be closed? Are crews taking too long at job sites, cutting into profitability? Taking action based on those insights will directly impact your bottom line.

Key Actions:

Measure daily route completion percentages.Identify reasons for skipped or missed services.Build processes to address controllable issues.Analyze trends over time to improve efficiency.Analyze cancellation reasons by customers.Identify trends and patterns in cancellations.Implement improvements in sales processes.Accurately budget labor hours for each task.Monitor adherence to labor hour budgets.Evaluate projected vs. actual labor hours.Inform subsequent contracts or bids based on your evaluation.

Retaining The Right Customers

Not all customers are created equal. Regardless of their customer lifetime value (CLV) – the total revenue you can expect from a customer over the length of their business relationship with you — it’s essential to differentiate between customers that are more valuable and those that may not be as lucrative. Rather than spending time, money, and effort on customers with a lower ROI, focus on those high-value jobs that will foster business growth.

So which customers are the most valuable to you? There are three main types:

Rather than spending time, money, and effort on customers with a lower ROI, focus on those high-value jobs that will foster business growth.

Customers in dense service areas, because you can schedule more stops efficiently, maximizing time and profits;Customers on autopay, because you can count on that revenue; andCustomers with recurring service lines, because you know what you are providing, timing of those services, as well as when you will get paid.

“Right-sizing” your customer base by eliminating lower-value customers is an effective way to enhance your revenue stream and maximize profits. An extremely effective way of doing this is through strategic price increases.

Using the right data-driven tool, you can segment your customers according to service area, type of service, method of payment, etc. and then flag those accounts for strategic price increases. For example, you can target customers located far from your densest routes — those who are more isolated in far-flung locations. When faced with a price increase, some of those customers will leave; that’s right-sizing.

This will improve profitability on the customers that remain, free up valuable technician time for growth capacity and improved job completion, and pave the way for proper profitability over the long term.

Key Actions:

Segment customers based on various factors such as location, payment method, and service type.Implement targeted price increases.Contextualize price increases to retain high-value customers or lose those that are low-value.Develop different pricing strategies for different customer segments.

Everything Should Recur

When it comes to your business, boring is good. Stable things are boring, and stability is valuable. Stable clients, stable payments, stable revenue — all of this translates into growth for your company.

You can foster this stability by prioritizing recurring activities across your entire business. Incentivize your sales team to promote and sell recurring services, incentivize your techs to convert and upsell customers when they’re on site, and incentivize your customers to invest in recurring packages and extended service contracts. Providing excellent customer service across the board will encourage customers to stick around. Be sure to employ protective measures to get ahead of churn and win back lost customers.

Fortunately, the very nature of the lawn care industry is recurring, and you can take advantage of that. Develop service lines that maximize efficiency and revenue by offering paired services such as lawn care plus mosquito control. You’ll increase revenue per stop by providing multiple tasks in one visit.

Designing add-on services that can be seamlessly executed while on-site also enhances customer satisfaction. To encourage clients to buy into these add-ons, create pricing incentives that incorporate them into your core service offerings, effectively bundling these add-ons whenever and wherever possible. Auto-renewal options, with automatic price increases, help maintain a consistent revenue stream. An active and adept sales process can further capitalize on these opportunities by upselling or cross-selling customers, ensuring that a business is making the most of their inherently recurring services.

Key Actions:

Pain Point Fixes For The Lawn & Landscape Industry

Three tips to help you address economic pain points so you can focus on business growth in uncertain times. Read more…Focus your entire organization on recurring activities.Incentivize sales, techs, and customers to prioritize recurring services.Always put credit cards on file for ease of automatic billing.Actively work to convert one-time customers to recurring customers.Design add-on services that can be done on-site.Create pricing incentives that bring add-ons into your core service offerings.“Bundle” services whenever possible.Highly encourage auto-renewals with automatic price increases.Make sure your sales process actively upsells and cross-sells.

In the Green Industry, having an actionable blueprint driven by data is key to sustainable growth. By managing services to completion, evaluating cancellations, and retaining the right customers, you can increase efficiency, boost profitability, and foster growth — ensuring not just ongoing financial success, but also positioning you as a leader in today’s market.

Carden is senior product manager with WorkWave, provider of RealGreen software. He has been with RealGreen since 2010 and has served in a variety of roles; helping companies across all verticals in the Green Industry, with footprints varying from owner-operator to national franchise brands. Since 2020 Carden has been the product manager for Service Assistant, working to cement the vision and direction. Carden loves helping turn feedback into solutions and helping solve market problems. 

Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at cmenapace@groupc.com. Read More

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It’s World Soil Day! Here’s The Dirt

World Soil Day (WSD), a program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is held on December 5 every year (since 2014) in order to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.

Over 95% of our food originates from soil and water, which is vital for nutrient absorption by plants and binds our ecosystems together. However, in the face of climate change and human activity, our soils are being degraded, putting excessive pressure on our water resources. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability for all forms of life.

Consider these facts:

33% of soils are degraded.It can take up to 1 000 years to produce just 2-3 cm of soil.Soils supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants.There are more living organisms in a tablespoon of soil than people on Earth.Up to half of our household waste could be composted to nurture our soil.

While geared toward agriculture, many of the key messages of Word Soil Day 2023 will resonant with landscapers. Some of the key messages include:

Soil and water are interconnected resources that need integrated management. Improper soil and water management practices affect soil erosion, soil biodiversity, soil fertility, and water quality and quantity. Soil and water conservation contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.Soil erosion and compaction disrupt the capacity of soil to store, drain and filter water, and exacerbates the risk of flood, landslides, and sand/dust storms.Healthy soil plays a crucial role as a natural filter, purifying and storing water as it infiltrates into the ground. The health of the soil and the quality and availability of water are interconnected.Implementing sustainable soil management practices enhances water availability for agriculture. Healthy soils, enriched with organic matter, play a crucial role in regulating water retention and availability.Sustainable soil management is key to improve water productivity in irrigated systems.Water scarcity leads to the loss of soil biodiversity, while leaching and eutrophication from agriculture practices lead to the loss of biodiversity in water bodies.The mismanagement of pesticides and fertilizers not only threatens soil and water quality but also poses significant risks to human health and ecosystems.​Poor irrigation and drainage practices are some of the main drivers of soil salinization​​.Rising sea levels contribute to land loss, increasing the risk of soil salinization and sodification.Improved soil and water management improves the land’s capacity to withstand extreme climate events such as droughts, floods and sand/dust storms.​Integrated soil and water management practices provide essential ecosystem services, supporting life on earth and enhancing ecosystem resilience.Healthy soils act as a carbon sink, by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, thus contributing to both climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

For more information, visit this page.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON FACEBOOK!!

For related articles, read:

Making Soil A Stormwater Sponge

Sustainable Stormwater Solutions In Home Landscapes

Turf Care: Amazing Mycorrhizae

Soil Solutions For Healthy Turfgrass

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Fecon Acquires TREEfrogg LLC, Manufacturer Of Tree Trimming Saw Attachments

Fecon LLC, the global manufacturer of heavy-duty site preparation attachments and forestry accessories, has acquired TREEfrogg LLC, a manufacturer of tree trimming saw attachments for skid steers and compact track loaders. The acquisition expands the right-of-way clearing solutions offered by Fecon in the forestry mulching and vegetation management industry. Designed to fit small to midsize carriers, TREEfrogg’s patented tree trimming saws allow landscapers, landowners, and DOT’s to perform tree maintenance with machines they already have quickly, safely, and economically. Fecon will rebrand the saw attachments as Trim Ex.

The line of saw attachments will be rebranded as Trim Ex.

“We are excited to add TREEfrogg trimming saws to the Fecon line,” said Jeff Stanley, Fecon’s senior vice president of product development. “This addition expands the offering to our agricultural, rural, and DOT customers. It gives them a productivity-enhancing solution for selective tree-trimming.”

The attachments offer a solution for tackling overhanging tree limbs and other vegetation along easements, right-of-ways, roads, fence rows, paths and other applications. Cutting faster than a chainsaw bar, the Trim Ex 26S saw attachment features a 24″ carbide-tipped forestry blade. The blade spins at 3,000 rpm and operates with standard flow machines between 10 gpm to 27 gpm with no high flow needed. The operator hydraulically rotates the saw head from the cab as much as 180˚ to optimize the cutting angle. The boom also telescopes to 18′ total length, which provides a working height of 26′. Combined, the high-speed saw, rotating head, and telescoping boom allow the operator to make continuous, clean cuts from one machine position.

By eliminating chainsaws, bucket trucks or other dedicated machinery, the Trim Ex 26S reduces tree-trimming labor. Savings are also found in the low maintenance, as it does not have loose chains or require bar oil for lubrication. Also, no operator components are near the cutting apparatus. The assembly allows the operator to trim from a distance safely.

A smaller saw attachment, the Trim Ex 18C, can fit on skid steers with a 1,300-pound rated operated capacity. The Trim Ex 18C takes up as little as 4″ on the front of an equipment trailer. The boom can be straight, offset to the machine side, or folded for transport. The tree trimmer requires 10 gpm auxiliary flow and has a 10-foot forward reach with an 18′ working height. Fecon also partnered with the founder of TREEfrogg to develop and design the Trim Ex 26D, a dialectric saw attachment. The Trim Ex 26D offers added safety when trimming trees around power lines. It is also lighter in weight than the 26S.

Show Off Your Stripes! Enter The Turf Mowing Contest!

For more on Fecon, read:

Fecon Auctioning Bull Hog Mulcher for Children of Fallen Patriots

For more Tree Services® articles, see:

Staking Trees For Better Outcomes

Assessing Trees For Storm Resilience

Seven Tough Trees For Urban Areas & Climate Challenges In 2023

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