In the landscape business, as in life, nothing is as simple as it seems. You
work your tail off getting your business started in the hopes that it
will earn you a comfortable living.
more
WANTED: Sustainable Landscape Services for Savvy Consumers
For decades, Billy Goodnick has been showing people how to create sustainable landscapes – and how to ditch their lawns. But don't think of me as a "bad guy," he says.... more
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Business Articles
Passing the Baton
In the landscape business, as in life, nothing is as simple as it seems. You work your tail off getting your business started in the hopes that it will earn you a comfortable living. Yet you find that with growth comes more staff, more equipment, and more headaches. You hope that your headaches will be offset by greater profitability. Then, as you settle in for the long haul, it’s still a constant challenge to run your business efficiently. ... More
Eco-Green Sustainable Landscapes
Recycling Our Most Precious Resource
"Buy land,” the old saw—attributed to both Will Rogers and Mark Twain—goes. “They’re not making any more of it.” Whichever of the storied American humorists said it, he had a point. It took 100 years to get from a world population of one billion to 2.5 billion (in the year 1950). It took 50 years to go from that number to six billion at the end of the 20th century. Now, we’re at seven billion and counting . . . all on the same terra firma. It’s not just land that they’re not making any more of, either. It’s also water. ... More
Comparison Charts
Controller Buyer's Comparion Chart
The best controller for you is the one that best fits your needs. You can't make the right choice without the right information.
... More
Landscape
Multi-Use Landscape Fabric
Would you believe an advertisement for a product that can do absolutely everything? Just imagine the late-night infomercial: Breathless pitchman going a mile a minute...It’s a microwave oven . . . and a shoe polisher! It’s a tennis racquet . . . and an urban assault vehicle! ... More
Close-Up Profiles
Mark Borst
Frankie Valli, Bruce Springsteen, Derek Jeter, and kids’ writer Judy Blume are all people born in New Jersey who’ve made it big. Those in the landscape business know to add to that list Mark Borst, who founded and owns Borst Landscaping and Design in Allendale, New Jersey. ... More
Waterscapes
Simple Techniques to Create Natural-Looking Streams
Steams are simple to build, but can easily become very difficult if a few rules aren’t followed. When designing streams, the main thing to look for is elevation changes that can work for or against you. Elevations working for you will have the slope coming towards the customer’s viewing area (such as a patio or deck). ... More
Controllers
Controllers Past... Present... Future
There was a time—and it’s actually not that long ago—when irrigation systems were turned on and off by hand. For those who have come into the business since then, it might be as difficult to imagine as silent movies, telegrams and computers the size of a gymnasium. But in the age of smart phones, 3-D movies, and tablet computers millions of times more powerful than those gym-sized monsters, irrigation controllers have made similar leaps. ... More
In the landscape business, as in life, nothing is as simple as it seems. You
work your tail off getting your business started in the hopes that it
will earn you a comfortable living.
more
While our work can be hazardous, it does not have to be deadly. However,
according to the recent Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries, between 2003 and 2006 there were a total of 789
deaths “due to traumati
more
The first thing to remember, is that the deadline to file your taxes is not April 15th this year," says small business tax specialist Steven Aldrich, CEO of Outright, the tax software system for small businesses that operates out of Mountain View, Califor
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A little over a year ago, I noticed that our backyard lawn was turning brown even though we had an automatic sprinkler system. I called in a landscape contractor to find out what was wrong. He discovered that the irrigation system was not working.
WHILE TAKING A WALK IN MY NEIGH borhood one day I noticed that water was spewing out from everywhere at a nearby home, or at least it seemed that way. Upon closer inspection it appeared that the valves that service the irrigation system were damaged, caus
A POND OR WATER FEATURE CAN be a striking addition to any landscape. It can be sized to fit both the smallest lot and the smallest budget, or built to dwarf an average swimming pool. The problem with ponds is that they're sometimes put in the wrong locati
ADD THE SOUND AND BEAUTY OF A WATER GARDEN TO YOUR FRONT PORCH by creating your own mini water feature.
What would you do if you got up one morning, went to brush your teeth and saw yellow gushy stuff pouring from the faucet?
As the demand for potable water exceeds supply, the responsibility of the irrigation contractor grows. The contractor must protect public water supplies from contamination.
For potable water, life is a series of one-way streets. Safe drinking water depends on all “traffic” within a water system to move in the direction it’s supposed to.
Weeds, weeds, weeds— those pesky patches of unwanted growth that mar the most perfectly manicured lawn and can create an endless series of headaches for you, your clients and your crews.
AS A LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR, AS IN ANY BUSINESS, YOU’RE constantly looking for ways to increase your client base. Of course you provide the very best in design/build and maintenance services, or just maintenance itself, but so does your competition.
While much of the country is still digging out from under mountains of snow, it’s hard to imagine that spring is just around the corner.
THE RESIDENTS OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, typically take pride in what their town has to of fer—gorgeous mountain scenery, numerous swimming and fishing spots, a rich and vibrant array of wildlife—but when fall cankerworms began devouring th
Every contractor and landscape service provider knows that the lawn cutting business is more a marathon than a sprint.
Have you ever designed and installed a beautiful landscape, just to see it become so overgrown that you´d never know it was designed and installed by a professional? Either the client let it get out of hand, or the person who was doing the maintenance re
How much time do you spend shaving every morning? No matter if you use an electric or straight-edge razor, or how close the cut, you have to shave again the next day and the next, and the next.
My mother always said, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” This worked fine when she was a homemaker, but once she started her own business, Mom soon realized that the only thing she was doing right by following h
There was a time—and it’s actually not that long ago—when irrigation
systems were turned on and off by hand. For those who have come into the
business since then, it might be as difficult to imagine as silent
movies, telegrams and computers the s
more
Drip irrigation is no longer the new kid on the block. In a region of the world where rainfall is the subject of prayer and water more precious than crude oil, Israel became known for agricultural miracles, as drip irrigation let the desert bloom. In the
more
In May Of 2000, residents living around the subdivision in Pineville,
North Carolina, known as Walden Pointe discovered that their drinking
water had become contaminated with raw sewage. The contamination reached
around 60 homes and more than 100 Walde
more
Reactivation, inspection, tuneup, evaluation, system turnon—no matter what terminology is used, irrigation systems are routinely evaluated for proper operation and condition.
more
Creating NEW SOURCES OF revenue from a preexisting business is nothing new. For large corporations, it’s a way of life. However, it doesn’t have to be the exclusive domain of big business. There’s and untapped source of revenue you may be ignoring-f
more
The EPA’s WaterSense program announced today that irrigation controllers will soon be the first outdoor product eligible to earn the WaterSense label.
more
Would you believe an advertisement for a product that can do absolutely everything? Just imagine the late-night infomercial: Breathless pitchman going a mile a minute...It’s a microwave oven . . . and a shoe polishe
Is it the ailing economy, or the stress and cost of travel?
Maybe it’s the nesting instinct, or perhaps it’s a combination of all
three. These days, more and more people aren’t heading
to Honolulu or Paris or Istanbul for the big onc
When the hospital renovated its underground conference center in the mid 2000s—the courtyard is actually the conference center’s old roof—it was also time to do something about the ‘monstrosity.’.
NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, THERE’S always one glorious day in early spring that hollers to the world, “Winter’s over! Winter’s over!” The temperature is unseasonably warm. The sun is finally high enough in the sky that north-facing shrubs and tre
If you work in the residential market, opportunity abounds. With the economy trying to ease out of the doldrums, and the price of gasoline keeping families off the road, what a perfect time to look at the great outdoors of your client’s own backyard
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