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
Latest News
Power Equipment
Empower Your Company With Power Tools
According to ancient legend, the Norse God of Thunder, Thor, could shake the earth itself with his enchanted hammer. But you do not need to be a Viking legend to have the same type of impact on your workload. Power tools can impact the modern professional’s workload, just like Thor’s magic hammer shook the earth. ... More
Controllers
In the Commercial Market Smart Controllers Reign
Once upon a time, smart irrigation control was a hard sell. Property owners, grounds managers and homeowners associations didn't see a need for it. "Why put in an expensive smart irrigation system when the old one works just fine?" ... More
Business Articles
Outsourcing: More than Meets the eye
The decision to outsource involves a lot of factors, from the size of your operation, to you and your staff’s expertise and preferences. Maybe you’re a Michelangelo of design and build, but you know little about irrigation, or don’t enjoy that part of the business. ... More
Landscape
Safety Makes Cents
You might not expect a contractor to tell you a story that sounds like it’s right out of “Mission: Impossible.” But Bob Dobson, president of Monmouth, New Jersey-based Middletown Sprinkler Company, Inc., and current president of the Irrigation Association, has one. ... More
Irrigation
July: Smart Irrigation Month
CHANCES ARE, AT SOME POINT you’ve had some exposure to the industry initiative of proclaiming July as Smart Irrigation Month. It is an industry campaign to increase public awareness about the value of water-use efficiency and grow demand for water-saving products, practices and services. ... More
Eco-Green Sustainable Landscapes
Saving Money with Sustainable Landscapes
The segment of the green industry that maintains turfgrass, sports fields and large greenscapes has seen many really significant changes over the past 20 years. Even so, for the most part, we’re doing the same thing, applying chemical fertilizers and overwatering, over and over again, but expecting different results. ... More
Close-Up Profiles
Dina Dwyer-Owens
D is for dynamo, and Dina Dwyer-Owens is that and more. as chairwoman and CEO of The Dwyer Group, she is more than just another pretty face. She is a passionate, emotional individual with excellent business skills who is driven to succeed, and the record shows it. ... More
The decision to outsource involves a lot of factors, from the size of your operation, to you and your staff’s expertise and preferences. Maybe you’re a Michelangelo of design and build, but you know little about irrigation, or don’t enjoy that part
more
Off-road equipment theft is a persistent problem in the united states. However, there are many precautions that landscape and irrigation
equipment owners can take to discourage thieves and improve their
chances of getting their equipment back if it is s
more
You have assembled the best crews and taken great care in employing
honest, loyal workers. You know all your “guys” are on the up and up, so
why should you be concerned with employee theft? Because, according to
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, thr
more
Incentives—rewards meant to encourage and motivate employees to be more productive—all too often backfire and create unintended consequences: internal squabbles, cynicism, distraction, and diminished performance. However, when used correctly, they can
more
.
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 neighborhood 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, causi
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.
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
What would you do if you got up one morning, went to brush your
teeth and saw yellow gushy stuff pouring from the faucet? Residents
in Woodsboro, Maryland, awoke to just
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. Fresh water flows one way. It isn’t supposed
to turn around and travel in the
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. Believe it or not,
warmer temperatures will be with us quite soon, and with them will also
begin the emergence o
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 the town
‘The right tool for the right job’ is an old adage which, when followed, saves dollars and makes a lot of sense. Your
arsenal of equipment needs to be fairly extensive, due to the wide
variety of services you offer your
The modern commercial mower is an awesome beast. The things it can do, the power it has, the technology that goes into it are truly remarkable. You probably own several of them. As you know, this much mowing “firepower” doesn’t come cheap.
The last five years have been no piece of cake, but you’ve successfully stayed afloat by running a tight ship. That includes watching your pennies and trimming the fat. The bright side is that things are improving. Last year indicated that we’ve botto
CHANCES ARE, AT SOME POINT you’ve had some exposure to the industry initiative of proclaiming July as Smart Irrigation Month. It is an industry campaign to increase public awareness about the value of water-use efficiency and grow demand for water-savin
more
Once upon a time, smart irrigation control was a hard sell. Property
owners, grounds managers and homeowners associations didn't see a need
for it. "Why put in an expensive smart irrigation system when the old
one works just fine?"
more
Water. It’s vital to all life. Humans, plants and animals
can’t live without it. But the problem is, it’s getting scarcer. And,
in many places, more and more expensive.
more
Remember The Flintstones? The “Modern Stone-Age Family” that powered
their cars with their feet and used dinosaurs as power tools? That was a
great little cartoon, but it has nothing to do with anything happening
today, right? Well, if you’r
more
There’s a low, rumbling sound off in the distance. Can you hear it?
That’s momentum building. It’s the sound of something caged that can
hardly wait to be let out. It’s the sound of one era coming to an end
and a new one just beginning.
more
You might not expect a contractor to tell you a story that sounds like it’s right out of “Mission: Impossible.” But Bob Dobson, president of Monmouth, New Jersey-based Middletown Sprinkler Company, Inc., and current president of the Irrigation Assoc
The simplicity of landscape fabric belies its versatility. Like a jack-of-all-trades, this product can be used in many different settings, for many different reasons. Whether it’s for filtration, reinforcement under pavers, weed abatement, or even keepi
Color is one of those topics on which everyone has an opinion and no one agrees. What’s garish
and gaudy to one person is bright and cheerful to the next. Our color
preferences depend upon our life experiences, our cultural backgrounds
and even the p
There's nothing quite like a hand-drawn landscape design, slaved
over for many hours, beautifully and meticulously drawn. You can put
many hours into it, rendering every plant, every piece of stone, every
water feature just right. When you get done,
High-end landscape work is a whole different universe. Contractors who work with clients for whom money is no object get to see breathtaking visions take shape, and they have the privilege of being the ones who shape them. At this level, it’s not just l
North Carolina native Kim Lewey always wanted to be on a fast track.
Willing to do the work, she wanted to know that if she had the
ability—and she knew she did—she could move up in the business world.
Irrigation & Green Industry Network
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fax: 818.342.0731
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