I get asked a lot of questions about “landscaping”. Most folks these days have planted some flowers or special trees that they found at Home Depot on sale that performed well, or maybe they install their own mulch at home from time to time to really freshen things up. Couple this with the ability to start and use a lawnmower, and some homeowners feel that they have the craft wired. They don’t need to hire a professional.
At this stage of my life I would consider myself a veteran of the landscape world, which sounds weird. I feel like I’ve done and seen it all on both sides of the country. I have a degree in Environmental Science and I have worked many years in Architecture and Landscape Architecture firms that focused solely on the design of exterior properties moving on to manage large landscape maintenance and landscape design + build operations. During all of this I saw first hand the huge disconnect between designing, installing, and finally maintaining landscapes (the same can be said for architecture and construction in the field). Fast forward to today, and I have been able to blend the different branches of “landscape” into a fairly unique ’boutique’ landscape company. We take the work that we do personally and long term clients feel more like friends and family. 
Believe it or not there is so much more to keeping properties maintained than most people realize. The “landscape” industry to some is simply grabbing a “weed whacker” or mower, or planting some “bushes” which anyone can do. However, serious time and research is spent honing landscape design & landscape architectural skills that can be applied in real world situations and sites. It encompasses familiarity with various building and construction knowledge as well as horticultural expertise tied in. Throw in irrigation expertise, low voltage lighting understanding, as well as a good eye for what looks polished and complete and you have a rather difficult industry to excel in. Especially considering that a large percentage of homeowners feel justified paying a plumber more money to unclog a stopped drain than an irrigation technician who showed up and repaired their front yard irrigation valve by digging in the hot sun for a few hours and repairing what is basically underground plumbing pipes that you have to search for.
Moving forward I will post some of the basic questions I get asked often and also some tips to help out in the yard. For instance, a very common question is: “Should we use turf treatments on our lawn because we are trying to help the environment but also want a nice lawn?” I hear this A LOT. The short answer is…yes you need a regular combination of herbicides and fertilizers to keep a lawn “clean” of weeds and nice and green, as well as someone monitoring the watering of said lawn. I personally do not care for the chemicals as they can harm the surrounding water areas and wildlife, as well as your own personal health (see Roundup court cases online). Some spray techs and colleagues have tried to argue this with me for years and at the end of the day they don’t win or have any convincing arguments. We can talk about this on another post; but unfortunately there is no way to have a golf course-looking lawn without using some chemicals. There just isn’t. The caveat is that there are new organic products hitting the market regularly so you can go “greener” in regards to fertilizers and non-selective herbicides (think a natural ‘Roundup’ spray) which can help reduce reliance on more harmful products; these are great and getting more readily available but at a higher pricepoint. I know that some environmentally friendly Hawaiian companies are switching to these when they can and are having good results. If you have any questions about the use of chemicals in your landscape feel free to message me. -Kelly B.