April 2019 - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

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Month: April 2019

How Hoffman Landscapes Transformed a Plot of Land in Rural Connecticut into a Country Retreat

The Millers had a dream of escaping the stress, hustle and noise of big city life to a private country retreat, taking solace in the woods at a beautiful place of their own where they could entertain and connect with nature on the weekends. Matthew Biron, landscape architect with Hoffman Landscapes, Wilton, Connecticut, helped them […]

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How to Build a Positive Landscape Company Culture

Like so many others, Joshua Malik, owner of Joshua Tree in Stockertown, Pennsylvania, says recruiting new hires has posed an ongoing challenge. Malik, whose business is 55 percent general tree care, says finding experienced tree workers has been the most difficult hiring experience. He can remember a time when he was getting several calls with […]

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Meet NALP Member Craig Ruppert of Ruppert Landscape

As one of eight kidsā€”his mom a nurse and his dad an architectā€”Craig Ruppert, CEO of Ruppert Landscape, says money was often tight. As a teenager in the early 1970s, Ruppert started mowing neighborsā€™ lawns with his brother, Chris, to earn extra income. ā€œWe were motivated and enjoyed working hard,ā€ Ruppert says. ā€œPeople began to […]

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Gachina Landscape team talks about customer expectations.

How Gachina Landscape Management Aligns Customer Expectations

Sometimes you learn more from mistakes than you do from successes, says H. Jaclyn Ishimaru-Gachina, president and co-founder of Gachina Landscape Management headquartered in Menlo Park, California. That was the case when one of the companyā€™s branches secured a difficult client. While the company was initially quite proud to announce they landed this very large […]

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Meet NALP Member Dean DeSantis of DeSantis Landscapes

Although he grew up around landscaping, Dean DeSantis, owner of DeSantis Landscapes in Portland, didnā€™t initially imagine heā€™d follow the same career path as his father, who started the business in 1974. At the time, DeSantis was just eight years old and says he spent most of his summers helping out. Even so, he just […]

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3 Ways to Improve Employee Onboarding for Better Retention

In the past three years, NALP member Ben Carruthers, owner of Carruthers Landscape Management Inc., in Dallas, says the company has become more ā€œHR-focusedā€ than ever before. Heā€™s been working with Human Resources ā€œHarvesterā€ Steve Cesare, of The Harvest Group, on a number of ways in which the company can improve their employee onboarding processā€”among […]

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How to Recruit Young People to the Landscape Industry

When it comes to hiring more labor, NALP member Lisa L. Kuperus, vice president of Farmside Landscape & Design in Wantage, New Jersey, says it must be a multi-faceted and ongoing effort. In this tight labor marketā€”and with the industryā€™s struggle to receive H-2B workersā€”there is no time to become complacent. ā€œWe absolutely must have […]

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home improvement projects

Landscaping is No. 4 on Homeownersā€™ Top Home Improvement To-Do Listļ»æ

Thirty-two percent of homeowners have been putting off at least one home improvement project for 12 months or more. And landscaping is in the top five on that list, according to a new study on home improvement site Porch.com. Home Improvement To-Do List The study says nine of these jobs on homeownersā€™ to-do lists ā€œdesperately […]

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2019 Home Buying Update

What does the 2019 home buying season look like? According to Realtor.com, rising prices, an influx of inventory and moderate sales pace will dictate the home buying season. Let’s take a look at these segments. Home Buying Update: 2019 Mortgage Rates Could Be Best Since 2005 Housing forecasts suggest the recent plunge in mortgage rates […]

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4 Ways Dutch Valley Landscape is Motivating Employees

Motivating employees and making them feel like valued members of the team has always been at the core of how Jason Musch, owner and president of Dutch Valley Landscape Contractors, has run his business. He says ā€œwithout our employees, we are nothing.ā€ Even so, in the past, the Chicago-area landscape maintenance company has experienced problems […]

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