Located in central Virginia, this client wanted to open up the view on the mountain and cut down trees, and implement turf for erosion control and looks.
They also wanted walking trails installed, a high-quality standard of turf, treatment on all turf areas, and for the turf to be mown regularly; this includes a flat area, extreme slopes of 30 degrees or more, and trails.
Due to this project’s difficulty, the client hired J.W. Townsend Landscapes, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, to take on the project. They are an existing client of the company.
J.W. Townsend Landscapes received a Gold Award for their work in the 2022 Awards of Excellence.
“We are really proud to be recognized by a national organization and to have won an Award of Excellence for our work on this property,” says Ariana Willis, office administrator at J.W. Townsend Landscapes. “It has truly been a company-wide effort with our installation, special projects and turf teams all collaborating on this project.”
Challenges presented by existing conditions included steep slopes, rock boulders, extreme mountaintop conditions, weather, water run-off, erosion and soil washouts. 900,000 square feet of turf has to be mown weekly and treatments are done on extreme areas.
The most challenging aspect of the project is that it is located on top of a mountain, with an elevation of around 2,600 feet, while Townsend Landscape’s office is about 640 feet above sea level. Due to the elevation level, the weather is very difficult to predict. It may be cloudy at the office, but there may be limited to no visibility on the mountain.
“Other challenges of this mountain property include very, very steep slopes, which require specialty mowing equipment,” Willis says. “One surprise benefit from working on top of a mountain is that because of the low humidity and constant breeze, there is no fungus in the turf or on the plant materials.”
The issues were addressed with straw/erosion mats used while growing in milder areas. Sod was put on extreme slopes and severe washouts, and eight or more person crews were used to complete mowing in one day with two Ventrac mowers and six zero-turn mowers. All treatments performed between 2017 and 2022 were performed by hand with push spreaders, and extreme slopes were treated with a Ventrac spreader and an experienced operator.
Maxing out Vntrac mower abilities on steep slopes, mower breakdowns, a one-hour drive to the nearest mechanic from the job site, not enough staff to complete the job in one day, and product shortages in 2021 due to supply chain issues were all difficulties that had been encountered during care for this property.
Currently, this project is still ongoing.
“The process of converting mountain land to high-end turf has taken three to four years, with hundreds of loads of topsoil and acres of sod,” Willis says. “While we have been fortunate to help with the mowing and maintenance, we certainly cannot take credit for any of the design or all of the other contractors that have helped make the project a success. We are thankful to have been involved.”
Interested in participating in the Awards of Excellence? Be sure to enter your projects by July 10, 2023.
