2025 is almost finished, but there’s still time to read some of the most popular articles of the year on The Edge. Some of the topics that resonated with readers were industry trends, business tips and company culture.
Take a minute to review if you missed any of these most-read stories of the year below.
10) Incorporating Sustainability: How Climate Change Is Shaping Consumer Demands for 2025
Just as the economy can impact consumer trends, the changing climate is also driving shifts in the demand for certain residential design features.
With frequent natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, the need for versatile plants and landscapes that can endure various challenges is bringing sustainability to the forefront of clients’ minds.
9) Five Business Books That Can Revolutionize Your Landscape Company
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to read more books, consider mixing in some business books as well. Many landscape company owners have found these types of books can provide them with valuable insights and concepts to implement in their own operations.
These are some of the business books NALP members recommend checking out.
8) Brigham Young University – Provo Picks Up Consecutive Win at 49th National Collegiate Landscape Competition
Brigham Young University – Provo celebrated winning during the closing ceremony of the 49th National Collegiate Landscape Competition. Check out the other schools in the top 10, as well as the three superstar students for this year.
7) Two Major Industry Trends for 2025
Landscape companies’ main focuses heading into 2025 are efficiency and growth.
Many owners are upping their technology budgets as they explore innovations that will benefit their operations’ productivity. Also, landscape businesses are buckling down on implementing strategies to recruit and retain quality employees.
6) How I Do It: Taking A Branch from Mediocre to Excellent
Quality control can be a major fear when it comes to growing via branches. How do you ensure every location is performing at an acceptable level? What do you do when one branch is struggling and all the others are performing great?
Landscape Workshop, based in Birmingham, Alabama, has multiple locations spread across the Southeast, including Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Arkansas. They are deeply committed to providing high-level service and do not tolerate low performers in their organization.
5) AI Demystified: How Lawn and Landscape Companies Can Use AI Effectively
Almost any software you look at is currently touting their AI capabilities, but despite its ubiquitous nature, there’s a lot of mystery still swirling around artificial intelligence and how businesses can utilize it effectively.
“AI can help companies achieve their project targets with real-time adaptive decision-making to avoid the risk of labor or material variances,” says Michael Ding, founder and CEO of Bobyard, an AI-powered takeoff and estimation software. “Getting these alerts early allows teams to act quickly and avoid bigger problems down the line, saving both time and money. Even better, AI can flag potential issues before they happen, based on past trends, helping prevent problems before they impact the project or customer experience.”
4) Talent Trends for 2026: How Landscape Companies Are Approaching Recruiting
For many in the landscape industry, finding skilled labor remains one of the primary business challenges they face. However, there have been improvements in recruiting efforts as owners have found that a mindset shift is the first step to remedying the situation.
“What I used to think was, ‘I’m not capable of finding and building a really solid and strong team with skilled people,” says Patrick Murray, co-founder of Local Roots Landscaping, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “So, then my expectations were that I would never see them on Indeed. I would never find them anywhere. So then in my actions, I didn’t even bother interviewing or at interviews, I would show up unprepared, and then my outcome was I didn’t build that team. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
3) Professional Landscapers Don’t Let Others Commit Crape Murder
In late January or February, one of the staples of the South – the crape myrtle – will be unceremoniously maimed en masse almost overnight.
This practice of over-pruning stems from homeowners copying other properties where they see these plants topped annually. However, this custom known as ‘crape murder’ can be eliminated over time through proper education and taking a stand against clients who insist it should be done on their property.
2) How I Do It: Visterra Landscape Group Provides Free Health Care for Field Workers
The benefits you offer can be a key selling point to employees when they are trying to decide where to work. This is what prompted Visterra Landscape Group, based in Rosemont, Illinois, to roll out free health to all 800 of their field laborers in 2023.
“Offering free health care for our field labor is a bold move, but one that has an incredibly positive impact on our people and business,” says Alan Handley, president and CEO of Visterra. “This is more than just a perk, but a health benefit that fundamentally redefines our relationship with our crews. In a people-powered industry like landscaping, that relationship and their general welfare are everything.”
1) How to Prepare Your Landscape Company for Immigration Enforcement
After taking office, President Trump signed a number of executive orders targeting illegal immigration, including Executive Order 14159, which orders U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to conduct expedited removals of unauthorized individuals in the country.
While ICE’s focus is currently on unlawful immigrants with a criminal background, it is anticipated that the agency will conduct raids at businesses as well. Employers should be prepared for ICE, DHS, or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to show up unannounced to interview both employers and employees.
