Spring is Busting Loose

This pooch jumped in my truck when I visited a prospective client.

Talk about a change in the weather, the first two weeks I was home snow and blow but these past two have been heaven, high temperatures in the 80's nearly 90 a couple of days. Needless to say I jumped all over it and brought back 100 percent of the employees and am trying to hire at least two more. Seems the men and Theresa are glad to be off their couches although the hard work brought some sore muscle complaints. A few of the guys have already completed two full weeks of work.

We are nearly complete with our first job of the season. The job requires a diverse skill set as painting, reconstruction of the garage door and playhouse, landscaping, driveway building and even the lost art of window glazing to replace several broken single pane windows. The home made garage door was beyond simple repair to keep its operation as the original design was intended so we modified it by sawing it in half and attaching hinges so that it now swings out instead of lifting overhead.

Not to many hitches in this job except after we filled in the old steep driveway to recapture the view I thought we could use a glacial stone retaining wall on the road side, plus we had a good selection of rocks to use. The hitch is the location of the wall in relation to the county right of way set back and not being within 5 feet of the sewer lines, we had an inspection this morning and await the ruling of the county.

This is the cover plate for the old stone fireplace we are going find

a home for it in the landscaping keeping a piece of history.

The wooden staircase provides quick access to the new cottage from the lakeside log cabin which is the main residence. The cottage will be put to good use for kids and grandchildren as well as the boyscout troupe with which the homeowners are heavily involved. I am sure plenty of good times will be had on this lovely piece of earth.

The plant material, mulch and most of the stone work is complete. The new driveway and car park gets the traffic away from the main door and sets a sweet tone for the entrance. Small Canadian Hemlocks have been installed to soften the woods, add year round beauty and eventually provide greater privacy. When the lawn turns green this cottage will bath in the light of its charm.

Shop News, Shovel Cut Edge,Potential Client

Millgrove Landscaping added a new face, lost a couple of familiar ones plus added a time clock to start off the 2010 season on April 1st. The time clock is of interest because we have never used one in twenty five years, and I will be using it myself. Of course we have been in heavy preparation mode for the last three weeks, working on maintenance issues, pre servicing the trucks before their annual DOT inspection, sharpening, filing, cleaning, sorting tools and equipment. Before we ever take in our first dollar we spend several thousand just to get ready. With Dot inspection vehicles must be in 100% compliance that means tires you thought you would run for another 2000 miles now need replaced. So it goes if you follow all the rules federal, state and local government impose on legitimate businesses.

In these though economic times their are many individuals who have turned to landscaping to make a buck. These people go door to door soliciting jobs such as mowing, leaf clean up, fertilizing and other odd jobs that we have been traditionally performing, often the price they charge is extremely low as they do not have proper licensing, insurance, experience and knowledge. In some instances these people are also checking out property to see what they might steal when the home owner is not present. It sometimes presents a problem since the fees we charge per hour are driven by overhead which includes the government regulations that we follow.

Some other changes we made have come at the expense of others. One of our favorite vendors, Pete Wade of Angola Concrete is shutting down and liquidating stock and fixtures. The irony is that Pete received an award for having a 100 year old business just last year. From Pete we purchased some expendable products such as baby sand, geogrid, a fire pit ring and his concrete stone bins. The bins we stacked at the shop and will be concreting the bin floors after April 15th, that is to help ensure good curing since the weather will be warmer. Each concrete block weighs 4000 lbs and measures 2x2x6', this investment will allow us to keep our various stone sizes separate, clean and in stock reducing traveling to the gravel pits.

Right now our nursery stock is just what we have fenced (to keep the deer from devouring the product over winter) in and the rest of the nursery sits empty. We use the area as temporary holding. Generally we design a job then order the product and install it as soon as possible, keeping inventory fresh and reducing the need for us to provide long term care for living plants.

One of the first chores of spring is re cutting shovel cut bed edges, weeding and installing new mulch. While this process is certainly not rocket science a certain amount of skill is required to keep the bed edges crisp and not too deep, watch out for wires and know a just emerging perennial from a weed. Also it is imperative to fluff your old mulch after weeding and blowing. A strong effort needs to be made to keep mulch at only two inches thick and not allow it to pile up around plants and essentially suffocate them.
A shovel cut edge is best cut with a sharp spade. The edge debris is removed and we usually weed as we are going along. Once debris is removed new mulch can be installed and a pre emergent herbicide such as preen can be spread over the mulch to prevent weed germination.







































Much of my time this past week was occupied by this house which is located near Michigan International Speedway about an hour and fifteen minutes from the shop. This stellar make over is a complete interior/exterior renovation a contemporary edge to a Cape Cod style. Interior hardwood floors, dark walnut cabinetry and black granite counter tops couple with light blues and chocolate browns to evoke a cool lake breeze.

Meeting with the clients, discussing their needs and desires is the foundation for my landscape development plan. Low maintenance, a bird and butterfly garden, paver walkways, a privacy hedge and elegant well balanced plant material was on the plan here. My work week focused on drawing, bidding, researching the materials and customizing a plan. Checking my first drawing on site there were a couple of adjustments to make but by the second time around I felt confident that I hit the goals of our client.

Delivering the quote went well with the exception of not choosing the best paver color. After further discussion we agreed to pursue a chocolate/walnut color with some charcoal gray blends. Additionally I am going to look into wrought iron trellis and arbor features which will pull out some of the iron work in the house. If we are fortunate enough to landscape this home I will try and track the entire process on this blog, might be interesting. I will post the blueprint and try to give you a feel for a start to finish job. A total installation is something we can sink our teeth into and often makes for an amazing transformation.

Out of the Box Entertainment Area

We are extremely fortunate that our customers have such good taste, enjoy and understand great landscaping, give us repeat business and can afford to realize their dreams. This particular job came our way because our customer moved across the lake and needed to renovate both the interior and exterior of his home. They entertain a lot and needed space for family and friends, in addition they loved to show movies outdoors where they could be watched from the comfort of their patio or by neighbors lounging in their boats on the lake. The previous job we installed featured 1500 square feet of pavers, an outdoor kitchen, bar and lots of seating on a large lake lot on a point with a terrific view. The new house was smaller, on a tighter lot and difficult to access. We also had to create a space that would be acceptable with the local building codes and address our customers desire for something new and inventive, "Tina, I don't want this job to look like everyone else, I want something unique," he said. I think we hit the nail on the head by using Arkansas, two man, field stone boulders, Tennessee blue/gray super slabs, with circular paver inlays, snap cut staircase framed with hand selected Arkansas boulder columns and finishing with an elegant understated plant pallet.

I regret that I do not have before pictures of this job but I do have lots of after shots. The job was started around the first of August and completed in mid September. Man hours on site were around 700. Lighting was installed by the customer, irrigation we subcontracted, the wood deck was completed by the interior contractor and the design was mostly mine guided by the firm hand of my customer who handed me a basic concept sketched on a cocktail napkin. The custom bar was the work of our customer who worked on it just hard enough to ensure completion by the time we finished. Access for our equipment was gained through the graciousness of the neighbor, we could not have completed the job without her. One thing that is still being built are the glass steps that will lead from the wooden deck to the house, when they are complete I will be sure to post photos.

This job ranks in my top five of my landscaping designs we have installed over my career. I think it is pretty groovy let me know what you think. We will do maintenance and annual flower installation for the property this year and I will post some more photos at that time. Some of the annuals installed last year were chose for their availability and will likely change this year.Mini excavator performed the dig out, set the heavy boulders and helped with some flagstonePatio prepped with limestone base, retaining wall boulders in place and staircase startedSuper slab patio is fitted together like jig saw puzzle using a hand held, gas powered, diamond blade saw, the circle is ready for the paver inlayOne of two ten foot paver inlays that help make this job uniqueMy foreman Bill who after 17 years of working together seems to read my mind, he always makes the intallations all they can beSecond brick inlay, hand selected stone columns and snap cut staircase in progressComposite deck with sweeping curves to match the curves of the patio and boulder walls, our steps lead to the deckWe re-sculpted the entire lot, here we pushed the grade back 12', built a small retaining wall and created a secret seating area by the garageThe Arkansas boulder retaining wall is beautiful, functional and provides additional seating. The moss on the stone is misted by the irrigation which keeps it prettyThe grand entrance with plants and lighting

A Bigger Entrance and Foundation Planting

The home owners called me to fix a drainage problem, the steep driveway was asphalt and curved toward the entrance of their home, the result was constant washout which meant mud at their doorway when ever it rained. They mentioned that they never really liked the landscaping one of our competitors installed plus it was doing poorly. They allowed me to have a go at a new concept and I was more than happy to accommodate them with a few ideas.

Besides the obvious need for new plantings one of the things that I could not wrap my head around was the way the porch returned with a railing essentially boxing in the porch and making it uninviting. I suggested we revamp the steps and open up the entrance, boy what a difference that made and the home owners were thrilled. We added a new foundation planting, lighting and irrigation that ensured watering since the home was used mainly for weekends.

The photos at the top of the page show before and after shots of the project while the pictures at the bottom provide some details of the project. The drainage problem was resolved by building a berm down the driveway, connecting the downspouts to 4" tile that was routed away from the wash out area and reseeding the yard. Glacial stone curbing was installed as a border.

Seattle Lay Over

The job in Fort Wayne was a great experience for me, working for someone else after 25 years of being the boss was an adjustment to say the least. Although I worked as a project manager I was able to observe and sometimes lend a hand to the various maintenance aspects the company performed. Riding with the crews, hearing their complaints against management made me wonder what was said by my crews. In my own business I was a big fish in a small pond but working for someone else I became a little fish in a big pond, quite an education. My contract was up in just before Christmas and I was anxious to hit the road as my winter plans included a trip to Seattle and Hawaii, both new destinations for me.

Seattle was a stop over to visit the nephew who had just married, he started a job at The Gates Foundation and I was anxious to see the sites. Although we had a wonderful time, spring or summer would surely be even more beautiful. The city itself screams with youth and vitality, even a bus ride becomes an adventure as the routes are filled with characters willing to chat it up. Of course we visited The Space Needle, Pikes Market, took a harbor tour, ate some awesome chowder and walked the downtown districts with ease. Getting out of town for one day we found snow on Mount Rainier which prohibited driving to the top but our views at Snoqualmie Falls were close up as the sweet, young waiter treated us with a seat on the small balcony off the private party room. Seattle and the surrounding area call out for further exploration, I am sure glad the nephew and his bride just bought a house there as I plan to visit again soon.

No Name Key, Tarpon & Mangoes

August 08 was busy I went back to St. Lucia for the wedding of my nephew, took a trip to Marathon Key and was in Indiana by Labor Day. I had to be back to Indiana to begin a contract job that lasted from September until December. I signed on to work for a premiere estate management company in Fort Wayne where I hoped to learn more about maintenance, decorating, business practices and generally tune up my landscaping game.

Traveling nationally or internationally always provides inspiration for me, I am constantly photographing, taking notes and making observations. The digital age has made it easy for almost anyone to take decent photos, view them in a number of mediums and manipulate them at will. I frequently view my thousands of photos, my computer slide show runs steadily. When I design I incorporate ideas, scenes, colors and sounds from the places I have visited.

Shooting my way down A1A from Bonita Springs to Marathon Key Florida is always a pleasure I am happy to share. Dollar bills cover every surface at No Name Bar on No Name Key, brilliant sunsets are the norm in Marathon, tarpon you can hand feed, pelicans will roost any where, indigo blue bird at Everglades National Park and ripe mangoes the first of the season were a few of the subjects that caught my attention.

Key West Butterfly Garden

Summer is a great time to see the butterfly garden, as always early morning visits are best, this was shot July 3, 08 and the burden of extra pedestrian holiday traffic seemed to have little effect on the butterflies, birds and plants in the extraordinary Key West treasure. It is absolutely not to be missed, marvelous colors, textures, smells, orchids that are examples of perfection. The humidity smacks you the minute the door closes and it is likely, if you stand still a butterfly will rest upon your body, a photographers delight with a nice arrangement of tropical plants and water. This well maintained excursion is now on my annual haunt.