In the same March issue of Turf Magazine, where I wrote an article about protecting landscape equipment with equipment floater insurance, I saw an interesting article by Patrick White on the city of Orlando switching from St. Augustine grass to Bahia grass. The article discussed how the city is spending money now to make the switch in order to save on the upkeep of the turf in the future. Here is a link to the full article and below are some quotes that I found interesting:

The city of Orlando has decided to make a major investment in the turfgrass on its street medians in order to produce significant savings down the road. Currently, roadways there sport lush St. Augustinegrass, a beautiful turf type that helps Orlando live up to its billing as the “City Beautiful.” The problem is that St. Augustine is also expensive to maintain, requiring frequent mowing, watering and fertilizer and weed control inputs in order to keep it looking great. Sacrificing a little appearance for dramatically lower expenses seems logical, especially in these days of tight budgets, so Orlando will be making the move to Bahia grass.

“Bahia is not native to Florida, but it used commonly. I’d guess about 95 percent of the parkways in the state have Bahia turf beside them,” says Trevor “John” Hogue with Orlando’s Public Works. “Here in Orlando, we’ve got about 1.2 million square feet of St. Augustine turf in our roadway medians and some of our parkways. I did a budget analysis, and we’re spending right about $700,000 to maintain that grass, between mowing, chemicals and water.”

Hogue says the entire project will cost between $1 million and $1.5 million. That’s a lot to spend to get rid of beautiful, healthy turfgrass, but he expects the switch to Bahia will save the city between $350,000 to $400,000 per year in maintenance and water costs, so in just four to five years, the project will have paid for itself, and the city will be realizing substantial cost reductions.

Just as important as the cost savings, says Hogue, are water savings. “With the Bahia, we’ll be saving about 50 million gallons of water per year in irrigation. We have a real problem providing water for everybody here. It’s hard to believe in Florida, but we’re running out of good water.”

Once the new Bahia sod is established, the city will be able to shut down the extensive irrigation system that currently waters the medians throughout Orlando. “The Bahia will quit growing and go dormant in cool weather. It survives, it just puts its energy into sending down deep roots,” Hogue explains. “Really, it’s best not to water it during this time, because the weeds tend to use the water to take over.”

The grass will yellow/brown-out a bit during these stretches, but once the warm, wet weather returns, so does the vigor of the Bahia. “It’ll come back and be just as green as ever, as long as you put a little fertilizer on it,” says Hogue. “You do have to have a little weed control still, but the cost to maintain it is about one-third of what it costs to maintain St. Augustine.”

Not only will Orlando be able to completely stop irrigating the turf, mowing will be required less often because the Bahia will be dormant for long periods of time. “Before recent budget cuts, we were mowing the St. Augustine 42 times a year; because of budget cuts we got that down to 20,” says Hogue. “Because the Bahia will be dormant in the wintertime, we’ll mow that 12 to 15 times a year. In January, February and March, you don’t have to mow it at all.”

Bahia, in the warm summer months, is both fast-growing and durable. “It’s a tough, wiry grass. It’s not something you’d want in your front yard or to walk barefoot through, and to mow it, you need to keep your blades very sharp, but driving down the road at 50 miles per hour, it looks good,” says Hogue.

That sentiment is not universally shared. There has been some grumbling in Orlando that the new grass is not attractive enough, especially during the dormant phase, for a city that prides itself on appearance. One local landscaper quoted by an Orlando television news report on the issue described the Bahia as “tacky.”

Many others in the city appreciate the ability of the grass to reduce costs and water use. The real test of public sentiment will be when the changeover actually occurs, explains Hogue. In part, that’s why the decision was made to sod, the transition will be much faster without a long period of bare ground or thin turf on high-profile medians in town, some of which are in front of businesses and residences.

Bahia is not problem-free, admits Hogue. “It is susceptible to mole crickets, so there is a once-a-year application we’ll need to do in the spring,” he explains. “It does take a good, high-quality mower to cut through it. We’re going to use big, bat-wing mowers wherever we can, or big zero-turn mowers.”

While certainly not the grass of choice for all locations, Hogue says that in roadside settings, Bahia works great. “It does the job, and it takes a lot less fertilizer and mowing, and it takes no irrigation water.”

In the same March issue of Turf Magazine, where I wrote an article about protecting landscape equipment with equipment floater insurance, I saw an interesting article by Carol Brzozowski on the recent Florida freeze. The article discussed how the freeze in Florida offered business opportunities to a number of landscaping businesses throughout the state. Here is a link to the full article and below are some quotes that I found interesting:

When Florida experienced a sustained cold snap earlier this year, it sent temperatures dipping into the freeze zone, even in the southern part of the state. Citrus and other agricultural crops were threatened, as were the lush landscapes of many residential and commercial properties. The unexpected weather presented a challenge for turf, landscaping and irrigation specialists, including Judy Benson, owner of Clearwater PSI, a water and turf management company in Longwood, Florida.

Frozen backflow devices presented one of the biggest challenges for her clients.

“There were a huge number of systems that no longer had the backflow prevention working,” says Benson. “In some instances, that made it a very immediate concern, especially those that rely on a single meter, meaning their irrigation water was also tied to the same line with their residential water. We wiped out the manufacturers of their parts, as well as their complete units.”

Many property owners wanted their landscapes renovated or fixed immediately, but Benson says she is a “conscientious contractor” who does not want to put a bandage over the problem only to have the landscape damaged by another freeze in subsequent weeks.

While the freeze has presented many opportunities for contractors to help with landscape renovations, “it’s starting to become a very tight supply and demand market,” Benson says.
She says client service calls as a result of the freeze have created an opportunity to educate them on impending codes and statutes.

Palm Tree after Florida Freeze

“There is an opportunity at this point to speak with property owners to see if they will renovate their irrigation and landscape to meet these new codes and statutes,” says Benson.

“It takes a little more planning and a longer amount of time to speak with property owners to give them good information that they feel comfortable with in order to get them to take hold of the idea,” Benson adds. “Some are readily interested in it, others just want their landscape set back more to what they had earlier.”

Benson says the balance comes in looking at the whole picture. Current statutes, what’s good for the environment and working with property owners to give them the aesthetics they’re interested in achieving.

She also favors using technology to the greatest extent possible in servicing clients. She has an e-mail alert system for those signed up for her company’s newsletters. When an extreme weather event occurs, “We can send out weather alerts to try to get a head start on freezes and exceptional weather patterns,” Benson says.

“We’re utilizing all of our tools to help property owners prevent some damages that are avoidable just by bringing it to their attention,” she says.

I have enjoyed the opportunity to provide services to the landscaping industry. Through conferences, writing articles for magazines, communicating in online forums, and other events, I have met many businesses that are in the industry or that also provide services to this great group of businesses. I wanted to provide a page on this website to add links to their websites. I am going to add more pages for businesses located in Florida, but on this page, I simply wanted to list a few websites of businesses that are located outside of Florida. I will continue to update this article with new links, so feel free to check back.

Here are some links to landscaping businesses outside of the state of Florida:

• Portland Landscape and Tree Service – M. D. Vaden is an Oregon business that provides quality tree trimming and landscaping services.

Here are some links to services for the landscaping industry:

• American Landscape Maintenance Association - ALMA provides information and other resources to businesses in the industry. They also have selected BearWise Landscapers as their official insurance partner.
• PLANET – Another association for landscaping businesses. We are a member and serve on their safety committee.
• PRO Magazine – A free magazine for landscaping and lawn care businesses. It is the official magazine of ALMA and we write insurance articles for them.
• Turf Magazine – Another free magazine for lawn care businesses throughout the United States. We also write insurance related articles for them.
• Landscaping Blog – Steve Snedeker has been in the landscaping business for many years and he posts blog articles about his experiences at this website. He even mentioned us in this article about insurance.

If you have a business that fits into these link categories, feel free to contact us with some information about your business and website link. Simply mention in the contact form that you are interested in being included in this section and I will review your site and services and add you to our list. I look forward to running into all of you at upcoming events for the landscaping industry.

I came across these great safety tips on Zenith’s website for businesses in the landscaping industry:

• Grass Trimmers and Brush Cutters
• Grinders and Chippers
• Hand Tools
• Let Your Tools Keep You Safe
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Power Lawn Mowers
• Powered Trimmers
• Prevent Back and Other Lifting Injuries
• Refueling Equipment
• Riding Mowers: Landscaping
• Safety Increases Production
• Shoveling and Digging

For more information about workplace safety, please visit the Groundskeeping Safety section of their website.

We have some great news from the American Landscape Maintenance Association (ALMA).
They are now offering free memberships!

If you are a landscape maintenance provider, we encourage you to visit www.ALMAnow.com today to join.

Here is a link to their membership page.

Here is an article with more information about ALMA.

Here is some information from their website about the free membership:

Why Is ALMA’s Basic Membership Free?
An ALMA Basic membership is Free. Unlike any other trade organizations, we do not charge Basic membership, and our Premium Membership rate is one fixed price no matter the size of your company. Most national trade groups charge based on the size of your company. So you heard it right…no matter what your size, $29.99 a month and you’re a Premium Member!

Please understand that we are not creating two factions of the association, we’re all one family. We just don’t think it’s fair to saddle everyone with the costs associated with our comprehensive learning material when everyone doesn’t need or want it! So please don’t, don’t enter into a program that you don’t need right now. You will receive wonderful learning tools as you go free of charge and will reap huge benefits from you Basic Membership. But if you need more comprehensive learning tools and you’re at that point in your business life where you’re ready to throw it into another gear - we can help you do that!

Remember, we’re one of you. We know how tight money is today. If we can pass it on to you for free, we do. If we have direct costs that are associated to putting some program or material together for you, we allocate every resource we have to keeping those costs to a minimum. It’s been our philosophy since 1988 and we’re not going to change now!

I came across some information about workers in the landscaping industry on the website for the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. Here is a link to the full report on grounds maintenance workers.

The great news from the report is that the outlook says job opportunities are expected to be good in the landscaping industry and are going to grow faster than the average industry.

Here is a quote about the nature of work for grounds maintenance workers:

Grounds maintenance workers perform a variety of tasks necessary to achieve a pleasant and functional outdoor environment. They mow lawns, rake leaves, trim hedges and trees; plant flowers; and otherwise ensure that the grounds of houses, businesses, and parks are attractive, orderly, and healthy. They also care for indoor gardens and plantings in commercial and public facilities, such as malls, hotels, and botanical gardens.

These workers use handtools such as shovels, rakes, pruning and handsaws, hedge and brush trimmers, and axes. They also use power lawnmowers, chain saws, leaf blowers, and electric clippers. Some use equipment such as tractors and twin-axle vehicles.

Grounds maintenance workers can be divided into several specialties, including landscaping workers, groundskeeping workers, pesticide handlers, tree trimmers, and grounds maintenance supervisors. In general, these specialties have varying job duties, but in many cases their responsibilities overlap.

Landscaping workers create new functional outdoor areas and upgrade existing landscapes, but also may help maintain landscapes. Their duties include planting bushes, trees, sod, and other forms of vegetation, as well as, edging, trimming, fertilizing, watering, and mulching lawns and grounds. They also grade property by creating or smoothing hills and inclines, install lighting or sprinkler systems, and build walkways, terraces, patios, decks, and fountains. Landscaping workers provide their services in a variety of residential and commercial settings, such as homes, apartment buildings, office buildings, shopping malls, and hotels and motels.

Groundskeeping workers, also called groundskeepers, usually focus on maintaining existing grounds. In addition to caring for sod, plants, and trees, they rake and mulch leaves, clear snow from walkways and parking lots, and use irrigation methods to adjust water consumption and prevent waste. These individuals work on athletic fields, golf courses, cemeteries, university campuses, and parks, as well as many of the same settings as landscaping workers. They also see to the proper upkeep and repair of sidewalks, parking lots, groundskeeping equipment, pools, fountains, fences, planters, and benches.

Groundskeeping workers who care for athletic fields keep natural and artificial turf in top condition, mark out boundaries, and paint turf with team logos and names before events. They mow, water, fertilize, and aerate the fields regularly. They must make sure that the underlying soil on fields with natural turf has the required composition to allow proper drainage and to support the grasses used on the field. In sports venues, they vacuum and disinfect synthetic turf after its use to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, and they remove the turf and replace the cushioning pad periodically.

Groundskeepers in parks and recreation facilities care for lawns, trees, and shrubs; maintain playgrounds; clean buildings; and keep parking lots, picnic areas, and other public spaces free of litter. They also may erect and dismantle snow fences, and maintain swimming pools. These workers inspect buildings and equipment, make needed repairs, and keep everything freshly painted.

Workers who maintain golf courses are called greenskeepers. Greenskeepers do many of the same things as other groundskeepers, but they also periodically relocate the holes on putting greens to prevent uneven wear of the turf and to add interest and challenge to the game. Greenskeepers also keep canopies, benches, ball washers, and tee markers repaired and freshly painted.

Tree trimmers and pruners, sometimes called arborists, cut away dead or excess branches from trees or shrubs to clear roads, sidewalks, or utilities’ equipment, or to improve the appearance, health, and value of trees. Some specialize in diagnosing and treating tree diseases, and in performing preventive measures to keep trees healthy. Some may plant trees. Some of these workers also specialize in pruning, trimming and shaping ornamental trees and shrubs for private residences, golf courses, or other institutional grounds. Tree trimmers and pruners use handsaws, pole saws, shears, and clippers. When trimming near power lines, they usually work on truck-mounted lifts and use power pruners.

Supervisors of landscaping and groundskeeping workers oversee grounds maintenance work. They prepare cost estimates, schedule work for crews on the basis of weather conditions or the availability of equipment, perform spot checks to ensure the quality of the service, and suggest changes in work procedures. In addition, supervisors train workers; keep employees’ time records and record work performed; and may assist workers when deadlines are near. Supervisors who own their own business are also known as landscape contractors.

The employment statistics are the most interesting part of the report in my opinion. 402,000 grounds maintenance workers were self-employed and they provide landscape maintenance directly to customers on a contract basis. About 36 percent of all grounds maintenance workers were employed in companies providing landscaping services to buildings and dwellings. Here are the complete statistics on the 1.5 million grounds maintenance employees in 2008:

• 1,205,800 - Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
• 217,900 - First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping & lawn service workers
• 45,000 - Tree trimmers and pruners
• 30,800 - Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation
• 21,100 - Grounds maintenance workers, all other

BearWise Landscapers is proud to be named the insurance partner of the American Landscape Maintenance Association (ALMA). The partnership will allow our agents the opportunity to provide practical information to the large number of ALMA members across the United States. We will do this through insurance articles similar to the ones on this portion of our website and through a number of videos. Check out ALMA’s website, www.ALMAnow.com, to see these videos and other informative pieces. ALMA provides a variety of practical information and services to businesses in the landscape maintenance industry.

The Member Resource Center on their website is the hallmark of the all new ALMA. Using innovative new technologies, ALMA is bringing their comprehensive selection of documents and information to landscape contractors on a global level. Through the use of video, audio, and document retrieval systems, the wealth of knowledge ALMA has to offer is at your fingertips 24/7.

Some of the features of the resource center include:

• In-Depth Operational Topics
  The Resource Center is constantly updated with current issues and operational tactics in video format.
• Document Libraries
  ALMA has been around since 1988, so we have manuals and documents that can easily be customized to fit you operation. Most documents are instantly downloadable and free to Premium Members right from the document center.
• Industry Interviews
  ALMA brings some of the most dynamic and successful contractors (large and small) to the resource center to tell their stories and offer advice and inspiration.

While the information provided to landscape contractors through the Resource Center is worth its weight in gold, you will not find another association staff that cares more about its members.

ALMA has been in existence since 1988. Since that time they have helped thousands of landscape maintenance contractors of every size in every area of the country. ALMA’s President and Founder, Tommy Ganz, has indisputably the most dynamic background of anyone in the green industry today. Publisher of Commercial Mowing Magazine, Founder of ALMA, the largest landscape association in America, Host of the ALMA Expo, former General Partner of U.S. Lawns, Executive at Environmental Care, President of AgriCare International and heading up Ganz Landscape Services for almost 30 years. For the last 20 years of Tommy’s career, he’s been doing nothing but helping and training landscape maintenance contractors all over America.

When Tommy assembles a team, lookout! He finds the best. So you can rest assured, through your membership in ALMA, you will learn from America’s most dynamic contractors who will be sharing their secrets with you!

Premium Members will have direct access to Tommy Ganz, Rick Beaver, and the rest of the ALMA Team. You will have their direct email addresses where you can request a phone call, have any questions answered or communicate however much you need by email whenever it’s convenient for you.

Check out ALMA’s website for more information about this great organization and to become a member. We look forward to developing an ongoing relationship with ALMA that will benefit its members through providing insurance information specific to your industry. We are also available to offer comparative insurance quotes to ALMA members located in Florida.

Over the past couple of days, I attended the first annual Lawn Care Summit. It was held here in Orlando at the Omni Resort at ChampionsGate. That is a link to the brochure that outlines all of the classes at the conference.

I felt that the majority of the sessions were targeted towards the topics of pest management and not the lawn care side of the business. However, I did enjoy meeting more people in the landscaping industry. There were attendees from all over the United States and it was interesting for me to hear about the challenges that landscaping businesses faced in different parts of the country.

Today at lunch, I ate at same table with Bill Hildebolt, the current president of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET). He runs Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services in Winston Salem, North Carolina. I was impressed with his understanding of the industry and some of the advice he had for the other guys sitting with us.

Bill spent a lot of time discussing some of the lessons he had learned in the business and some of his overall experiences. He is also a big advocate of education. Here is a quote from a letter he wrote to the members of PLANET:

One could argue that our industry’s roots run deep in the apprenticeship mold. Just think how many PLANET members started out by working for another company to learn how to install, maintain, and care for landscapes before starting their own companies. No matter what their educational background, most landscape contractors and lawn care operators will admit that this experience was absolutely vital to their subsequent success.

The flip side, of course, is that our version of an apprenticeship program doesn’t have the means to keep less-than-qualified (unprofessional) owners and operators from participating in our industry. Indeed, a business person in the Middle Ages had little if any competition compared to what our industry is facing. In addition to the proverbial low-baller, we’re also in the midst of an industrywide recalibration where customers are no longer willing to pay yesterday’s price for our services. It’s an ongoing challenge, today, to draw a straight line between the value of the service we provide and the price. With so many service providers to choose from, informed customers (and they’re the ones we all want to nurture) should be looking for the professional, the company that can stand behind its work with experienced, trained employees.

BearWise Landscapers is proud to be a member of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET).

PLANET is an international association serving lawn care professionals, landscape management contractors, design/build/installation professionals, and interior plantscapers. PLANET provides its members with a good business foundation to help them evaluate, plan, and better manage their companies. Member firms have direct access to marketing tools, industry specific business publications, updates on legislative issues, and networking opportunities that can assist them in becoming more profitable.

PLANET emerged on January 1, 2005, when the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) and the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA) joined forces to become a more encompassing network of green industry professionals.

PLCAA, organized in 1979, was the premier global trade association for residential and commercial lawn care professionals.

ALCA, founded in 1961, was the premier global trade association for landscape maintenance, installation, and design/build contractors and interiorscapers.

PLANET develops and maintains active programs for more than 4,000 member firms in the areas of business management, government affairs, public relations, technical assistance, safety and insurance, education, and interindustry relations with other facets of the green industry.

With more than 4,000 member companies and affiliates in PLANET, these firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green industry professionals served by the association.

For more information, visit LandcareNetwork.org

The landscaping industry, like every industry, will continue to evolve over time with new technologies and new opportunities. I have read a few articles about a new niche of landscaping that should continue to expand in the years to come. There is a growing awareness among consumers to ‘Be Green’ and protect the environment, and this has expanded into combining landscapes with buildings. There are more and more residential and commercial buildings either being constructed or renovated with green roofs. Here a few articles about these roofs:

• Moma Roof Projects
• US Postal Service’s 2.5 Acre Green Roof Park
• In Search of a Good, Cheap Green Roof

There are even other buildings that have exterior walls constructed to allow growing plants. Here is an example with 12,000 plants on the side of an eight story building.

Other houses are being constructed with a complete self-sustaining system around it full of plants such as ferns. Here is a link to an article that describes an unusual house in Paris.

On top of these examples, there are other buildings that are almost entirely botanical. These are not your typical tree houses either. Architects are grafting young willow trees together to create the building described in this article.

As these unusual niches grow, there will be a need for landscaping business to not only install, but also maintain the plants that are apart of them. This opportunity will continue to be small for a number of years, but it is a good example of how the landscaping industry will continue to change and adapt to the marketplace.