When a client asked Four Seasons Landscaping & Nursery for an artificial turf putting green, it led to a new division for the Damascus, Md.-based company. The company’s always focused on design/build (with no maintenance division). Adding an artificial turf service fit well with that niche. Today, the company installs artificial putting greens but also artificial grass for a variety... read more
Commercial maintenance retention rates have declined for most companies over the past few years with many customers testing the waters in hopes of getting a lower price. Contractors also have been more aggressive in going after each others’ contracts, creating an environment that’s been unsettling for most companies. This situation has left many contractors conflicted about bringing up contract renewals,... read more
The soaring price of fuel has pushed some landscape companies to seek budget-driven practices and alternative fuels. For other business owners, the motivation to become more efficient comes from the need to project an environmentally friendly image in the community. Some contractors just want to adopt more earth-minded business practices. The reasons might be different, but every business can use... read more
By Tom Crain Two Green Industry firms and one association also celebrate a half century in business. Suburban Landscape Service St. Paul, Minn. When James Gooselaw started Suburban Landscape Service (SLS) in 1962 near the then new Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Metropolitan Stadium where the Minnesota Vikings and Twins played, dairy cows and cornfields surrounded all three. The... read more
Here’s our list (in no particular order) of 50 people, issues, organizations and technologies that have influenced the Green Industry over the last five decades. 1 American Nursery & Landscape Association — Though it was founded 86 years before LM, ANLA has made quite an impact in the last five decades it’s been around. With a member mix that includes... read more
As I researched Landscape Management’s and the Green Industry’s joint histories for our 50th anniversary issue, an unassuming, folded-in-half piece of paper floated out of an old bound volume of back issues of the magazine. Hurried and on deadline, I almost stuffed it back in without looking at it, thinking it was nothing but someone else’s research notes from long... read more
