The Big One: A better visual

Location: Pinecrest, Fla.
Company: VisualScape

VisualScape provides landscape maintenance services to the six village parks of the Village of Pinecrest, which encompass more than 60 acres of green space.

Annual services for the five-year contract include mowing the St. Augustinegrass turf and Bermudagrass fields, maintaining the shrubs and groundcovers, mulching, topdressing, aerating and rotating the flower beds three times.

Heavy foot traffic during soccer and baseball season had damaged the turf and irrigation system’s rotors, according to Ivan Vila, president of VisualScape. Additionally, the fields were initially infested with weeds, and the existing soil condition was poor, lacked nutrients, was compacted and hadn’t been topdressed.

VisualScape works with Pinecrest on a bimonthly basis to keep the irrigation system maintained and set up a biweekly turf care program based on the soil tests it performed on four sports fields. About six employees work full time on the site, using Toro and Scag mowers and Stihl handheld equipment. Specialty crews help with items such as rotating the flower beds.

It took about six months to a year to get the fields back to acceptable standards, but VisualScape’s relationship with the client helped it re-up the contract for another five years, beginning in a few months.

“We create partnerships with the client and take pride in creating a long-term relationship with all our customers,” Vila says.

This project earned VisualScape a 2020 Bronze Award from the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Entrance circle with annual flowers, part of the company’s floriculture program.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Sunrise at Evelyn Greer Park playground area. Trees are inspected and pruned to ensure they are safe for pedestrian traffic.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Evelyn Greer Park irrigation inspections are completed twice per month to ensure the Bermudagrass fields are receiving adequate water.

(Photo: Think Twice)

A crew member mowing St. Augustinegrass turf.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Irrigation inspection of stainless-steel rotors.

(Photo: Think Twice)

The horticultural program at Pinecrest Parks includes granular fertilization of all turf areas four times per year.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Trees are structurally pruned on an annual basis.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Irrigation inspection of baseball fields.

(Photo: Think Twice)

Oak tree canopies attract people to Pinecrest parks and neighborhoods.