So what is LandOpt and what does it mean to me?

Ok, so you may have noticed over the last several months the appearance of the "Powered by LandOpt" logo on our trucks, uniforms, business cards, and paperwork. Maybe you've noticed an increase in our level of service or communication. Or maybe you've noticed that our team members have been burning up the road between here and Pittsburgh attending professional training sessions. Maybe you haven't paid attention...or maybe you have questioned one of our team members. I have gotten questions such as "Is LandOpt a new type of software?" or "Did you guys get bought out?". The answer is neither.

LandOpt is a company comprised of business and industry professionals who have partnered with us to bring strength in the areas of Operations, Human Resources, Business Management, and Sales. We are the only landscape contractor in the state to have joined this premier network. You can tell that is the book answer...it is all true, but what does it mean to you as a customer or potential customer?

Let's back up and start with a little history. In the US, there are approximately 77,000 landscape contractors, which incidentally is about the same as the number of pizza places in the US. The majority are owner-operated, small companies, and as a rule offer a spotty reputation, poor career opportunities for employees, and are fully dependent on the owner to provide guidance and direction because they lack processes, systems, and scalability. Just like with pizza places, we have all seen multiple outfits go out of business through the years, for whatever reason...possibly poor management, lack of a sustainable client base, or a decision that the industry just "isn't for them". After all, what person in their right mind knowingly goes into a business where many of your daily decisions rely on the ever-changing weather and you spend many of your winter nights thanklessly clearing parking and pedestrian areas just so that people can walk across those areas in ill-advised and improper footwear?! (Just kidding...we love it.)

All that being said, it just goes to show you that historically the landscape service industry has largely been an informal, "cottage industry" that is underdeveloped and has not reached the level of business professionalism that some other industries have. So...short story long, our partnership with LandOpt aims to change that.

While all the intricacies of LandOpt and ProScape are beyond the scope of this post, suffice it to say that since April 2010, we have been undergoing LandOpt "transformation". By definition, transformation implies "a major change in form, nature, or function". It is not simply a flip of a switch or the installation of LandOpt logos on our company vehicles. What has been happening behind the scenes is the clarification of roles and empowering of ProScape team members, a change in the paradigm of how and why we do business, and the process by which we go about our daily business so that it is scalable and repeatable. In other words, we don't want one customer to get fantastic service because they have Crew A on their property and another customer to get lacklustre service because they have Crew B. We believe, like the leader in another industry, Whole Foods, that "Our customers are the most important stakeholders in our business... Customers are the lifeblood of our business and we are interdependent on each other".

So maybe you are still thinking..."I'm still not sure what's in it for me". I will boil it down to the following high-level points that we believe summarize some of our changes to date:

• A more efficient, systematic delivery of services, providing more seamless communications
• Improved-quality services through professional coaching and training
• The best of both worlds: the stability and resources of a national company with all the benefits of a small, hometown owned and operated company
• A stronger, more structured team and company that will continue to provide your outdoor enhancement and maintenance needs
• A terrific customer experience, dealing with a proactive, customer-driven business
• The advent of CARE calls, which stands for "Customer Assurance Review and Evaluation"

While there are many changes that we are still undergoing, we believe that due to the changes we have made, we have already raised the bar of professionalism in our industry and our market. For example, you may notice that if you call us regarding service, we won't just give you a "boilerplate bid". We will work first to really understand what your needs and desires are before we prescribe a service or packaged program. To quote the leadership writer and speaker John Maxwell, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." In other words, if we don't understand what you want, how can we expect to exceed your expectations??

I believe I have only scratched the surface in this post to explain the changes we are undergoing, and the impact those changes will have to better our people, our company, and our community. Though we may have a few hiccups through our transformation, the changes are exciting, and they will position ProScape to serve our clients even better. More to come...

2010: a difficult year for lawns and landscapes

Farming...apparently it's in my blood. While I myself did not grow up on a farm, I come from a lineage of farmers. There's a special place in my heart for farmers. My mom has joked that what we do in the lawn and landscape management field is about as close to farming as you can get without actually being a farmer. I have always noticed something about guys (and gals) that have been farming for a long time...usually they don't get riled up too easily. That's an important character trait. In our industry, like farming, you can try to do everything right: select the best blend of turfgrasses or landscape plants for our climate, use the very best, blended fertilizers and control products on the market, utilize the very best management practices such as proper mowing height and frequency, planting and pruning practices, and so on. However, there is one very important, very uncontrollable variable...weather.

Yep, good ole mother nature. What a roller coaster we have experienced this year. From a horticultural standpoint, it's been a rather dismal year. The combination of an excessively wet spring followed by a very hot and dry summer wreaked havok on lawns and landscapes all around the area. The following article from the OSU extension agency describes in detail how this year was "the perfect storm": http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/pdf/SummerSpoilers_2010.pdf . It's a good read, and I would encourage you to read it to understand the challenges of this last growing season.

However, like farmers, we must understand the reality that although we try to do everything right, sometimes we just can't control the hand that nature deals us. Sure, we've been very frustrated ourselves, and we certainly have had our fair share of customers who have been equally frustrated with the lacklustre look of their lawns. Unfortunately, we will continue to see the deleterious effects of this last season well into next year. The good news is, there are remedies, and we will continue to offer services that will help get our lawns and landscapes back on track.

While it is probably too late to do too much yet this year, here's what we recommend for next year:
1.) Once all the snow melts in March, take an inventory of your lawn and landscape and see what needs remediated. Dead areas of turf will likely not come back with any expediency, so they will need reseeded. Dead landscape plants may also exist, so take an inventory and replace those as needed. Consider more hardy plants if one particular species seems to need excessive care that you may not have the time nor expertise to provide (we can help).
2.) While spring is not really an optimal time to do lawn reseeding, because of the poor late season growing conditions this year (continued lack of rainfall and early cold weather), it will be the next best thing. Bare lawn areas need roughed up and reseeded, or slit-seeded.
3.) An important consideration, whether you do reseeding yourself, or whether ProScape does it for you, is to withhold pre-emergent weed control (crabgrass preventer) until later in the spring. It can still be effective against mid to late season crabgrass breakthrough if properly timed, but it should not be applied in the early spring, as is the custom, if you intend to do some reseeding.
4.) Plan for proper irrigation practices for both the lawn and landscape in case we have another dry summer next year. Whether that's as sophisticated as calling us about installing an underground irrigation system, or as simple as buying some extra hoses and sprinklers to drag around the yard during any dry spells, it is very important to the overall health of your lawn and landscape. As a rule of thumb, lawns are especially needy, and require about 1" of irrigation per week in order to sustain them in any periods of low rainfall.
5.) Plan for proper fertility. For most varieties of turfgrasses in our area, the requirement is about 4-6 lbs of actual nitrogen per 1000 sq ft, per year. The bulk (about 1/2) of this should be applied in the fall, or final two treatments of the year. Again, a homeowner could do this themselves, but it is often just as cost-effective to allow a professional company like ProScape do it for you. Also don't forget about fertility for your landscape trees and shrubs. Needs are different, and this may be something you want to talk with us about getting on a program to address.

Like farmers, we realize that some years are just not going to be optimal. However, we make adjustments as we look forward into next year to ensure we mitigate the losses incurred when the weather doesn't cooperate like we hope. Even though I look out my window and see a nice cover of snow over everything, it is not too early to start making these proper preparations for next year. Let us know how we can help.