Yesterday was a melancholy day at Land Designs Unlimited LLC. A client of 5 years is moving and yesterday was my last visit.
There’s a chance the new owners will want my services, I hope they do. Unfortunately, experience has taught me it rarely works that way.
This landscape is special for a couple of reasons. First, the owners are very nice and it’s a pleasure working for nice people. Second, I planted this landscape after the ‘correction’ of 2008 when the economy, and landscaping industry, was shaken to its core.
When I first looked at the landscape I knew it was going to take a lot of work. The masonry investment was going to be equal to, if not more than, planting.
The landscape would never look right with a bandaid. A stone wall and new sidewalk had to be installed.
They were meeting another well-established company that worked with any budget, even if the job required a larger investment. Did I mention this was after the ‘correction’ of 2008?
I suppose the other company was more client-focused for I politely insisted the landscape be done my way. There was no way I was installing a landscape without a retaining wall to hold back the grade.
I explained my design concept and assumed I’d never hear back. I reassured myself that I was polite, I spoke from the heart and I wasn’t going to be responsible for a shoddy landscape.
The project came together superbly with a few hitches. The wire from their lamp post twisted around my tiller, a first, and I used more soil than anticipated which happens often. Also, the redbud planted on the left corner of the house didn’t pull through a bitter winter.
After installation, I visited four to six times a year to maintain the landscape, not too much, but enough to make a difference.
Every spring there would be an edging, weeding and light pruning with fresh mulch every two to three years. I returned in June or July to hand prune and keep up with weeds over the summer.
Some visits took only an hour; just enough time to pull the weeds, prune stray branches and re-edge the gardens with a weedwhacker.
The shrubs in this foundation planting have NEVER been touched by hedge clippers. I’ve only used my Felcos to prune. I hope you can see how natural the shrubs look.
Being a landscape contractor is an endless cycle of finding new clients and losing old to promotions, retirement or being a poor fit.
I look forward to showing you the landscape I’ve been working on the last few weeks where I find a balance between color and low maintenance.
It’s time to say goodbye to great clients and a beautiful landscape. I’ll miss you both.
