Reflections….

With the frenzy of spring past us now, we get the chance to reflect on the health of our gardens and landscape. As many people know it is the foundation that determines the success of our gardens. Just like in life, we have to nurture those things upon which our strength and character is built. The more attention we pay to the soil on which our gardens are built the more fruits, blooms and bounty they offer us. This is truly the time for reflection, to stroll through our gardens daily and let them permeate all of our senses.

Last night for dinner, we raided the garden (top left picture) for spinach, strawberries and cilantro for a delicious salad topped with seafood and homemade vinaigrette.

"Certified Sustainable Landscape Professionals"

Part of our Sustainable initiative is the ongoing education and certifications needed to offer the best solutions for all of our customers.  Our story continues to develop and we have achieved most of our goals.

Here are some of the certifications we have trained for and achieved:

Our Sustainable Initiative & Motivation
In 2011, we began seeing landscape maintenance companies all over the country converting their mowers to propane with positive results.

In 2012 we converted 2 of our midsize mowers over to propane to see how they would perform.  In January of 2013 we converted our entire fleet of mowers to propane. Also, we have converted all of our 2-cycle hand held equipment; leaf blowers, weed eaters, and hedge trimmers to battery power.  This will mean less pollution and less noise.  When our clients are having meetings at their home office, there is less noise while our team is there.  This makes for a less disruptive meeting.  The same goes for the few commercial accounts we have.

I have been in several meetings where the blowers and line trimmers were so loud we had to stop the meeting for the landscape technician to pass by because of the noise.

For our company to do it’s part to leave less of a carbon footprint on the planet and a cleaner environment. I believe this is the future of the Landscape Industry.

The challenges of Becoming Eco Friendly

Receiving correct information about the new technologies and in some cases the products are so new it’s a learning curve for everyone involved. From manufacture to the contractor. And of course new technology means the products are expensive.

Why was this goal so important?
Linda and I hope that Jefferson landscaping can do their part in leaving this planet in better shape for generations to come. For our children and their children.

First in the State to Become Energy Efficient
In Washington State, we were the first to convert to propane mowers and battery hand held equipment. To date we have converted 5- 21" mowers, and 6-midsize mowers to propane. Our hand held 2 cycle equipment has been converted to battery power including 5 line trimmers, 6 hedge trimmers and 5 leaf blowers.

Why aren't more companies following suit?

Cost and learning curve. With new technology there are always a few problems. We think the small problems we run into are worth a cleaner environment.

The Benefits & Cost Savings of Going Green
Less exhaust, less fumes , less noise. With the propane conversion mowers we should recoup our investment in 3 years. The emission results to our planet is immediate.

Feedback From our Customers
The feed back from our clients is very positive. Especially the ones who see the big picture with or without children.

Splashes of color….

The rule of thumb for our area is to install seasonal color after Mother’s Day weekend. All chance of frost has passed by then and we are safe to transform our pots and garden beds without fear of losing them to a rogue freeze. We love preparing for the event. We have numerous customers for whom we install color, as well as herbs and vegetables. At our home, we decided the four months of non-stop bold, vibrant color was worth the investment in time and effort. We have spots of annual color throughout our entire property.



Irrigation…
When we started doing color in the landscape and not just around the house we found that manually watering our plants would take up to two hours a day and was very wasteful. We have added drip irrigation to the areas we install seasonal color which has freed up our time but more importantly uses far less water. We are changing to drip irrigation in our vegetable garden this year. 

Ever thought about growing your own Vegetables?

Jeff here…and I wanted to let you know we can help. Let us do the hard part of building your raised beds and bring in a nice sandy loam soil with lots of composted material. All you would have to do is plant your favorite edibles. (below; Two different customers raised garden beds using block. We can also do in wood.)

Lawn Renovations…

With all the rain and no sun we are seeing a lot of moss and drainage problems. Our Rainier Maintenance Plan customers include aerating and over-seeding in their annual contracts and our Sustainable Management plans include thatching too!

We are also happy to address as an annual project. If you would like us to take a look at your lawn we can assess normal moss build up from the area being shady during a wet warm year versus how much is from poor soil and lack of drainage. If you are ready to take care of some drainage concerns we could provide you with a solution. As I write this article it has rained for two days straight and I can’t wait for a long stretch of sunshine!

Turning it over…..

As most of you know, one of our favorite things is to participate in the NW Flower and Garden Show with our State Landscaping Association, WALP. This year we combined forces with the State Nursery Association, WSNLA and knocked it out of the park with our collaborative garden. What a great experience and since we were able to take a back seat and just help out where needed it was a lot less stressful than in prior years. And pure magic that it won just about every award, including the coveted Founder’s Cup!

Kudos to Rob Boyker and Kirsten Lints who led the charge for both Associations.




(below; two views of the WALP/WSNLA garden, Natures Studio and left; us with 7 Awards won)

Nature's Studio: The Build Part 1