Landscape Trades January 2019

January 2019 VOL. 41, NO. 1

landscapetrades.com

Permeable paving: Responsibility and differentiation Three ideas for success in 2019 A busload of kids gets the meaning of a Vimy oak

Congress is for YOU

Canada’s show: Everything green, for every green professional

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Toronto condo Perennial palette lifts imagines trees commercial design on all sides

38

14

Prevent problems from silica dust

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Contents

JANUARY 2019 VOL. 41, NO. 1

38 Trees at a whole new level

Condo project architect consults with experts to create a vertical forest.

BY SCOTT BARBER

44 Success with urban soils

Below-the-ground remediation makes contractors look good.

BY CHRISTOPH KESSEL

52 Paving the future

FEATURES

6 Colour and texture: Perennials for commercial landscapes

Permeable paving solves runoff problems; it’s just a matter of math.

BY DAVID HEIN

COLUMNS

62 Management solutions

Ideas from a pro, for designers looking to boost sophistication levels for commercial properties.

Three top contractor suggestions for success in 2019.

BY MARK BRADLEY

BY BOBBIE SCHWARTZ

66 Road to success

14 Silica dust under control

Landscape pros can control hazardous silica dust — all it takes is commitment, and proper equipment.

BY FRANK BOURQUE

24 Seasoned or aspiring, Congress is for you

Time spent at Congress pays off for business owners and staff at all career stages.

Vimy oak planting turns off more meaningful than expected.

BY JIM LANDRY

30 What is the answer on plastics?

Nurseries, contractors and suppliers work to solve a big image problem.

BY ANNE MARIE VAN NEST

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Lee Ann Knudsen CLM | lak@landscapeontario.com ART DIRECTOR Kim Burton | kburton@landscapeontario.com LANDSCAPE ONTARIO MAGAZINE EDITOR Robert Ellidge | rob@landscapeontario.com MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER Mike Wasilewski | mikew@landscapeontario.com ACCOUNTANT Joe Sabatino | joesabatino@landscapeontario.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Greg Sumsion | gsumsion@landscapeontario.com COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Angela Lindsay | alindsay@landscapeontario.com

A sober reminder that business owners should mind their health.

BY ROD McDONALD

70 Legal matters

The interest clock ticks — if provisions are in the contract.

BY ROB KENNALEY AND JOSH WINTER

86 Mentor moment

28 Tree of remembrance

Michael Pascoe of Fanshawe College energizes students through passion.

DEPARTMENTS

ONTARIO UPDATE 58 NEW PRODUCTS 74 NEWSSCAPE 78 CNLA NEWS 83 EVENTS 85 CLASSIFIEDS 85 ADVERTISERS 85

ADVISORY COMMITTEE Gerald Boot CLM, Laura Catalano, Jeremy Feenstra, Mark Fisher, Hank Gelderman CHT, Marty Lamers, Bob Tubby CLM, Nick Winkelmolen, Dave Wright Landscape Trades is published by Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association 7856 Fifth Line South, Milton, ON L9T 2X8 Phone: (905)875-1805 Email: comments@landscapetrades.com Fax: (905)875-0183 Web site: www.landscapetrades.com LANDSCAPE ONTARIO STAFF Scott Barber, Darryl Bond, Amy Buchanan, Tony DiGiovanni CHT, Denis Flanagan CLD, Cassandra Garrard, J. Alex Gibson, Meghan Greaves, Sally Harvey CLT CLM, Heather MacRae, Kathy McLean, Linda Nodello, Kathleen Pugliese, John Russell, Ian Service, David Turnbull, Lissa Schoot Uiterkamp, Tom Somerville, Myscha Stafford, Martha Walsh ISSN 0225-6398 PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES AGREEMENT 40013519

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JANUARY 2019 ADDRESSES | LANDSCAPE RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN TO:TRADES | 3 CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT LANDSCAPE TRADES MAGAZINE 7856 FIFTH LINE SOUTH, MILTON, ON L9T 2X8 CANADA

greenpencil Want to make a meaningful difference in your community?

Energize kids outside T

ake a moment to sit back, close your eyes, and think

about your favourite childhood memories … chances are they have something to do with being outside. When we recall these memories, typically doing something outdoors with friends and family, our senses are keenly awakened to the feeling of being outside … the warmth of the sun on our face, the wind through our hair, the sound of water rushing by. The sensory stimulation of being outside is what makes being outdoors so universally appealing.

It’s the same emotional response we feel when we’re in a great garden. We’re drawn in by our senses. Great outdoor spaces engage all of these; the sight of varying colours and textures, the sound of birds and leaves rustling, the earthy smell of the soil mixing with the fragrance of flowers, the taste of fruits, berries and vegetables we pick, and the compelling appeal to reach out and touch the natural world around us.

The sedentary lifestyle that that defines our society has brought about a host of reBy Scott Wentworth lated health issues. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that for the first time in over 200 years, this generation of children may have a shorter lifespan than their parents — by as much as five years! The media is filled with reports of not only the health impacts brought about by this sedentary lifestyle, but also the significant benefits to children and adults alike of spending more time outdoors. What we urgently need as a society is less screen time and more green time!

Working with the Come Alive Outside (CAO) movement (comealiveoutside.com) to create awareness, intention and opportunity for our clients and communities to live healthier lives outside has focused our team on the meaningful work we provide in the landscape profession.

We recently completed our fourth CAO Design Challenge, working with university and college landscape students to engage elementary students in a design charette to improve their playground. This process engaged the entire school community; the students who brought uninhibited creativity to how they want to bring nature and play back into their schoolgrounds, their instructors and administration team who were full participants in the process, and senior school board members who supported and attended the three-day event.

When asked how they can bring nature back into their playgrounds, kids think big! Every one of the students had an opportunity to present ideas to students, teachers and the board … the 4 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

landscape students then took these ideas and worked late into the night (and next morning!) to develop design concepts and presentation boards. The results were truly magical! Over 300 parents and students took time out of their Saturday morning to come see the results of the design charette. Using an Open House presentation format, the five design teams greeted families and walked them through their designs. Some of the grade three students took such a high level of ownership that they voluntarily stood alongside the teams and sold “their design” to the public.

Over $100,000 in funding has been secured to build the winning design next summer. The schools enthusiastically embraced this competition, and the winning school design team will be announced at Landscape Ontario’s Awards of Excellence Ceremony.

Being involved in the Come Alive Outside Design Challenge and Green Street Challenge has been tremendously energizing for our team. Embracing its principles has focused our efforts on this truly meaningful work. It’s created a higher level of relationship with our clients and the communities in which we live and

work. The next generation of our workforce has enthusiastically embraced the role that the landscape profession has as an agent of change to meet this high calling.

The landscapes we create are more than the sum of what we’ve designed, built, and maintained. More than the plants we’ve grown and products we supply. More than the craftsmanship of our outstanding teams. It’s what our clients and communities feel when they’re in these spaces. It’s how these landscapes engage their senses in a compelling way, and the wholeness they experience when they’re embraced by them. It’s providing the awareness, intention and opportunity for them to live healthier lives outside … and givLT ing kids those five years back!

Scott Wentworth operates Picton, Ont.-based Wentworth Landscapes.

See his presentation “Pop-up Play Design Challenge” at the Designers Conference preceding Congress 2019. Register at LOcongress.com.

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commercial landsca Use a perennial palette to enrich public spaces with textures, colours and seasonal interest

BY BOBBIE SCHWARTZ

Commercial landscaping,

whether in parking lots or office building beds, for churches or hospitals, for restaurants or college campuses, is seen by thousands of people every day. Most might be considered boring rather than inspiring or exciting, but if we use an expanded plant palette, we can constructively influence the public’s perception of landscaping.

What attributes are we looking for? We want high performance and low maintenance; long bloom, more than one season of interest, little deadheading and no staking. Many perennials and ornamental grasses offer long seasons of interest, colourful or texturally interesting foliage, movement, fragrance, seed heads or pods, and winter interest.

A perennial with many of these characteristics is butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa. If orange is a tough sell, try using the cultivar ‘Hello Yellow.’ It blooms for six to nine weeks in July and August, has interesting seed capsules in late August and September, needs no staking, is a magnet for pollinators (particularly Monarch butterflies), and needs only to be cut to the ground in early spring. This is the perfect perennial for a naturalistic design; it will thrive in full sun and average to dry soil.

One of my favourite perennials for constant change is upright Sedum (stonecrop). Best known is ‘Autumn Joy,’ but I also use ‘Neon’ because it is shorter and doesn’t flop as much. This is a Zone 4 hardy perennial for hot, dry spaces. The early spring rosette is attractive with its succulent leaves, but stonecrop really comes into its own starting in July when it resembles short heads of broccoli.

6 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Large-scale thinking Large commercial properties require large masses of plants for impact. If they are arranged somewhat naturally, as in drifts which feather in and out, they will not look artificial — as do masses of plants lined up like soldiers or in blobs. A huge shopping centre on Long Island utilizes sweeping masses of perennials and grasses in most of the beds, including difficult-to-mow slopes on major streets. Since large properties often consist of several beds, repetition is an easy way to unify.

Use a specific plant in many of the beds, use a particular form such as pyramidal or mounding, use a specific texture like that of grasses, or use one colour with groupings of one or several genera of the same colour.

Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ is an ornamental grass I often use for its early foliation and long bloom. Hardy to Zone 4, this grass, when in bloom, has a very stiff, linear form that echoes the rectilinear design of many office buildings. It provides great contrast to the looser form of many perennials, such as Agastache ‘Blue Fortune.’ Plant ‘Karl Foerster’ in full sun, even though many books and catalogues say partial shade will do. In partial shade, it will lean or flop. Cut to the ground in very early spring.

Remember, not all commercial properties are blessed with sun.

For partially shaded, moist areas, Ligularia dentata or stenocephala

apes

JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

7

In this long bed at a German display garden, groupings of Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ are used repeatedly as punctuation marks.

In late August, at New York’s High Line, the heads of Sedum ‘Red Cauli’ turn rosy pink, this time acting as a textural foil for Silphium laciniatum (compass plant) and Sporobolus heterolepsis, both hardy to Zone 3.

leopard plant cultivars are an excellent choice. The foliage is just as important as the flowers, adding interest to the garden from the minute it appears until frost. Leaves are large, rounded, often serrated and can be green or bronze or purple. The blooms are either golden yellow, daisy-like flowers or clear yellow tall spikes. Given optimum moisture conditions, prolific seeding will occur, meaning the area will fill in quickly. Flower stalks remain upright throughout winter and are very attractive when covered with snow. Simply cut to the base in spring.

Colour and space

Colourful butterfly weed pods add another season of interest to the landscape.

8 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Colours affect how and what the viewer sees.

Want to make sure an entrance is readily apparent? Use hot, strong colours like red, orange, yellow, and white that are seen immediately from afar. Pastels like pink, lilac, blue and silver fade away, and often make an area seem larger than it is. If a colour scheme such as blue and yellow is used, it is important to use more blue, or the mass of yellow will be overwhelming. Shades are also important. Sulfur yellow will seem like a larger mass than pale or lemon yellow.

Beds on commercial properties are frequently bare during winter.

When searching for evergreens to fill these beds, don’t forget about evergreen perennials. Many make excellent groundcovers for slopes and don’t have to be wrapped with burlap — which defeats the reason for using evergreens. Some perennials look like sculptures in the winter

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In July and August, at the display gardens of Hoffman Nurseries in North Carolina, the green heads of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ are the shortest element of a layered composition of Eupatorium ‘Bartered Bride’, Eupatorium fistulosum, and Sorghastrum nutans ‘Stainless Steel’.

Get double duty from the same space by interplanting the tiny bulb Anemone blanda, both blue and white, plus Narcissus ‘Tiny Bubbles’ that will push up through the Arabis foliage.

landscape and should not be cut until spring. Ornamental grasses are highly prized for their winter interest; their dried foliage and inflorescences sway in the wind, hold the snow, and add a more natural and appealing look to the landscape.

An excellent, but sadly neglected evergreen perennial groundcover is rock cress, Arabis caucasica. Hardy to Zone 4, its many small, white flowers cover the foliage in May and bring smiles to people’s faces.

There are some rosy-pink cultivars as well. The fuzzy foliage is only an inch high, but clambers over the ground quickly. Excellent drainage in full sun is essential to prevent winter rot.

The golden yellow blooms of Asclepias tuberosa ‘Hello Yellow’ contrast beautifully with the blue of reseeding larkspur.

Cost control Maintenance is always an issue. Clients usually want as low a bill as possible; the landscaper wants to make money.

Many perennials and grasses are relatively low maintenance, particularly the grasses that only need to be cut down once a year in early spring (not Festuca or Helictotrichon). You can lower maintenance costs for your clients with careful plant selection, but you must educate them; there is no such thing as no maintenance.

If you can hire or train people who are knowledgeable about perennial maintenance, you can provide specialized care and charge accordingly.

There are many more perennials and ornamental grasses that are just as useful as the ones I have highlighted for high performance LT and low maintenance.

Bobbie Schwartz is a designer, author, garden consultant, and has served as president of Association of Professional Landscape Designers. She is based in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

12 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Congress connection:

Bobbie Schwartz Learn from a pro who speaks, travels and lives landscape design, Bobbie Schwartz.

Glean her tips on successful client relationships in her Congress Conference session, Log Cabin or Taj Mahal: Are You Really Listening? She will also speak on Painting With Perennials: A Landscape Artist’s Perspective.

Register at LOcongress.com.

Your health, your company — and

Why dust is such a serious health hazard, and what you can do about it.

BY FRANK BOURQUE

Dust is a reality for anyone in landscape

construction. When you inhale dust from cutting or grinding concrete, mixing materials, dry sweeping or demolition, tiny quartz/silica particles penetrate deep into the lungs and cause scarring and disease.

The risks are so serious, regulations have been put in place for Canada by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) and for the U.S. by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to create awareness and manage this risk at worksites. The goal is to create safer work environments with reduced health risks for you, your employees and anyone exposed to construction dust.

KNOW THE HAZARD Crystalline silica is an extremely common mineral found in sand, stone, and concrete that becomes dangerous when disturbed. Cutting, crushing, grinding, or drilling of stone, brick or concrete generates a fine silica dust that, unless

14 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

contained, will seriously contaminate the air. Inhaled silica dust causes fibrosis or scar tissue, as well as silicosis lung disease, both of which reduce the lungs’ ability to extract oxygen from the air. There is no cure for these often-fatal diseases.

KNOW THE STANDARD In Canada, the CCOHS is a great place to start for information. There are 14 jurisdictions that have their own Occupational Health and Safety legislation, including occupational silica exposure limits. You can find the exposure limits and links to the legislation for each province in the online version of this article at www.landscapetrades.com/silica.

In Ontario, for example, the legislation does more than specify exposure limits. It also requires employers to take steps to protect employees from the hazard and defines employer responsibilities if exposure takes place.

In the U.S., the OSHA Silica Standard, implemented in 2016, limits silica exposure to a Permissible Exposure

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Dry cutting with a dust shroud to contain the silica dust.

Limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic metre of air or 50 µg SiO2/m³ over an eight-hour time weighted average (TWA). OSHA recognizes using tools equipped with a water delivery system that supplies a continuous stream or spray of water at the point of impact, or

using tools equipped with a commercially available shroud and dust collection system, as control methods that safely limit silica exposure.

Generally, Canadian regulations are comparable to U.S. regulations. However, violations in the U.S. are expensive; fines of over

$7,500 per person are given for breach of the Silica Regulation. With the importance given to the silica issue in the U.S., we are likely to see similar enforcement and fines in Canada in the near future.

KNOW YOUR EXPOSURE One way to determine silica exposure is through air monitoring. This may seem like a complicated, expensive process; however, it’s fairly easy once you understand what is involved.

Air monitoring equipment measures the air quality in a worker’s breathing area to determine silica exposure during a specific work practice. Air monitoring uses a battery-operated vacuum attached to an operator’s shirt collar, collecting air samples right where the operator breathes. Once you learn your exposure levels, you can decide what options are best suited to control silica exposure on your job sites.

Another way to determine silica exposure is by using objective data provided by tool manufacturers. In the U.S., OSHA defines Objective Data as “information, such as air monitoring data, from industry-wide surCutting, grinding, or drilling of hardscape materials generates a fine silica dust that contaminates the air.

18 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

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Wet cutting is a good choice when a cutting station is available, but can be a messy alternative without.

A detailed list of control plan components is posted in the online version of this story, www.landscapetrades.com/silica.

In my experience, the key to protecting yourself and your employees is to take responsibility and implement systems. Just because a tool is CCOHS Compliant, it does not automatically mean the company using

KNOW YOUR OPTIONS The construction industry and associated technologies are rapidly changing. Wet cutting and dry cutting without a vacuum have been the main applications for cutting concrete, asphalt and masonry materials for

EXPOSURE ENVIRONMENT EXAMPLES

50 µg/m3 8hrs exposure

100 µg/m3 4hrs exposure at or below the OSHA PEL

Safe and hazardous occupational silica exposure levels.

20 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

the tool is compliant with the regulation.

SAFE HOURS OF EXPOSURE

veys or calculations based on the composition of a substance, demonstrating employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica associated with a particular product or material or a specific process, task, or activity.

The data must reflect workplace conditions closely resembling or with a higher exposure potential than the processes, types of material, control methods, work practices, and environmental conditions in the employer’s current operations.” When a manufacturer tests its equipment, if the work practice and materials used match job site conditions, OSHA allows this data to be used as objective data as part of a written silica exposure control plan (https://plan.silica-safe.org).

The PEL requires employers to limit worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica and take other steps to protect employees. Regardless of exposure control methods used, you should implement a Silica Safety Program including the following elements: l Hazard identification, assessment and solutions. l Trained staff member for implementation and monitoring. l Offer of medical exams. l Documented training. l Record keeping.

200 µg/m3 2hrs exposure exceeding the OSHA PEL

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Integrated dust collecting systems capture 99 per cent of silica dust particles.

l Administrative controls: Change the way

people work. l Personal protective equipment: Least

efficient, but mandatory.

decades. Three main dust control strategies are available to today’s contractors: l Wet cutting. l Dry cutting with a dust shroud. l Dry cutting with integrated dust collection.

Wet cutting works well when you have a cutting station, but it can be very messy and can create problems like water damage to the base and/or bedding sand layer (if cutting pavers or walls in place), and staining with the wet dust sticking to the paver surface. Dustless vacuum systems and dust collecting systems vary in efficiency and effectiveness, but integrated systems can capture over 99 per cent of particulates.

No matter what tool you’re using, it’s essential to wear personal protective equipment such as eyewear and ear attenuators.

Know exactly what you’re cutting so you can implement proper control methods.

Following a control hierarchy, listed below from most to least efficient, is the best way to control dust hazards: l Elimination: Physically remove the hazard. l Substitution: Replace the hazard. l Engineering controls: Isolate people from the hazard.

SILICA SUMMARY Know the hazard Understand the hazard and risks associated with silica exposure.

Know the standard Understand the CCOHS Permissible Exposure Limit and what it means to you, your business and your workers.

Know your exposure Understand how to use air monitoring to measure silica exposure levels — and understand the results.

Know your options Understand your options, including tools, work practices and educational resources for controlling LT silica exposure on your job sites.

Frank Bourque is a speaker, writer, consultant, entrepreneur and Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute instructor who coaches hardscape pros across North America. Thanks to iQ Power Tools and Hulton Tool for photos and information used in this article.

Congress connection:

Frank Bourque

HardscapeLive! is one of the most energetic spots on the Congress show floor. Be sure to catch featured speaker Frank Bourque at a free morning or afternoon session on each of the three show days.

His demonstrations will cover six different topics.

Visit www.LOcongress.com to register.

22 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

22 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

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Seasoned or aspiring,

Congress is for you Who is the typical Congress delegate?

Successful business owners in the green profession, for certain, but typical goes way beyond that. A hallmark of successful business owners: they bring staff to the show, even staff spouses. Attending Landscape Ontario’s Congress is a tremendous morale boost, and a real-life illustration of the profession’s vast size and importance. Add in the Awards of Excellence ceremony, a special dinner out or the Tailgate Party, and staff members feel appreciated, informed and inspired.

Another type of visitor is the aspiring landscape entrepreneur.

This visitor comes to look at equipment, attend sessions and soak up the atmosphere. The goal is a new company, and Congress is the perfect shopping venue. This visitor feels inspired, because everybody at Congress is friendly. Aspiring landscapers find they can strike up a conversation with anyone, and leave with new, valuable information.

Ours is a generous profession that wants new talent to succeed.

Students are another important component of Congress delegates.

Their faces reflect excitement; Congress is a very big deal. Attending the show marks students as professionals, and landscape veterans regard students as VIPs, as the future. These men and women, some notso-young, look to make a difference for nature and the environment.

They are full of hope and enthusiasm for a better world.

Opportunity for all No matter what type of delegate you are, Congress is THE theme park for the green profession. This year’s event features over 600 exhibitors, all there to improve your business’s efficiency and profitability. Use the free Congress app to organize your time and connect with others socially.

Surveys indicate keen interest in new products, and Congress brings them all together in the New Product Showcase, located in the South hall. If any product catches your interest, more informa24 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

tion is available right at the show from an exhibitor.

Don’t miss the DriveLive stage in the North hall. Toronto and York Region police officers will advise landscapers on inspection rules and reports, compliance strategies and how to operate vehicles safely.

Drill down to your specialty The number of sector-specific events at Congress is truly impressive.

If you operate a garden centre, the half-day Garden Centre Symposium offers education and networking geared to your challenges. Get the latest in turf management at the IPM Symposium. The full-day Designers Conference gives landscape designers a unique forum for professional growth.

Even more extensive is HardscapeLive, where suppliers have joined together to provide pro-level, live demos on the show floor.

Speaker Frank Bourque returns for a second year; his credentials are impressive, and he is a favourite educator at the big U.S. shows, as well. This is Year Four for HardscapeLive, one of the most popular Congress features.

To balance off, demos on trees and arboriculture take place at the GreenLive stage, located in the South hall. Hear top experts talk about soils, planting and care for trees — increasingly valued as investments in the future.

Number One for education The Congress Conference is Canada’s top professional development venue for horticulture. Choose from over 20 sessions on business management, plants, technology, sales, productivity, law and more — all specifically geared to your vocation. This year’s keynote speaker is George Kourounis of Angry Planet, sharing his experience on overcoming tough challenges. Thomas Rainer, Bill Hogg, Mark Bradley, Christina Salwitz, Robert Kennaley, Niki Jabbour and Bobbie Schwartz

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are just a few of this year’s scheduled, big-name speakers.

The pre-show Peer-to-Peer Workshop uses an interactive structure to help business owners implement positive changes in their organizations.

Taking education one step further, this year’s Thursday sessions feature Education Partners from the supplier community. Take advantage of in-depth training from LMN, Load Army, Jim Pattison Lease, Lawn Life, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, TechoBloc, TradeWinds International, SiteOne and Unilock.

Getting to Congress Congress is held at the Toronto Congress Centre, just east of Toronto Pearson airport. A free shuttle service stops at many area hotels, and parking is free. Many visitors do not know that Conference passes include buffet lunch, a delicious networking opportunity.

Even though Congress is a well-oiled machine, attendance is affected if snow falls, when contractors are obligated to service snowremoval sites. If you are not in the snow sector, keep in mind that a snow shower might be your chance to park closer to the entrance, and spend extra time with exhibitors.

Party time Newcomers are blown away by Landscape Ontario’s Awards of Excellence ceremony. Expect a crowd of over 500, a first-rate wine and cheese reception, and an evening with top-flight production values and inspiring entries at this year’s Jan. 8 event. On the next evening,

26 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Jan. 9, every Congress badge holder is invited to the show’s traditional Tailgate Party. A massive free buffet greets guests. Tailgate is hosted by the dedicated group of volunteers in Landscape Ontario’s Tradeshow Committee.

Remember to slow down After all that, Congress even offers a quiet spot for reflection. The Canada Blooms Student Campus is a 5,000-sq. ft. area in the North building, donated for student-built gardens. Participating this year are Fanshawe, Durham and Humber Colleges, and the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture. Enjoy the students’ creativity and skill, as you take a minute to recharge.

If you are a student, the gardens will make you proud. If you aspire to launch a landscape company, the gardens represent horticulture’s huge potential. If you a staff member, you can observe and evaluate levels of craftsmanship. And you can appreciate the work and talent of young people if you are a business owner. All are VIPs at Congress.

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tree of remembrance

BY JIM LANDRY

Some gifts have been showing up on my doorstep for two years now.

Some come preassembled and some come in parts I had to put together myself.

Some come disguised as other things.

I cherish them all. When I so much as think about them, a big smile takes over my face.

Allow me to elaborate...

The first gift

was the discovery of a wooden cross; a temporary grave marker at a field hospital near Vimy Ridge in France. My great uncle, Pte. John Ferman Ashe, died of his wounds at Vimy during the first day of battle on April 9, 1917. I re-gifted the cross to The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, thinking how proud my great-grandmother would have been to know her son’s selfless actions were remembered after 100 years.

The next gift

came to me over 18 months, little bits at a time. That’s when the Vimy Oak Legacy project allowed me to assist in a small way. Lt. Leslie Miller, who fought at Vimy Ridge and survived, sent a handful of acorns from the battlefield home to Ontario, where they matured into 100-year-old English oaks. A neighbour and friend of Lt. Miller, Monty McDonald, came up with a plan to take cuttings from these Vimy Oaks and distribute them across Canada, to Legions, cenotaphs and schools, and to send trees back to France to be planted on the ridge as a beautiful new park.

My part was to receive the saplings ordered for New Brunswick and P.E.I., and have them picked up at my house. BTN Atlantic offered to ship them for free. When the first was scheduled to be planted in Cardigan, P.E.I., I delivered it personally, and worked with association member Kurt Laird to get it planted. That evening, spent in cold spring rain, and later the Legion, was so profound and 28 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

meaningful, I took part in as many of these memorial plantings as I possibly could. I felt compelled to be present in these little communities, representative of every little community across Canada, to plant a tree representing a forest on both sides of the ocean, and a living memory to the soldiers from those communities, who fought for Canada. As an added bonus, I got to honour my late uncle John.

I have planted over 100 of these memorial trees, always taking away more than I put in. To me, planting a tree symbolizes hope, and honours a memory of people and events. During each ceremonial planting, we stood at the intersection of hope for the future and remembrance of the past. At a planting at Seaside Elementary School in my home town of Saint John, I asked the group of veterans, teachers and school children what would happen if this little sapling dies.

It took a few minutes of awkward silence before a little girl said, “We plant another one.” Exactly.

Last fall, of all the little saplings we planted, 20 or so in P.E.I. and more than 40 in New Brunswick gifted us acorns. J. Frank Gaudet Nursery of Charlottetown germinated 60 of them. These seedlings were used to replace saplings planted the previous year that did not survive. The rest were planted at schools, Legions, or at the home of anyone who had a relevant story to tell.

The most recent gift

was an opportunity to plant an oak seedling at Vimy in France — one of the seedlings sent in 2016 for the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. Monty McDonald gave the okay for me to plant one in a special spot of my choosing. My first thought was to plant it near Vimy, at the cemetery of my uncle John.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has very strict rules, so that was not possible. Okay, life has taught me to always have a Plan B. I could possibly plant my oak at the Vimy Memorial itself, at the new Centennial Park. So I decided in August that when I went to France to plant a tree, I would leverage that opportunity to raise money for a special cause, the Alzheimer’s Society. I would bicycle 1,000 km, starting in P.E.I. at Cardigan, and after cycling across Belgium would wind up at Vimy in France. I was ready; Centennial Park

The children of St. Edmunds College gathered to hear the story of the Vimy oak legacy and watch the planting of the tree.

was not. Removal of 100-year-old unexploded ordnance was taking longer than anyone thought. Plan C. My wife’s name is Theresa. There is an elementary school in the little town of Vimy called Ste. Therese. Serendipity perhaps? The school, however, has no greenspace for a large oak to grow old. Plan D then was to be a planting on town property with school children in attendance.

That would be amazing, but calls to the mayor’s office were unreturned. Plus, we were running out of time.

By Oct. 11, the little oak was still at the nursery near Paris, and I was still in Belgium. I had the phone number of Francois Brioche in Arras, a few kilometers from Vimy. Full of hope, we arranged to ship the tree to his home. When I arrived on Saturday the tree was there, but we had no place to plant.

The next day was Sunday, and Monday was my last day in France.

As we walked across the Place des Héros in the centre of town, Francois looked at me and said, “What are you going to do with the tree, Jimmy?” I told him he would have to find a home. I was not greatly disappointed. It was, after all, the tree that led me here to France, that led me to raise over $5,000 for Alzheimer’s, and that will lead me back someday. In addition, the tree will go on to fulfill its purpose… to remind others.

The next gift

came in the form of the Mayor of Arras, who just happened to be in the café my new friend and I had ducked into. As a bonus, Francois knew him as a speaking acquaintance. We told our story and Mayor Frédéric Leturque granted permission to plant the tree in a park by the railway station called Wellington Tunnels. I had a bag of Canada pins and another fistful of flags in anticipation of an audience. I wished we had a bus full of children to attend the ceremony.

This last gift

came about by divine intervention, I am sure. St. Edmunds College is the oldest Catholic school in England; it was founded in 1568 in the Douai Valley of France, the valley that Vimy Ridge gazes over. The school’s bus was parked in the lot beside Wellington Tunnel. I’ll let Steven Cartwright, head of St. Edmunds Prep School, tell the rest:

Dear Parents and Guardians, Sometimes the universe conspires for you.

On Monday afternoon, I found myself in the city of Arras, Hauts-de-France, surrounded by 39 Form 6 children and the accompanying staff. We had stopped for a short break outside the Wellington Quarry and, from nowhere, a man came running up to me carrying an English oak sapling around eight feet high. “Excuse me,” he said in a Canadian accent, “I don’t mean to bother you but I wondered if you would like to learn the story of this tree.” Intrigued, I encouraged him to explain more.

About 10 minutes later, the children and I were gathered on a small green, near the entrance to the Quarry, saying a prayer to commemorate all those who fell in the Great War. As we watched, labourers dug a hole and the Mayor of Arras, together with the Canadian man, planted the tree.

Our children sat on the grass around him as he told us his story. Form 6 considered the 11,285 Canadian men who fell as a result of the battle which began at 5:30 in the morning on 9th April 1917. The children were respectful, they listened attentively and they learned.

If ever you get a chance to make your family proud, you should LT jump at it. It’s a great gift to give.

Jim Landry is executive director of Landscape New Brunswick and Landscape P.E.I. JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

29

The

crisis Can horticulture find a sustainable path forward?

BY ANNE MARIE VAN NEST

30 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

against single-use plastic and the burgeoning amounts of plastic found in Canadian environments is spurring an ever-broading, grassroots sustainability movement.

Our greenhouse, nursery, garden centre, and landscaping industries have largely flown under the public radar, but it won’t be long before customers and clients start sounding an alarm about our industry and single-use plastics — plant pots and trays, nursery containers, bale wraps for growing substrates, plant sleeves, plant labels, IPM signs, trunk liners, greenhouse film, plastic mulch, fertilizer bags, irrigation drip systems, and much

PHOTO BY ANNE VAN NEST

Four-in. plastic pots sorted, stacked, stored and ready for reuse.

A growing outcry

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Plastic trays ready for shipping out potted plants.

more. It’s time to step up and do our part toward a more sustainable future.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS Natural Impressions Landscaping is a small landscaping firm near Ottawa, Ont., specializing in regenerative and sustainable horticultural practices. Founder Andrew Burgess has put a lot of thought into dealing with pots in a sustainable way. Burgess loves the large

PHOTO BY ANNE VAN NEST

IMPRACTICALITY OF RECYCLING For decades, developed countries shipped plastic waste to China and other Asian countries. In 2018, China closed the door because “much of the plastic waste was low quality and adding to China’s mounting health and environmental problems,” reported Laura Parker and Kennedy Elliott for National Geographic.

Joe Hruska, V.P. Sustainability for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), suggests that Canadians should produce lesscontaminated recyclable products that China would accept or follow the British Columbia model. In B.C., all plastic recycling is handled by a not-for-profit organization, Recycle BC, and costs are covered by businesses in the province that are deemed to create waste packaging or products.

In 2008, Landscape Ontario started a system for recycling horticultural plastics that was adopted by more than 50 garden centres in eight provinces, and ultimately run by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. Denis Flanagan, Landscape Ontario Manager of Membership and Public Relations, says, “The program came to a halt when China decided to stop receiving any plastic. Other methods of recycling were explored, but all proved too expensive to be viable.”

Soil and debris stuck to pots and greenhouse films is a serious cause of batch contamination, leading to extra sorting. Cleaning pots for recycling is a challenge. Mobile cleaning and baling equipment can be used on-site for large-scale cleaning of #4 greenhouse films. Some portable, plastic-baler machines can also crush nursery pots and process drip tape. Metal basket hangers or metal clips used to secure plant tags can also contaminate batches.

It’s important to separate plastic pots with different recycling codes, such as #2 and #5, otherwise they can contaminate the batch by melting at different speeds or not melting at all.

With single-stream recycling, resist the temptation to throw everything that might be recyclable into the bin. To avoid contamination, the CPIA recommends, “When in doubt, leave it out.”

5-10 gallon containers. These sturdy containers are used on job sites to transport compost, soils and mulch. For plant maintenance, teams use the containers as weeding buckets or to hold plant debris.

He also uses pots to hold and transport pruners and other tools.

Burgess says, “At the end of the day, my staff and I try to reuse the pots. I push reuse before recycling.”

To reduce the amount of plastic going to the landfill, Andrew also reuses plastic plant tags. He puts the plant tags in clear binder pages to make flip books for staff reference and to help new employees learn plant ID and characteristics.

The staff at Port Kells Nurseries in Surrey, B.C., have been working hard to reduce their (and their customer’s) carbon footprint. Rene

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#1 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) #2 High-Destiny Polyethylene (HDPE)

#4 Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

#5 Polypropylene (PP) High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) #6 32 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

COMMON HORTICULTURAL USES Clear plastic used for water bottles.

Flexible, rigid plastic used to make nursery containers, irrigation tubing, and pesticide containers.

Horticultural films, greenhouse covering material, synthetic mulch film, and pond liner.

A rigid, brittle plastic for smaller nursery pots and large, woven, bulk, tote bags.

Plant flats, plugs, liner, and carrier trays.

PHOTO BY SHANNON DORMAN

Sorted plastic pots ready for recycling or reuse at Quiet Nature.

Duineveld, who founded the nursery in 1992, is proud that nursery waste going to the landfill has been reduced by 98 per cent.

“The last two per cent,” he explains, “is just too labour intensive to even contemplate.”

Duineveld says, “Before any plastics go into our recycling bins, we try to reuse our plastics as much as we can. All trays are separated and reused at the front desk for people to carry their purchases home.”

He explains all pots are separated by size.

Some are sold to hobby farmers or other growers. Seed trays are returned to his grow-

ers, and small pots are kept for seedling production and given to schools for plant propagation projects.

Only broken and odd-size pots go into recycling. Duineveld says that for the first 10 months in 2018, “We’ve sent 80 cubic meters to Emterra Environmental for recycling (even though we have to pay for it) but that is much better than going to the landfill. Because of low oil prices (so we’ve been told) we still have to pay, but that might change in the future if demand for recycled material increases.”

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With a focus on sustainability and innovative alternatives, Quiet Nature is a landscape services company based in Ayr, Ont. “Our experience with recycling pots and trays has always been a challenge,” remarks Shannon Dorman, Marketing and Client Services Manager. “We looked into plastic recycling facilities at one point, specific for three different plastic types: HDPE #2, PP #5, and HIPS #6. We found a facility in Hamilton, but then would need to have all the pots cleaned, sorted, shrink-wrapped, and trucked out to that location. It was $200 just for shipping, and probably the equivalent of three people taking two days of labour to complete. There was a credit discussed with the recycling facility based on the total plastic weight once the pots were received, but also a deduction for dirt, debris or improper sorting. It was not very practical and quite expensive.”

Quite Nature has recently sent skids of pots back to its nursery supplier. Dorman says labour is needed to sort, clean, and shrink-wrap the skids. She feels it isn’t right that it costs time and money to return the pots, and concedes most staff don’t take time to sort and clean pots once back from a job site.

Dorman says, “The biggest problem is accountability at the source of the plastic from nurseries and suppliers. There should be ongoing pickups and proper recycling programs offered on a continual basis. They need to be responsible year round — not just once a year for a few days. What is desperately needed is a more practical and affordable solution for landscape businesses.”

CHALLENGES OF ALTERNATIVES Landscape Ontario’s Denis Flanagan notes several Ontario growers have met to discuss 34 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

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Fibre pots stored for reuse.

Fibre flats and carrying trays have been developed as a plastic alternative.

alternatives to plastic. He says, “Different types of pots such as coconut fibre, peat, various paper products, etc. were trialed but all proved not to have a long enough shelf life. Other solutions were discussed such as returning pots and containers to growers for cleaning, developing recyclable plastic products and developing new machinery, and again it was concluded that all options would be expensive.” The big unknown was if consumers would accept price increases to cover the new costs.

Alternative products for horticulture include pots, trays and twine made of starch, rice hulls, bamboo pulp residue, cow manure, compressed peat, paper, coconut husks and coir and even a “natural plastic” bio polymer made from plant sugars.

INNOVATION FOR THE FUTURE Standardized pot sizes would help make reuse and recycling easier, since the variety of nursery pot sizes makes sorting and stacking both time-consuming and inefficient. And a mandate that all plastic pots must be recyclable and marked with large, highly visible recycling codes would encourage more recycling.

Lisa McLean of AgInnovation Ontario concedes the greenhouse

36 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

sector remains a high user of plastic, especially the small clips that support tomato plants. These clips often remain on plants at the end of the season, and contaminate organic waste. Now in development are compostable plant clips made with “a new biocomposite resin that combines biodegradable plastics with agricultural residues, such as soy hulls or oat hulls,” says Prof. Manjusri Misra of the University of Guelph.

HerkuPlast Internationals, based in Germany and the Netherlands, makes QuickPot and HerkuPak products from heavy-duty, rigid, reusable polystyrene (HIPS #6). These propagating flats and trays are designed to last 8-10 years and be recycled. Sales director Alfred Boot says they are about three times the price of single-use plastics, but are much more sustainable and economical in the long term.

Horticulture professionals agree on the urgency of solving the plastics problem. Will it come from grassroots efforts, new technolLT ogy or a shift in global economies? Stay tuned.

Anne Marie Van Nest is a freelance garden writer, a member of the Garden Writers Association Sustainability Committee and a greenhouse grower at Niagara Parks.

Condo sprouts trees!

BY SCOTT BARBER

Design-forward Toronto project aims to plant a vertical forest

n architect firm and condo developer are planning Canada’s first vertical forest for Toronto, and they’ve brought together an impressive team of horticulturists, arborists, irrigation specialists and academics to make the ambitious project come to life.

Cityzen Development Group and Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects, both based in Toronto, Ont., are working through the municipal approval process for Designers Walk, situated between the city’s posh Yorkville and Annex neighbourhoods.

If the project is approved as planned, the “L” shaped, 27-story building will be home to some 500 trees (half deciduous, half coniferous) on extensive terraces and an open parkette.

Artist renderings of the condo highlight just how unique this building would be in Toronto, a city which is increasingly dominated by cookie-cutter glass boxes. The images capture the imagination; as cities grow and population density increases, who wouldn’t prefer a green building over the monotony of glass and steel?

But is it really possible?

Robert Wright, dean of forestry at the University of Toronto, and a landscape architect by training, has been in discussions with Brian Brisbin of BBB. “People who understand ecological and horticultural environments know that these are living systems, and while you can do a whole lot with them, they are also quite unforgiving,” Wright said.

38 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

“If you do it wrong, they will die.”

To build and maintain suitable environments for plants and trees of this scale, on a condo of this size, with exposure in all four directions, will require incredible horticultural expertise, Wright says.

However, he is optimistic that with the right group of academics, industry experts and researchers, Designers Walk could serve as a model for future developments.

“My three drivers have always been biomass, biodiversity and canopy cover,” Wright says. “We need more trees, we need more vegetation and we need more green spaces in our cities, and I’m willing to consider just about anything to get that done.”

In addition to Wright, BBB Architects are working with researcher Darby McGrath of the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in the Niagara, Ont., region; Milton, Ont.-based nursery PAO Horticultural; Milton- and Delhi, Ont.-based irrigation firm Vanden Bussche Irrigation; and arborist Michael Ormston-Holloway of The Planning Partnership in Toronto.

“Brian [Brisbin] contacted us because of research we have been doing with tree planting along highways and in harsh urban conditions,” McGrath explained. “We are looking at this as a project that

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Structural engineering solutions will need to be found for the amount of soil, plants and water required for the vertical forest.

would address the horticultural requirements of these kinds of environments as well as hopefully creating a kind of template for other people in Canada who want to use this type of building design.”

McGrath added, “There are a lot of challenges that we see right away with this project. The first thing that comes to mind for me as a tree person is the substrate quality and volume that the trees would have access to. I work in a lot of urban soils and we know that it is a primary determinant to the success of tree installations in cities.

Finding the right air and water balance in the soil is hard enough on the ground in an urban setting, but trying to achieve it up in the air where the trees are experiencing potentially higher rates of evapotranspiration because of wind and heat and of all of the conditions that are different up on the side of a building, the substrate mix and the volume is going to be important.”

All that soil, plants and water will require structural engineering solutions, as well.

New opportunities for growers McGrath says vertical forests could be a major opportunity for Canadian nursery growers and landscape professionals, including the potential for new nursery products suited to the application.

“For Vineland, we look at this as a horticultural challenge and it’s our job to come up with innovations for the horticulture industry,” McGrath said. “It’s an opportunity to show the stewardship that we have over green space as nursery growers and landscapers.”

McGrath explained that funding for Vineland’s involvement will come in part from investments from the architect and the developer, and the organization will also be looking for public grants.

There are current examples of vertical forests in China, Singapore and Italy. The Bosco Verticale building in Milan, Italy, provided inspiration for Designers Walk. BBB Architects partner Brian Brisbin went as far as to rent a unit in the building through AirBNB to get a closer look.

Conserving...recycling reclaimed irrigation system... trees and green absorb noise, pollution and add O2

The experienced led to an epiphany of sorts, he told the Toronto Star in a July, 2018 story. He had travelled to Europe, “to track down technology that’s about four miles from [his Toronto office].” The innovations that make a vertical forest possible — irrigation technology, advanced research into soil quality and volumes, leading urban forestry academics — are all found in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Our structure has depressed slab areas that hold the trees in with irrigation components built all into one specialized system, which has never been done before,” Brisbin told The Star.

To serve water needs, the building will have a filtering and recycling system that will pump water horizontally and vertically to each planter. Brisbin also told The Star that each tree will be computer monitored “for health and hydration in a program by the University of Toronto with Vineland Research and Innovation, providing a case study over the next five to 10 years that will set the base parameters for future buildings.”

Challenges of our Canadian climate

The health and environmental benefits of vertical forests has already been proven in places like China and Italy.

40 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

However, Toronto’s climate poses additional challenges. “Toronto goes from minus 30 to plus 30 [degrees Celsius] in a single season,” Wright said. “You go to Milan, or Singapore or any of the places where there are these kinds of developments, and they all have very even climate profiles. Our profile has wild swings.”

Wright emphasized the importance of a long-term maintenance plan developed and implemented by highly skilled and knowledgeable horticulturists.

“One of the big things I keep hitting [the architect firm] on is in landscaping we often see a lot of money spent on capital to create amazing things, but not enough is done for long-term

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No matter what your mowing preference is, we’ve got the perfect zero-turn mowers for your business. For those who prefer to sit, our Z930M mower hits the sweet spot where value-driven performance, and day-in, day-out driving durability come together. And our QuikTraks give you tremendous stability even on tricky hills. Or you can take advantage of No Interest, No Payments until May of 2019, followed by 3.9% APR for 48 months.2† But hurry: this offer ends February 28, 2019.

Keep Mowing

JohnDeere.ca/MowPro

1†Offer valid from October 27, 2018 to February 28, 2019. 1 0.9% purchase financing for 36 months on select new John Deere Commercial Mowing equipment. Down payment may be required. Representative Amount Financed (“RAF”): $50,000 at 0.9% APR, monthly payment is $1,408.24 for 36 months, total obligation is $50,696.64, cost of borrowing based on RAF is $720.64. MSRP cash price is $69,627 based on highest priced product in series as of January 1, 2018 (includes $50 documentation fee). 2 Purchase financing for up to 48 months on select new John Deere Commercial Mowing equipment. From date of contract until May 1, 2019, interest fully waived and no monthly payments are required. After May 1, 2019, interest begins to accrue on unpaid amounts at 3.9% APR and purchaser will repay principal and interest over remaining term in contract. Down payment may be required. Representative Amount Financed (“RAF”): $50,000, at 3.9% APR, monthly payment (waived from date of contract until May 1, 2019) is $1,126.72 for 48 months, total obligation is $54,082.56, cost of borrowing based on RAF is $4,106.56. MSRP cash price is $69,627 (includes $50 documentation fee) based on highest priced product in series as of January 1, 2018.

2†Monthly payments/cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed/down payment. Taxes, set-up, delivery, and freight charges will apply. Minimum finance amount may be required; representative amount does not guarantee offer applies. The charge for amounts past due is 24% per annum. Dealers free to set individual prices. Additional dealer fees may apply. Financing on approved John Deere Financial credit only. See dealer for details. May not be combined with other offers. Discounts or other incentives may be available for cash purchases. By selecting the purchase financing offer, consumers may be foregoing such discounts and incentives which may result in a higher effective interest rate.

74961 John Deere, the leaping deer symbol, and green and yellow trade dress are trademarks of Deere & Company.

The goal is to gain knowledge that will enable even more condo developments across the country to incorporate plant material and trees into buildings.

maintenance … this is the type of project that needs to have associated long-term maintenance contracts … It will require a great horticultural understanding of plant material; in a forest environment, the access to light is fairly equal because the trees are more or less on an equal playing field, whereas with a building, you have four entirely different climatic systems at play.”

Trees and plants must be selected and maintained with each specific microclimate in mind. Plans call for the 500 trees to be rooted two years ahead of time in woven, stainless steel planters.

Once the condo is complete and the trees and plants have been installed, plans are in place to monitor and study how well they do.

The larger goal, for both Wright and McGrath, is to gain knowledge that will enable even more condo developments across the country to incorporate plant material and trees into buildings.

While the Designers Walk condo — based on its location in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Toronto — will be out of reach for all but the most well-heeled Torontonians, its success is important to more than just its future residents. If it works, and the horticulture is sound, it could serve as a model that could push the needle in Canada’s development industry. And that would be a very positive outcome for Canadians, the environment and horticulture LT professions.

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siteone.ca 42 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

INNOVATIVE PRODUCTIVITY

™

At Ferris®, we provide commercial landscaping equipment that helps you work faster, while accomplishing more with greater ease. We do this through our industry-leading innovation, uncompromising performance and quality.

SUSPENSION TECHNOLOGY Ferris mowers with patented suspension systems allow each wheel to move up and down independently, smoothing out uneven turf. The deck of the mower works in conjunction with the suspension system to provide a consistent cut.

60% OIL MAINTENANCE SAVINGS* The Oil Guard™ system allows you to operate your mower for 500 hours between oil changes.

*Cost savings based on standard oil maintenance with 100 hour interval versus Oil Guard System 500 hour service interval. Available on select models.

FERRISMOWERS.COM

URBAN SOILS:

Naturally unnatural

BY CHRISTOPH KESSEL, SOIL FERTILITY SPECIALIST (HORTICULTURE) ONTARIO MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Platy soil structure (indicated by arrow) is a symptom of compaction.

In compacted, platy soils (left), roots will be crooked or flattened as they grow through the platy structure. A well-aggregated soil (right) is friable and readily breaks into 10 mm crumbs. The crumbs do not disintegrate in water. Roots are nicely distributed.

and lower water infiltration rates. These are poor conditions for successful landscape plantings.

While alleviating some of these urban soil limitations can be difficult, understanding how they have occurred and being able to identify them, will improve the success of your soil preparation and plant LT choices, to help create long-term successful landscapes.

CONGRESS CONNECTION:

CHRISTOPH KESSEL

A horizon (top soil)

B horizon (sub soil)

C horizon (deep subsoil) a. Agricultural soil

b. Urban soil

This agricultural soil profile shows multiple distinct soil horizons. The urban soil shows only two layers, the added top soil and what was previously the deeper subsoil or C horizon. The C horizon has fewer nutrients and higher pH than the A horizon.

44 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

The Ontario Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture and Landscape Ontario’s Growers Group will present GreenLive!, a free demo area on the Congress show floor. Christoph Kessel and Darby McGrath will speak on Site Conditions and Preparation for Tree Planting. Other sessions are headlined by Nick Winkelmolen, Paul deGroot, Rebecca Parker, Glen Lumis, Peter Shields, Patricia Thompson and Charlie Dobbin.

Get the details at LOcongress.com.

PHOTOS: OMAFRA

s landscapers we aim for successful, long-lived plantings, but often our sites are challenged with urban soils that are very different than forest or agricultural soils. What nature slowly develops over tens of thousands of years, a bulldozer completely obliterates in a matter of seconds. The new landscape is then covered up with a soil that has been pushed around, piled, screened, dumped and spread.

Changes to an urban soil’s profile, or horizons, and increased compaction can limit successful planting establishment. Understanding these changes can help to anticipate, diagnose and address site challenges.

During urban site construction and preparation, the topsoil (upper layer, or A horizon) and often the subsoil (middle layer or B horizon) are typically removed, exposing the deep subsoil (lowest layer or C horizon).

Compared to the A horizon, this lower horizon usually has a higher pH and poor soil fertility.

A healthy and functioning soil is balanced between its physical components and its pore spaces. Ideally, it consists of 50 per cent physical components (minerals and organic matter) and 50 per cent pore space for air and water. However, many urban soils are compacted, with only 20-30 per cent pore space. Compacted soils have reduced pore spaces for air and water, affect root growth

EVERYTHING TO DO AT CONGRESS ’19

CANADA’S PREMIER GREEN INDUSTRY TRADE SHOW AND CONFERENCE

10 ACRES

LEARN FROM

ONE ROOF — EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIERS & PRODUCTS

EXPERTS

YOU NEED

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AT OUR CONFERENCES

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YOUR

BUSINESS

A BETTER PROFESSION

NETWORK & CONNECT WITH

GREEN PROFESSIONALS

EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE PURCHASES

FROM 600 VENDORS

SEEK THE LATEST

GREEN TRENDS

JANUARY 8,9 & 10, 2019 TORONTO CONGRESS CENTRE, TORONTO, ONTARIO

FEATURING GARDEN EXPO AND FENCECRAFT

REGISTER AT LOCONGRESS.COM JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

45

TICKETED EVENTS AT CONGRESS ’19 WARMUP MONDAY JANUARY 7TH

LANDSCAPE

DESIGNERS

CONFERENCE

IPM SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOP PEER TO PEER

FULL DAY EVENT

NOT TO BE MISSED - JANUARY 8TH & 9TH AT CONGRESS

TUESDAY JANUARY 8TH LOCONGRESS FEATUREDevelopment EVENT GRAPHIC MOCKUP Winning Workforce Strategies

for Landscape Professionals with moderator: Michael Pascoe NPD, ODH, CLT, M.Sc. Fanshawe College

BUILD

YOUR

DREAM

TEAM

symposium

January 9, 2019

Join us for the Awards of Excellence Ceremony for Garden Centres Retail program winners will be announced!

46 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Digital Marketing for Garden Centres: Building a Healthy Ecosystem Presented by Zachary O’Connor, Web Conductors Inc.

DESIGN, CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN YOUR

Legacy

you ,re invited to the

AWARDS CEREMONY AND PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION TUESDAY JANUARY 8, 2019 5:00 pm Plaza Ballroom, Delta Hotels Toronto Airport

Purchase tickets at LOcongress.com

PRESENTING PARTNER:

SUPPORTING PARTNERS:

WHAT’S INCLUDED I N YOUR TRADE SHOW PASS

10 ACRES NEW

EQUIPMENT, PRODUCTS OF PEOPLE & PRODUCTS

UNDER ONE ROOF

SHOWCASE

Hardscape LIVE GREENLIVE

FREE

PARKING

AT CONGRESS CENTRE

Drive LIVE

INSTALLATION PLANTING, CARE METHODS TO TECHNIQUES AND MAINTENANCE MINIMIZE RISK LIVE BUILDS DAILY FREE FOR ATTENDEES & TRAVEL SAFELY

JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

47

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

Most events are at the Toronto Congress Centre (TCC), unless otherwise noted. Fees apply to conference sessions, pre-trade show events and some special events listed below. Visit LOcongress.com for pricing.

MONDAY, JANUARY 7 ALL DAY PROGRAMS TICKETED EVENT IPM Symposium 7:30 am to 4:00 pm - Cohen Ballroom

TICKETED EVENT Landscape Designer Conference 8:30 am to 6:00 pm - International Ballroom Delta Hotels Toronto Airport

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8 MORNING PROGRAM 8:00 am

Registration Open - Hall D

9:00 am to 5:00 p.m.

Trade Show Floor Open

TICKETED EVENT Build Your Dream Team! Winning Workforce Development Strategies 9:30 am to 12:30 am

for Landscape Professionals - Sutherland Room MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS - CONFERENCE 9:30 am to 10:30 am Managing Your Plant Community: Creative Approaches to Site Preparation,

Installation, and Maintenance - Berton Room Take Back 40% of Your Workday with Leadership and Communication 9:30 am to 10:30 am

- Pinsent Room OWNERS ONLY WORKSHOP Fired Up and Focused - Waxman Room 9:30 am to 11:30 am 10:45 am to 11:45 am Creating Culture In Your Organization - Pinsent Room 10:45 am to 11:45 am Log Cabin...or Taj Mahal - Are You Really Listening? - Berton Room LUNCHEON KEYNOTE Face Any Storm - Cohen Ballroom (Lunch included) 11:45 am to 1:15 pm

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9 MORNING PROGRAM 8:00 am

Registration Open

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Trade Show Floor Open

7:00 am to 9:00 am

Landscape Ontario Annual General Meeting - International Ballroom, Delta Hotels Toronto Airport (LO members only)

MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS - CONFERENCE 9:30 am to 11:30 am OWNERS ONLY WORKSHOP Engaging a Multi-Generation Workforce

- Waxman Room GROWING UP Your Container Design and Maintenance Sales - Pinsent Room 9:30 am to 10:30 am 9:30 am to 10:30 am Painting with Perennials: A Landscape Artist’s Perspective - Berton Room TICKETED EVENT 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

10:45 am to 11:45 am

10:45 am to 11:45 am

Garden Centre Symposium: Digital Marketing for Garden Centres - Sutherland Room Choice Plants, Proven Performers and Impactful Additions for Gardenscapes - Pinsent Room Marketing is About Belonging - Berton Room

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 EDUCATION PARTNERS 8:00 am

Registration Open

9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Trade Show Floor Open

EDUCATION PARTNERS 7:00 am to 5:00 pm

9:30 am to 10:30 am 9:30 am to 10:30 am 9:30 am to 10:30 am 9:30 am to 10:30 am

Techo-Bloc Inc. Contractor Showcase - Cohen Ballroom Free Event, Register Online at contractorshowcase.com How Technology Can Drive Profits - Berton Room 1&2 Beyond Organic Matter - Unlocking the Power in Soil Microbial Life - Berton Room 3&4 Workplace Mental Health: An Introduction - Waxman Room 1&2 Big or Small: Benefits of Asset Finance in Helping Your Business Succeed - Waxman Room 3&4

EDUCATION PARTNERS

48 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Conference presented in partnership with

TICKETED EVENT Peer to Peer Workshop 8:30 am to 3:30 pm - New York Room Delta Hotels Toronto Airport

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8 AFTERNOON PROGRAM AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS - CONFERENCE

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm

It’s the End of the World As We Know It: Prompt Payment, Adjudication and the New Construction Act - Sutherland Room OWNERS ONLY WORKSHOP The Five Pillars of Business Success - Waxman Room OWNERS ONLY WORKSHOP How to Systemize Job Costing and Automate Job Site - Pinsent Room Promoting Gardening in the Landscape of Media Clutter - Berton Room Pots of BOLD! Designing with Containers for DRAMA! - Berton Room

TICKETED EVENT 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Awards of Excellence Ceremony - Plaza Ballroom, Delta Hotels Toronto Airport

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9 AFTERNOON PROGRAM AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS - CONFERENCE 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm Networking Lunch - Cohen Ballroom TICKETED EVENT 12:15 pm to 12:45 pm 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

2:45 pm to 3:45 pm

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Garden Centre Awards Ceremony - Sutherland Room OWNERS ONLY WORKSHOP Growth and Overcoming Plateaus - Pinsent Room The Edible Landscape: Incorporating Edibles into the Modern Landscape - Berton Room OWNERS ONLY WORKSHOP Marijuana Legalization’s Impact on Landscape Profession Employers - Waxman Room Electrically Powered Equipment For The Landscaping Profession - Berton Room Landscape Ontario Home Office Visioning Session - Sutherland Room

FEATURE EVENT - Free with badge 5:00 pm to midnight Tailgate Party! - Plaza Ballroom, Delta Hotels Toronto Airport

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 EDUCATION PARTNERS MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS - CONFERENCE 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Leading with Landscape - Designing and Implementing Urban Ecologies

- Sutherland Room 3&4 EDUCATION PARTNERS 9:30 am to 10:30 am Two cm Outdoor Porcelain Italian Pavers - Sutherland Room 1&2 Prospering in a Shrinking Labour Market - Waxman Room 1&2 11:00 am to 12:00 pm 11:00 am to 12:00 pm Want to Sell Time & Materials Work? What you need to know - Sutherland Room 1&2 11:00 am to 12:00 pm Low Impact Development: Improving the Urban Environment - Waxman Room 3&4

ALL

3 DAYS

FREE WITH YOUR PASS AT CONGRESS ’19

SHOW FLOOR FEATURES FREE WITH BADGE

10:30 am and 2:30 p.m. Hardscape LIVE! 11:00 am and 2:00 p.m. Drive LIVE! 11:30 am and 1:30 pm Green LIVE! 9:00 am to 5:00 pm New Product Showcase 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Canada Blooms Campus Student Gardens JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

49

50 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES COAT CHECK

E31

E30

HALL F FIRE

SPRIN-

KLERS

Drive-In Door

1312

LANDSCAPE ONTARIO RESOURCE CENTRE AND INFO KIOSK

 1610

1618

1518

1428

AISLE 1700

1628

AISLE 1600

1629

1528

AISLE 1500

D

HALL

AISLE 1400

1328

850

838

SERVICE

1336 1338 1342

1639

1538 1542

1733 1735 1737 1638

1632 1634

1633

1532 1534

1539 1543

1438 1442

1433 1435 1437 1439

1332

1643

1443

1343

1242

1239 1241

1250

1251 1253 1255

1747 1749

1646

1452

1650 1753 1755

1550 1552 1554

1450

1451 1453

1647 1649 1651

1546

1547 1549

1446

1447

754

#152

954

1346 1348 1350 1352

1347

1246

1247

WASHROOMS

1235

HUMBER

452

WASHROOMS

1238

1434

152

E

HALL

757

356

HUMBER COLLEGE COLLEGE - #152

w

650

ROLL-UP DOOR

q

1232

1233

832

AISLE 900

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1228

750

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AISLE 800

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745 747

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646

640 642

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635

AISLE 600

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1229

928

828

728

628

528

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534

AISLE 500

446 545 547

541 543

350

344

539

250

345

244

DURHAM DURHAM LLEGE - #14 COLLEGE #146

146

438

AISLE 400

AISLE 300

230

139

EXIT

IAGARA

1660

1661

1560

1460

1461

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1015

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1006

IVE LIVE - #97

DRIVE LIVE! #972

972

1573

1472

1566 1568

1773

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AISLE 1700

1666

AISLE 1600

1572

AISLE 1500 1665 1667

1565

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1465 1469

1364 1366 1368

1272

1380

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1676

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FIRE DOOR

2009

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AISLE 1000

1577 1579 1581 1482

1477

1478

1277 1279

1376

AISLE 1300

1266

AISLE 1200

1269 1271 1273

SHOW PARTNERS

Toronto Congress Centre

January 8 -10, 2019

PLANT CHALLENGE #1061 LANT IDID CHALLENGE - #1061

ARKS - #164 NIAGARA COLLEGE #164

164

E

EXHIBITOR ENTRANCE & REGISTRATION

Drive-In Door

1514

1414

1216

1217

AISLE 1000

720

F

HALL

428

328

COLLEGE #139

ANSHAWE COLLEGE FANSHAWE - #139

AISLE 200

CORRIDOR

1212

1211 1213

910

616 618

516

517

320

125

MECH.

1410

DOOR

810

710

610

612

510

411

310

220

SP

700

SHOWTECH OFFICE

STORAGE

T.C.C.

STORAGE

E28

E27

E26

E25

E24

LOADING DOORS

T.C.C.

T.C.C. STORAGE

E23

JOB BOARD 116

HARDSCAPE LIVE #125

AISLE 100

D

S

W

TRUCKS/TRAILERS

OB OARDS

EXIT SP

MAIN ENTRANCE & REGISTRATION

E

N

TUNNEL SP



SP

AISLE 2000

RESTAURANT RESTAU

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

7

6

BAILEY MEETING ROOM

F1

T AREA URANT RECEIVING

8

TRUCKS/TRAILERS

q

DRIVE-IN

F6

w

F8

DOOR

JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES | SUTHERLAND ROOM #5

SUTHERLAND ROOMS #1-3

E. MIRVISH LOBBY

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

2532

2729

A. COLVILLE LOBBY

P.BERTON

P.BERTON MEETING ROOMS MEETING ROOMS

MEETING ROOMS

G.PINSENT MEETING ROOMS

G.PINSENT

2732

2628 2630 2632 2634

2629

2824 2826 2828

2724

2725

2624

2524

2528

2533 2535

2432 2434

2433 2435

B

HALL

2846

2742

2642

2643

2542

2442

2443

2342

2343

M.SAFDIE M.SAFDIE ROOM ROOM

DANBY

SERVERY 2

SUTHERLAND SUTHERLAND SUTHERLAND ROOM #5 ROOM #4 ROOMSROOMS #1-3 D.SUTHERLAND MEETING

2718

2520

A

HALL

2525 2527 2529

2424 2426

2425 2427

2332 2334

2333 2335 2337

2242

2158

A

SH

R

SERVERY 1

S

q M O O

O. PETERSON LOBBY

W

S

w

2856

2858

2571

2567

NEW PRODUCT SHOWCASE

NEW PRODUCT SHOWCASE #2770

2770

2667 2669 2671 2673

2570

2470

2466

2566

2471

2370

2371

2366

2367

CAFE

C

HALL

#2167

GREEN

REEN LIVE LIVE! SAO - #2170

2266 2268 2270 2272

2166

2170

L.COHEN

BALLROOM

L.COHEN BALLROOM

THE COURTYARD CAFE Courtyard Cafe

2860

2661

2758

AISLE 2800

2656

AISLE 2700 2750

M O O R SH A W

2850

2648

2657

AISLE 2600

2556

2662

2561

2557

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2460 2462

2456

AISLE 2500 2649 2550

2546 2548

2356

AISLE 2400

2449 2451

2346 2348 2350 2352

AISLE 2300

2357

2361

2256 2258 2260

2347 2349 2351 2353

AISLE 2200

2255

2154 2156

2246 2248 2250

2249

2150

REEN LIVELIVE! - #2167 GREEN #2167

1984

2013

2167

3006

3004

3014

3012

3011

SP

NEW PRODUCT SHOWCASE

S.ETROG CONFERENCE/ MEDIA OFFICE

2616

2617 2619

2516

2420

TO CONFERENCE AREA

F53 2815

F52 2714

WASHROOMS

F7

A.WAXMAN MEETING ROOMS A.WAXMAN MEETING ROOMS

WASHROOMS

F5

AISLE 2800

F3

F10 F12 F14 F16

2713

2612

AISLE 2700

F11 F13 F15 F17

F20 F22 F24

F2

AISLE 2900

ATRIUM

F44

2512

AISLE 2600

2603 2605 2607 2609

2502 2504 2506

2517 2521

2421

2324 2326 2328

2325 2327 2329

2234

2243

2146

AISLE 2100

2149 2151 2153 2155 2157 2159

1878

EXIT

DOOR

T.C.C. STORAGE

TCC FRIDGE

EXIT

2513

AISLE 2500

2412 2414

2417

2316 2318

2317 2319

2229 2235

2224 2226 2228 2230

2124

2142

2145

1972

1973

1872 1874

AISLE 1900

1866

1780

AISLE 3000

OFFICE

OFFICE

STORAGE T.C.C

F42

F41

2916

AISLE 2900

UP

KITCHEN

2915

2312

2503 2505 2507

2409

AISLE 2400

2402 2404 2406 2408

2403

2306

2302

2313

AISLE 2300

2206

2303

2221

2128 2130 2132 2134 2136

2125 2129 2131 2133 2135 2137

1960 1962 1964

1860

1772

AISLE 1800

AISLE 3000

TCC SECURITY

DOOR DRIVE-IN

2914

2913

2912

2911

2910

2908

2907

2906

2905

2212 2214 2216 2218

2217

2121

1950 1952 1954

1850

1760

EXIT

Radisson Suite Hotel Toronto Airport 640 Dixon Road, Toronto, ON M9W 1J1 Reservations: 416-242-7400 Special: $135 Superior Suite Booking Code: LANDS

19

2202 2204

AISLE 2200

2112

2116 2118 2120

2117 2119

PARTITION CLOSET

SHOW OFFICE

1844

1748

HALLS A,B,C

Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport 33 Carlson Court, Toronto, ON M9W 6H5 Reservations: 416-675-1234 or 1-877-859-5899 Special: $124 Single or Double Booking Code: LDS Group name: Landscape Ontario

20

SP

HOST HOTEL Delta Hotel Toronto Airport 655 Dixon Road, Toronto, ON M9W 1J4 Reservations: 416-244-1711 or 1-800-668-3656 Special: $146 Single or Double Booking Code: LAN

21

2203 2205 2207 2209

2102

2113

AISLE 2100

2105

1928

1938

1742

FIRE

2904

2901

2101

1918 1920 1922

AISLE 1900

1828

1728

AISLE 1800

GREEN LIVE!

Make direct reservations, by December 14, 2018, with your preferred hotel. Quote the booking code to receive special rates.

EXIT

1910

1819 1821

1718 1720

DOORS

ACCOMMODATION

22

WHERE TO STAY

CONGRESS 2019

HALLS A,B,C Loading Dock

1808

1708 SP DRIVE-IN

EXIT

EXIT

EXIT

EXIT

KINDRIE GROVE LOBBY

MEETING

BAILEY ROOM

LOADING DOCKS

LOADING DOORS

5

EXIT

51

Paving the future

Permeable solutions slow runoff, and give enterprising contractors a great differentiation story

BY DAVID HEIN

P

ermeable pavements originated in Europe almost 50 years ago. They started as open aggregate bases and subbases which were able to drain and contain stormwater. In order to support vehicles, they were reinforced using a variety of cell structures made of concrete or plastic. Modern permeable systems consist of a surface of open-graded aggregate asphalt/concrete or segmental brick/concrete paving units with joints or openings that allow water to flow freely into an open-graded aggregate base/ subbase reservoir. Water is collected and stored in the reservoir before it leaves the pavement structure. Permeable pavements are used for roadways, shoulders, alleyways, parking areas, sidewalks and driveways.

Permeable pavements are an effective method for reducing stormwater runoff and pollutants from urbanized areas and can function well with minimal maintenance. Design pollutant removal efficiencies are on the order of 85 per cent for total suspended solids, 35 per cent for phosphorus, and 30 per cent for nitrogen. Permeable pavement systems do not typically remove dissolved forms of chemicals, salts, metals, or nutrients.

There are several types of permeable pavements. A full infiltration design permits stormwater to enter the pavement and be transmitted directly into the subgrade. This type of permeable

52 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

pavement design is used for sandy type subgrades which have high infiltration rates. A partial infiltration design permits water to be stored in the pavement structure.

Other designs over expansive or fill soils, or close to buildings, may enclose the pavement structure with geomembrane (impermeable liner). An outlet pipe provides temporary storage and outflow control. This design approach can also be used for water harvesting. The use of a geomembrane to restrict infiltration into the soil subgrade is often called a low infiltration design.

When stormwater is infiltrated through the system, the water is filtered, and suspended particles within the water are captured and held within the bedding and aggregate layers.

DESIGN OBJECTIVES Design of permeable pavement requires a balance in providing a structure sufficient to withstand traffic while achieving stormwater management/ hydrologic design goals. High-quality construction techniques and proper maintenance are critical to longevity. Permeable pavements are not suitable for every application, but with the proper design, construction, and maintenance, they provide a low-impact, green alternative that is worth considering. They may be more cost-effective than conventional pavements by conserving land

Brick/block pavement with open graded aggregate, reinforced with concrete to support vehicles.

use (runoff detention facilities not required) and by reducing drainage infrastructure.

The National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA), American Concrete Paving Association (ACPA) and Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) have published guidelines for the design, construction, and maintenance of permeable pavements. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) have published test methods for permeable concrete pavement placement. In addition, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has recently published a new standard guideline for the design, construction, and maintenance of permeable inter-

locking concrete pavement (ASCE 68-18).

Urban design features The cross-section of the pavement is usually underlain by granular materials. These materials need to be protected from erosion by providing them with a hard surface. Subsurface water flow typically is directed to longitudinal subdrains connected to the storm drain system. Other urban design features, such as curbs, gutters, safety barriers, retaining walls, and noise barrier walls, may also be included in the design.

Supplementary surface drainage features The permeable pavement may

not have sufficient surface permeability to infiltrate water from major storm events. In these cases, supplementary surface drain-

age features, such as curb cutouts, may be provided to direct water from the pavement surface to other stormwater features.

Adjacent buildings and other pavements Permeable pavements may be con-

structed adjacent to buildings or conventional pavements with dense-graded bases. Building foundations should be protected from water infiltration by sloping the permeable pavement away from the building, protecting the building foundation by waterproofing or installing an impermeable liner vertically against the foundation wall or conventional pavement and along the nearest sides and bottom of the permeable pavement.

Driveways Permeable pavements are

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popular for residential driveway use. The pavement structure would normally consist of 200 to 300 mm (8 to 10 inches) of open graded aggregate base with a top size of about 25 mm (1 inch). The base is then surfaced with 50 mm (2 inches) of bedding stone and 60- or 80 mm-thick pavers. If the driveway subgrade is a fine graded material such as fine silts and clays, and/or is located in an area subject to heavy rain, the base may require supplementary drainage to a ditch, swale or curb to drain potential stormwater overflow to catchbasins or other drainage appurtenances. Supplementary drainage may also be required if the water from gutter downspouts or the from the area surrounding the driveway is drained onto the driveway surface.

Monitoring well For large-scale applications and demonstration projects, the permeable pavement should include a vertical perforated pipe, 100 to 150 mm (4 to 6 inches) in diameter, that serves as an observation well. The bottom of the pipe can penetrate the subgrade and be protected and supported during base/subbase filling and compaction. The pipe should be located near the permeable pavement system low

Plastic grid reinforced permeable pavement.

point, at least 1 m (3 ft.) away from the edge of the permeable pavement.

CONSTRUCTION TIPS Construction of permeable pavements is similar to the construction of a pavement incorporating an open-graded drainage layer. Care must be taken during construction to prevent damage and contamination of the permeable pavement system. A preconstruction meeting is highly recommended to identify sequencing and controls to reduce the potential for clogging of the permeable pavement surface, as well as the other unique construction considerations for permeable pavement.

Up-gradient surfaces that may contribute run-on to the permeable pavement during construction should be stabilized or the permeable pavement should be protected by using silt fences.

Compaction of the subgrade is necessary to support the design traffic, and it would not be practical to limit compaction of the subgrade directly below a permeable

pavement. Underground utilities should be protected from damage due to construction activities. As the permeable pavement infiltrates water into the subgrade, it may be necessary to protect some utilities from water damage, such as water intrusion and/or preferential flow of infiltrated water through utility trenches. Utility companies should be contacted to determine if the utilities require special attention.

REGULAR MAINTENANCE Proper and timely maintenance is critical for permeable pavement systems. The sur-

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face of the permeable pavement should be properly maintained to provide a durable and safe driving surface, as well as to minimize the clogging potential. The ability of the system to effectively infiltrate water can be affected by pavement use and maintenance practices.

Extensive use of winter sanding and biomass loading from surrounding vegetation (trees, grass, weeds, etc.) can substantially reduce system infiltration and should be avoided where possible.

In the past, conventional wisdom held that regular preventive maintenance activities such as vacuum sweeping could help maintain system permeability. In areas where permeability was reduced by sanding, permeability can be restored by more aggressive maintenance practices, such as power washing and regenerative A typical permeable pavement cross section; permeable pavements are usually underlain in a complete cross section of granular materials. air vacuuming.

PREVENT PROBLEMS Preventive maintenance will help to ensure the long-term durability of the pavement. Key activities include: l Inspect and monitor the integrity and function of the permeable pavement. l Permeability checks should be completed using standard infiltration tests (ASTM C1701-09 for porous asphalt and

pervious concrete and ASTM C1781-13 for Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (PICP). l Visual inspection of clogging and durability. l Inspect permeable pavements after major rain events to ensure pavement structural integrity and surface infiltration. l It is recommended that vacuum sweeping be performed twice per year, or more often in areas subject to higher concentrations and deposition rates of dust and debris, biomass loading, etc. l Restore any joint filler loss for PICP. l Properly maintain upstream drainage pathways and landscaping to minimize additional water and run-on of sediment and debris. l Inspect and clean all outlet structures to ensure positive water flow from the pavement. l Provide inspection ports and regularly monitor drainage rates of the stone reservoir to identify if clogging of underlying soils or outlet structures has occurred; remedy to avoid damage associated with extended ponding.

Permeable interlocking concrete pavement.

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Full, partial and low-Infiltration permeable systems.

DELIVERING SUPERIOR SOD AND QUALITY SERVICE l Eliminate the use of

sand for winter maintenance activities. l Clearing snow completely after every storm is recommended. Raised plow blades are not recommended, and any bouncing movement of the vehicle may result in damage to the permeable pavement surface. l Limit the use of winter deicing chemicals for sensitive vegetation areas, sensitive receiving waters, or for pavements designed to capture and reuse water.

KEY LESSONS Key lessons learned from the design, construction and maintenance of permeable pavements include: l Uniformity in all installation procedures is key. l Thickness design for application (vehicles, pedestrians, etc.). l Proper selection of materials. l Provide uniform support for pavement. l Good quality edge restraints for all pavements. l Provision of good drainage (both surface and subsurface). l Quality placement of the pavement surface. l Protection of the pavement from debris or other contaminants that may reduce LT the permeability of the pavement.

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57

ontarioupdate Landscape Trades publishes occasional updates of provincial association activities.

This issue features Landscape Ontario.

The Ontario horticulture profession’s most pressing issue is workforce development, and Landscape Ontario (LO) is addressing the skilled labour shortage on several fronts. Since apprenticeship training is a valuable gift, efforts are ongoing to promote the opportunity, by seeking to fill every available training seat and encouraging business owners to buy into apprenticeship. The winter season of 2017-2018 saw 78 apprentices registered in classroom training across the province. LO is a supporter the Specialist High Skills Major Program, and maintains strong ties with every college and university horticulture program. Other workforce efforts include LO’s Peer-to-Peer Network, over 100 professional development seminars, Congress Conferences, certification and greencareerscanada.ca.

LO members are keenly aware that today’s successes are built on the vision of respected industry pioneers. One of their most lasting

People of all ages, including Canadian soldiers and Silver Cross Parents, have joined forces to plant 117,000 trees to honour our war heroes.

legacies is the Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation, a funding body for scholarships and research initiatives. In January of 2018, scholarships worth over $40,000 were distrib-

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uted. Donations and proceeds from LO’s annual Growers Auction comprise the fund.

Successful Come Alive Outside events were held in Toronto, Barrie, Hamilton, Westport, Woodstock, Picton and Huntsville, Ont., as well as Calgary, Alta. The idea is to pave a city street with sod, to drive home the idea of healthy outdoor play for children. The public was so captivated, that the busy intersection of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto was actually sodded twice. CAO organizers are also holding design challenges

LO supports training initiatives to fill the shortage of skilled workers.

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in schools, teaming landscape design students with young children to envision — and build — “outside the box” playscapes.

LO has put the full force of its resources behind the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign.

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ontarioupdate tributes paid the remains of fallen soldiers travelling on Hwy. 401 from CFB Trenton to the Toronto Coroner’s Office. HOH aims to plant a tree along the highway for every fallen Canadian soldier, 117,000 in all. Response to this opportunity to show respect is gratifying; 32,000 trees have been planted to date. Before the idea was conceived, LO supported research to promote tree success in poor soil, including highway conditions. The results have been invaluable

The intersection of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto, Ont., covered with lush, green sod, made a great place for a yoga class.

in optimizing survival rates of HOH trees. LO members are involved in all aspects of the project, including stock

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Through the construction, landscaping, and contracting industries, we’re driven to provide quality products and services that help build communities from the ground up. We’re honoured to be a part of the roads that take you to work, the playgrounds your children love, and the places you call home.

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supply and planting.

Congress Committee members are very proud to stage Canada’s leading horticultural trade show, and invest countless volunteer hours in its success. Attendees and exhibitors alike were thrilled with Congress 2018. Peter Guinane received the Past Presidents’ Award for outstanding contributions to LO — just one of the show’s highlights. LO is also a co-founder of the consumer garden festival Canada Blooms, which has promoted horticulture to hundreds of thousands for 22 years.

LO’s leadership believes local involvement is key to relevance. Nine chapters are active in education, regional trade shows, social events and community improvement. In addition, 11 sector groups provide member support; special events were held this year for the irrigation, design, lighting, contractor, snow and grower sectors.

A recent victory for landscape business owners took place in the Hamilton, Ont., area. A proposal to limit landscape companies to commercially zoned properties threatened many members, and LO went to the provincial level to make the case that small businesses like landscape companies actually enhance communities.

After many years of planning, the total renovation of LO’s home office in Milton, Ont., is underway. Cooperative spirit has led to an agreement where the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association is a 10 per cent stakeholder in the renovated building. The project will be completed in 2019; expanded training space is just one anticipated benefit. A team of superstar landscape architects is currently planning a revitalized landscape to showcase the profession: Paul Brydges, Haig Seferian, Ron Koudys, Scott Wentworth, Kathy Zhu and Dave Wright. LT

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managementsolutions

Three ideas to make work better

BY MARK BRADLEY

At the time of authoring this article, I have just left Green Industry and Equipment Expo and the LMN Leaders Summit in Louisville, Ky. It’s been such an inspiring week of networking with owners, managers and staff that are taking innovative measures to improve their companies, their staff and culture, and of course, their bottom lines.

During one presentation, we had the audience submit a single idea, shown live on a rolling screen, that drove significant improvement in their operations this year. The idea could improve anything — culture, safety, employee happiness, productivity, profits — but it must have made a meaningful improvement somewhere in their business. In exchange for submitting an idea, participants had the opportunity to download everyone else’s ideas. Meaning trading your best improvement for 100+ other best-ideas that worked in other businesses! It was a neat opportunity. Even better, we have run this presentation at several other seminars across North America, so we have collected answers from hundreds of companies over the past year.

While the scope of ideas was wide and we can’t share the whole list here, we organized the ideas into major categories. I would like to share the Top Three improvement initiatives that had the biggest impact on hundreds of landscape companies last year.

Idea #3: Equipment improvements No surprise that equipment made the Top Three — how much contractors love their equipment is a running joke. But there is a lot of truth in that humour, too. Interestingly, almost all the equipment ideas had more to do with saving labour than saving equipment costs. That is the right way to think about equipment.

Here were some of the most common answers: Organized, standardized trucks and trailers. Organizing your trailers and trucks and labelling shelves (so they stay organized!) is a no-brainer. It takes time, but the rewards will pay you back for years. You will turn countless hours picking up forgotten tools and supplies into more production time. More production time equals more revenue, without increasing payroll or overhead costs.

62 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Use deliveries whenever possible. Simple concept: Worry less about the cost of deliveries and more about the lost production revenue when crews are driving to pick up materials. You might think you are saving a few bucks by keeping those shipping costs down, but you really limit your revenue by having crews and staff off-site, not producing what you sell!

Newer trucks and equipment. I have talked at length about this concept, for sure. Monthly payments don’t sit well with everyone, but that is typically because people feel good about avoiding cost they can see. With older (paid-off) equipment, the cost you can’t see is not only parts and repairs, but the hours and hours of lost or inefficient production time, because the equipment breaks down when the crews need it.

Idea #2: Sharing numbers and raising staff awareness Imagine running your business year after year after year. Each year, your accountant processes your year-end financials, but you do not get to see the results. You got a paycheque, but you had no idea whether you were succeeding (or failing) at your job — which is to build a profitable company. Put like that, it sounds pretty ridiculous that anyone could (or would want to!) succeed in that environment.

And yet, most landscape contractors send their foremen out every single day without basic information or communication systems that would help them succeed in their day-to-day work.

Open book management. Not for everyone, sure, but open book doesn’t mean you have to share your accounting reports with your staff. Like an ice cream store, there are many flavours of open book management to help you find the right balance of comfort and performance. You can share hours, you can share gross profit, you might even share everything — but scoreboards and measurable goals are essential for success. Landscapers shared success stories such as hiring an open book coach, or implementing concepts from books like “The Great Game of Business,” “Traction,” or “Open Book Management.”

Bonuses or incentives. If employees are paid or rewarded only

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by the number of hours they work, you are going to get a lot of employees who are just “in it” for the hours. And you will also get a whole bunch of wasted hours. Common bonus ideas included: l Getting out of the yard on time (one company got it down to four minutes). l Reducing the unbillable time percentage below a certain threshold. l Job bonuses for beating estimated hours without defects or complaints. l Company profit sharing program.

Idea #1: Electronic timekeeping

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This idea was the clear winner for 2018. The most common major improvement was moving to electronic timesheets, or a timesheet app.

Overhead time saved. Companies consistently report savings of 7080 per cent when processing payroll and job-costing. This means you can focus overhead time on more important things (like closing customer deals, or planning profitable job operations), or you can grow your business without need to hire more paper-pushers in the office.

Daily timesheet auditing. Electronic timesheets not only reduce data entry, they can provide instant, real-time reporting on what’s happening in the field. When you can audit and measure results daily, you can be 10, even 100 times faster to correct mistakes or unprofitable behaviors.

Better information tracking and sharing. Electronic timesheets facilitate far more than just payroll! They can track notes, track services completed, automate invoicing, organize photos, give crews real-time scoreboard information such as estimated versus actual hours and more. Done right, electronic timesheets are an essential part of a communications system that can solve, eliminate or improve the constant problems that surface when communication is face-to-face, and important results are lost near the bottom of a never-ending stack of papers. This was easily the most common response to our exercise.

As 2018 draws to end, signs are good! Work is already being booked for next year. Good contractors (with good staff) are hard to find. Don’t get comfortable with being busy. Now is the time to take advantage of being busy by getting better. Times like this will not LT last forever.

Mark Bradley is the president of Ontario-based TBG Landscape and the Landscape Management Network (LMN).

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roadtosuccess

Taking care of ourselves

BY ROD McDONALD

We are caretakers.

Some call us managers. Semantics. I won’t argue. We take care of people, we take care of plants, we take care of vehicles, facilities, money and please feel free to add to the list. There is no shortage to the things that we oversee, supervise, manage and take care of. It is in our nature. It is who we are.

If we didn’t take care of things, in a Master of the Universe fashion, we would have an eightto-five job, hang up our tools at quitting time and walk away until the next morning. That is not the path you and I have chosen.

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on call, available, ready for action. Trades people would phone me later in the evening, and ask if it was okay to be calling? My response was always, “I am not union.” I don’t know if that is humorous or blunt. The line can get blurred.

My wife, who is definitely not from this trade (she is a nurse), always struggled with how we, from the green trades, conduct ourselves. She took lunch breaks, coffee breaks and holidays. All of the things that normal people do. Her dad was a union man. I share that as it is her frame of reference.

In May of 1982, at 4 a.m., Paul Fowler from Carrot River phoned me. We were asleep. No surprise there. Paul told me he had just loaded his truck and would be in Regina in four hours at 8 a.m.

He said, “I have room for two more racks, do you want anything?”

I sat up in bed and shook the cobwebs from my brain. “Yeah, I do,” and started telling him what I wanted, including the admonishment: “No more cabbage!”

After placing the order, I returned to bed hoping to catch another hour or two of sleep before I had to get to the greenhouse to unload Paul’s carts of bedding plants.

My wife was furious. She thought Paul had to be the rudest member of our trade to call at that hour. Furthermore, she thought I was insane to give him an order at 4 a.m. I explained

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roadtosuccess Paul was doing me a big favour. He was on his way down and could get me plants I desperately needed that very morning. “What’s your problem?” I asked. It was destined to be a long marriage.

My readers comprehend that Paul was not out of line and why I appreciated the call. Above all else, you understand. You have answered a phone at 4 a.m., and not just once.

So, this is the life we have chosen to paraphrase the film. We caretake. We work long and hard. One customer asked my greenhouse manager, Casey Markus, if we ever slept in May. He had a great answer: “Yes, we sleep, but we have learned to sleep quickly.”

We know we drive ourselves to exhaustion, until we are running on the fumes from the reserve tank. I never understood the concept of burnout, until a counsellor told me, “It is the people who care, who work extra hard, who burn out. What is sad, they are often

68 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

the last ones to know.” Does that sound familiar? I wished I had paid a bit more attention to my health when I was younger. If I had, I would never have needed my kidney transplant.

That’s right. Pushing myself non-stop, as many of us do, was not conducive to good health. The reason I am preaching, just a tiny little bit, is because I see so many of you do-

“ How did you get through 42 years of this?” ing exactly what I did. One of the young men I mentor, called me this spring in a state of chaos asking, “How did you get through 42 years of this?” The short answer is, I didn’t do it very well.

I have no soap box. All I can write is that I did it wrong, so wrong. I am not one of these

people who has all of the answers.

I am not alone in my absence of answers.

One of my friends is considered to be a top greenhouse grower. He told me, “I was trained to grow healthy plants. I was trained to provide customer service but no one talked to me about looking after myself.” So sad and yet so true.

As we approach another spring, I think it is important that each of us has to find a way of handling stress, to reduce the hours we work and remember we need to enjoy ourselves as well.

One of my friends asked many years ago, “When was the last time you had fun?” I didn’t like the question. “I have work to do!” was my answer. My Scottish Presbyterian roots were showing. I suspect many of you have been asked the same question.

In this magazine, there has been discussion regarding the not-so-secret use of marijuana by some crews. The discussion centres

around responsibility and liability; if an employee drives or operates equipment stoned and injures himself, then who is liable? That is a very serious issue, and with legalization it intensifies. If an employee smokes up the night before, how do we ascertain if he is stoned or impaired the next morning?

The reason I mention the marijuana issue is that for many of us entrepreneurs, smoking dope is not as much of a problem as is alcohol. With myself, I used alcohol at one time to medicate. I would have a few drinks to celebrate a big day at the garden centre. I would have a few drinks to bury my frustration when I had a bad day. Eventually, I was having a few drinks, and a few more, just because that was what I did. It was my coping mechanism. It was how I handled my emotions — by numbing them.

I was not alone in abusing alcohol. I don’t have statistics for our trade, but most of us know someone who also struggles with this

issue. How often do we hear the phrase, “He is such a good man when he is sober”?

I fully expect that not everyone will appreciate me writing about this subject, but I refuse to be an ostrich.

All of us have seen once-solvent companies face bankruptcy due to alcohol abuse.

In my own community, not only have greenhouses gone kaput, but restaurants, trucking companies and other businesses have as well.

Very talented operators have self-destructed when their addictions dominated.

It does not matter if it is a bottle of whiskey or a bag of weed or prescription drugs, once those things become an anvil tied to our butt, it is difficult to be the best version of ourselves. Addiction is devastating, but it is highly treatable. It is truly an illness that can be placed into remission.

All of us face obstacles on the road to success, but if we learn to put those obstacles behind us that road is so much easier to travel. Take care of yourself this spring, while LT you take care of everything else.

I am not passing judgment, as I was on the wrong side of an empty bottle for years. I almost lost everything, including my family, house and company. I had to decide what was important to me. I joined a group of men and women who meet in a church basement, each Wednesday evening, to gain my sobriety. It worked. I not only got sober but my career took off. That was in 1986, 33 years ago, and I don’t regret my decision.

Rod McDonald owned and operated Lakeview Gardens, a successful garden centre/ landscape firm in Regina, Sask., for 28 years. He now works full time in the world of fine arts, writing, acting and producing in film, television and stage.

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legalmatters

Interest rates and contracting

BY ROBERT KENNALEY AND JOSH WINTER

You have completed your contract, you’ve sent your invoice but no payment appears to be forthcoming. Upon reflection, you remember that your invoice references a healthy rate of interest, which you think can work in your favour. Stating a rate of interest on an invoice, however, might not be effective. Further, recovering a contractual rate of interest in the event of continued nonpayment, or a dispute, can help offset collection costs. Accordingly, it is important to understand how interest rates will, and will not, apply in particular circumstances.

According to Section 2 of the federal Interest Act, any person may stipulate any rate of interest or discount that is agreed on. It should be noted, however, that Section 347 of the Criminal Code of Canada establishes a ‘criminal rate of interest,’ currently at 60 per cent per annum. You are therefore prohibited by law from charging a rate of interest in Canada which exceeds this amount.

It is not sufficient to simply insert an interest rate on an invoice. Rather, in order to receive

a specified rate of interest, the interest rate should be expressly provided for in the contract. Further, Section 4 of the federal Interest Act states the rate of interest must be ex-

“ It is not sufficient to simply insert an interest rate on an invoice.

Rather, in order to receive a specified rate of interest, the interest rate should be expressly provided for in the contract.” pressed on a per annum basis in a contract.

If it is not, the applicable interest may generally not exceed five per cent per annum, or

year. Accordingly, simply stating in a contract that interest will be charged at even a low rate of one per cent per month will not be effective, as this would equate to over five per cent per annum, and a “per annum” rate must be specified.

The Interest Act recognizes that interest might be payable ‘by law,’ even if the contract is silent on the issue. It recognizes, for example, that the Courts of Justice Act in Ontario specifies a pre-judgment interest rate to be paid on Judgments obtained by parties through litigation in the Ontario Courts. These rates, however, are nominal in comparison to what you might otherwise be entitled to charge under your contract. Since January of 2008, for example, the rates in Ontario have varied between 0.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent. Also, there is postjudgement interest, where interest begins to accrue from the date of the judgement, until payment is received.

The Courts will generally recognize a contractual rate of interest, so long as it is ap-

HLA’s EdgeFlex takes a ground up approach to clearing snow. The segmented cutting edge provides the necessary adaptability to maintain consistent contact over uneven surfaces, common with aging infrastructure.

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legalmatters Interest begins to accrue from the date of the judgement on the contract dispute, until payment is received.

payment. Interest is compounded, of course, as the applicable rate is applied not only to the principal amount owing, but also to the interest that has built up over time. The easiest way to show that the parties agreed to the compounded rate is to expressly provide for it in the contract. The Courts, in fact, will rarely apply compound interest where the contract does not expressly provide for it.

plied on a ‘per annum’ basis and is not at, or above, the criminal rate. In other words, if the Courts of Justice Act would only give you 0.5 per cent per annum, but your contract states you are to be paid 12 per cent per annum, the Courts will generally allow the

contractual rate of 12 per cent to apply. The difference, of course, can be very significant.

The Courts might also award compound interest, but only if it can be shown the parties agreed that, the debt would bear compound interest as damages for default of

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72 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Further, in exercising its judicial discretion, the court should not interfere with the plaintiff’s right to receive pre-judgement interest on damages by reducing the amount due to inflation. It must be noted the court retains the ultimate decision to fix the rate of interest, regardless of a contractually agreed upon rate of interest for unpaid amounts.

This was made clear in the Supreme Court

Booth #2566

of Canada case, Bank of America Canada v.

Mutual Trust Co. [2002] SCC 43.

Providing for interest at a rate which exceeds the relatively nominal rates established by the courts can better protect your position in the event of a dispute. Further, if you state the interest will be compounded (for example, monthly), your position will be even further strengthened should litigation be necessary. Given the amount of time it can take to bring litigation through our Court systems, the interest can add up quickly and put significant pressure on the other side during the process.

In summary, we suggest you always include a provision in the contract which specifies the interest rate to be applied on a per annum basis. Also, if you wish the interest to be compounded, you should make sure to include a provision in the contract which expressly provides this. Of course, whether or

not you want to charge compound (or any) interest will be a business decision, based on how you believe your clients will react to the LT requirement.

Robert Kennaley and Josh Winter practice construction law in Toronto and Simcoe, Ont. They speak and write on construction law issues and can be reached for comment at 416-700-4142 or at rjk@kennaley.ca and jwinter@kennaley.ca. This material is for information purposes and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers who have concerns about any particular circumstance are encouraged to seek independent legal advice in that regard.

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WWW.ISUZUTRUCK.CA Vehicle shown with optional equipment; some equipment is dealer installed. N-Series and F-Series vehicles are assembled from component parts manufactured by Isuzu Motors Limited and by independent suppliers who manufacture such components to Isuzu’s exacting standards for quality, performance and safety. Please see your authorized Isuzu dealer for additional details. © 2018 ISUZU COMMERCIAL TRUCK OF CANADA, INC.

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newproducts Heavy equipment plow SnowWolf introduces the QuattroPlowHD, a snowplow for heavy equipment such as wheel loaders, tractors and backhoes. The QuattroPlowHD is a larger version of the QuattroPlow, which SnowWolf introduced in 2016 for skid steers, compact wheel loaders and smaller tractors.

SnowWolf www.snowwolfplows.com

Cordless stubby impact wrench

Brushless grinders

The new M12 Fuel stubby impact wrench is the first of its kind on the market, according to Milwaukee Tool.

The stubby impacts allow more access in tight spaces while delivering the power to complete demanding tasks.

Dewalt launches five corded grinders featuring brushless motors that offer durability without requiring brush changes, and provide unique user protection features.

Milwaukee Tool www.milwaukeetool.ca

Dewalt www.dewalt.com

Find out more at Booth # 738

74 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Pin nailer Dewalt announces the new 23-Ga. Pin Nailer, which is capable of setting 5/8-inch to 2-inch nails recessed into oak. The Pin Nailer quickly and easily clears jammed nails and allows for quick adjustment of the nail depth for proper nail setting, Dewalt says.

Side discharge buckets Cat Side Discharge Buckets—designed for use with skid steer loaders, multi-terrain loaders, compact track loaders, and compact wheel loaders—collect and transport loose materials such as sawdust, sand, mulch, and topsoil and then discharge these materials via a belt-type conveyor from adjustable openings (doors) on either side of the bucket. A rotating agitator works to keep material flowing to the conveyor. Adjusting conveyor speed and door openings controls the volume of material discharged and the area covered.

Cat www.cat.com

Backhoe and tractor loader improvements The John Deere 310L EP Backhoe and 210L EP Tractor Loader are the latest construction equipment models to undergo updates, with a focus on engine technology and other model adjustments to improve productivity and uptime, and lower daily operating costs. The 310L EP and 210L EP feature a Yanmar 3.3L Interim Tier 4 diesel engine. At 69-horsepower (51-kW), it complies with EPA FT4 emission regulations without aftertreatment, minimizing machine complexity and the number of parts needed to maintain a fleet.

Dewalt www.dewalt.com

John Deere www.deere.ca

JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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newproducts

Porcelain tiles for outdoor applications TradeWinds International is launching a new line of 2 cm porcelain tiles for outdoor use.

The tiles come in a range of sizes, colours, and surface textures, combining easy installation with sophisticated design. They are specifically engineered for landscapes, and trim pieces are available. The tiles are highly resistant to breaking and stress; extraordinary slipresistance makes them ideal for public and private outdoor areas. The outdoor tiles can be matched with 1 cm indoor tile to create a uniform flow from inside to outside.

TradeWinds International www.tradewindsinternational.ca

Zero-tailswing mini excavator The 18Z-1 mini excavator is JCB’s first zero-tailswing machine in the one- to two-ton excavator class, with an operating weight of 3,856 lbs. Features include an all-steel bodywork design and 500-hour greasing intervals.

JCB www.jcb.com

Walk-behind mower The new Stander B walk-behind from Wright Manufacturing is an entry-level machine featuring Hydro-Gear ZT-3100 transmissions and a Kawasaki FS651 engine. The mower is available with a 48- or 52-inch floating deck.

Wright Manufacturing www.wrightmfg.com

Hardscape handling tool The new BigHand Grab from Pavetech provides an ergonomic solution for lifting and carrying wall block, large slabs, pavers and porcelain. The tool clamp sizes range from 0.5 to 8 inches.

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Pavetech www.pavetech.com

Oscillating skidsteer mount SnowEx introduces an oscillating skidsteer mount for its Heavy-Duty (HD) and Speedwing snowplows, contributing to better scraping performance and less wear on the plow’s cutting edge. The mount can quickly attach to any brand or style of skidsteer loader.

SnowEx www.snowexproducts.com

Anti-icing equipment Buyers Products introduces a new line of SaltDogg Anti-Ice Systems for commercial and municipal use. Buyers has more than 20 of the most common configurations in stock and ready to ship.

Soil remediation system Target Specialty Products has launched Turf Fuel Cleanse, a product for turf professionals to treat soil that displays signs of localized dry spots (LDS), poor infiltration or poor soil health. The product combines Turf Fuel’s proprietary Soil Sync technology with an even stronger solvent than previous formulations.

Buyers Products www.buyersproducts.com

Target Specialty Products www.target-specialty.com

Horizontal drum mulchers for skid steers Loftness introduces new models of its Battle Ax horizontal drum mulcher designed specifically for skid steers.

Featuring a new rotor, tooth design and exclusive two-stage cutting chamber, the heavy-duty Battle Ax is designed for efficient vegetation management.

Loftness www.loftness.com

Soil amendment A.M.A. Horticulture recently launched Terra Vesco Vermicompost, a horticultural grade soil amendment that enables growers to naturally accelerate soil quality, fertility and biodiversity. Its proprietary production process uses pre-composted organic dairy manure to eliminate weed seeds and harmful pathogens. Millions of red wiggler worms convert the manure into an organic soil amendment that is consistent in texture and performance from batch to batch.

A.M.A. Horticulture www.amahort.com JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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newsscape Continent-wide salt shortage expected Salt shortages are expected across Canada and the United States throughout the 2018-19 winter, due in part to strikes at the Goderich, Ont.-based Compass Minerals facility. In addition to the labour disruption, the harsh 2017-18 winter, which included a major ice event in April, depleted salt reserve levels.

“Most provinces, states, regions and municipalities have ordered 10- to 20 per cent more salt, based on last year's experience,” according to the Landscape Ontario website. “Governments and those who maintain infrastructure (airports, roads etc.) are given first priority with supplies. This leaves small users, such as private contractors, out in the cold. Many have received limited or ‘no salt’ notices. Without

an assured supply of salt, contractors are being forced to abandon contracts due to liability exposure.”

Correction: Humber Nurseries retail operations continue Humber Nurseries will continue retail operations at its Brampton, Ont., garden centre through 2019. Landscape Trades published an incorrect closing date in the November 2018 issue.

The land on which the business operates has been sold; operations will continue until the sale closes in December of 2019. A new Humber Nurseries business will reopen in Caledon, Ont., focused on wholesale supply.

GreenTrade Expo coming to Ottawa Delegates from the Ontario/Quebec border area are looking forward to GreenTrade Expo, coming to Ottawa’s EY Centre on Feb. 13. The show, attracting over 1,400 attendees and over 100 exhibitors, has been staged by Landscape Ontario’s Ottawa Chapter since 1993. Associated opportunities include an MTO Contractors Breakfast, an Awards of Distinction Gala and educational sessions on new plants and inspiring gardeners. Visit greentrade.ca for details.

Rated 9.1 out of 10

New chapter for Landscape Trades sales manager Moyer After 25 years of service, publication sales manager Steve Moyer is stepping down from sales for Landscape Trades and Landscape Ontario magazines. Moyer spent his career in publishing sales for varied markets, including hockey and travel titles. “Steve is such a valued member of the horticulture community because he never forgets the goal is to promote his cus- Steve Moyer tomers’ success. The relationships he built over the years are based on trust and integrity,” said Landscape Trades publisher Lee Ann Knudsen. Landscape Ontario executive director Tony DiGiovanni said, “You have made a wonderful and positive difference in the lives of your customers, members and your work family.” Account manager Gregory Sumsion will take over Moyer’s responsibilities.

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newsscape A.M.A. Plastics rebrands to A.M.A. Horticulture A.M.A. Plastics has changed its corporate name to A.M.A. Horticulture.

The Kingsville, Ont.-based company manufactures products for the horticulture industry and has been in business since 1982.

“A.M.A. has always been fully immersed in horticulture,” said Connie Bradt-Monsma, managing director of A.M.A. Horticulture. “This name change is our declaration of who we truly are as a company and, more importantly, who we serve.”

New funding for ornamental research The Canadian Ornamental Horticulture Alliance (COHA) announced Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has committed funding for a five year research project, “Accelerating Green Plant Innovation for Environmental and Economic Benefit.” The project was approved under AAFC’s AgriScience Cluster Program.

A total of 10 research projects will be funded through an investment of $6.8 million, including a contribution from AAFC of up to $4.6 million, supported by a further $2.2 million of industry cash and in-kind funding.

COHA is a strategic alliance of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, the Fédération interdisciplinaire de l’horticulture Ornementale du Québec and Flowers Canada Growers.

Canada Blooms hires head of horticulture Canada Blooms hired Derrick Hawley as the new head of horticulture for the annual Toronto, Ont.-based festival. Hawley was recently a turf management and arboriculture instructor at Durham and Humber Colleges, and his educational background includes a bachelor of science in agribusiness and environmental studies from McGill University and a masters of science in agronomy from Iowa State University.

“I am honoured and excited to help showcase the best of what Canada Blooms has to offer,” Hawley said. “It is a world-class festival showcasing the absolute best in garden design and landscaping. It will be a welcome challenge to Derrick Hawley help bring it all together.”

Canada Blooms 2019 takes place March 8-17 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Ont., showcasing the theme, “A Family Affair.” For information on the festival, visit canadablooms.com.

Emerald ash borer confirmed in Ontario After five years of trapping and testing, government officials confirmed the presence of emerald ash borers in Owen Sound, Ont. The pest has been responsible for tree damage in nearby Meaford and Georgian Bluffs in recent years, but had not been found in the central Ontario municipality until October 2018. A city press release encouraged homeowners to hire qualified contractors with valid pesticide applicator’s licenses and who are trained to inoculate ash trees, to protect against infestation on private properties.

Emerald ash borer is an invasive species, native to Asia, that has killed over 100 million trees in North America since 2002. The insect’s larvae destroy the layer under a tree’s bark, preventing the tree from transporting its nutrients and water.

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Jardin Daniel A. Sequin AAS display garden placed second in its category.

Montreal Botanical Gardens won second in the 100,000 visitors category.

Quebec gardens recognized by AAS

Bailey Nurseries acquires Carlton Plants

Two Quebec gardens were among the winners of All-America Selections (AAS) 2018 Landscape Design Challenge. Jardin Daniel A. Sequin of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., placed second in the 10,001 to 100,000 visitor category, and Noresco at the Montreal Botanical Gardens came second in the over 100,000 visitors per year category. The 2018 theme was “Get Social in the Garden.�

The Jardin Daniel A. Sequin AAS display garden was located on the site right at the entrance, which is a social gathering place. The garden showcased AAS winning plants in a terraced flowerbed with each plant clearly identified.

The horticulturist team at the Montreal Botanical Garden created places for garden visitors to sit down, relax, take a photo or selfie, and then post to social media. They integrated the AAS flower bed into the novelty garden, using 25 AAS winner plants.

Minneapolis, Minn.-based Bailey Nurseries purchased Dayton, Ore.based Carlton Plants, a 128-year-old grower of bare root trees, shrubs and rootstocks. With the acquisition, Bailey Nurseries adds some 3,000 acres of production.

AriensCo expands operations AriensCo completed the purchase of the former Brillion Iron Works (BIW) property through the formation of a new company, Brillion Works LLC, focused on the redevelopment of the 140-acre property located in the city of Brillion, Wisc.

The company will take the lead on redevelopment of the property over the next several years. Initial plans call for development zones that will include light manufacturing, commercial and residential areas. AriensCo is currently renovating one of the buildings on the site, establishing a third

JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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newsscape facility located in the city that is dedicated to manufacturing and order fulfillment.

Based in Brillion, Wisc, AriensCo manufactures original outdoor power equipment under the Ariens, Gravely, Sno-Tek, Countax and Westwood brands.

Winter Equipment enters contractor market, adds staff Winter Equipment, the Willoughby, Ohio-based winter maintenance equipment manufacturer, recently added and promoted several key personnel, as the company expands into the contractor market and continues to experience steady growth.

Christina Bacnik was promoted to marketing manager and will head up the company’s municipal marketing efforts; David Fox will lead new product development efforts; Heather Huff becomes senior bid specialist; and Jason Lippincott, also a marketing manager, will head up marketing for the company’s contractor division.

Christina Bacnik

David Fox

Heather Huff

Jason Lippincott

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Bobcat researches artificial intelligence Doosan Bobcat North America has partnered with SafeAI, a startup company located in Silicon Valley, to research how advanced artificial intelligence technologies could be incorporated into Bobcat equipment.

Through this pilot program, SafeAI plans to demonstrate how the latest AI technologies can be used to perceive complex dynamic environments around equipment and provide automated control.

Milwaukee Tool acquires Imperial Blades Milwaukee Tool, a Wisconsin-based subsidiary of Techtronic Industries, announced the acquisition of the Imperial Blades business, based in Sun Prairie, Wis. The original inventor of the universal shank for use on oscillating multi-tools, Imperial Blades was founded in 2008 and is known for new product technology such as Storm Titanium coating and the Carbide Extreme Blade.

Hanington Innovations partners with Optronics Optronics International, a Tulsa, Okla.-based manufacturer and supplier of heavy-duty LED vehicle lighting, has been named master distributor for Connect-to-Protect Brand Trailer Harness Plug Protectors. Connect-toProtect Brand Trailer Harness Plug Protectors are manufactured by Hanington Innovations. The company, located in Victoria, B.C., manufactures the product using a PVC material designed to remain “durable, flexible and resilient, even in extreme weather conditions.”

LT

cnlanews CNLA participates in IGCA 2018 The 2018 International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) Congress took place in the Czech Republic in September of 2018. Over five days, 180 members from 19 countries toured nine garden centres, one of the largest nurseries in the country, a big box competitor and a supplier factory. Delegates were welcomed at nearly every stop by local musicians playing traditional music.

The range of products included plants, trees, cut flowers and florist services, of course, but also clothing, wines, soaps, oils, tea, gourmet foods and cafés. One garden centre served over 150,000 café customers last year.

Another great initiative coming out of the Congress is a student exchange program, where young industry members can connect with a host garden centre in another country to gain and exchange valuable experiences. More information on this venture will be available in the new year.

The Congress also featured business sessions, where information was shared on top issues, including weather, economy, finding qualified staff, changing consumer behaviour and competition. Morning seminar presentations from industry veterans became topics of conversation on the buses, as delegates headed out on the tours.

Canadian delegates included Kenneth and Jennifer Sipkens of Sipkens Nursery; John and

IGCA Congress took place in the Czech Republic in September of 2018. Zahradnictví Chládek was a tour stop.

Sally Zaplatynsky, Rory and Heather Pearce, and Leanne and Michael Johnson of Garden Works; Cheney and Tony Hui of 99 Nursery & Florists; Karl and Valerie Stensson of Sheridan Nurseries; Nico and Patricia van der Pauw of Nicos Nurseryland; Robin Godfrey of Lakeland Plant World; Alison, Murray and Ashleigh Munro of Kiwi Nurseries; Alice O’Keefe and Bonnie Hopkins of O’Neill’s Gardenland; Leonard Hickey

and Joan Madden of Hickey’s Greenhouses & Nursery; James and Sheryl Wotherspoon of Cheyenne Tree Farms; Rita and Bruce Hunter of Hunter Landscape Design; Michael Van Dongen of Van Dongen’s Landscaping & Nurseries; and Bill Kiervin and Victor Santacruz of CNLA.

Industry wage survey coming soon

The wage survey conducted by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) will be distributed to all active members in the next few weeks. To promote the survey’s success, the following gives some insight on the types of information required to ensure the process is as painless as possible.

The information you will need to prep is: Average Base Hourly Wage: Total the number of employees working within a specific job description, and divide that total by the average base hourly wage of those employees.

Base Hourly Wage is the straight time pay, not including overtime, shift premium, bonuses, benefits, profit sharing, payroll deductions, etc.

Converting Salary into Base Hourly Wage:

Delegates on the IGCA tour were welcomed at garden ˇ a syn. centres including Zahradnictví Dvorák

JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

83

cnlanews Divide total gross salary per week by 40 hours.

Average Number of Hours Worked Annually: Total the number of hours for all employees that do the job presently and divide by number of employees.

Average Years of Employment within Business: Total the number of years of employment of all the present employees that do the job, and divide by the number of employees.

Total Number of Employees: Total number of employees for that specific job.

The wage survey is an important tool to help understand our industry across Canada, inform potential employees, and potentially influence government and provide useful data to our member firms. As this wage survey is a continuation of a project completed in 2014-15, we have the unique ability to analyze trends, as well as provide solid business intelligence to help our member companies thrive and grow.

The wage survey is online at www.wagesurvey. ca. Click on The Survey, then Take the Survey Now, or visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/wagesurvey2018.

B.C. Japanese beetle update While the number of Japanese beetles caught in B.C. has leveled off, landscape professionals are urged to continue to look out for the pests and report them, dead or alive. The treatment area has been expanded to include the perimeter around False Creek. Treatment of all hot spots on private land has been completed. As of Oct. 15, movement of green waste is no longer regulated.

To receive regular updates on the issue, sign up at: bclna.com/japanese-beetle-updates/.

MBNLA’s Hinton resigns Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association (MBLNA) Executive Director Sharra Hinton announced her resignation in September.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I share with you my decision to leave MBNLA,” Hinton wrote in an email to MBNLA members. “Believe me; it was a difficult decision to make. The past five years as Executive Director for this association have literally flown by! I’ve loved the opportunity to learn more about this amazing profession from those of you working in it each and every

day. I share your excitement and enthusiasm.

Thank you for inspiring me. Although I am leaving my role with MBNLA, I will not be leaving the industry. As a co-owner of Weed Man, I am simply redirecting my attention back to our business. I see great opportunities and growth ahead for our profession in Manitoba and am very excited about all the things MBNLA and its members will continue to accomplish. I look forward to being a part of it.”

Landscape Canada transition Landscape Canada Committee Chair Cable Baker of Down to Earth Landscapes in Langley, B.C., stepped down from the role in September.

Vice Chair Leslie Cornell of Cornell Design and Landscaping in Moose Jaw, Sask., has moved into the chair role.

LT

The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association is the federation of Canada’s provincial horticultural trade associations.

Visit www.cnla-acpp.ca for more information.

WE’LL BE THERE. WILL YOU?

“Growing today for a greener tomorrow”

HOPE TO SEE YOU AT BOOTH #2424 WWW.PUTZERNURSERY.COM 84 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

events Jan. 8-10, Landscape Ontario Congress, Toronto, Ont. www.LOcongress.com

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Jan. 9-11, Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, Baltimore, Md. www.mants.com Jan. 16-18, The Tropical Plant International Expo, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. www.tpie.org Jan. 22-25, Sports Turf Managers Association Conference and Exhibition, Phoenix, Az. www.stma.org Jan. 28-30, Great Lakes Trade Expo, Lansing, Mich. www.glte.org

Feb. 18-20, Turfgrass Producers International Education Conference, Charlotte, N.C. www.turfgrassod.org LT

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Takeuchi Manufacturing 65

www.takeuchi-us.com

Thames Valley Brick & Building Products Ltd 82

www.thamesvalleybrick.com

The Salt Depot 68

www.saltdepot.ca

The Toro Co 31

www.toro.com

Timm Enterprises Ltd 58

www.timmenterprises.com

TradeWinds International Sales Co Inc 36

www.tradewindsinternational.ca

Turf Care Products Canada Ltd 34

www.turfcare.ca

Unilock Limited 16, 17

www.unilock.com

Walters Gardens Inc 21

www.waltersgardens.com

WPE Equipment (Windmill) 68, 82

www.wpeequipment.ca

Zander Sod Co Ltd 57

www.zandersod.com JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

85

mentormoment

Building on passion

Michael Pascoe is dedicated to nurturing budding talent as Professor and Academic Program Coordinator for the Horticulture Technician and Apprenticeship Horticulture Programs at Fanshawe College in London, Ont. Do students coming into horticulture grasp how much opportunity there is?

No, they don’t. They enter because they got a start at a landscape company or have a passion for growing plants. During their first year, they are overwhelmed. But I see them get an epiphany at their second Congress. They build a garden, meet people, get treated as professionals — that is when they understand the scope of opportunity.

Do you see students recruiting others into horticulture?

Yes, I have taught a father, son and daughter from the same family. I have seen cousins encourage each Michael Pascoe other, and a son of a Niagara Parks graduate entered my program. Word of mouth is powerful.

Do you know employers that are doing mentoring right?

Absolutely, both small and big companies are doing it right. I can name several right away: Clintar London, TLC Landscaping, Hillen Nursery, and Gelderman Landscape’s internship program. These companies are letting young people explore opportunities within and see where they fit. At Hillen, one young man worked in all facets of the business and developed an interest in propagation. Now he is their propagator. At Clintar London, the entire top management team is Fanshawe grads; now looking at partnership opportunities.

It seems young people universally lack confidence. How can landscape professionals help boost their confidence?

Pros can really help build confidence if they take time to talk with young people, one-on-one. This is why I believe trade shows and field trips are so important; students are blown away by the passion and enthusiasm of pros. Years ago, I took my students to Hillen Nursery, and asked Ben Hillen, son of owner Peter Hillen, to please lead the tour. “No,” Ben said, “Dad will.” What happened was, Peter Hillen stepped back, and let Ben actually lead the tour without knowing it.

What strategy is most effective in motivating young people?

Fear. And sarcasm — sometimes students have to ask whether I am serious. I am tough, I have high expectations, I am fair, consistent, and I will help out to the end of the Earth. I find my passion for 86 | JANUARY 2019 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

horticulture is contagious. Actually, teaching is entertainment. If students retain only a portion of the material presented, I find they can remember it better if they are entertained.

How can business owners help expand training opportunities?

Twenty years ago, we simply put a posting flyer on a job board and stood back. Now, with the number of openings, employers must recruit. Employers must sell their companies, their opportunities and themselves. Prospects are seeking out employers who are loyal, credible, professional and environmentally responsible.

Do you recruit students into your program?

How do you find them?

Yes, I absolutely recruit. If an employer calls me about a promising prospect, I come to visit. Several years ago, I judged a high school skills competition at Canada Blooms. Afterwards, I went up to the two gold medallists and asked them, “What would it take for you to come to Fanshawe?” We got them both.

Who were your own mentors?

Tom Laviolette of the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture, my alma mater, impressed me with his passion for learning. Mac Cuddy, my second employer, was so supportive; he never said no to anything, ever — even after I left his employment. The third is actually a team, Tony DiGiovanni and Sally Harvey of Landscape Ontario. Tony helped me become a passionate member of the profession, and Sally is always there. My most important personal mentor was my late father. Growing up in England, he built my first greenhouse when I was six. I sold tomatoes and lettuce to teachers at school and at the farm gate. It was the foundation to my career.

At the beginning of a term, do you know which students will succeed?

I generally do. Most students are quiet during the first three weeks.

Then you can put them in one of two groups: those that do well both academically and practically, and those that have academic challenges, but great practical skills. Since the first year is heavy on academics, we can help coach them through.

In your career, what are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my students. Ben Hillen, Adam Tyman and so many others. Now, they are supporting the Fanshawe program without even being asked; we just got a tree donation. They know where LT their roots are.

CONGRESS CONNECTION: Meet Michael Pascoe at Congress ’19, during the special event, Build your dream team: Winning workforce development strategies for landscape professionals. Register at LOcongress.com.

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