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MIDWEST TRADING HORTICULTURAL SUPPLIES, INC.® a Midwest-Orum Company 48W805 IL RT. 64 • VIRGIL, IL 60151 630-365-1990 • FAX 630-365-3818 W W W . M I D W E S T- T R A D I N G . C O M

November 2015

CONTENTS

Excellence In Landscape Awards Project

FOCUS: Trends in Holiday Decor Holiday Décor Continues to Evolve and Expand and smart contractors have learned the trends

Jim Fizzell’s Hort Advisory The forecast for the season ahead and more...

ILCA’s Annual Golf Outing Another beautiful day... another great success

Committee Chair Profile 28 Education Committee Chair — Kim Hartmann iLandscape Expands Offerings to Delight Attendees 30 Varied topics bring more to the table Remembering Church Landscape Through the eyes of employees

Turf Education Day 54 Turf issues are the focus of one-day seminar Member Profile 56 Hardscape Designs, Inc. Plant All-Stars 62 Epimedium (various species)

EN ESPAÑOL

Holiday Decor Continues to Evolve and Expand Las decoraciones para las festividades 36

On the cover... Moore Landscapes, Inc. won a Gold Award in Commercial Landscape Maintenance for this 2014 project. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

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CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS ILCA Calendar From Where I Stand President’s Message Classified Ads Advertisers Index Photo Credits ILCA Awards Program Tim Caldwell McFarlane Douglas Countryside Flower Shop Rick Reuland Jim Fizzell

Calendar

4 5 7 58 61

NOVEMBER

Membership Party

Bruce Church 1, 8-9 Marc Wise 10 Dennis Harms 12, 15 Joyce Squires 14 17, 22-25, 54-55 19-20

40-43 56 60 62

The 2015 Annual Party and Member Meeting Thursday, November 5, 2015 Two Brothers Roundhouse 205 N. Broadway Aurora, IL 60505 5pm-8pm

The official publication of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA), The Landscape Contractor is dedicated to educating, advising and informing members of this industry and furthering the goals of the Association. The Landscape Contractor carries news and features relating to landscape contracting, maintenance, design and allied interests. Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material and reserves the right to edit any article or advertisement submitted for publication. Publication reserves right to refuse advertising not in keeping with goals of Association. WWW.ilca.net Volume 56, Number 11. The Landscape Contractor (ISSN # 0194-7257, USPS # 476-490) is published monthly for $75.00 per year by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, 2625 Butterfield Road, Ste. 104S, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Brook, IL and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Landscape Contractor, 2625 Butterfield Road, Ste 104S, Oak Brook, IL 60523. DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALES: Association Publishing Partners, Inc., Ph. (630) 637-8632 Fax (630) 637-8629 email: rmgi@comcast.net CLASSIFIED ADS, CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION: ILCA (630) 472-2851 Fax (630) 472-3150 PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL OFFICE: Rick Reuland, rmgi@comcast.net, Naperville, IL 60540 Ph. (630)637-8632 PRODUCT DISCLAIMER: The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, its Board of Directors, the Magazine Committee, ILCA Staff, The Landscape Contractor and its staff, neither endorse any products nor attest to the validity of any statements made about products mentioned in this, past or subsequent issues of this publication.

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From Where I Stand... Oh, and remember: next Friday...is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans. -Bill Lundberg, Office Space

For most of my

professional life, I’ve worn a necktie. It started when I was a lowly intern. My boss wore a tie so I began to wear a tie, as well. It wasn’t an attempt to kiss up, it just felt like it was a symbol to my company and myself that I was a professional. I’ve never minded wearing suits or neckties. I’ve come to realize I am the exception, not the rule. Many people loathe monkey suits and the nooses that come with them. They have one suit, tucked far deep in the closet. It only comes out for weddings (and funerals). As soon as the important stuff is over, the jacket is removed, the top collar button gets popped open, and the tie is loosened. This look is often accented with a napkin-wrapped Miller Lite and horrible dancing. Now, I will be the first to admit that neckties are totally ridiculous. They are a strip of fabric with no real use. Technically, they may stop a food stain but my ties usually end up looking like abstract art. A family of four could eat off one of my ties. Ties are also dangerous. I’ve rushed into too many repair projects when I’ve gotten home from work. This has led to ties being soaked in water, wrapped up in a plumber’s wrench, or dangling precariously above a whirring garbage disposal. Members of ILCA consistently ask why I wear a tie. They ask, “why do you wear a tie as director of a landscape association?” Neckties are not common in the landscape industry. I have yet to see a maintenance crew decked out in matching green neckties pulling weeds and scurrying around on zeroturns. Neckties have no place around a whirring lawnmower blade. In fact, that sounds like a scene from a horror movie. I always respond to our members in the same way. I am not a landscape contractor, I represent landscape contractors. I firmly believe that ILCA should project the best image for professional landscape contractors. An attorney is another person who represents contractors. I doubt many landscape companies would want their attorney showing up in Carhart’s and work boots. That outfit would in no way impact an attorney’s ability to represent a client, it would just seem inappropriate given the service you want the attorney to provide. I view my appearance, and the appearance of my staff, in the same way. I’ve always believed that we dress the way we want to be treated. People pop in the ILCA office all the time. These range from suppliers to contractors to prospective members. I don’t want to have to dive into my office and hastily put on a tie and polish my scalp. I want every person who interacts with the ILCA staff to treat us as capable and profes-

sional. But do clothes really make the man (or woman)? Surprisingly, clothes have a huge psychological impact on us. Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management performed a study on college students to put that age old mantra to the test. They had students perform aptitude tests wearing three different outfits — a white lab coat, a painter’s smock, and a control group. In each test, even the one’s that measured creativity, the students in the lab coats outperformed the other groups. So even people who knew they were not doctors, performed better on skill tests because their clothes made them feel like they should. A similar study showed the power of the suit. That when men and women wore suits, their ability to rationalize thought changed. The study was entitled The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing and was performed by researchers at Columbia University and Cal State. They found that wearing clothing that’s more formal than usual makes people think more broadly and holistically. In other words, suits encourage people to use abstract processing more readily than concrete processing. Clothes can change the chemistry of the brain, even dress-up clothes and fake lab coats. When I sat down to come up with my list of well-dressed members of the green industry, some people stood out. I hope this does not embarrass them, but people like Angelo Zelinski, Tony Abruscato, Barb Rosborough, Chris Walsh, Daniel Wood, Grace Koehler, Dean MacMorris, Joe and Jeff Kramer, Lisa Fiore, Joe Hobson, Jack Pizzo, and Donna Vignocchi come to mind. They all seem to have their own styles that match their personalities. Now, they don’t all dress the same. They manage to have a style that augments who they are. The American workplace has always struggled with employee dress. For decades, professional offices were dominated by men, and those men wore suits. Most ILCA photos from the early days featured every man in a suit and every woman (when they were invited) in a house dress. They looked more like the Rat Pack than the ILCA Board. In the 1960’s, a strange trend began to occur. Clothing manufacturers began using guerilla tactics to infiltrate offices. The quote from the movie Office Space at the beginning of the article was actually based on a real campaign. The Hawaiian shirt industry came up with the concept of “Aloha Friday” and persuaded businesses to relax and allow casual wear on Fridays. Some businesses, not wanting to look square, relented. Thus, Casual Fridays were born. In the 1990’s, Levi’s-Strauss upped the ante. Business casual was beginning to spiral out of control as most men and women, in a dressed-down environment, had no clue what to wear anymore. Rick Miller, who was doing public relations for the Docker’s line, came up with a strategy. His team mailed

Putting Fashion to Work

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

From Where I Stand... brochures called, “A Guide to Casual Businesswear” to 25,000 HR professionals representing major companies. This guide attempted to etch out what casual businesswear was, and, surprise, surprise, most of the recommendations involved Docker’s pants. Docker’s changed everything (it’s not often I get to write that sentence; let me revel in it). The results of Rick Miller’s campaign exist to this day. All of a sudden, khaki became the new normal. Suits were stuffy and it ushered in an era where dressing down was the new dressing up. If you close your eyes and think of your favorite industry salesperson, my guess is that you are picturing them in some logo shirt and khaki ensemble, most likely with a cell phone clip on the side. And please, tell me you’re picturing them clothed! Corporations are obsessive about their brands. Most companies have thick style guides on how and when a logo may be presented. Companies obsess over their trucks, trailers, logos, color schemes, and websites. But corporations are comprised of people — many of whom interact with customers. Most companies have some semblance of a dress code, but that is more of a bare minimum standard than style guide for employees. Dress codes are more about preventing employees from wearing bustiers, kilts, and old Halloween costumes than providing sartorial guidance. I agree that most modern professionals would bristle at having their wardrobes controlled, but what if a direct tie to their salaries was the result? So, here is the challenge to the membership. Run an experiment. Take your top four landscape salespeople. Two will be the control group (logo wear or the normal biz-casual duds) and two should dress with an eye towards style. Research shows the best combination of clothes in the sales arena balance the power of authority with the allure of camaraderie. An example of this would be a dark suit with a colorful shirt and tie combination. For women, a bold pant/shirt combination with colorful and whimsical accessories and shoes. Then, let

your sales force do their thing. At the end of the month, give it a tally. Also, compare the nattily dressed group to themselves. Run a month-to-month comparison to see if the new duds made a difference. If clothes really do matter, and all research says they do, companies should see how their employees dress as an extension of the brand. If employee dress leads to an uptick in revenue, does the company apportion clothing budgets, and perhaps, bring in a wardrobe consultant to help employees dress for the part? It may sound silly, but so does buying everyone a new tablet because the company wants to appear “high tech. “ Style does not stop at sales. Crews, foremen, supervisors, and managers all need to balance looking professional and capable with being approachable and safe. Have you asked your best clients how they want the crews working on their property to dress? There is a difference between fluorescent t-shirts and crisp dress shirts with embroidered names. With that said, any change must have a positive net impact on the bottom line and improve employee safety, morale, and retention. Landscape companies and their employees are not the owners of the properties they maintain. Instead, landscape companies and their employees represent the care these owners have for their landscapes. This industry obsesses over landscape design details that most homeowners will never notice. It might be wise to focus that attention on the stuff clients do notice. Instead of obsessing about the logo on the shirt, perhaps focus on who’s wearing it and how it makes that employee feel. If changing productivity is as simple as changing shirts, why not hit the dressing room? After all, “everybody crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man.”

Scott Grams September 23, 2015

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

President’s Message Have I mentioned that my business partner Corrie (and wife by the way) and I President

Rusty Maulding Nature’s View (815) 592-7582 rusty@naturesview.info

Vice-President

Mike Schmechtig Schmechtig Landscape Company (847) 566-1233 mschmechtig@schmechtiglandscapes.com

Secretary-Treasurer

Lisa Fiore Kositzki Don Fiore Company, Inc. (847) 234-0020 lfiore@donfiore.com

Immediate Past President Kevin Vancina Vancina Landscaping, Inc. (815) 726-2300 kvancina@sbcglobal.net

Directors

Mark Breier National Seed Co. (630) 963-8787 mark.breier@natseed.com Lisa Fiore Fiore Nursery and Landscape Supply (847) 913-1414 lisa@cjfiore.com Jose Garcia Natural Creations Landscaping, Inc. (815) 724-0991 info@naturalcreationslandscaping.com Dean MacMorris Night Light, Inc. (630) 627-1111 dean@nightlightinc.net Kevin Manning K & D Entreprise Landscape Management, Inc. (815) 725-0758 kmanning@kdlandscapeinc.com Tom Lupfer Lupfer Landscaping (708) 352-2765 tom@lupferlandscaping.com Maureen Scheitz Acres Group (847) 526-4554 maureen.scheitz@acresgroup.com Donna Vignocchi Zych ILT Vignocchi, Inc. (847) 487-5200 dvignocchi@iltvignocchi.com

www.ilca.net

think differently? We also go about planning our days differently. Largely, because our roles require it. I think you may find this conversation familiar…. C: Where will you be at 2:00p.m. today? R: It depends. C: It’s noon, how can it depend? I need to know so I can plan my afternoon. I need you to answer some questions I have on invoicing and we need to discuss what I came up with for hardscaping at a client’s home. R: I’m already on plan C for the day. I’m expecting a phone call from the mechanic, so I may be dropping equipment off with a crew. I’m also expecting to meet with a client around 2:30, but they may need to bump that up. Then, there’s the weed spraying that I need to do before it rains tonight. Wait, let me make sure the hourly weather forecast hasn’t changed. C: I don’t know how you function. You need to give me an exact time or this is not going to get done. Strike a chord with anyone? Landscape contractors are great at putting out fires. We are great at being flexible in the moment and having contingencies lined up ready to roll as inputs change. We have to be, because usual days bring only usual chaos. We deal with equipment malfunctions, employee injuries, rain/snow/wind, plant health flare ups, whimsical clients, equipment theft and for those of you in Chicagoland – random, maddening traffic congestion! These are just a few of the thousands of things that can make a planned day go awry. This fire-fighting frame of mind has carried through and manifested itself into our association business. Since I have been on the Board, we have deliberately and courageously put out fires. Since the country was in recession during most of this time, this survival tactic was needed. In association work, it’s not what you did this day, but this month (we are an army of volunteers after all). The Board sits down once a year and creates an annual strategic plan. We pick three things that are of utmost priority and that will have a significant impact within an allowable budget. Then ILCA’s fantastic committees tackle them along with the things they already have cooking that year. We track the smaller objectives of the strategic plan month-tomonth to make sure that they are accomplished and, from time to time, make adjustments. This strategic planning model was challenged earlier this year by many on the Board, in particular some of the newer Directors. Good for them! While we were achieving our objectives and completing what needed to be done in the moment, we have not done a great job at moving forward tackling some of the industry’s greatest challenges with a longer term, more systemic focus. That being said, there was a natural segue from year to year. History was reviewed, the latest surveys and information gathered discussed, but we lacked strategic continuity (I think I just made that up). This year, we will be putting together a three-year strategic plan. We have planned two structured opportunities to listen to membership as we embark on this endeavor. The first is at the Annual Meeting on November 5th at Two Brothers Brewing Company in Aurora. Please come out and join us in a night of fun, food and drink. This is a great opportunity to leave your mark on the future of ILCA. The next will be at the Committee Chair/Board retreat in early December. Committee Chairs and Associate Chairs are the work horses of ILCA and are a significant reason for our past and future successes as an organization. A great way to make a difference is to join a committee and get active. A three-year strategic plan is our moment to set aside time and be deliberate about our forward progress. It is fantastic that membership has elected Directors that said, “Stop. We have to make time for this or it is not going to happen.”

Rusty Maulding Septmber 25, 2015

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Greenhaven Landscapes, Inc. • A Home to Showcase Lake Bluff

When the client

tidy. A two foot grade change was used to create outdoor rooms and purchased this property in provide seat walls. Just off of the pool deck and on-center of the office 2010, he wanted the landscape to showcase the historical and windows, a cut flower garden was designed with a stretched quatrefoil architecturally significant 1923 Seyfarth Tudor home. shaped hedge and a repurposed garden ornament original to the house. The landscape design was developed at the same time as the On the north side, the driveway required by the Village to access garage renovation, back addition, and pool house construction. the garage/pool house was designed for dual purposes. An old street We worked closely with the overall project team, and met all paver section performs as a dining terrace and a Grasspave section the client’s wishes while addressing the site’s challenges. The is disguised as lawn. There was just enough room to place a built in utility pole in the parkway was relocated, the front wall was grill and fire pit off of the family room. In the back border, the 20x30 opened, and the driveway was re-oriented on center of the front foot underground detention vault was covered by a well-defined lawn door. Appropriately scaled planters were added to enhance the panel. To buffer the view of the neighbors, trees were carefully plantfront entry and provide seasonal color. The motor court was ed between the garden wall and detention vault. Triumph elm trees proportioned from the house with an old street paver banding were selected for their less aggressive roots and dappled shade so and quatrefoil center detail repeated from the home’s architeca layered perennial border could be planted beneath. ture. The scale of the motor court was defined and softened with Now the client can entertain comfortably within a beautifully boxwood hedging and large lindens. Layered shrub plantings landscaped setting that showcases his historical home. and ground cover added texture while keeping the front neat and The Landscape Contractor 9 October 2015

Focus — Extend Your Season with Holiday Decor

Holiday Décor Continues to Evolve and Expand

and smart contractors have learned to take advantage of the trends By Meta L. Levin

Halloween is

busting out all over, and believe it or not, so is Christmas. Increasing numbers of landscape contractors who provide holiday décor are finding their seasons extended. What once was a Christmas business now has morphed into an autumn and winter one. “I’ve been doing a Christmas business for 40 years, but Halloween for only the last five,” says Tim Caldwell of The Savanna Group, Inc. While calls for Halloween décor remain small, he’s now seeing demand for Fourth of July décor from customers who are entertaining on that patriotic holiday. “They have beautiful outdoor living spaces and they are entertaining instead of going out.” Commercial demand for Halloween is growing as well. “After Christmas, the biggest money maker in the City (Chicago) is Halloween,” says Douglass Giebel of McFarlane Douglass. “Anyone can put up Christmas lights, but Halloween requires more creativity.” Municipalities are getting into the act with summer celebrations. Caldwell is getting requests to do some lighting and other décor for those events, as well. The landscape contractors whose clients request the unique and fun Halloween décor, try to base whatever they do on colors and designs that easily can be used as autumn displays. So, for instance, the spiders and graveyards can be removed, leaving pumpkins, gourds and fall colors. They also, however, are concerned with using materials that will survive changing temperatures that range from downright summery to the first snowstorms of winter. Color has moved from the traditional reds, greens and golds of Christmas to a wide, varied, and layered palette that gives designers an opportunity to use many plant materials, lights, and other components, while staying within the holiday mood. In 10

other words, they’re having lots of fun. Lights LED lights have changed the way designers use lights. “The LED lights are more expensive, but they last a lot longer,” says Caldwell. When pricing, Caldwell encourages his customers to look at a three- to five-year time line, instead of year-over-year. “My LED program is looking at saving clients’ money over a three-year period,” he says. Incandescent lights draw a lot of power, costing more to operate and limiting the number of bulbs on a string. LEDs, on the other hand, don’t use as much power and, says Giebel, “Give a lot of punch.” While Halloween lighting tends toward the customary orange, and July Fourth is the traditional red, white and blue, designers are getting even more creative with lighting color for Christmas and other winter holidays. In fact, building and con-

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

dominium associations increasingly are sensitive to the fact that they have tenants of differing religious affiliations working and living in their buildings. To that end they want the décor to reflect that. This leaves opportunities for a variety of holiday lighting hues, which contributes to creativity and new trends. Whatever the trend, people want color, says Kim Hartmann of Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center. Now they can play with it. In addition to the LED lights, they can get neon, they can get gold and silver and they can get so much more. Some are going retro, in focusing on décor that would fit into the 1970s with a modern twist. “It reminds them of their youth,” she says. Installing the lighting is difficult. “It takes one to two years for crews to learn how to do it properly,” says Giebel. “You have to know about lighting.” Designing the lighting takes time, too. Giebel notes that begins months ahead of time. Currently the trend is to make the trees look more sculptural, winding the strings of lights around each branch and using a mixture of colors. This, however, is labor intensive, says Giebel. Although colors change periodically, current trends call for oranges, purples, yellows, blues and whites, as well as the traditional greens and reds. The whites, says Giebel, really make the other colors pop out. “When you do something that you want to knock their socks off, you have to make it eye catching, but you also have to know your limitations. We know our limits when we design.” For the Millennium, McFarlane Douglass lit everything with blue lights. There were blue lights surrounding Daley Plaza, as well as O’Hare and (continued on page 12)

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Focus — Extend Your Season with Holiday Decor (continued from page 10) Midway airports. It was so successful that other clients began asking them to incorporate the blue lighting for subsequent years. Caldwell is becoming adept at using orange lighting in shrubs and bushes, as well as trees, to draw attention to pumpkins, straw bales and the like typically used around Halloween. “When designing the lighting, we think about picking out a central element that we want to accentuate,” he says. McFarlane Douglass buys lights directly from China. They over order so that there is some left over to start installing the next year before the new containers arrive. Lighting timelines vary. For instance, Caldwell typically has crews installing winter holiday lighting in October and November along Michigan Avenue in Chicago, which usually stay in the trees until March. There are some commercial clients that want them turned off by December 28. His private estate clients,

however, generally want the lights unplugged in January. Halloween lights, however, are on for only a few weeks and are just turned off after the holiday. By Thanksgiving, Caldwell’s corporate clients want their Christmas/ winter holiday lights up, which means that his crews start working the second week in October. The week of Thanksgiving, the crews are running around, testing lights, setting tim-

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

ers, switching lights on and making sure everything works. Taking the longer strings of lights down takes time. There is a cost to removing, washing and checking them, says Giebel. Therefore municipalities often leave the strings on the trees for as long as three years, before removing and reinstalling them. “The strings are weak; they don’t damage the trees,” he says. Other Materials The plethora of colors extends to other holiday materials. With an availability and willingness to go beyond the traditional, designers are experimenting not only with color, but also with texture and shape. Hartmann has watched Halloween rise to the level of Christmas in the last five years, with customers delighting in all of the possibilities. They come in to build their own scarecrows, as well as use corn stalks, asters, pumpkins and artificial and live plant material. These can include cabbages, (continued on page 14)

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Focus — Extend Your Season with Holiday Decor (continued from page 13) kales, Swiss chard, not to mention corn and gourds. “It’s become a folksy harvest décor” that is meant to last to Thanksgiving, she says. Countryside begins installing in September. And, by the way, they wield cans of hair and craft sprays to defeat gnawing little rodents like squirrels and chipmunks that otherwise are likely to eat holes in pumpkins and gourds. Commercial accounts vary with the weather. If a fall chill is in the air, they are apt to want to begin to see autumnal decorations in early September. If, however, it still feels like summer, they may just want everything freshened up for a while. “We have to be flexible,” says Hartmann. In the last two or three years, Hartmann has seen Christmas décor ramp up, with requests reflecting current landscape trends towards sustainability. “They want wildlife and woodland décor, featuring rabbits, birds, decorative branches, mums, ornamental peppers, little boxes and nests;

naturalistic types of things,” she says. Colors include the traditional red and green, as well as gold, silver, platinum. “There are many more products available.” Customers, who for years had kept to artificial trees, now more and more want live ones. Even holiday plants, such as container plantings, are using naturalistic cones and berries that don’t necessarily look like Christmas, but more winter. These last until mid-February to March. They still are hanging wreaths, stringing ribbons and filling planters, but working with the new colors, as well. Countryside also does indoor decorations, with floral designers working with clients early so that they can go to the market in Dallas in January, having orders delivered in July and early August. Outdoor orders are done between June and August. Caldwell begins work on his outdoor designs as 14

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

The company owns a nursery at which they grown many of their own products for use from year to year. Indoor décor is sleeker with cleaner lines, says Giebel. “The trend is to be less gaudy” during the holidays. “We use lighting, ornamental curtains, organic materials and clean lines with lights can bring color.” Chicago, he notes, tends to be more traditional with its indoor holiday décor. “Our indoor décor is simple and outstanding.” The crews are out, the colors have been chosen, and customers are in the mood for the holidays.

early as January, giving regular customers contracts right after their invoices when the delight of the décor is fresh in their minds. “More and more clients are relying on contractors to come to them with ideas,” he says. “They are looking for the design, ability to assess the space and tell them where to focus attention and they are relying on professionals to do it.” Unique “People want to be different than their neighbors,” says Hartmann. “In the last 10 years they want their décor to be more personal, to reflect their histories and memories.” There are some neighborhoods that buck that trend, in which everyone wants to be pretty much the same, with certain colors found throughout the subdivision, but that is only in a few areas. Although McFarlane Douglass has crews stringing lights in places like O’Hare airport, there are other, specialized ones, who work with other materials to make the area reflect the season. Often materials are painted to reflect different color choices. While in the past they might have used pines and branches, now designs are leaning towards berries and dried greens, he says. Giebel tries to avoid the pattern of using plant materials, then dumping them at the end of their cycle. “A lot are not recyclable, they are not something that will stay a long time.” Giebel tries to incorporate different types of bushes with different textures so that they can remain from one season to another. Crews will dig them out, taking them out to the McFarlane Douglass owned farm, where they are given tender, loving care to keep them alive so that they can be reused the following year. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Jim Fizzell’s Hort Ad The questions of the day — Fall 2015

What’s the Outlook for This What’s the Next Pest on the by James A. Fizzell

Editor’s note: To many contractors, this winter (which can be considered just barely “past”) provided a significant boost to the bottom line. On the other hand, if you don’t move snow, the harsh winter may still provide some residual benefit from landscape repairs and replacements. In the meantime, we thought you might value some expert opinion on what happened, and what can be done to correct winter’s harsh effects.

Wherever people

get together, the subject of the weather always seems to come up. It’s either too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, but it’s never “just right.” Actually, much of last summer was about as close to “just right” as I have seen it in years. While it started cool, there was enough moisture. And, temperatures moderated with no prolonged hot or cool spells. It did get pretty dry by the end of August in some areas while others received enough rainfall in pop-up summer thunderstorms. Some spring work was delayed by early wet conditions, however they were mostly beneficial. Most of the common wet-weather problems never did develop. There were some other weather-related problems, however. Results of two severe winters were beginning to appear. Dieback in trees and shrubs, such as multi-stem redbuds, and surprisingly catalpas, showed up as the plants began to leaf out. These plants were well established. It was thought that they may have been southern-grown or were southern geotypes and were not completely hardy here. They had survived the prior decade or so of mild weather. We received The Landscape Contractor October 2015

reports of hickories dying unexpectedly. Shallowly-rooted trees, especially grafted lindens in irrigated lawns, were affected by freeze-drying of the soil and roots, where snow cover was lacking. Exposed evergreens, boxwood, yews and arbor vitae showed their characteristic winter dieback. Some exposed spring-flowering plants failed to bloom above the snow line. Turfgrass damage was due to snow plowing and salting of paved areas. When the weather turned dry in August, some people were surprised at how fast the soil dried out. Soils develop excellent drainage in unusually wet weather. When the rains stop, the drainage continues as the moisture moves down in the soil profile, pulling in air. But what’s the forecast? More important than reiterating the past is to contemplate the future weather and its effect on our plantings. According to our long-range weather prognosticator, meteorologist Greg Soulje, we can expect an early start to winter. After a warm spell in September, he thinks the first flakes could arrive

visory Winter? Horizon? before September ends, and the first measurable snowfall in the third week of October. We will almost “use up the winter by the end of the year,” he thinks. It will be cold and snowy early. Maybe as much as 40 inches of snow can be expected for the season, most of it before January. Because of expected early, heavy snow cover, there may be no frost in the ground, he says. After the first of the new year, things will quickly moderate as the full effects of the El Niño, the Pacific decadal oscillation, and the North Atlantic oscillation develop. The remainder of the winter should see high temperatures in the thirties and forties with only brief cold spells. Precipitation will tend to be rain rather than snow. Late winter will be damp and quite cloudy with the sun an infrequent visitor. Warmer temperatures would suggest that the ground will continue frost-free for much of the winter. Melting snow and rain can be expected to recharge the soil for next season. What can you do to prepare? Anticipating this kind of a winter,

some things need to be done now to get plantings ready. If things closed down as quickly as Soulje expects, time will be short. Any fall work needs to be done as soon as possible. Protection for susceptible plants needs to be installed. A sudden change to cold will catch plants unprepared and not fully dormant. Protect exposed evergreens from winter sun and wind with burlap screens on the west and south sides. Wrap upright evergreens with burlap, and tie to prevent damage from heavy snow and ice. Install screens along walks and drives to keep salt out of lawns and ornamental beds. Burlap or silt screens stapled to stakes don’t look too good, but they are better than replacing the plantings next spring. Snow mold grows on turfgrass in standing, ice-cold water. If snow mold has been troublesome in the past, apply fungicides before the snow arrives and again if possible in midwinter. Pest protection Deep snow means animals have trouble finding forage. Protect susceptible thin-barked trees, and shrubs with rabbit

guards or fencing. Make sure they are high enough so rabbits standing on the snow can’t get above them. Mice will take up residence under the snow, building systems of tunnels to their favorite food sources. Pull mulch and groundcovers away from the bases of trees and shrubs that are attractive to mice so they don’t take up residence there before it snows. Periodically walk down the snow around these plants to smash any new tunnels they have built. The tunnels will show up as trails in the grass when the snow melts. As soon as the grass starts to grow they quickly will be covered up. Deer are tough. They will destroy a yew planting in a single night of feeding. Cages made of hardware cloth over re-bar frames to cover valuable plantings are the only way to prevent feeding. Get Holiday decorations up early before the bad weather arrives. If you push snow, try to meet with your accounts to decide where to put the snow. At 3:00 a.m. on a cold snowy morning you will be shoving it wherever it will fit unless you know the preferred location. (continued on page 16)

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Jim Fizzell’s Hort Ad (continued from page 15) No one knows for sure how the weather will turn out. We shall see. If it isn’t as bad as expected, preparation is still the best insurance. What’s new on the insect front? The emerald ash borer disaster has decimated the ash population throughout the Midwest. The first ever warning of this pest for Illinois plant people appeared in The Landscape Contractor in the September 2002 “The Way I See It.” That alone emphasizes the value of reading this magazine. Emerald ash

borer is not the first introduced pest to disastrously affect our plantings here. Chestnut blight, Dutch elm disease, and gypsy moths were introduced from Europe. Honeysuckle aphids came from Russia. Japanese beetles and Asian long-horned beetles came from Asia. Fortunately some of these did not result in massive harm. Other serious pests have been intercepted at entry points such as O’Hare Field where the USDA plant inspectors routinely catch such invaders. As the first line observers, we are a vital resource in locating these pests

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

that may have evaded detection in the normal channels. Two new pests are responsible for damage to plantings in the eastern part of the U. S., boxwood blight and the spotted lantern fly. Neither has been found in Illinois as yet. Boxwood blight (Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum) causes dieback of boxwood which will regrow from roots that generally are unaffected. Eventually the plants are invaded by other opportunistic organisms which kill them, or they become so unsightly that they are removed from the landscape. This disease resembles winter damage

visory in which the stems are killed by the cold and the bark splits along the lower stems. Introduction here will likely be on imported nursery stock. Photos of the symptoms of this disease can be down loaded from the internet. See: (https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/PPWS/ PPWS-4/Boxwood_Blight_pdf.pdf) The lantern fly (Lycoma delicatula) is a planthopper first detected in Pennsylvania and thought to have arrived on imported landscape material. It is another Asian native. The insect is a serious pest of valuable trees and (continued on page 18)

The lantern fly with wings extended.

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Hort Advisory (continued from page 17) fruit plantings especially grapes, posing a hazard to the ornamental tree industry and to the bourgeoning wine industry here in Illinois. The adult insect is about an inch long and half that wide. The wings are light brown with black spots and held tentlike over the body at rest. The red hind wings are exposed when the insect is disturbed. Nymphs are black with white spots and red wing pads. Introduction of these pests to Illinois will be inadvertent, with egg masses transported long distances on materials and vehicles. Egg masses are laid on any exposed surface in groups of 50 or so with a yellow wax covering. Kind of reminds one of the Gypsy moth situation a couple of decades ago. If you think you have discovered either the egg masses or the insects themselves, or if you have reason to suspect that you are seeing the box blight disease, contact the Illinois Department of Agriculture or the University of Illinois Extension entymologists or pathologists. Our office can assist in this as well.

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Highlights from Fall Events

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Committee Chair Profile

Education Committee Chair — Kim Hartmann by Meta Levin

Between her job

and her ILCA volunteering, Kim Hartmann, ILCA’s Education Committee Chair, is combining her passion, experience and knowledge in one happy package. Hartmann is assuming the helm of the committee at a time when participation is on an upward climb. “The good news is that attendance at education programs has grown,” she says. Up 29 percent, in fact and more than 60 percent of those attending those offered at iLandscape completed and returned evaluation forms. Educational programming at iLandscape has been heavily influenced by the feedback the committee receives. Formerly CEU driven, focusing on landscape architects and contractors, now there are increased offerings for municipal employees, arborists and growers. “This year, we had more business owners, more in senior management positions, but we saw the biggest jump in the number of those from municipalities,” she says. The daughter of a farmer and a teacher, Hartmann originally earned degrees in agriculture and communications from the University of Illinois, then went off to a management consultant job. Eighteen years and three children later, she looked at her life and decided it was time for a change. “I have a passion for gardening and garden design,” she says. That led her to classes at Chicago Botanic Garden, Northwestern University and the College of Lake County and, finally, to a job with Craig Bergmann in Winthrop Harbor. Ten years ago she went to work for Countryside Flower Shop Nursery and Garden Center in Crystal Lake where she is a landscape designer. She 28

also leads tours, lectures to everyone from garden clubs to school and scout groups and teaches classes, including Master Gardener courses. She also teaches at McHenry and Kishwaukee community colleges, as well as the College of Lake County. Her path to the ILCA education committee came through IGIA. When ILCA and IGIA were contemplating a merger, the IGIA suggested that she join the ILCA education committee as a liaison. That led to more interest, involvement in iLandscape, and a desire to network. “It was fabulous to continue to work with ILCA, even though the two groups did not merge,” says Hartmann. This wasn’t her first interaction with ILCA and education. She had worked with Scott Grams, ILCA executive director, and Julie Nicoll, ILCA education manager, in putting together IGIA education programs for Mid-Am. The increase in iLandscape education participation, as well as and especially the feedback the committee has received also is fueling what happens at Summer Field Day and other events. So, the kinds of educational offerings that make more sense in August than in February are scheduled for Summer Field Day. She is thrilled with the wider variety of attendees at educational programs. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for senior management to support professional development,” Hartmann says. Investing in employees sends a powerful and positive message. “It means that the employer is recognizing their importance.” The committee also has found that sometimes, “it’s all about the marketing.” How they promote the programs affects how many people they attract. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Once they have them in the seats, if the program lives up to expectations, they can get them back for future classes. Coming attractions? “It’s all about the chickens,” says Hartmann. “Chickens are this year’s marijuana.” In other words, the farm to table movement is coming to iLandscape. Homemade manure anyone? Stay tuned.

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

iLandscape Education for 2016

iLandscape

the illinois + wisconsin Landscape Show

Taking Education in a Bold New Direction By Meta L. Levin

“We’re excited

schedule. And there will be education about offerings on all three days, unlike last the diversity of the speakers,” says Kim year, when there were only sessions Hartmann, 2016 iLandscape Education on the first and second days. Taking a Chair. That diversity, by the way, cue from last year’s landscape architect includes chickens, but more on that attendees, CE eligible classes will be 90 later. Oh, yes, and there is a livestock minutes. This will allow LAs to earn 12 permit involved. CEs at iLandscape for just $79! iLandscape Education Committee Tracks will be grouped, e.g., everymembers once again paid close attenthing of interest to arborists will be tion to comments from last year’s concentrated on the same day. Ditto for attendees, adding depth to the 2016 snow and so on. That way, if someone program with offerings for landscape can attend only one day, he or she is contractors, representatives from guaranteed to get everything offered on a municipalities, business owners, growPlant guru Dan Heims certain subject and maximize any needed ers, hardscape designers and installers, continuing education credits. estimators, foremen, superintendents, snow plowers, arborists, Oh, and did we mention that Friday education is free? landscape architects and designers and so many more. There will be no charge to attend classes on Friday in an “We recognize that we have an audience across the green effort to open up education to more attendees. industry and we want to make sure that all of our constituenAttendees can find out about such human resources subcies are covered,” says Hartmann. That means that there will jects as what to do when the Department of Labor comes callbe classes covering plants/horticulture, management and opering, on the same day that they also can learn about employee ations, sales and marketing, landscape architecture and design attraction, motivation and retention. Experience has taught the and maintenance, as well as snow removal and ice control. committee that attendees often move across subject areas. To The committee also has continued the tradition of providing that end they also can mix it up, go to one, and then check out several classes taught in Spanish with the help of the Latino another. Relations Committee. So someone can learn about “Landscape Pre-Construction, “Last year we had people ask us if we could offer some of Estimating and Planning” with Matt Drauss, and later take in the classes that we had only in Spanish, in English as well,” “Ecology and Insects” from Scott Stewart. says Hartmann. (continued on page 32) Nearly 25 classes, each about 75 minutes long, are on the 30

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

iLandscape Education for 2016

Come visit our new headquarters in Gurnee, IL

(continued from page 30) The enduring favorites, such as perennials, trees and shrubs and other horticulture subjects to which attendees flock have not been forgotten. Plant guru Dan Heims, a plantsman, speaker, author, collector and breeder, as well as one of the owners of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. in Canby, OR, will bring his new presentation, “Plants that Pay the Rent” to the iLandscape audiences this year. “He’s always up on the latest and greatest plants,” says Hartmann. “But in this presentation he will talk about plants that add intrinsic value to client’s lives and property.” This includes using plants that help to save energy, improve the value of the property and have health benefits. Back on the iLandscape exhibit floor, Horticulturalist and Professor of Horticulture Michael Dirr will lead a “Shrub Crawl,” visiting carefully selected booths to talk about woody plants. “The walkabouts have been very popular,” says Hartmann. Typically they attract anywhere from 80 to 100 participants. Dirr, a professor at the University of Georgia and an acknowledged expert on woody plants, holds Go on a “Shrub Crawl” with a Bachelor of Science Dr. Michael Dirr and Master of Science degrees in plant physiology from Ohio State University and a PhD in the same subject from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has authored more than 300 scientific and popular publications, as well as seven books. In addition, Dirr has been widely recognized and honored for his work in horticultural writing and plant propagation, and his book, Manual of Wood Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture and Propagation and Uses, has been widely adopted as a reference text in both horticultural and landscape architecture education. One education session is scheduled for each morning (including Friday), followed by plenty of open time for perusing the trade show and networking, plus two sessions in the afternoon. Hartmann notes, that unlike last year, there will be only one keynote address, who will, once again speak from a stage on the exhibit hall floor. “The trade show and the educational offerings will leverage off of each other,” she says. Continuing education credits will be available for a wide variety of professionals and disciplines, including landscape architects, certified arborists, certified landscape technicians/landscape industry certified and ICN Pros. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Take a “ride” on the 606 The iLandscape Education Committee has focused on the big picture, looking at the forest, as well as the trees, so to speak. For instance, the “606 Panel” will look at “The 606,” Chicago’s new park and trail system, from a variety of angles. The panel will consist of

landscape architects and contractors, Chicago Park District representatives, hardscape contractors, public works planners – “the whole functional team,” says Hartmann. “We wanted to look at it

from design to opening.” The project used an old train right-ofway and turned it into green space, full of grasses, native trees and perennials. Over a decade in the making, and located along the old Bloomingdale Line, the trail is designed to bring together the arts, history and design, as well as trails for bikers, runners and walkers. It includes areas for special events, alternative transportation avenues, green and open space. It opened in June. In its continuing effort to be ahead of or at least up with the curve, iLandscape is focusing on the “farm to table” movement, especially the expansion of the demand for backyard vegetable gardens. Customers are (continued on page 34) The Landscape Contractor October 2015

iLandscape Education for 2016 (continued from page 33) growing edibles, but they also are branching out into certain types of livestock and domesticated pollinators, such as bees. Enter “Fowl Profits/Petscaping” with Tim Kline, closely followed by chickens, which are covered by an official Schaumburg livestock permit – probably

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Enfoque: Sección en Español

Las decoraciones para las festividades continúan evolucionando y extendiéndose

y los contratistas inteligentes han aprendido a sacar ventaja de estas tendencias Por Meta L. Levin

Halloween está

por todas partes y, créanlo o no, también las Navidades. Un número cada vez mayor de contratistas de servicios de paisajismo, que ofrecen decoraciones para las festividades, están observando que sus temporadas se extienden. Lo que en el pasado era un negocio navideño ahora se ha transformado en un negocio que abarca el otoño y el invierno. L“He hecho negocios en las Navidades durante 40 años, pero Halloween, solo en los últimos cinco años”, afirma Tim Caldwell de The Savanna Group, Inc. Si bien las llamadas para decoraciones de Halloween siguen siendo pocas, actualmente está recibiendo solicitudes para el Cuatro de Julio de clientes que atienden invitados en esa festividad patriótica. “Tienen bellísimos espacios al aire libre en sus residencias e invitan a sus amistades en lugar de salir”. Pero la demanda de proyectos comerciales para Halloween está creciendo también. “Después de las Navidades, la mayor fuente de ingresos en la Ciudad (Chicago) es Halloween”, asegura Douglass Giebel de McFarlane Douglass. “Cualquiera puede instalar luces navideñas, pero Halloween exige más creatividad”. Las municipalidades están participando en las celebraciones veraniegas. Caldwell está recibiendo solicitudes para iluminación y otras decoraciones para tales eventos. Los contratistas de servicios de paisajismo cuyos clientes solicitan las decoraciones divertidas y características de Halloween, tratan de basar todo lo que hacen en colores y diseños que se puedan utilizar fácilmente como despliegues de 36

otoño. Por ejemplo, se pueden quitar las arañas y las tumbas, dejando las calabazas, los calabacinos y los colores otoñales. También están concentrados en utilizar materiales que sobrevivan los cambios climáticos, con temperaturas que oscilan desde las claramente veraniegas hasta las primeras tormentas de nieve intensas de invierno, en un período relativamente corto. El color ha pasado de los rojos, verdes y dorados tradicionales de las Navidades a una paleta amplia y variada y diversa, que da a los diseñadores la oportunidad de usar muchos materiales de plantas, luces y otros componentes, manteniéndose dentro del espíritu de las festividades. En otras palabras, se están divirtiendo a lo grande. Luces Las luces electroluminiscentes (LED) han cambiado la forma en que los

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

diseñadores utilizan las luces. “Las luces LED son más caras, pero duran mucho más”, asegura Caldwell. En la fijación de precios, Caldwell anima a sus clientes a proyectarse en un lapso de tiempo de tres a cinco años, en lugar de año tras año. “Mi programa LED tiene el propósito de ahorrarle dinero a los clientes en un período de tres años”, dice. Las luces incandescentes consumen mucha energía, su funcionamiento es más costoso y limitan el número de bombillas en un cordel. Por otro lado, las luces LED no consumen tanta energía y, asegura Giebel, “Ejercen un mayor impacto visual”. Si bien la iluminación de Halloween tiende al anaranjado acostumbrado y la del Cuatro de Julio, a los colores tradicionales, rojo, blanco y azul, los diseñadores se están volviendo más creativos con las luces de colores para las Navidades y otras festividades invernales. De hecho, las asociaciones de edificios y condominios son cada vez más sensibles al hecho de que tienen inquilinos de diferentes afiliaciones religiosas, que viven y trabajan en sus edificios. Desean que las decoraciones reflejen esa diversidad. Esto da oportunidades para una variedad de tonalidades para las luces de las festividades, lo que estimula la creatividad y genera nuevas tendencias. No importa cuál sea la tendencia, las personas desean color, afirma Kim Hartmann de Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center (Floristería, Vivero y Centro de Jardinería). Ahora pueden jugar con los colores. Además de las luces LED, pueden obtener neón, dorado y plateado y mucho más. Algunos

prefieren el estilo retro, concentrándose en decoraciones típicas de la década de 1970, con un giro moderno. “Les recuerda su juventud”, asegura Kim. Instalar las luces es difícil. “Toma uno o dos años a los equipos de trabajo aprender a hacerlo adecuadamente”, afirma Giebel. “Es necesario saber de iluminación”. Diseñar las luces toma tiempo también. Giebel señala que eso debe hacerse con varios meses de anticipación. Actualmente, la tendencia es hacer que los árboles luzcan más esculturales, enrollando los cordeles de luces alrededor de cada rama y empleando una mezcla de colores. No obstante, esto requiere mucha mano de obra, afirma Giebel. Si bien los colores cambian periódicamente, las tendencias actuales imponen anaranjados, morados, amarillos, azules y blancos, además de los verdes y rojos tradicionales. Los blancos, afirma Giebel, realmente realzan los otros colores. “Cuando usted hace algo con la intención de causar impresión, debe hacerlo atractivo, pero también tiene que conocer sus limitaciones. Nosotros estamos conscientes de nuestras limitaciones cuando diseñamos”. Para el Milenio, McFarlane Douglass iluminó todo con luces azules. Había luces azules alrededor de la Daly Plaza, así como los aeropuertos O’Hare y Midway. Tuvieron tanto éxito que otros clientes comenzaron a pedirles que incorporaran el azul a la iluminación en años subsiguientes. Caldwell se está volviendo adepto al uso de luces anaranjadas en arbustos y matorrales, así como en árboles, para llamar la atención hacia las calabazas, balas de paja y materiales similares usados típicamente alrededor de Halloween. “Al diseñar la iluminación, pensamos en seleccionar un elemento central que deseamos acentuar”, afirma. McFarlane Douglass compra luces directamente de China, pidiendo en exceso para que queden algunas para empezar a instalar el año siguiente antes de que lleguen los nuevos contenedores. Los períodos de iluminación varían. Por ejemplo, Caldwell usualmente tiene equipos de trabajo The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Enfoque: Sección en Español instalando luces para las festividades invernales en octubre y noviembre, a lo largo de la Avenida Michigan en Chicago, las cuales usualmente permanecen en los árboles hasta marzo. Hay algunos clientes comerciales que desean apagarlas antes del 28 de diciembre. Pero sus clientes privados en zonas residenciales, usualmente desean desconectar estas luces en enero. No obstante, las luces de Halloween se instalan por unas cuantas semanas y se desconectan después de la festividad. Los clientes corporativos de Caldwell desean que sus luces navideñas y de las festividades invernales estén instaladas para el Día de Acción de Gracias, lo que significa que sus equipos de trabajo comienzan a trabajar la segunda semana de octubre. La semana del Día de Acción de Gracias, los equipos de trabajo se mantienen activos, probando las luces, fijando los temporizadores, encendiendo las luces y asegurándose de que todo funcione debidamente. Bajar los cordones de luces más largos, toma tiempo. Quitarlos, lavarlos y revisarlos implica gastos, afirma Giebel. Por consiguiente, las municipalidades con frecuencia dejan los cordones en los árboles hasta por tres años, antes de quitarlos e reinstalarlos. “Los cordones son débiles; no dañan los árboles”, asegura. Otros materiales La plétora de colores se extiende a otros materiales para festividades. Con la disponibilidad y disposición de ir más allá de lo tradicional, los diseñadores están experimentando no solo con el color, sino también con la textura y la forma. Hartmann ha visto como la fiesta de Halloween se ha elevado al nivel de las Navidades en los últimos cinco años, encantando a los

clientes con todas las posibilidades. Vienen a construir sus propios espantapájaros y usan tallos de maíz, ásteres, calabazas y materiales de plantas artificiales y vivas. Estos pueden incluir repollos, coles rizadas, acelgas suizas rojas, además de maíz y calabacinos. “Se ha convertido en una decoración rústica para la cosecha, que deberá durar hasta el Día de Acción de Gracias, dice. Countryside comienza a instalar en septiembre. Y, por cierto, esgrimen latas de aerosol para el cabello y barniz en spray para manualidades para vencer a pequeños roedores, como ardillas y ardillas rayadas que, de no hacerse esto, perforarían orificios en las calabazas y los calabacinos. Las cuentas comerciales varían según el clima. Si se siente un frío otoñal en el aire, probablemente querrán comenzar a ver decoraciones otoñales a comienzos de septiembre. No obstante, si sigue sintiéndose el calor del verano, podrían preferir que todo se refrescara por un tiempo. “Tenemos que ser flexibles”, recomienda Hartmann. En los últimos dos o tres años, Hartmann ha visto un aumento en las decoraciones navideñas, con pedidos que reflejan las tendencias actuales en el paisajismo hacia la sostenibilidad. “Desean decoraciones silvestres y forestales, con conejos, aves, ramas decorativas, crisantemos, pimientos ornamentales, pequeñas cajas y nidos; cosas con apariencia natural”, afirma. Los colores incluyen el rojo y el verde tradicionales, así como dorado, plateado y platino. “Hay muchos otros productos disponibles”. Los clientes, que durante años han preferido los árboles artificiales, ahora, cada vez con más frecuencia, desean los vivos. Incluso las plantas usadas en las festividades, como las plantaciones en recipientes, están utilizando conos y bayas naturales que no tienen necesariamente apariencia navideña, más bien invernal. Estos duran hasta mediados de febrero y marzo. Siguen colocando coronas, colgando lazos y llenando las macetas, pero trabajan también con los nuevos colores. Countryside también realiza decoraciones de interiores, con diseñadores florales que trabajan con los clientes con cierta anticipación, para que puedan ir al mercado en Dallas en enero y recibir los pedidos en julio y a principios de agosto. Los pedidos para exteriores se hacen entre junio y agosto. Caldwell comienza a trabajar en sus diseños para exteriores desde enero, dando a sus clientes regulares contratos, justo después de sus facturas, cuando el encanto de las decoraciones está fresco en sus mentes. “Un número cada vez mayor de clientes están dependiendo de los contratistas para que les aporten ideas”, afirma. “Buscan el diseño, la capacidad de evaluar el espacio y consejos sobre dónde fijar la atención y están confiando en profesionales para hacerlo”. Distinción “Las personas quieren distinguirse de sus vecinos”, afirma Hartmann. “En los últimos 10 años, desean que sus decoraciones sean más personales, que reflejen sus historias y recuerdos”. Hay algunos vecindarios que rechazan esa tendencia, en los cuales todos quieren ser iguales, con ciertos colores por toda

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la urbanización, pero esto ocurre únicamente en unas pocas áreas. Si bien McFarlane Douglass tiene equipos de trabajo colocando luces en lugares como el aeropuerto O’Hare, hay otros, especializados, que trabajan con otros materiales para que el área refleje la temporada. Con frecuencia los materiales son pintados para que reflejen diferentes selecciones de colores. Si bien en el pasado habrían usado pinos y ramas, actualmente los diseñadores se inclinan por las bayas y ramas secas, dice. Giebel trata de evitar el patrón de utilizar materiales de plantas y desecharlos al final de su ciclo. “Muchos no son reciclables, no son algo que perdurará por mucho tiempo”. Giebel trata de incorporar diferentes tipos de arbustos con diferentes texturas para que duren de una temporada a otra. Los equipos de trabajo los desentierran y los llevan a la granja propiedad de McFarlane Douglass, donde los cuidan con esmero y ternura para mantenerlos vivos y reutilizarlos el siguiente año. La compañía es dueña de un vivero donde cultivan muchos de sus propios productos para usarlos año tras año. La decoración de interiores es más elegantes, con líneas más definidas, afirma Giebel. “La tendencia es ser menos chillón” durante las festividades. “Utilizamos iluminación, cortinas ornamentales, materiales orgánicos y líneas puras con luces para realzar el color”. Chicago, asegura, tiende a ser más tradicional con sus decoraciones de interiores durante las festividades. “Nuestras decoraciones de interiores son sencillas y excepcionales”. Los equipos están trabajando, los colores han sido seleccionados y los clientes están imbuidos del espíritu de las festividades.

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Remembering

A company history through the eyes of employees Preface— In 2012, The Landscape Contractor began its Family Trees series of articles. These in-depth features tell the stories of seminal families in the landscape industry — Synnestvedt, Fiore, Damgaard and Orum. The Family Trees series continues in 2015 as we turn our attention to the the story of Denny Church and his groundbreaking company, Church Landscape. An ardent supporter and long-time ILCA member, Denny Church has many distincions. But perhaps his single greatest was to have led ILCA as President for four consecutive years (1971-1975). His record of selfless dedication to cause is unmatched in ILCA history. Much of what is written here is the summary recollection of the individuals involved. The Landscape Contractor has attempted to verify and confirm, but in some cases cannot offer concrete evidence. If anyone has been excluded, it is purely unintentional. This is not meant to be a scholarly work and is written solely for the enjoyment of our readers. I hope you enjoy this view into the world of Denny Church and the people who he influenced in the landscape business. RR 40

by Becke Davis

Most everyone in the Illinois

landscape industry has some familiarity with Church Landscape. Although D.R. Church Landscape no longer exists, its roots — in the form of its employees — have spread far and wide. Family was always one of Denny’s priorities, so it is not too surprising so many of his former employees still consider themselves part of the “D. R. Church family.”

Denny R. Church, 1929-2013

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

In the beginning Denny R. Church was born in 1929, one of 13 children. He joined the Air Force at age 16. When Denny died in 2013, he left a sister, four children, five grandchildren and a huge imprint on the landscape industry. (His wife Edith preceded him in death.) Call him Dennis at your peril—his real name was Denny, and his friends all knew it. Denny was very involved in the industry throughout his career. Denny was ILCA’s longest serving president (1971-1975) and was ILCA’s Man of the Year in 1976. He served on the board of the National Landscape Association and was awarded entry into the NLA Hall of Fame.

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees Reflections of Bruce Church “D.R. Church Landscape Co. Inc. was officially incorporated in 1963. My dad got a small loan from a doctor friend and paid it back within nine months. The business started in Addison, where my dad – Denny – bought a house on Lake Street with a shed and an unused dairy farm. My dad worked at Amlings for two seasons. He loved working there but it was a seasonal business. They laid him off every winter and he had a family to support. He had no experience, he just helped crews do the installation. It was more of a residential beat. My dad’s philosophy was “do a common job uncommonly well.”

My three sisters finished their college degrees – two are teachers and one is a lawyer. I was born in 1960, and by the time I was three years old I was climbing on the equipment. My first job was cleaning and sweeping for my dad, and I worked there part time most summers. From 1974-78 I had a small residential landscape business, doing maintenance and flower beds. I wasn’t big into hardscapes at that

time. I paid Dad rent, and I would rent a truck from him. I bought a string trimmer, push mower, brooms, pruners and loppers—that was it. I rented a spreader and a backpack sprayer from Dad—fortunately, I didn’t have to buy them. (continued on page 42)

Denny in his first car after the Air Force, an old Studebaker

Denny and Bruce

“A common job, uncommonly well”

Edith and Denny Church Denny in the US Air Force (fifth from the right) The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees

By 1960, the kids were all here (continued from page 41) My dad set me up working for Ralph Synnestvedt in 1978 so I could see how other companies were set up. I worked with Matt Synnestvedt a little bit and George Koziarz was there. I did some jobs with Scott Byron, installing his designs, but I had the most contact with George. I started working for my dad

full time in 1983. Kenny Gallt was the first degreed person my dad hired, before I graduated. He was educated and a good designer, he brought a higher level of knowledge to the company. John Joestgen started around 1982-83. Kenny was running construction, and when he decided to go out on his own, John took over construction. My mother, Edith, was there from the beginning as secretary and treasurer. She was the office manager and she’d do billing, payroll, anything that wasn’t landscaping. Jay Garrett came in about 1981, in the last few days in the old shop before we moved to Lombard. She worked with my mom and became the office manager. Other key players included George Matthews and his son Dave, Bob Helfers, Tod Schneider, Jeff Aiani, John Mitten, Dan Alvin, Juan Gomez, Jim Moreau, Gary Hapanovich, Rick Schulz, Wayne Hinrichs, Tom Kelly and Mary Allen. We opened Royal Oaks Nursery in Marengo in 1985. It worked out great and helped grow the business. We were a two million dollar company in 1983. When it

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

sold it 16 or 17 years later, it had grown to a 20 million dollar company. It was a fun, fun, fun growth pattern, led by construction. Maintenance grew incrementally, but both really exploded. We wanted to compete with national companies, and were looking for ways

Over the next 36 years, the business grew from a single truck, to one of the most respected companies in Illinois and beyond.

Have you heard the news today? Circa 1998—

Mar 29, 1998, Houston Business Journal

Roll-up specialist plows new ground with landscaping IPO

to do that. On June 3, 1998 we joined with six other companies nationwide to form LandCare USA. It was a pretty decent start for a national footprint. LandCare went from 135 million to 330 million in revenues in nine months—it was so much fun, it was unbelievable. And then ServiceMaster/ TruGreen/Chemlawn announced they were competing with us on a companyby-company basis. LandCare USA was acquired by ServiceMaster and in 2000, I left the company. New beginnings I bought an existing concrete framing and forming company called R/C Concrete Concepts, Inc. with a partner. I bought him out and changed the name to Hard Surface Solutions, a company that is still running. We do repairs and maintenance – anything outside the building, we’ll fix it. I’d created a company called Balanced Environments in 1997 to sell pond chemicals— it existed, but just sat there. In 2003, after my non-compete clause ran out, I capitalized it, forty years after my Dad started his company.” (continued on page 44)

Notre Capital Ventures, the local investment firm that created Metals USA, Coach USA, HomeUSA and Comfort Systems USA, is now breaking new ground by unveiling Landcare USA. The newly formed roll-up company has filed to go public and simultaneously acquire seven landscaping and tree service companies. The initial public offering of 5 million shares is expected to be priced at $10 to $12 a share, raising $47 million. Largest of the seven founding companies is Houston-based Trees Inc., which operates in 12 states and employs 1,325 people year-round. President and CEO of the 45-year-old company is Linda Benge, who will become a director of Landcare. Trees Inc. reported 1997 revenue of $50 million. The next largest acquisition is Four Seasons Landscape and Maintenance Inc. of Foster City, Calif., with revenue of $16 million.Total combined revenue of the seven companies is $118.8 million.The landscaping and tree trimming industry had estimated revenue of $20 billion in 1996 with significant growth in recent years due to consolidation in the real estate industry, increased outsourcing of landscape and tree services, and growing recognition of the economic and aesthetic benefits of landscaping. The industry is highly fragmented, with some 10,000 small owner-operators nationwide. But the founding companies of Landcare, which specialize in commercial and institutional services, do business with major real estate firms, hotel chains and utility companies. Other Landcare acquisitions include Southern Tree & Landscape Co. Inc. in Charlotte; D. R. Church Landscape Co Inc. in Chicago; Ground Control Landscaping Inc. in Orlando; Arteka Corp. of Eden Prairie, Minn.; and Desert Care Landscaping Inc. of Phoenix. Landcare’s chairman is William Murdy, who from 1989 to 1997 was CEO of General Investment and Development Co., a real estate firm. ### Nov 2, 1998, Memphis Business Journal

ServiceMaster Acquiring LandCare USA

Illinois-based ServiceMaster (NYSE: SVM), which has its consumer services headquarters in Memphis, will acquire LandCare USA (NYSE: GRW) in a stock-for-stock merger. The merger will create the largest commercial landscaping company in America with annualized revenues of more than $400 million. The merger will give ServiceMaster’s TruGreen Chem-Lawn the No. 1 position in a $20 billion commercial landscape market. TruGreenChemLawn is the nation’s largest lawn care company with annualized customer level revenues of more than $900 million. ### Jul 14, 1999, Memphis Business Journal

ServiceMaster Renames New Landscape Management Company

ServiceMaster will name its new landscape management company TruGreen-LandCare. TrueGreen-LandCare is the landscape management and tree service company that was the result of a recent merger between the TruGreen-ChemLawn landscape division of ServiceMaster and LandCare USA. TruGreen-LandCare is the largest commercial landscaping company in America with annualized revenues in excess of $550 million. It is part of ServiceMaster’s Consumer Services division, which is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. ServiceMaster’s corporate headquarters is in Downers Grove, Ill. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees

Reflections of Jeff Aiani “I started at D. R. Church Landscape in the spring of 1974 and was there until spring of 1988 — 14 years. Mr. Church gave me an award on my 10 year anniversary with the company. I really worked for Mr. Church since Bruce was still at school. I got to know Bruce more at the end of my career there. I started pushing a lawn mower there right after high school. Mr. Church was very influential to my working in the green industry, a true mentor. He was very patient, calming and extremely quality-oriented. He’d say to treat the job as if it was your own. He had a real presence about him, a figure of authority. He never embarrassed anyone, always taught people without belittling them.

“Treat the job as if it was your own.” The company was pretty small to what it eventually became. It was a Mom and Pop operation when I started—Mrs. Church was involved, too. When I was there, the Lombard facility hadn’t been built yet. Mr. Church said it was a farmer’s business—you have to work when the work’s available and when the conditions are right, out early and back late. I always knew Mr. Church could be as good as the Brickmans, Grundstrom and some of the other third generation companies. Church was a first generation company, and you don’t expect

a brand new baseball team to win the series their first year, but Mr. Church always measured his successes against the leaders in the industry. The company grew—maintenance, design/build, construction, snow plow—it all grew. It was great. Mr. Church taught me a real interest in the environment, and I’ve stayed in the green industry. He made work fun—work hard, play hard. Other than my father, no one has influenced me as much as he did.”

Reflections of Juan Gomez “In March 1980 I was out of work, after working for Dominicks for about five years. I had a two little girls and a six-month-old boy—I needed a better job. A friend of mine worked for Church Landscape, but he told me they weren’t hiring. My friend called his boss “Denny” but I didn’t realize Denny was the owner. I called information and found D.R. Church Landscaping. The owner’s wife was his secretary, and she answered the phone when I called. Denny hired me over the phone. I said, “I never worked landscape but I can learn. I don’t have a CDL license, but I can get one.” Later, Denny said he liked my positive attitude. I was 21 years old—within a year and a half, I was superintendent. When he hired me, I didn’t know what a superintendent was, but I had kids and I needed work. I left my house in Chicago at 3 a.m. to get to work the next day, because I didn’t know where Addison was. When I got there, the man at the gate said, “No work, no work.” Denny’s house was on the property, and he came up to the gate. “Are you 44

Juan Gomez?” he asked. Then he told the man at the gate, “Juan is working with you today.” Denny knew I had a family. He said, “I want to help you out,” and he put me on salary. He was like a father to me. He, Edith and Bruce came to my daughters’ quinceañas. In 1985 he came to Guadalajara with me, where my mom and dad were. Denny wanted to go milk the cows—he did it, and he drank it straight, with sugar. At work, he’d go out with the workers and have one beer. In Guadalajara, he wanted to meet the people so we went to a very small cantina with a tent outside. He tasted the tequila, and then said, “This is my bottle, you get your own!” Instead of visiting the museums, Denny wanted to go back to the village—he liked the dancing and the mariachi. While we were there, my dad got sick with a fever. Denny went back but he paid for a rental car and left it with me. Another time, I fell off a truck and got hurt. I had to have lower back surgery. Later, he would have someone come bring The Landscape Contractor October 2015

me to work. I’d show up for a few hours— he’d give me some paperwork to do and then he’d drive me home. The whole time, he kept paying me my full salary. Denny would never come in and go straight to his desk. He’d always talk to the crews first, and ask, “How’s everything, how’s your family?” In 2013, Bruce called and said, “Our father has died.” When I talked to Denny about a week before that, we’d been planning another trip to Mexico.”

Reflections of Tod Schneider “I kind of grew up in the landscape industry. After I got my four-year degree at Southern Illinois University, I went to a convention in Louisville, Kentucky where they had a job posting board. I had a lot of interviews, but I was looking for something close to home. I met Denny and pitched myself to him, but he said he wasn’t in a position to hire a four-year grad. Later I called him and invited him to breakfast. I said, “How about you hire me as a laborer, and if I don’t work out in six months you can fire me.” I started in 1982 as a customer service sales representative within commercial maintenance and landscape services and enhancements—all commercial. Gary Hapanovich was Maintenance Production Manager and I was Maintenance Sales Manager. When I came on board, there was maybe two million in revenue and

when I left in 1991 we’d reached about 12 million in revenue. I remember in the early days when we were still using carbon paper, Edith Church would tell me to stop making so many alterations to contracts, because she had to keep retyping them. “Just tell them this is the way it is,” she’d say. Denny was very good at choosing the right people for the job. In this industry people float in and float out, but there wasn’t much floating going on. Denny was empowering—he knew everybody’s name and family. He’d let you make your own call after running it by him at team meetings. If it didn’t work out, he’d just ask what we could have done better. I was about 22 or 23 when Denny, who was in his sixties, invited me to play racquetball. I was running all over the court, dying, and he never even broke a

sweat. “It’s not about running all over at top speed,” Denny said. “It’s about thinking smart and planning ahead.” Bruce was still in college when I came on board. Bruce stepped into Denny’s position around 1987. We hired Lenore DuPuis in about 1985 or 1986 to do marketing. That helped get Church’s name out there. She got us into a lot of magazines and newspapers, which helped a lot in the early days. When you’re a small company, being featured in Landscape Architect magazine is a real highlight. I was with D.R. Church Landscape for nine years, until 1991. I was at Brickman for 17 years and worked for other landscape companies. I’m now the owner of Universal Handyman Repair and Remodeling Services in McHenry.”

Reflections of Kenny Gallt “I’m from New York, and New York people are pushy. Midwest people are pretty nice. Denny was nice and I was pushy. I came to Chicago in 1975 — I had all these degrees, but I didn’t know if I wanted to work in a landscape architect office or at a nursery. It was a tough year. C.J. Fiore took me aside and told me who to talk to — he said Denny Church was an honorable guy. “You should give him a call,” he said. I had worked for a landscape contractor in Long Island, and had worked on some landscapes there. I showed Denny slides of one job, and Denny had been there and seen it. He was basically a maintenance guy. I said, “I can design and build it, and you can maintain it.” I was the first salaried employee because I asked Denny if his office was 32 weeks or 52 weeks. I was the pushy New Yorker — I pushed him for snow removal, and pushed for brochures.

With seven or so people, we built a design department. We got a $100K job and then put together a crew. And then it kept growing to ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred people. I remember hiring John Joestgen as my assistant after a four hour interview. Denny and I wanted to keep expanding, but should we expand into irrigation? It’s so seasonal. A nursery? There are so many out there. What about interior landscaping? I pushed to do the inside. Denny always wanted to bring out the best in people, and he encouraged people to go to ILCA seminars. When I started Foliage Design Systems in 1984, Bruce and Denny were my original investors. Bruce is still the smartest business person I know. I had three sets of parents — my own in New York, my wife’s parents in Mt. Prospect, and Denny and Edith. And Bruce is my closest confidante. Denny — that was his real name — grew up in the

Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. He would read and read and read all of the magazines. I remember the day Denny died, it was on my wedding anniversary in April 2013 Edith would go out and buy food for the Hispanic workers to take home to their kids. She was always there, in the office. Edith and Denny didn’t always agree, and it was a small office without any walls. Their house was on the property with a barn in the back, and the office was about 30 feet by 30 feet. Edith did the typing, George Matthews did the maintenance and Denny was being the nice guy. There’s a picture of Denny, George and me on the first brochure I made Denny print in 1977. I was there for ten years.” (continued on page 46)

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees

Reflections of Mary Allen “I started at D.R. Church Landscape in 1984, right out of college. Denny took a big interest in knowing everyone’s family— spouses and kids. He stood outside and greeted people as they arrived in the morning. After my third child was born, Denny allowed me to work from home—they went above and beyond. I was the first female besides Edith Church and Jay Garrett. My first season was in a maintenance crew, I worked with the enhancement program. After that, I was in charge of annuals and perennials, new plantings on any existing landscapes we

maintained. Wayne Hinrichs was my foreman when I started there. I only worked with Denny for a couple years, then he went out to work at Royal Oaks Nursery. At some point that changed. LandCare was created and was then sold to ServiceMaster/TruGreen. Then ValleyCrest purchased the installation side of the business and TruGreen kept the maintenance. I left ValleyCrest in 2003 and went to work for Plandscapes, with maintenance and annual and perennial gardens.

Reflections of Stephen Yontz “Before Denny hired me I was running a small retail nursery in Palo Alto, California. I’d hooked up with my roommates, electrical engineers who got jobs in Silicon Valley. I got into landscaping and rode my bike to work. I’d gone to University of Illinois and I knew Dan Alvin, who worked for Denny Church. Denny hired me over the phone. When I showed up I had hair down to my shoulders, and I was unshaven and disheveled. I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, with my resume folded in my back pocket. And he hired me! I started at D.R. Church in April 1981, and when I left ValleyCrest the end result was that I’d worked with the Church family for 27 years. My degree was in Ornamental Horticulture. I went to get a degree in Landscape Architecture, but that school was full. They suggested I sign up for Horticulture and transfer, but I liked it and stayed. I got my BS from University of Illinois and because of Church Landscape, I also got an MBA from Lewis University. Bruce and Denny said I needed some business courses if I wanted to go any further with the company. That’s what Denny was about—Bruce was still in school when I started there, but they were both very 46

“Denny really loved plants.” supportive. They were pioneers in a lot of things—they picked up a good portion of my schooling. I was still working there full time, and I had a family and a brand new daughter. It was a lot different from partying at U of I. It took six years of night school, from 1986 to 1992, but I was highly motivated and I graduated with honors. I was a foreman for construction, then supervisor. When I started there we had a big paving job in Chicago. As foreman, I had to get up at 4 a.m. to beat the traffic and then finish before rush hour. Denny showed up one day with this young kid. “This is my son, Bruce. He’s now on your crew.” Bruce jumped into the truck the next day—we got to be friends on that job, and our friendship bloomed. I don’t see him as often now, but we’re still friends. Later I went into maintenance sales. At that time we wore sport coats and ties—I traded work boots for wingtips. Tod Schneider was head of maintenance at the time, and in 1987 I became VP of operations, I ran the production side. Tod Schneider became VP of sales for mainteThe Landscape Contractor October 2015

nance about that time. Kevin Block came in later as a salesperson. Sales of both divisions were run separately, with John Mitten and John Joestgen handling production/sales and myself and Tod Schneider—later myself and Kevin Block—on the maintenance side. It was less than a year after LandCare started that TruGreen came in and bought the company. TruGreen serviced lawns, but LandCare was construction, a different model than TruGreen knew. In about 2001, ValleyCrest bought the construction side of the business. I still enjoy what I’m doing and the people I’m working with, and I’m still working with the same people I worked with 15 years ago at ValleyCrest. A lot of us started in the green industry working for D.R. Church. I’m now a project manager at Pizzo and Associates—I’ve been in the industry 34 years.”

Reflections of Todd Selin “Denny Church hired me in 1980, when I was right out of college—I had a degree in Horticulture from Southern Illinois University. He brought me in to handle residential projects—they had been more commercial. I worked out of the garden center with Tony Fulmer, who is now with Chalet. Denny was a mentor for me. There was a great atmosphere there, and I was given some independence right from the start. He’d listen to your needs and your wants. If he couldn’t help, he’d point you to someone who could. He’d do his best to help you succeed. He’d say, “Make the customer happy and you will succeed.”

“Family was very important to Denny.” Family was very important to Denny, and his wife Edith worked at Church, too. She would stop by the garden center, and I’d have coffee ready for her. Edith and I used to have low key, informal Friday chats, both business and pleasure, in that rickety old kitchen. The building codes meant the garden center couldn’t go any further, so I started my own business in 1988, after I’d been with Church seven or eight years.. Denny allowed me to keep a big project I’d started in 1987. In 1990, my company won an ILCA Gold Award for that project.

My company is now in year 27, and we’ve won several residential landscape awards. I incorporated a lot of the values I learned at Church.”

Reflections of Tony Fulmer “I started at Church in July 1979. First and foremost, I was hired to run the retail garden center on Lake Street. I saw more of Edith than Denny. The thing I appreciated most, I was hired for my knowledge and experience, and I was given complete freedom in a very challenging market. Todd Selin was hired right out of Southern Illinois University, and the two of us were mainstays of the garden center. Denny wanted to have a garden center to complement the rest of the business. It became profitable, but his main reason was to give back to the community. The Church family were good, kind, sincere, truly hardworking people. You really wanted them to succeed, and you’d want to help them succeed. Denny really loved plants, and I think he was always interested in a growing operation. He never expressly said that, but that was my impression. I left in September 1987 after 8 years. They closed the garden center at the end of December, and Denny started Royal Oaks Nursery about then.

Denny was very proud to have staff that were experienced and educated. When he had the opportunity to hire someone with a degree, he was extremely pleased. It was very attractive e to him. There was no pretense about Denny or Edith. They were warm and generous and kind, without a pretentious bone in their bodies. Denny and Edith had four children: Debbie, Peggy, Bruce and Denise. Peggy was married and had moved to Champaign, but Denise worked at Church occasionally. For eight years, Debbie would come in Saturdays and Sundays in April, May and June and work in the store. Denny was always grooming Bruce for landscaping. Bruce had no involvement with the garden center, but you could see traits of both Denny and Edith in Bruce. The first year I was there, I had a lot of contact with Edith — we spent a lot of time together. Edith’s big passion was her German Shepherds. Her dog had a litter of puppies — she was so happy that year. Edith was never as excited about the garden center as Denny was. They weren’t ostentatious, and she’d say, “We’re success-

ful, we’re comfortable.” She said she went along with the garden center because it was Denny’s dream and they were a team. She made a comment once that we’d have trouble unloading something that had come in—I don’t remember what it was. I said, “I can sell a lot of these.” She said, “Every time you sell one of those I’ll buy you a Frosty from Wendy’s.” (She’d seen me with them before.) The gauntlet was laid down. She ended up buying me 31 Frostys that season. She drove a little VW Beetle—she got so she’d automatically bring in a Frosty with her. I told her she could stop, but she said, “We made a deal.” And then she added, “No more bets with you!” I am now the Chief Horticultural Officer for Chalet’s retail store, and I also do training in their landscape division.”

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees

Reflections of John Mitten “Denny strongly stressed professionalism.”

“I started at Church in 1977 as a laborer and was there for 25 years. I ended up as VP of construction/ production. Denny was very much a people person. I remember trying to get a Mexican foreman like Juan Gomez, a 20-year employee, but back then many Hispanic workers were migrants. Denny wanted to grow the company, and ended up with 20-plus Mexican construction foremen who were able to afford their own homes. There was a little eight or ten room hotel next to the Addison location, and some of the workers lived there. One of the workers would wait and cash all his checks when he went back to Mexico in the fall. One drove his car all the way back to Peru. There was always a summer picnic and sometimes a Christmas party. Originally Denny or Edith would organize these events, and then later the maintenance or construction department would organize it. The picnics were originally held at the company, and then later they moved to dif-

ferent forest preserves. Denny strongly stressed professionalism, serving customers and serving employees. The business changed in scope and complexity with one of our first big, big jobs—a $30K construction job. By 1990 we were doing $10 million jobs. Denny worked for Amlings as a salesman before he started D.R. Church, but he always got laid off in the winter. I think that’s why he started his business, and he tried to make year-round work for his key people—snow plowing, etc. It was kind of a personal thing with Denny, he would always ask, “What would make you stay? What would make the work more interesting?” And then he would make it work, and he’d make the work interesting. Denny started an ESOP—Employee Stock Option Program—in the 1980s, to provide a retirement plan for the employ-

ees. I think this was pretty progressive thinking at the time, particularly in our industry. One of the “hats” I wore was personnel manager, and Denny, Bruce and I were trustees of the plan. Basically, an ESOP functions as a retirement plan with annual contributions in the form of company stock and, as needed, cash contributions. It was a great way to align employee and company interests, as well as to encourage employee longevity. I believe that at the time the company was sold, approximately 30 percent was owned by employees via the ESOP.” “I went to Church as a summer job in 1979, when I was a junior in college. I went back after I graduated and started as a landscape construction foreman and then a construction superintendent.

Reflections of Dan Alvin Four of us—Jeff Aiani, John Mitten, Steve Yontz and myself—built a 10 by 10 office in Lombard when we moved from the backyard behind Denny’s house. The camaraderie of that group and with the other groups of people working there was most memorable for me. People were very friendly, in the workplace and out. Jeff, our wives, and I bowled in a league. We worked together six days a week and then evenings, too. Jeff is very intense, very loyal. His dedication, his work ethic and his overall excitement was infectious. When I was in college, I tried to work in a different location every summer to get more experience. I studied Ornamental Horticulture at University of Illinois with Steve Yontz, and I thought of him when Denny asked where we were going to find good people. I recruited Steve from California. At first, Edith was in the office all the time, then they started Church Garden 48

Center and she got more involved with that. I became the design/build construction superintendent and did a lot of plant buying that last year. The nursery was started in about 1987. Denny always wanted to grow. He had an area behind his house where he’d planted some trees, and a gravel parking lot where he’d built a pole barn and a wooden garage for construction, and trucks parked all over the place. The camaraderie was the best. At some companies, the foremen all got along but maybe they didn’t get along with the laborers or the design department. At Church, the concern of people working there for each other is what made the work fun through long hours and bad weather. I even enjoyed snow plowing all night because I was with fun people. One of my best memories is bucketing snow off a garage roof in terrible weather, Jeff and I tying burlap around our knees and scooping the snow off the roof with tractor buckets. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

There used to be catered company picnics in the forest preserve in the summer—all day events for the employees and their families. We played horseshoes and there was a lot of involvement. I left Church in 1988 and am now vice-president of Datascape, Inc., a custom software and data management company in Gurnee.” “I started at Church in summer of 1977, pushing a lawn mower on a maintenance crew. I had just graduated from high school, and was there off and on. I went back to school and then became a full time maintenance crew leader in 1979. I knew the family through our church, Good Samaritan Methodist in Addison, and I knew Bruce’s sister Denise at Addison Trail High School. Bruce is a year younger than me and we’re each godparents to one of each other’s kids.

Reflections of John Mitten Denny and Edith owned Church’s garden center, and they had a nice office on Lake Street and a shop in their backyard. There was a small apartment above the garden center—they leased it to me for about three years. I provided security. The first year I worked for Denny they had to cut back a little. Edith brought me dinner a couple of times. I did pay rent, but Denny told me to save it for the lean winter months. One January, Denny invited me to go with him to a Mid-Am-related ILCA meeting. He knew everybody! I was young, and it made a really great impression on me. Church was a really great company, and they had access to a broader labor pool. I made it up to area supervisor for maintenance. Denny was kind of a father to me.

“Denny was kind of father to me.” in this industry—they used to really take care of their key employees. John Mitten was on a committee creating an Employee Stock Option Program as an exit strategy. It was an administrative nightmare and a burden to carry on, but Denny considered it a cost of doing business and a fair way to give his employees a leg up. The number one thing that drove Denny was to provide a better way of life for his family, with better opportunities than he’d had. He thought he could provide a better way of life for them by creating his own business. Family was

after I left Church. He was such a nice man, so big and strong. In those last couple years, he just aged. He went so quickly—I was surprised, because it didn’t seem like he would ever go.”

“They really took care of emplyees.” One thing I recall about Denny—he believed in educating yourself and learning new things. He was always encouraging me to go back to school, which I eventually did. He offered to send one employee to horticultural college—that’s how dedicated he was to education. I went back to school for an accounting degree after planning for the move to Lombard, working summers for Church. I had a CDL license, a pesticide applicator’s license, and took horticulture classes at the College of DuPage, where all the instructors knew Denny. I wanted to keep learning. I graduated from Illinois Wesleyan, and when an opportunity became available, I came back to Church as controller in 1986. Denny had just started Royal Oaks Nursery, and it was kind of a cool time. The company was pretty revolutionary

always a critical thing for him. He was a very kind, knowledgeable businessman who knew how to make capital investments. He was a genuine gentleman farmer. He didn’t do things for recognition, he did them because it was the right thing to do. Starting in around 1985-86, Denny

“The company was pretty revolutionary.” would buy a fixer-upper house in late summer and the rehab work would be done by his crews in winter. I’m not sure if the houses were then sold for profit or if he sold the houses to his employees. I worked there until 1989, when I started my own consulting and accounting business. On a personal note, I used to enjoy hunting and fishing trips with Denny

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees

Reflections of Jay Garrett Denny and Edith started D.R. Church Landscape Inc. in 1963 and ran it out of their home in Addison, starting with one truck. Denny was an adding machine salesman at first, but he loved the outdoors. After that he worked at Amlings. At Church, the crews always called Denny “The Senator.” Denny’s handshake was his word. He had a great reputation, and it was reflected in the way ILCA and ALCA felt about him. I joined the company in 1982—I didn’t know when I was interviewing that I was interviewing for a family. My birthday is in May and Edith’s was in August. I liked to antique and she liked to casino, so we used to go on B&B getaways on our birthdays. In January, they had moved to three acres in Lombard, and Addison went back to being their home. They didn’t even have any walls up in Lombard when I interviewed. Kenny Gallt, the landscape architect, had a table in one corner and Edith was in another corner. Edith did all the books and kept track of the pennies, Denny was the big picture guy. Edith loved it when the landscape company was small, when she knew everybody, but Denny wanted the business to grow. Everything was done by hand, including writing the checks. We hand posted all the job costs and then added them up when the job was finished. Edith wanted to retire, which was why they brought me in. I was the first full time office person there. It was a big decision when we decided to get a computer, deciding which one to invest in. I was more on the bookkeeping side, but I became proficient with the computer. I first met Bruce when he was in his early twenties. He came back after working somewhere else after college. He was washing a truck outside one Saturday and I jokingly asked, “When are you going to do mine?” When he came back and washed my car, too, I knew he was a good kid. Mary Allen was the first full time 50

female field person there—I think she had just gotten her landscape architecture degree when she was hired. Denny, Edith and Bruce were all very big on education. I had a two-year degree from College of DuPage, but Bruce wanted me to go to the University of Illinois. Both Denny and Bruce encouraged me to go for a four-year degree. By the time I left in 2010 I had graduated from Elmhurst College with a degree in Organizational Management. I still do the books for Denny’s estate. Denny had started Royal Oak Nursery north of Marengo and was stepping down, although he was always there when Bruce needed a sounding board. Bruce took over the reins in the 1990s, about four years after Denny left. The nursery was Denny’s pet project after he retired. One of the Church employees named the nursery— there was a contest or a game to come up with a name and someone won it. The Church name caused some confusion. We’d get phone calls asking, “Do you only landscape churches?” And we’d get calls for Doctor Church. If the caller asked for Dennis Church we knew they didn’t know Denny. Denny was the point man for finding property, and he found Old Mill Creek— 27 acres in Wadsworth. I remember walking the cornfield with him so we could get an idea how big the pole barn would be. It was 120 feet by 90 feet, built from the ground up in Wadsworth. Bruce and Denny opened it up to the executive group, which I was part of, and John Joestgen and I invested in the facility in Wadsworth. I always said I owned the gate. The landscape and construction crews were running out of space in Lombard, that’s why they decided to go north, closer to the Wisconsin border. In 1999 we built a two-story, 10,000 sq. ft. office in front of the pole barn, and Lombard became a satellite to Wadsworth. The computers were moved to Wadsworth—everybody called it the Taj Mahal. The property was owned by Denny but the business was bought out. The Landscape Contractor October 2015

We stayed in Wadsworth and the office became TruGreen LandCare, and then they moved us to other locations. Church also had a small shop in Russell, a warehouse and a staging area, and we rented an old barn in the Wadsworth/Antioch area. Denny was grooming Bruce—a dashing young single man—to take over the company. Bruce was pretty much in charge even though Denny was still there. I bought a condo in Lombard, and they bought Bruce a condo in the same complex. Bruce met his wife, Sandy, while he was living there. Bruce and Sandy had three kids, Eric, Stephanie and Haley, Bruce got his Master’s from DeKalb while his kids were still little. Denny always said he wanted to do common things uncommonly well, and it wasn’t just lip service—he instilled that in other people.”

Reflections of John Joestgen “Two years out of college I was at a different job, struggling. I called Denny, but I didn’t want to tell him my name. He invited me in to talk. He was a genuine person who you could talk to and trust. I started there in April 1983. It was a scary step—I’d only had one job out of college. Even though it was scary, it was absolutely the best career move I ever made. That was 36 years ago. I changed my degree in college. I started in accounting, working landscaping in summers with my cousins. I stayed in school an extra year to get a second degree, Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. I was project manager/estimator when they were just moving to Lombard. John Mitten, Jeff Aiani, Dan Alvin and Gary Hapanovich were already there. There were tape lines where the cubicles were going to be, and the furnishings were two folding chairs and a card table. They had the office, they just hadn’t moved over there yet. Other key people were Juan Gomez, who had started in 1982—he spoke at Denny’s funeral service, Ken Gallt, George Matthews and Dave Matthews. Denny told me when he was working at Amlings he was repeatedly let go in winter. The last time it happened he didn’t come back. He bought houses to refurbish to help keep people working—“flipping” houses before flipping was hot. For five or six years, Denny and I would have lunch together three times a week. It was a good time for the two of us to make sure we were philosophically on the same page. It was easy to get on the same page with him in a business sense, morally and ethically. Invitations and other mail came to the Lombard office for Denny long after he retired and it wasn’t even Church Landscape anymore. Four name changes in four years*, and the clients still stayed because of the people. After the breakup, Church employees scattered across

Illinois. Every company that hired Church employees has benefited because those employees had their act together, and they understood the Church way. If D.R. Church Landscape was on their resume, companies would be interested. *Denny shifted from using D.R. Church as the corporate name, and started using Church Landscape in the late 1980s. It became Church Landscape, a LandCareUSA company and then TruGreen LandCare. Later TruGreen sold the construction side of the business to ValleyCrest. While Denny was happy out at the nursery in Marengo, the business moved to Old Mill Creek in Wadsworth. The twostory building was split—the first floor was Church Landscape and TruGreen LandCare Co. – Maintenance, and the second floor was Church Landscape, a ValleyCrest Company – Construction. Most days, Denny wanted to get back closer to the landscape. The nursery gave him a chance to get back on a tractor and to work on some equipment. Royal Oaks sold to many nurseries. Mary Allen bought from Royal Oaks, but not exclusively. Denny went more with what was tried and true rather than what was new on the market, the plants the commercial landscape industry uses over and over again: Ornamental trees, shade trees, evergreens and shrubs. Dan Alvin went there with Denny—he was there before Theresa Dietz, who is still at Royal Oaks. There have been three men in my life who had a major impact on me. My father was one, Denny was another. He had integrity, and was honest in his business and personal life. There wasn’t a situation where he’d say, “It’s just business.” He tried to keep his employees on year round, and he gave about thirty percent of the company to his employees. The longer you stayed, he more you owned. If someone left before becoming fully vested, their shares didn’t go back to the company—they went into a pool for other

employees. When ValleyCrest split in 2003, they only wanted to keep one salesperson, so I started my own company with my wife from 2004 to 2009, and worked for another contractor for two years. When I left Church, I was executive vice president overseeing five branches including Milwaukee and Indianapolis, Old Mill Creek, Lombard and Plainfield. In 2011, Bruce asked, “You know what you were doing before, overseeing the branches— do you want to do it again?” So in about 2012 I started with Bruce at Balanced Environments. Church Landscape’s philosophy included striking a balance between urban development and nature, restoring the equilibrium—trying to understand nature while working with urban development and progress. Construction is inevitable, so make it ecologically sensitive.The Church philosophy flows into Balanced Environments through both the logo and the company name.”

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Historical Perspective — ILCA Family Trees

Reflections of Wayne Hinrichs “I started at Church in 1980 as a laborer, then foreman for maintenance. I was laid off in winter and came back in almost two years as a foreman/supervisor and then became satellite supervisor at different locations in the Northern Cook County and Lake County area. Addison was sold off and became multi-family housing, but we had locations in Wadsworth/Old Mill Creek, Plainfield, Lombard, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. We ran multiple satellites—Northbrook, Libertyville, Antioch, etc. Wadsworth is the corporate office for Balanced Environments. I did maintenance and enhancements— anything extra we did for existing clients, such as seasonal flower plantings, mulching, tree planting and small design work, anything out of the regular contract. When they started building Old Mill Creek I became the facility manager. I

oversaw construction of the shop and the small production site. The work was mostly commercial but we always did residential and we still do, just on a smaller scale. Continuing education was big with Denny. We tried to find jobs we could do during the winter to keep people on, not just foremen. Denny opened up his wallet a lot to help out his Hispanic workers, and he’d send people to seminars. Denny cared a lot about the people who worked with him and wanted them to succeed. The summer picnics were a big to-do, with hundreds of employees and their families. We tried moving the picnic to the main location at Old Mill Creek. On 25 acres, there was room for hayrides, and we put a band in the garage. When Bruce started Balanced Environments, he started bringing part of the team back. In the words of the Blues Brothers, “We put the band back togeth-

er—we were on a mission from God!” You work through the changes and keep on going. The family operation that was dearly missed so Bruce made a conscious decision to keep the legacy going. At Balanced Environments, we’re all here, same as we were 20 years ago. It wasn’t any different at Church Landscape—we have many of the same clients, same property managers. I think Bruce is trying to use the proven ways of D.R. Church as a good way for Balanced Environments to follow. A company’s growth is directly related to the quality of people you have working with you—you’re only as good as the people working with you. Denny was a firm believer in recruitment from college, and the new scholarship in his name will be a good base to provide people to get into the horticultural industry.”

Reflections of John Ploss “I started with Church in 1991. I got a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin in ’86 and worked for a garden center and then a North Shore design/build firm. I live in Antioch and when I heard Church was building an office out here I asked Bruce about it. Bruce was running the company then, and he invited me to come on board as sales and construction project manager. I was doing residential design/construction work and Church was doing mainly commercial, but there was a minirecession and Church was looking to get a little more diverse, focus on residential a little more. It was really a lot of fun and a great opportunity. It wasn’t your standard design/build residential work—landscape architects needed someone to build their designs. I put together a team who could do stonework, brick pavers, irrigation, masonry, waterfalls, fountains and landscape lighting, done in conjunction with really good subcontractors. We could tell homeowners we had the 52

equipment, the knowledge and the manpower to do anything they wanted us to do. We did top end work, but we had six or seven people crammed into a small office space, bidding on half a million dollar jobs, projects like the renovation of Daley Plaza and the city hall rooftop garden. Things were just cooking! I was there at the height of D.R. Church right through the 1990s—I was there for all of that, including ValleyCrest. We all split up after that. I went to a couple of North Shore design/build firms in 2007-2008, and then Bruce brought me back to Balanced Environments along with Wayne and Tom. They needed someone to work with design project installation. It’s just as intense as at D.R. Church but now with high detail, similar to the quality, design, character and dealing with owners and project managers who need something special. There can be a lot of smaller jobs but there’s also an opportunity to work on really big projects three or four times a year. Currently we’re working The Landscape Contractor October 2015

on a million dollar project. Given the fact that we’ve just come through a fairly rough recession, construction may slow down a little but people still need maintenance. Bruce kept us on—he kept the family together during the slow times, as his father used to do—so we did our darnedest to bring in work. Things are looking up now. I had a little connection with Denny. He’d take us out to the nursery and walk us through his trees. He knew what he was doing and he had a passion for the industry. As a construction project manager I would tag trees for construction jobs. The nursery now has a specialty on larger trees, so we can get plants at a discount which helps with pricing.”

Reflections of Tom Kelly “My first knowledge of D.R. Church was at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Cobleskill and then at Mississippi State. Mississippi State was one of the few schools that offered a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Contracting. Bruce and—I think—Kenny Gallt came for a career day. Before ILCA career days, Bruce worked to get students trained with internships. What’s now known as Student Field Days shows real time, real world operations. ValleyCrest came to the school and Denny and Bruce were heavily involved in this. I was probably the first person in the United States to sign up for Landscape Construction as a degree course. I wanted the maintenance and I wanted the snow—it’s a necessary evil to provide interaction with clients 12 months of the year. Landscaping is ever-moving, everchanging, but that’s why I still have the same clients twenty years on. We have the ability to update or completely rehab—it’s very rewarding. I came on board in 1999/2000, at the end of Denny’s tenure at D.R. Church.

I was transitioning from production into sales. I was there because of what Denny had done—he’d created a landscaper’s dream, both he and Bruce. They knew what I needed to bring to my job, and then some. I’d heard it from other people working at Church and it’s the same today. What Bruce brought to the table was the business savvy, the details of business. Bruce is much more intensely focused than Denny was. I didn’t work much with Denny—I remember being introduced to Denny at his retirement party—it’s what Denny told Bruce to do at college, focus on the financial side, with a Master’s degree in Business Finance. I had been at Church three months when LandCare USA was started, and six months later it was rolled up into ServiceMaster and TruGreen Chemlawn. ValleyCrest bought the construction division which gave the company a footprint across the U.S., and we all lived through it. When Bruce and Wayne asked me to become a salesman, I turned them down. I wanted a say. I put my experience on

the table, and I became a vice president. There’s always competition between construction and maintenance, and that disconnect can cause problems. I’ve tried my darnedest to keep that from happening—it keeps me focused as much as anything else. Many times I wrinkle it more before it gets ironed out. Dimes to dollars, I think everyone wants the family unit D.R. Church had.”

Final Thoughts from Bruce Church Today Balanced Environments is one of the largest professional landscape contractors in the Midwest with five locations serving an area that extends in three states, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The company owns and operates hundreds of pieces of equipment, and provides landscape management, installation, irrigation, hardscape, and snow removal services to an ever increasing spate of loyal and appreciative clientele. In tandem with its partner company, Hard Surface Solutions, specialized in concrete and paving services, Balanced Environments is able to provide a true “single point of contact” for all outdoor services a building manager or owner might need.

As we continue the Church legacy with Balanced Environments, my dad’s philosophy echos in our halls, “Do a common job uncommonly well.”

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Photos From ILCA Fall Events

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

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Member Profile Greenwise Organic Lawn Care LLC 1638 Payne Street Evanston, Il 60201 (847) 866-1930 www.iamgreenwise.com by Meta Levin

Marc Wise loves

the outdoors. He always has. For several years he bounced around the United States, going to school, taking some time off and finally earning a degree in environmental studies, with a focus on ecology, from Prescott College in Prescott, AZ. Friends lured him to the Chicago area. He fell in love with the lakefront. His longtime frustration with large agricultural companies that had a negative impact on the environment drove him to start Greenwise, an organic lawn care company, providing sustainable options to business and residential customers. “It’s my way of making a difference,” he says. Wise chose an organic lawn care company in part, because he had spent some time working for one (Good Nature) in Cleveland, OH, an experience that made a big impression on him. “That was a huge factor,” he says. His concern about the environment started early. As a child, he spent a lot of time outdoors. “I always have had an affinity and love for everything alive,” he says. “I was very curious and tried to understand the environment at a young age.” To cap it all, he wrote his senior thesis about bio-diesel from former US Representative Dennis Kucinich’s office. Kucinich was running for president at the time and hired Wise as an intern. “He was another role model of people standing up for their beliefs,” says Wise. Wise started Greenwise in 2007. His girlfriend at the time helped him, as did a colleague from Uncle Dan’s, the store at which he had been working. To get his first customers, he posted fly56

ers at Whole Foods, green events and even snagged a feature story in the local Evanston “RoundTable.” His Uncle Dan’s co-worker had some landscape experience and came on as foreman for the maintenance division, while Wise developed the organic side. Now he employs about 35 people. “The people around Evanston embraced what we were doing,” he says. While his early maintenance foreman went on to other things, he has had several loyal employees who have stayed with him. Michael Kormanik is Greenwise’s Marceting manager. With the company since 2009, he started as an aerator, moved into the office and now has moved to his present position. “He is really key to our success,” says Wise. Dan Klindera has only been with Greenwise for less than a year, but already he has made his mark. “He is an amazing leader and makes Greenwise a happy place to work,” says Wise. “He gives good structure and guidance to the organization. Klindera is a certified arborist and serves as the company’s general manager. Senior landscape designer Tim Clough has been with the company for almost four years. He is, says Wise, “exceptionally versatile and talented. He has had a huge influence over the growth of our company.” Wise believes that it is important to give back to the community, especially in ways that support his mission statement. “Our company stands on three legs: profit, giving back to the community and collaborating and assisting nonprofits who are doing what we do.” To that end he collaborates with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center, donatThe Landscape Contractor October 2015

ing services to run a pesticide free pilot program at five city parks in Evanston. The action center provides educational materials. He also provides equipment, materials, labor and vehicles to help the Talking Farm in Skokie, which focuses on educating people about urban agriculture and food production. Wise joined ILCA this year, because he views it as an organization that does good things for the landscape industry. “There are a lot of amazing companies in the landscape industry, but also some who are not educated and don’t maintain best practices. ILCA betters the landscape industry.” Given a choice, he believes that most customers will opt for a sustainable alternative. “It’s my job to be able to deliver affordable and effective solutions,” he says. “Most people who come to us don’t want toxic herbicides and pesticides on their property. If we can lighten the footprint of the lawn, they will embrace it.”

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Classified Ads HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED  CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING also available on ILCA’s WEB SITE www.ilca.net Call for information (630) 472-2851 

Commercial Operations Manager Rosborough Partners, Inc. is accepting resumes for an experienced Commercial Operations Mgr to coordinate & schedule operations within the Commercial Dept. Analyzing, planning, organizing & adjusting schedules to achieve the most efficient use of resources & people are responsibilities of this position. Managing & coordinating the winter snow-plowing schedule & execution of activities during snow events are also part of this position’s responsibilities. Excellent communication skills are key to being a successful Commercial Operations Mgr. Landscape industry experience and/or a horticultural degree are required. English & Spanish fluency is required. We offer competitive wages & benefits.

Landscape Construction Project Manager (F/T)

Residential Maintenance Account Rep Rosborough Partners, Inc. is accepting resumes for an experienced Residential Maintenance Account Representative to manage portfolio of residential maintenance clients. Responsibilities include preparing proposals, contract renewals, identifying and selling new sales leads and ensuring quality control is followed on client sites. Revenue and profitability goals will be set each year and accomplished by analyzing, planning, organizing, and adjusting schedules to achieve efficient use of resources and people. Establishing, building and maintaining client relationships are the keys to being successful in this position. Landscape industry experience and/or a horticultural degree is required. English & Spanish fluency is a plus. We offer competitive wages and benefits. Please email resume to: mary@rosboroughpartners.com

Please email resume to: mary@rosboroughpartners.com Landscape Maint. Client Rep (F/T) Landscape Co. in Libertyville, seeks individual possessing strong background in project & client mgmt., cust. service, est. & sales, as well as in all phases of Hort., turf mgmt., proper maint. techniques, leadership & communication skills. Min. 3-5 Yrs. Exp.; SP speaking a plus. Exc. Comp. & Benefits pkg. Email resume: (mailbox@roccofiore.com) or fax to 847-680-6084

Landscape Co. in Libertyville is seeking an experienced individual to join our team. You will be responsible for scheduling crews, materials, & sub-contractor mgmt. on a daily basis. You will also be responsible for the client’s expectations regarding quality and service. Strong leadership qualities; understanding the safety of equipment, technical construction aspect of landscape construction, hardscape and plant material. Min.3-5 yrs. Exp., SP speaking a plus. Exc. Comp. & Benefit pkg. Email resume: mailbox@roccofiore.com or fax to 847-680-6084 Winklers Tree Service We are currently looking for an experienced Certified Sales Arborist. Are you currently the number 2 or 3 sales person in a district? Are you putting in the time but not reaping the benefits? We have an opening in our top district for an experienced salesman. We are also looking for a tree worker who is an experienced spray technician. We are also looking for a lawn technician who has experience with lawn and shrub application. All positions have a daily production bonus and full company benefits. info@winklerstreeservice.com www.winklerstreeservice.com 708-544-1219

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES JAMES MARTIN ASSOCIATES, INC. Vernon Hills, IL & Boulder, CO

James Martin Associates, Inc. is a leader in the Landscape and Snow Management industry. We have been providing services to our customers for over 37 years.

Account Managers

We are seeking candidates for the following positions:

Designer/Sales

Superintendents

Business Development

To be considered for any of these opportunities, please forward your resume and salary history to b.mcelroy@jamesmartinassociates.com or call Beth at 847-876-8052.

Landscape Architecture • Construction • Maintenance • Snow Management

www.jamesmartinassociates.com

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

Classified Ads HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

SEBERT LANDSCAPE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

RYCO Landscaping

Business Development/Sales Representative

*** Commercial Maintenance Account Manager ***

At Scott Byron & Co., we create beautiful environments. Located in Lake Bluff, IL We are looking for an experienced Business Development/ Sales Representative to join our team.

We are an award winning commercial contractor that has managed corporate properties throughout the Chicago area since 1985. *Account Manager* Candidate is the primary customer contact and company liaison for contracted accounts. Individual is responsible for necessary follow-up and follow-through to maintain positive customer relations, to insure complete customer satisfaction and contract renewals, suggest and sell non-contracted landscape enhancements. *New Business Development * Applicant shall be a highly motivated and creative professional who is looking to work in a team environment. *Commercial Construction Estimator/ Project Manager* Responsible for the sales, project management, scheduling, completion and billings of commercial landscape construction projects. *Commercial Field Supervisor* Under the direction of the Account Manager, this position will work with crews directly, using their field experience to assist crews with training and guidance to achieve quality and efficiency. *LANDSCAPE DESIGNER* Sebert Landscape services the Chicago-land area with a unique and sustainable approach. We call it “the new green” and it’s our way of changing the landscaping industry. Great Impressions, our residential Naperville branch, is looking for an experienced, highly motivated and talented landscape designer/architect to be a pivotal piece of design/ build’s growth. A qualified candidate will have the background in sales, knowledge of estimation & construction, and provide premier customer service. This full time position offers benefits including a competitive salary, an incentive program, paid vacation, 401k and health/dental insurance. Send resume to Lorena in HR department at Portfolio for interview is requested. If interested in any listed position, please send your resume to: lorena@sebert.com

The Commercial Maintenance Account Manager must be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of commercial landscape maintenance to include: sales, production, customer service, estimating, training, etc. Oversees all interaction with the customer and keeps him/her informed as to all aspects of the maintenance process. Grooming the relationship with the client while interfacing with company production and accounting personnel, and interfaces with subcontractors and vendors as required throughout the maintenance process. Responsible to conduct monthly walk-throughs with the client, resolve any issues discovered therein, follow through to ensure that all issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the client, and ensure all change orders/enhancements are billed properly. *** Landscape Designer / Sales Person*** The Landscape Designer / Sales Person must be thoroughly familiar with designing all aspects of landscape construction to include: site analysis, grading, drainage, plant selection and placement, hardscape (patios, walkways, decks, barbecues, gazebos, etc.), water features, lighting, etc.; and be able to design the same using Dynascape software. Excellent analytical as well as aesthetic skills, providing excellent customer service and being able to do take-offs are a must. This position entails being responsible to coordinate with the production manager on a daily basis as well as with clients, subcontractors, suppliers, and Accounting personnel. Please email your resume to Debbie Bartsch: DBartsch@rycolandscaping.com Irrigation Contractor looking for the following positions:

Requirements include • Experience in the Green industry • Proven success in selling professional services to commercial accounts • Capability of prospecting for new clients in new territories • Proven independent work style consistent with designated strategic planning • Knowledge of Chicago Markets and demographics for viable market segments • Track record of growing sales territories in current economic climate • Reliability in executing assigned sales strategics and capitalizing on opportunities Please submit your resume and salary requirements to hrtrybus@gmail.com We promote a drug-free work environment. Competitive pay based on experience. EOE Landscape Construction Foreman Anne Roberts Gardens is looking to hire a Foreman to our team for the rest of the season. The ideal candidate will have extensive hardscape experience, strong management skills & the ability to train others. Previous hardscape experience is required. Some plant knowledge would be helpful. Must be bi-lingual in Spanish and English. Please email resume and salary requirements to: anne@annerobertsgardens.com ADVERTISING CLOSING DATES & RATES November 2015 issue ads: October 15, 2015 December 2015 issue ads: November 15, 2015 “HELP WANTED” AD SALES ARE LIMITED TO ILCA MEMBER COMPANIES Magazine Cost is $5 per line Minimum charge $50 Optional Website Cost is $7 per line Minimum charge $70 (About 6 words/line)

• Service Manager • Project Manager • Engineer/Designer/Estimator Immediate openings. CAD drafting abilities a plus.

Call Alycia O’Connor (630) 472-2851 or use the online submission form located at www.ilca.net

Please send resume to: service@hyirrigation.com

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

In Memoriam LeRoy H. Harms August 1, 1926 - September 6, 2015 “Bud” Harms passed away last week at the age of 89. He and his partner Butch Glauner took over the ownership of D. Hill Nursery Co. in 1988. Prior to that he was owner of Seidl Landscape Co., which he started in the late 1950’s. The following was written by one of our long time key employees. Thoughts on ‘Bud’ Harms Bud understood the laborers and appreciated their need to make a living. Agriculture doesn’t have high wages, but he gave them a steady income for the whole season and allowed extra hours to be part of their routine. The success of his strategy was most of his workforce averaged over twenty (20) years of experience with D. Hill Nursery. As an owner, he built loyalty with little things such as cookouts and just an outgoing persona to the workforce. Everyone enjoyed his “money board” at our annual fall cookout lotto drawing. Bud loved to hop on the road grader and work our roads, much to the delight of the men. Seeing the “big guy” in action brought smiles to many of them. His management style allowed for his managers to have the

necessary room to get the job done in a timely manner without too much intervention. He encouraged his managers to overcome obstacles with their own intuitive creativity. A large part of the projects that were encountered over the years were done “in-house” by these men. Bud enjoyed being around horticulture with its many interesting plant varieties and his routine remark, “You can’t sell it if you don’t have it” will be remembered by all. Bud had an outgoing, disarming way with people. He could soothe ruffled feathers of customers with ease and diplomacy. That same “knack” allowed him to mingle with his employees and often drawing a few chuckles along the way. I’ll never forget our first lunch meeting. I was rambling on about problems we were having at work and he politely stopped me with the declaration, “I didn’t invite you to lunch to talk about problems; I invited you today to enjoy lunch and some good conversation.” We will miss him. www.agrecol.com

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

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The Landscape Contractor October 2015

By Patrice Peltier

Epimedium (various species)

Some plants

— just like All-Star athletes — make everyone around them look better. What’s a plant you can use — and recommend — with confidence? We’ve asked ILCA members to share their thoughts on proven performers. “Epimediums are an underused plant, yet there are so many good things about them. Vigorous, clump-forming plants for dry shade, they have oval- to heart-shaped leaves on wiry stems. From April to May, they have loose sprays of small, winged flowers in colors (depending on the cultivar) such as white, yellow, pink, red and purple. Epimediums offer a different form and texture in the shade garden, combining well with hostas and other more commonly used shade plants. One of my favorites is Epimedium x ‘Rubrum’. I like it for the red/white flowers and for its foliage which has a red tinge in spring, turns deep green in summer and takes on red and bronze tones in fall and winter.”

Epimedium facts— Size:

8-24” tall depending upon the species

Culture

Dry, light to dense shade

Maintenance:

Insect, disease and deer resistant. Long-lived once established. Flowers:

Loose sprays of small, winged flowers in April to May. Depending on species, colors are white, yellow, pink, red or purple.

Joyce Squires Customer Service Representative Twixwood Nursery Joyce has worked at Twixwood 27 years. She started out potting, sorting and tagging plants and weeding. For the last 16 years, she’s worked in sales where she shares her knowledge of plants with customers looking for technical information and plant recommendations.

The Landscape Contractor October 2015

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