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For most of my life I’ve been a “weatherhead.” I’ve been staring reverently at the sky since I started mowing my parents’ lawn at the self-involved age of eight. I couldn’t wait to push that growling Craftsman Eager through the thick stuff, soaking up the sounds and smells associated with fresh-cut grass, and we had a perfect canvas a 3,000-square-foot rectangle of flat, verdant, organic carpet. Every Saturday morning, I looked into the stratosphere and wondered if I was going to get rained out or baked in the afternoon sun.

The recent passing of Evel Knievel got me to thinking. Let’s start this year right and everybody spend a just little time thinking about taking care of some personal business -- namely, being safe on the job site and minimizing trauma to our vitals.

Landscape and Irrigation recently asked several industry leaders to provide us inside information about the state of the landscape and irrigation industries heading into 2008. Part one in a two-part series.

Winter is serious business in some parts of our country. We have already had some rude treatment with dangerous ice and heavy snow this season, and when the weather is severe, having evergreen plants in the landscape may not be on our shopping list of immediate needs. Yet we have also just celebrated several religious and cultural holidays in which decorations made of evergreens play an important role. Mistletoe, holly, fir, pine, cedar and laurel are customary trimmings for mantles, doorways, stair railings, tabletops and centerpieces. The presence of these evergreens cheers us with rich color and scent, and the dramatic leaf textures make for mesmerizing shadow play with candle and fire light.

Being able to fulfill your customer’s needs in a way that is compatible and complimentary to the surrounding environment is crucial to the overall success of the landscape. A shady back yard on the north side of the house requires different plants than a south-facing front yard. Also, the location of utility lines (above and below ground) and buildings need to be considered. Trees reaching 30 feet or taller should never be planted under utility lines and large trees should be at least 25 feet from homes and other structure (roots need space). Even with these restrictions, there are many possibilities for any given area than there are designers in your city. Plants come in all sizes, forms, textures and colors, and your biggest problem will likely be narrowing the list down rather than running out of choices. (In the rare instance where there is no compatible plant for a certain location, there are numerous hardscape solutions.)

Harrah’s Atlantic City recently engaged in a dramatic $550 million upgrade and expansion of its property. Atlantic City’s largest indoor pool is Harrah’s Pool & Spa, which is a quarter-acre entertainment complex within Harrah’s property.

White grubs are the larvae of adult scarab beetle species. The most commonly occurring grubs in lawns are Japanese beetles, Oriental beetles, green June beetles, European chafers, northern and southern masked chafers and black turfgrass ataenius. There are, however, up to 200 total types of beetles that produce white grubs as their immature offspring.

Landscape professionals who properly care for their machines can potentially save hundreds of dollars and increase productivity, said Paul Jurgens, director of customer service for Exmark. “Time and time again, I see people who were trying to pinch pennies on maintenance or cheap parts end up having to buy a replacement engine for their mower,” said Jurgens. “Most of the time, it can be avoided.”