Not that long ago, the traditional approach to stormwater management focused on directing the runoff, created by torrential downpours, from a site into the sewer system and eventually into a river basin. This practice often resulted in the erosion of stream beds and river banks, and has led to the contamination/poor health of numerous bodies of water throughout the country.
The Australia green roof and wall industry has grown more than 50 percent in the last year. Sydney, Australia is poised to host to the World Green Infrastructure Congress this October, bringing together industry professionals, researchers, government officials and organizations throughout the world. Presented by the World Green Infrastructure Network and Green Roofs Australasia, the conference will shine a spotlight on green roof and wall opportunities in a market that has $5.17 billion gross national revenue for the landscape industry and $18.2 billion in revenue for the national horticulture market.
Husqvarna shares its birth year with… Johann Sebastian Bach.
One of the world’s greatest composers remains a powerful force in classical music because of the quality of his work -- which consists of over 1,000 elegant pieces of music -- from concertos and cantatas to sonatas and orchestral suites.
Like the Baroque works of the adored German musician, appreciated as much for his technical command as his artistry, Husqvarna too has endured for 325 years. But while Bach’s compositions -- of course -- have not changed in that time, Husqvarna’s output has evolved dramatically over 3-1/4 centuries.
Outdoor kitchens, fire pits and pergolas are buzzwords for residential landscape contractors. Demand for these design features remains strong. In a survey conducted by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which polled residential landscape architects about the estimated popularity of various design elements for 2014, 94.2% of respondents agreed gardens/landscaped spaces would be the hottest trend of the season; and 92% anticipated kitchens and entertainment spaces would also be in high demand.
If your clients already trust you with their landscape, lawn, or property maintenance, you are in the perfect position to start caring for their trees. That said, tree health care is also a service that can seriously damage your reputation if you do it wrong. Screw up someone’s turf pretty bad and you might get stuck re-sodding a section of the property. Screw up someone’s 100 year-old oak tree and there is very little you can do the remedy that. When you take on a new venture, you put the reputation of your business on the line. Your customers won’t care if you’re new at this -- they have service expectations that have to be met. So what resources are available to help you be successful?
Whenever I visit a new client site, I put on my urban horticulturist hat. In this context, “urban” means significantly altered by human activity -- and what landscapes have not been greatly affected by people? Not just city landscapes, but suburban and exurban landscapes too -- especially in terms of soils.
In an industry filled with heavy competition, landscaping businesses face the tough challenge of standing out in the crowd. Strong pricing pressure pushes landscape contractors to find new ways of keeping costs down and revenue streaming. Among the most successful are those who have discovered GPS fleet management.
There are so many ways we use technology everyday in this business it almost becomes an invisible part of the job. Checking in at the office, getting to the job site, and Googling “What’s wrong with this tree?” are all made so much easier with technology available at our fingertips. Arboriculture is a sophisticated bioscience industry that requires up-to-date information; and the best in the business are constantly utilizing the smartest tools and embracing the newest ideas. Technology is defined as “the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation, or perform a specific function.” That pretty much describes everything we use on a daily basis in this business. So, what are some of the ways technology touches tree care and is making the lives of arborists easier?
More and more aspiring business owners are realizing their dreams of starting a business or solidifying and expanding an existing one through franchising.
Franchising -- an arrangement where one party grants another party the right to use its trademark or trade name as well as certain business systems and processes to provide a good or service according to certain specifications -- provides local business owners with instant, national brand recognition and an immediate, competitive edge.
When approaching a business, institution or residence, nothing is more inviting than a lush, rolling lawn. In recent years, however, a movement away from turf has resulted in an abundance of hardscaping and xeriscaping. These alternative landscaping options have their benefits and are perceived as lower cost and maintenance, but their environmental, financial and aesthetic advantages are often comparable, or even inferior, to those offered by natural turf.