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Author: Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri is an experienced Green Industry editor who's won numerous awards for her coverage of the landscape and golf course markets from the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA), the Press Club of Cleveland and the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). In 2007, ASBPE named her a Young Leader. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, cum laude, from Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism.

LM150: Top down

Our annual list of the largest landscape companies mirrors the overall industry’s growth. New companies emerged and others dropped off the LM150 list of the largest landscape companies in 2016. Notably, there was no change in rank from last year among the top 11 companies on the list. But that won’t be the case next […]

Editor’s Note: Back to basics

Readers often tell us the most valuable part of belonging to a trade association or attending professional conferences is networking. I agree, and that’s always the case when my colleagues and I attend the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association annual meeting. Last month, we convened with our peers—other writers and marketing professionals in the green […]

LM, NALP, Turf Books to overhaul Operating Cost Study

The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) in conjunction with Landscape Management and Turf Books are seeking landscape companies to participate in a new Operating Cost Study for the landscape industry. The study was last published in 2012 by NALP. The revised study will be a key source of benchmarking information for industry members to […]

Photo: Blades of Green

Empowered to grow

Focus and a positive company culture drive business at Blades of Green. Brothers Mark Leahy and Brad Leahy, owners of Blades of Green in Edgewater, Md., talk a lot about company culture. It’s their primary focus these days, as they strive to grow their $5.3 million lawn care and pest control company by more than […]

Getting into pest control: An unfoolish move

Nobody likes to be called a fool, especially not Mark and Brad Leahy, owners of Edgewater, Md.-based Blades of Green. But that’s what happened when they attended a meeting for pest professionals held by Real Green Systems in early 2008. Veteran pest management professional Don Jamison told them, “You guys are damned fools if you […]

The Fred Factor

At Blades of Green, the management team has read and embraced the tenets of “The Fred Factor,” a 2004 business book by Mark Sanborn. It’s a parable of a mailman named Fred, who wowed the author by going above and beyond in his presumably mundane job as a postal carrier. The book discusses “taking the […]

Editor’s Note: It’s time to make an effort to welcome industry newcomers

There’s a memorable scene in the classic holiday comedy “Home Alone” when the mom, played by Catherine O’Hara, says, “This is Christmas. The season of perpetual hope!” While many people would agree with her, my exposure to the landscape industry makes me think of this time of year—spring—as the season of 
perpetual hope. Think of […]

Emerging Opportunity: Mosquito control

Mosquito control services—and franchises—are on the rise. In researching outdoor franchise brands, we couldn’t ignore mosquito control franchise brands as an emerging trend. Although brands franchising for fewer than five years were disqualified from the primary LM Franchise Best Buys list, we allowed younger brands on the list of mosquito control franchise opportunities. Otherwise, the […]

TruGreen to build on momentum, CEO Alexander reports

Now that the merger of the nation’s two largest lawn care companies is complete, it doesn’t mean that Scotts LawnService (SLS) trucks will be immediately replaced by TruGreen vehicles. The rest of this year is about ensuring a smooth transition, TruGreen CEO David Alexander told LM. He expects the now $1.3 billion-plus company will be […]

What makes a good franchisee?

Experts weigh in on the requirements for success in owning a franchise. With data that show franchise small businesses grow at rates that exceed nonfranchise business growth, according to the International Franchise Association, it may be tempting to consider signing on with a franchise brand. But franchise experts emphasize this option isn’t for everyone. “It’s […]

Photos: The Ground Guys, Donald alarie

Grounds Guys franchisee triples business

The Grounds Guys franchisee Dan Reid has tripled his business—and can now take a day off. By 2012, Dan Reid was routinely working 60-plus hours a week. He’d rise at 4:30 a.m. to do invoicing, then work in the field all day and return phone calls after 5 p.m. “There were months when I worked […]

TruGreen: ‘Milestone merger’ is complete

TruGreen completed its merger with Scotts LawnService, a former subsidiary of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. The companies said in December they were entering into a joint venture. As a result of the merger, TruGreen is adding approximately 2.3 million residential and commercial customers across the U.S. and Canada. The combined revenue is expected to be […]

Update: Jensen, NLS join Monarch Landscape Holdings

Monarch Landscape Holdings acquired two more West Coast landscape companies. The terms of the deals were not disclosed. San Jose, Calif.-based Jensen Landscape and Woodinville, Wash.-based Northwest Landscape Services (NLS) are now part of the private equity-backed company that entered the market last May with the acquisition of Signature Landscape Services in Redmond, Wash. “I’m […]

Backstory: Crystal Arlington, CSP, LIC

Crystal Arlington, CSP, LIC President Affiliated Grounds Maintenance Group Lake City, Pa. Education Fairview High School Fairview, Pa. Class of 1991 Mercyhurst University Associate Degree Early Childhood Education 2005-2008 Did you know? Arlington’s husband, Rich Arlington III, owns Arlington Lawncare and Rich Arlington & Associates. They’re both National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) Trailblazers. In […]

Editor’s Note: 7 rules

My husband, who’s been having some trouble with a manager at work, came home one evening laughing about the sign posted on this man’s office door. It’s titled: “7 rules for kicking ass in life.” We’ve all seen lists like this. We’ve “liked” them on social media. We’ve forwarded them to others. Maybe we’ve even […]

Labor Strategy: Recruiting, Retaining great employees

Retain ’em with tech Austin, Texas, is known as a tech hub—and that fact isn’t lost on Ben Collinsworth, CEO of Native Land Design, based there. When it comes to foremen, account managers and other management roles, Collinsworth focuses on not hiring just anyone but hiring the best. He has an excellent pool of candidates […]

Employer of choice

To recruit and retain workers, smart landscape companies leverage culture, compensation and technology. Every morning, Chris Joyce greets every one of his employees. He stands in the parking lot, shakes their hands and says “hello” to each member of the team, which amounts to about 140 people in the summertime. “I’ve been doing it since […]

Consultant Vander Kooi dies

Construction and landscape industry consultant Charles Vander Kooi died earlier this month of a heart attack while on a business trip. He was 68. (Update 4/12/16): A memorial service for Vander Kooi will be held at 1 p.m., April 25, at the Evergreen Memorial, 266 North Turkey Creek Rd., Evergreen, Colo., 80439, according to the […]

Execs hone skills at NALP Leaders Forum

While they may have been at a beach and golf resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, attendees at the National Association of Landscape Professionals Leaders Forum didn’t just sit back and relax. The educational sessions during the two-day conference weren’t your average PowerPoint presentations. Faculty from Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management put […]

Editor’s Note: Changing how we look at the hiring process

As I researched and reported on our cover story about the labor shortage in the landscape industry—and all service industries, really—I put in a call to our resident HR expert, our quarterly Business Basics: People columnist, Mel Kleiman. He’s known for his practical advice on recruiting and retaining frontline associates, and he helps employers all […]

National Collegiate Landscape Competition celebrates 40 years

Industry recruiting event, the National Collegiate Landscape Competition, celebrates a milestone. When students partake in the career fair and competitive events at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) this month, they’ll be the fortieth group to convene in the name of landscaping education and camaraderie. And they’ll be right back where it all started: Mississippi […]

Grass Roots initiative to expand in ’16

The National Turfgrass Federation will expand its Grass Roots initiative in 2016 with the addition of an exhibit at a high profile soccer complex in Maryland and efforts to promote the National Greenscape Corridor in Washington D.C. The efforts come on the heels of the first full year of the Grass Roots exhibit at the […]

Using consumer financing to close sales

How offering financing could help you close more, larger sales. Would you like to increase the scale of your clients’ projects, close more jobs and avoid having to track down payments? Offering consumer financing might be an option for you, say contractors who’ve walked that path. Here, two of them share their experiences. Company: Crimson Valley […]

Reflecting on 27 years of advocacy with Tom Delaney

Before Tom Delaney steps down as government affairs director for NALP, he shares what he’s seen over a few decades of advocacy. If you’ve ever used the H-2B program’s returning worker exemption, you’ve benefitted from Tom Delaney’s work. If you’ve ever operated under a state pesticide preemption law, you’ve benefitted from some of his efforts. […]

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