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Author: Sarah Pfledderer

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Sarah Pfledderer

Former Associate Editor Sarah Pfledderer is a West Coast-based contributing editor for Landscape Management.

Three contractors and a consultant have a specific process when it comes to overhead recovery. (Photo: Poike/ iStock / Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images)

‘Simple And Stupid’ Overhead Recovery: How 3 Contractors Utilize It

Three contractors and a consultant share tips about overhead recovery in labor rates.

Web Extra: Blue Watchdog spins conservation into software

Another venture from Patrick Crais, founder of Blue Watchdog Conservation—which was featured in the July 2014 cover story of Landscape Management, Blue Pandas is a water conservation software company started by Crais and two other engineers, Martin Grant and Tom McKenzie. The software automates Blue Watchdog’s water management tasks, allowing the company to manage sites more […]

How 5 firms cut down clients’ water use, bills

The U.S. uses more gallons of water outdoors per day than there are people on the planet. The ratio: 9 billion gallons to 7 billion people. More startling than that is 50 percent of that outdoor water is wasted due to overwatering, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense program. It’s landscape and irrigation […]

1-Minute Mentor: John Kavanaugh

Owner of Kavanaugh Landscaping & Irrigation, Ruston, La. Who’s your mentor? The gentleman I first went to work for, Fred Hoogland is my mentor. He’s elderly now. He’s not working, but I’ve always maintained a relationship with him. I did a student internship for him (at Hoogland’s Landscape) when I was at Louisiana Tech University, […]

Snow & Ice Symposium stirs up state of the industry chatter

In spite of 90-degree temperatures, snow removal became a focal point in Columbus, Ohio, this week when the Snow & Ice Management Association’s (SIMA’s) Snow & Ice Symposium came to town. The 17th annual event is being held June 18 to 21 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. And with, as some call it, “the winter […]

LM150 Lessons Learned: Ramp up maintenance sooner

No. 64 McHale Landscape Design Upper Marlboro, Md. A self-defined “design/build snob,” Kevin McHale didn’t focus on bolstering a maintenance division when he and his brother Steve began McHale Landscape Design 33 years ago. “We just didn’t see the value of maintenance,” says McHale, president. “We were all about building, designing and constructing things. Maintenance was […]

Photo: Emerald Isle Landscaping

LM150-Lessons Learned: Spend more time developing systems

No. 149 Emerald Isle Landscaping Denver On track to hit near $10 million in 2014, Emerald Isle Landscaping credits its success to the systems and processes it added about five years ago—it added an executive team this year to help standardize and streamline those. The 37-year-old company, which employs around 105, has seen significant growth […]

LM150-Lessons Learned: Think smaller, segment clients

No. 131 Carol King Landscape Maintenance Orlando, Fla. Founded by Bill and Carol King 54 years ago, Carol King Landscape Maintenance primarily caters to commercial clients. The Bachand family purchased the company in 1975, and it now comprises about 140 employees, with Bruce Bachand holding the reins. Its biggest obstacle in 2014 is managing insurance […]

LM150 Lessons Learned: Delegate day-to-day operations

Delegate day-to-day operations. No. 95 Cleary Bros. Landscape Danville, Calif. Cleary Bros. Landscape has served the San Francisco area for 27 years, specializing in commercial maintenance. Composed of 175 employees and with brothers Martin and Mike Cleary at its helm, the firm is optimistic about 2014, with the exception of drought-related restrictions. It recently rolled […]

In the pesticide pipeline

LM surveyed chemical manufacturers to provide a breakdown of the pesticide products slated for release in the lawn care industry. Click on the photo above for a larger view. To download the PDF spread, click here.

(From left) Jake Elrod, Justin Crocker, Luke Stice and Jon Kirk make up the top management at Earthtones.

LM150-Lessons Learned: Crunch your numbers before the bid

No. 98 Earthtones Landscaping Midlothian, Texas Justin Crocker, president of Earthtones Landscaping, dropped the habit of scratching his head once he picked up the practice of crunching the numbers of a job before bidding on it. Those numbers include big-picture material and labor costs down to the gallons of gas it takes to travel to […]

Brickman/ValleyCrest: Culture clash?

 A look at their cultures, what defines a national company mentality and TruGreen LandCare comparisons. As the two largest landscape companies work toward merging into one, the rest of the Green Industry is a split crowd sitting on the sidelines. Some spectators are biting their nails out of nervousness, while others have pulled up a […]

Landscape business owner begs for workers

Lance Forsee might be the first panhandler to bum a resume off a passerby instead of a buck. As a new employee recruitment technique, the president of Colonial Lawn and Garden took to the streets begging for folks to apply to job openings at the Yakima, Wash.-based company. He carried a cardboard sign and all. […]

Throwback Thursday: January 2004

You’re familiar with the terms, and you surely have heard them this month: “The busy season.”  “The grind.”  “Spring pressure.” Do you sense a nerve-wracking undertone from them? A solution to that is productivity—a term the cover story from the January 2004 issue of Landscape Management efficiently expands on. Titled “Productivity tips” by then-Contributor George […]

Snow, salt experts opine on the salt dilemma

Salt suppliers, experts quell snow removal contractors’ concerns over what appeared to be a salt shortage this winter. Case Snow Management staff made a 16-hour round trip to Maine to pick up an order of rock salt this winter. All the while, there were piles upon piles of the deicer at the company’s local supplier, […]

headshot: Josh DePauw

Keeping it fair: Irrigation service pricing

A look at how companies approach irrigation service pricing—with a flat rate or charging on time and materials—and why they favor their method. If only irrigation professionals had X-ray vision. It would eliminate that part of the service call that takes an inestimable amount of time. The part when they must dig up the yard […]

1-Minute Mentor: Tom Canete

CEO of Canete Snow Management, Wayne, N.J. Who’s your mentor? I’ve learned a lot through consultants. I’m currently working with Bill Pate. He owns Integrity Management. He really got us on track and doing things a little different. Another consultant I used mainly for snow is John Allin. He snow plowed the Salt Lake City […]

Throwback Thursday: May 1990

To the workers, especially those of younger generations, it’s just a summer job. To the business owner, it’s sometimes seen as an opportunity for those workers to prove themselves in the industry, providing somewhat of a shoo-in into leadership roles later on. The trouble nowadays, among other things, is those younger generations aren’t as interested in […]

Throwback Thursday: June 1998

To some, Earth Day might mark an obligation to give back to the environment and community. For the Green Industry, there’s an added layer with the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Day of Service being held that same day, compelling companies to dedicate one workday to charitable giving. This year, 2,200 Day of Service volunteers completed […]

Throwback Thursday: May 2007

The Green Industry is by no means mum on its efforts to attract younger generations to the business, especially in regard to convincing them there is, in fact, rewarding career opportunities here. Look no further than the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Student Career Days (SCD) that was held last month at Colorado State University. Then […]

Bayer opens doors to North American Bee Care Center

The grand opening of Bayer CropScience’s North American Bee Care Center was all the buzz in Research Triangle Park, N.C., April 15. In celebration, Bayer held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and offered the media a tour of the $2.4 million center. The 6,000-square-foot facility, which is targeting a Leadership in Energy & Environment Design (LEED) silver […]

Throwback Thursday: April 1993

The government is working against lawns. In fact, it’s assaulting them, Gregg Robertson wrote in a recent government affairs column for Landscape Management. Las Vegas has banned lawns in new developments and is offering cash to residents who tear out their lawns, he reports, and adds Los Angeles has dished out $1.4 million in rebates […]

ESOP: The exit strategy breeding ownership pride in the Green Industry

Larry Ryan accepts he has an expiration date.  Larry Ryan, Ryan Lawn & Tree Photos: Ryan Lawn & Tree, Michael Hatcher and Mission LandscapeThe realistic president of Ryan Lawn & Tree knows he’s going to die at some point, as everyone will, and then he’ll no longer have a hand in the $26 million company he […]

Throwback Thursday: May 1993

Have you ever looked up the definition of mowing? According to Beth Baikan, Ph.D. of Cornell University, it is the “removal of photosynthetically active tissue that temporarily reduces the food-making process and weakens the plant.” Talk about a scientific mouthful. I favor the layman’s term version that is “cutting grass,” as I’m sure most of […]

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