Marisa PalmieriNov 3, 2023
Welcome to the Business Planner 2017: The People Edition. We hear repeatedly from our readers that labor and personnel are the most significant challenges they…
I don’t know about you, but this time of year—back to school—always makes me recognize how quickly the years go by. No matter how awesome…
Our garden sucks. That’s what my mom and I say to each other a few times a week these days, after one of us treks…
"Get a mentor” seems like a no-brainer piece of advice, right? Apparently it’s not. As I explain in this month’s cover story, research shows only…
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…
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…
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…
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…
It’s less than a week since Winter Storm Jonas dumped prolific amounts of snow along parts of the East Coast, burying 14 states in more…
We’re wrapping up this issue of LM on the NFL’s Black Monday, so my mind’s on the Cleveland Browns. At the risk of losing you…
If you own or run a landscape or lawn care business, you likely have a knack for customer service. You wouldn’t be here, reading LM…
Marisa Palmieri discusses meeting Frank Mariani, CEO of Mariani Landscape, and learning about his motivational story in the landscape industry.
As you can see from this month’s cover, it’s our 12th annual Business Planner. This is the issue where we tap an array of industry…
Attend enough conferences about the landscape industry (or write enough stories about it) and you begin to hear many pieces of business wisdom repeated over…
Marisa PalmieriNov 10, 2023
Did you know Andrew Jackson Downing pioneered the use of lawns around homes, and Frederick Law Olmsted promoted them by including turfgrass in public space…
Over the last three years, as I’ve been involved with the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) Community Stewardship Awards program, one thing has remained…
I just committed 20. What does that mean, exactly? I made an online pledge to volunteer 20 hours of my time by the end of…
Small business is difficult to define. What do you consider to be a small landscape company? A million dollars in annual revenue is a convenient…
This month’s cover story touches on mobile phones and their role in the smart home movement. It’s an interesting read from Associate Editor Sarah Pfledderer.…
Do you know the story of the tourist and the fisherman? You may have heard it from a motivational speaker or read it in a…
Marisa PalmieriNov 9, 2023
Maybe it’s the reporter in me, but I always prefer plain language over complicated descriptions. In journalism school, they teach you to treat euphemisms like…
Last month I traveled to The Lighting Summit in Omaha, Neb., to join the crew from McKay Landscape Lighting and their guests—16 landscape lighting professionals…
Sofa beds. Visits to the dentist. Michael Scott on “The Office.” This is my list of “uncomfortable things.” Here’s another: Changing a long-held company process…
My ears perked up when I interviewed Philip Germann for the LM Industry Pulse report. The owner of GreenLawn Specialists in Lewis Center, Ohio, said…
