One observation I’ve recently made is that many landscape companies seem to be putting more focus on the hardscape aspect of the business and not as much mention is made about plant material. Often companies promote all kinds of stone work… show pictures of “beach ball and hockey puck”pruning jobs… fire pits seem to be the rage. Huge mowing jobs also appear to be attracting many contractors. “Big time can be big headaches,“ and some of the large corporate landscape companies that are forming due to mergers have somewhat diminished quality.

The NHLA Certification Program has a very thorough ID course in both woody and perennial plants, as I recall, but not a lot of landscapers highlight horticultural related services. Maybe they should. Unique design work, proper planting, pruning, and maintenance almost seem to be less common.
I don’t mean to belittle or neglect the site work or hardscape segment of our industry. They play a vital part and generate a large percentage of the revenue, but these multi-million dollar corporations seem to be weaker in the plant business as more and more mergers take place.

I’ve noticed this consolidation of landscape companies, nurseries, and other horticultural businesses all across the country…. It’s not just a New England thing. It will be interesting to see where things go.

~ by Phil Caldwell, a past president of NHLA (1989) who now lives and works in Maine.