The role of a landscaper is to build and maintain residential and/or commercial landscapes, which can include both softscapes and hardscapes. Their duties include ensuring plant growth, installing and maintaining hardscape areas, shrub trimming, and more. If you’re wondering how a landscaping professional can simplify your life, here are __ essential landscaping skills and soft skills every landscape company should have in Westchester County, NY.
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1. Knowledge of plants suitable for the region, including native and drought-tolerant plants. Involves designing plant beds and other plantings; identifying, selecting, installing, and maintaining annuals, perennials, aquatic plants, shrubs, and trees; weeding; mulching; and dividing bulbs.
2. Landscape design. Not all landscape contractors have the expertise to design outdoor living spaces, but they should be able to design and install softscapes (planted areas) and/or coordinate with a landscape designer to suggest the best plants for the client’s unique situation, to ultimately create a landscape that meets the homeowner’s practical and aesthetic needs.
3. Knowledge of plant challenges such as pests and plant diseases, know which insects are beneficial and which are pests. The landscaper should be able to properly and safely apply pesticides (chemical and biological), fungicides and other chemicals to restore plant health without harming surrounding plants or lawns.
4. Knowledge of the best fertilization practices for lawns, flower beds, shrubs, and trees; includes the right fertilizer at the right time, in the correct application method.
5. Knowledge of how to deter deer, rodents, moles, woodchucks, and other animals.
6. Specialized expertise in lawn care: turf grass selection including low-water grasses, fertilization, weed and pest management, aeration, dethatching, best mowing practices, lawn disease control, sod installation, and seeding/overseeding.
7. Irrigation and drought management: drip irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, sprinkler system installation and maintenance, soil moisture monitoring, and plant watering.
8. Soil management including soil analysis, fertilizing, winterizing, and amending using chemical or biological means (such as compost and manure).
9. Ability to install or supervise installation of hardscape elements such as retaining walls, walkways, patios, pool decks, and driveways (not all landscape companies have this expertise so if this is something you need, be sure to ask to see past projects).
10. Ability to maintain hardscapes, including cleaning and sealing pavers, refreshing joint compound, repairing fountains, replacing bulbs in outdoor light fixtures, performing pond, waterfall and fountain maintenance and seasonal care for water features.
11. Tree and shrub work: trim overgrown hedges such as boxwoods, and low tree limbs (not all landscapers have the specialized equipment to perform work in a tree canopy or to remove stumps; certain jobs may need to be performed by an arborist).
12. Equipment maintenance: mower blade sharpening, garden tool repair/maintenance, and mower engine repairs.
13. Seasonal cleanup including debris removal, leaf removal or mulching, pruning and trimming, and season-specific plant care.
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In addition to these skills, a landscaper should have great people skills. These include:
14. Willingness to advise clients on how to care for their landscape. Very often, homeowners will hire a landscaping company because they want to, not because they have to. Nurture this relationship by educating them on how to maintain their landscape, and they will trust you to do the work.
15. Ability to coordinate with landscape architects and designers to ensure that the finished landscape meets the client’s expectations.
16. Prompt and courteous customer service, including returning calls within 24 hours, showing up on time, and of course exceeding the client’s expectations.
As with everything, choosing the best will yield the best results. Give us a call today for all of your landscape installation and maintenance needs!