As the associate editor of Total Landscape Care, I’ve had the opportunity to visit landscapers from across the country. I’ve met with operations that have various niches, and each one has an interesting story to tell.
This year, I was able to travel to Alabama, Texas and Tennessee to see what made these landscaping companies tick. Check out the profiles on the four businesses I visited with as part of our Day in the Life of a Reader series below.
Click on each company’s name to read our original profiles on them:
Pictured are, from left to right, Andrew Bice, VP, landscape operations; Taylor Elders, floriculture division manager; and Bryan Word, president.Photo: Beth Hyatt/Total Landscape Care
1. Blackjack Horticulture: Originally part of Blackjack Gardens, Inc., Blackjack Horticulture is nestled back along Blackjack Ridge in Birmingham, Alabama, and is run by current president Bryan Word, an Auburn University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in landscape horticulture. Blackjack is a full-service landscaping company that prides itself on being an efficient and effective team that focuses on integrity, excellence and reliability.
Today, Blackjack Horticulture has around 60 employees, and every day the company strives to create a company culture that draws employees in, keeps them content and showcases their talents and projects via social media.
While he does admit the industry has seen its share of ups and downs over the years, Word sees the future of the green industry as something bright, innovative, positive and full of growth potential. Along with seeing the potential for the green industry as a whole, Word says the future for Blackjack continues to look bright.
Mora Jr. poses with a special Lambert’s truck featuring one of his favorite project sites.Photo: Beth Hyatt/Total Landscape Care
2. Lambert Landscape Company: Originally founded in 1919 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Lambert’s first began business 100 years ago. Brothers Joe and Henry Lambert moved the company to Dallas, Texas, in 1933, and since then, Lambert’s has made a sterling reputation for itself across the nation. Along with being one of the first landscape architectural firms in the area, Lambert’s was also responsible for introducing the azalea to the Dallas area.
Lambert’s has also had the opportunity to perform projects in 38 of the 50 states, as well as Jamaica, and today, the company employs about 200 workers and actively maintains over 100 properties in the Dallas area.
While there are many aspects of Lambert’s that could be the cause of the company’s success, those who’ve been there the longest believe it has something to do with the legacy left behind by Joe and Henry Lambert.
Photo: The Plant Concierge3. The Plant Concierge: While most landscaping companies start off as a small one-man operation, The Plant Concierge in Dallas, Texas, had its start as a thriving high-end interior plant service business.
Established in 2007, The Plant Concierge, originally named Fancher Interiors after the company’s owner Thomas Fancher, began as a residential interior plant service company, but after some encouragement and a leap of faith, it soon transitioned into a full-service landscaping company in 2009.
Interior plantscaping was the name of the game when Fancher began Fancher Interiors, but as he began to accrue more customers, he saw their interests gravitated toward more landscape-based jobs. He then began the process of converting the business into the entity it is today. Fancher says the goal of The Plant Concierge is to offer “all-inclusive landscape management, concierge-type service.”
Today, The Plant Concierge operates with a team of 15 employees and has plans to expand to a new location by the end of this year.
Pictured are, from left to right, Will and Lee Greathouse.Photo: Beth Hyatt/Total Landscape Care
4. The Greathouse Company: For Lee Greathouse, CEO, creating and successfully running a landscaping business is truly a dream come true, as he says he, “knew all along that I wanted to have my own business.”
Operating with a team of about 75 employees, The Greathouse Company has been in business for almost 40 years, but the company you see today isn’t the one you would have known just five years ago. In 2014, Greathouse split from its original partner. At this time, Lee and his son Will, president, took the opportunity to begin creating the company culture they’d always imagined for their family business, as well as starting from the ground up with finding new customers and retaining current ones.
The overall goal of Greathouse is to constantly strive to create a family-centered atmosphere amongst staff members, as well as customer-friendly service for all of their clients. In the next few months, Greathouse will make the move to a new, larger location to accommodate the growth it has experienced over the past five years.
If you would like to be considered for a site visit and company profile article, please reach out to me at [email protected].
