Managing landscaping across many sites.

By John Brocklebank, Chief Executive Officer

Start with what “done” looks like

Two crews can both mow a site and leave it looking different. Before you compare vendors or prices, write down the standard every site should meet after a visit:

• Turf cut to an even height, with clean edges along curbs and walks
• Beds free of weeds and litter
• Shrubs clear of walkways, signs and sight lines
• Clippings and debris off the lot and sidewalks

A few photos of a site at standard do more than a page of description. Give them to every crew.

What a scope should spell out

• Visits. How often in the growing season, and how often the rest of the year.
• Every visit. What’s done each time: mowing, edging, trimming, blowing, litter pickup, bed weeding.
• Seasonal work. Mulch or pine straw, pruning, leaf removal, aeration and overseeding, seasonal color. Say how many times a year and roughly when.
• Irrigation. Who starts it up, who checks it and who shuts it down for winter. Say how repairs get approved.
• Extras. What isn’t included, such as storm cleanup, plant replacement and tree work, and how it’s priced.

Plan by season, not by month

The work changes through the year, and the calendar depends on the climate and the type of turf at each site. A scope that says “weekly, March through October” fits some sites and not others. Set the schedule by region, then plan around four seasons:

• Spring. Cleanup, fresh mulch or pine straw, weed control, irrigation start-up.
• Summer. Regular mowing, weeds, and watching for heat and irrigation problems.
• Fall. Leaves, pruning, and aeration and overseeding where the turf needs it.
• Winter. Dormant pruning, cleanup, and planning next year’s color and improvements.

Proof for every visit

Landscaping usually happens when nobody from your team is on site. For each visit, ask for:

• A check-in and check-out tied to the site’s location, with times
• Before-and-after photos
• A checklist of what was done

Add a regular inspection on top: someone walks the site, takes photos and lists what needs attention before it turns into a complaint.

Requests between visits

A limb comes down. A sprinkler head breaks. A shrub dies by the front door. These don’t wait for the next visit, so agree up front:

• One place to send a request, any hour
• How fast it’s answered and how fast it’s finished, by priority
• A not-to-exceed amount for small fixes, so they don’t wait on an approval
• A proposal with photos and a price for anything larger

Budget: base and extras

Keep the two apart. The base is the scope, priced per site, and it shouldn’t change month to month. Extras are everything else, each approved before the work is done. If you set aside an amount each year for improvements, track it by site so the same few locations don’t use all of it.

What to review every month

• Visits completed against visits scheduled
• Open requests, and how old they are
• Sites with the same problem twice
• Spend against budget, base and extras
• Seasonal work coming up in the next 60 days