Life as a landscape supervisor isn’t easy but it can be fun. Often I go for a walk and use my landscape eye to identify deficiencies and things we did well.
And landscape eye is an actual concept. I learned it from a certain prominent landscape maintenance company where I received my initial training. It’s telling that the big boss teaches this in-house seminar himself.
While anyone can use the concept, it works well with plenty of experience. I know this because our new workers don’t see the details my boss and I see. It takes time.
So let’s go for a walk and catalogue some of the stuff I notice. Perhaps it will help you develop your own landscape eye.
Nasty invasive weeds
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is a nasty weed because it propagates through roots and seeds. It doesn’t look like much because we fight it but we know its underground network is already huge. Call or click before you dig!
Signs
All signs must be visible. I do this correction immediately with my snips.
Much better. Let’s move on.
Line edger miss
There’s no need to panic. Since this worker is learning to line edge I expect him to miss hydrants and power boxes. So I make a note of it and later send him back to correct it. I don’t do it for him.
Obstruction
When you combine early season growth with rain you get obstruction. Take care of it as soon as possible.
Dead
One dead branch looks bad so snip it out on the go. Yes, it will leave a bit of a hole but that should be a temporary problem.
Favourite plants
Take note of your favourite plants as you encounter them in the landscape. Here I discovered my favourite perennial Doronicum. It’s a simple but very happy yellow perennial.
Tarps
Remind all workers to not obstruct walkways. I’ve witnessed people on motorized wheelchairs raise their middle fingers when they faced one of our obstructions.
Plant ID
Take a peak at people’s plant tags and improve your plant ID. I knew this one because I grow creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) on my patio.
Broken branches
Broken tree branches bother me so I snip them out correctly as soon as I can.
Much better!
Check your work
I planted these Euonymus alatus shrubs last year. It’s nice to check on them after the worst winter in the past 30 years.
Hellebore cutback
Another quick fix.
Google it
I knew this was a native shrub but the name escaped me. So I Googled it and penned an entire blog about it. It’s Indian plum (Oemleria cerasiformis). Get to know the plants on your sites. And teach them to your crews.
You can leave me a note and tell me what YOU notice on your sites or in your gardens. Landscape eye is a skill that takes time to develop. Work on it.
