Journeyman-level work
I really enjoy my occasional site visits when I come to help out or fill-in. It gives me a chance to assess the condition of the site and identify targets for maintenance work. And when the site condition looks awful, it’s my job to speak up. That way people are trained and everything gets sorted out.
Now, experienced fourth-level apprentices should be able to identify and take care of details that many regular workers might miss. This is what ran through my head last week as I filled in for one foreman at a residential high rise tower.
Clearly, many details were missed for some reason.
(Manager hint: never freak out, there might be a good explanation for deficiencies on site.)
Details
Since we don’t cut grass anymore, you would expect a smaller high rise tower landscape to look awesome for the holidays. Not so in this example. Let’s take a look.
There are two main exits at this tower so they are high-profile. I didn’t expect to find spent annuals still sitting in a pot, right by the door. Summer annuals add colour in summer but by late fall they should be removed; and the pots should be nicely finessed.
Ginkgo tree
Moving away from the entrance to the boulevard, I noticed a Ginkgo tree leaning onto a stake. Clearly somebody vandalized it, which doesn’t surprise me. City trees lead rough, short lives.
Since we want a clean, healthy-looking landscape, this requires intervention. You can remove the stake and replant the tree; and you can also redo the staking. Either way we have to help the tree survive and thrive. We can’t just leave it there leaning just because we didn’t plant it. Technically speaking, it might be a city tree but since we maintain the planted bed, we might as well help the tree.
Lavender deadheading
I like to deadhead Lavenders soon after flowering but it can be done later. Even before the Christmas holidays. The late English gardener Christopher Lloyd writes that he prunes when he gets to it so there aren’t any strict timetables for Lavender deadheading. However, I would expect it to be done before the holidays because it’s right in front of the building.
It’s also a very pleasant task I do by hand with my snips.
Garbage and weeds
Finally, we get to the last category which should horrify everyone on crew. Not just the foreman. For some reason garbage tends to rain down from above so it should be picked up on every weekly visit. There is no point analyzing it. Keep a bucket and pickers on your truck and take care of it. I know it’s not a pleasant task.
Pro tip: you can put in world-class work on your site and it will still look awful if it’s covered in garbage.
Weeds showing right by the boulevard sidewalk and exit intersection should be taken care of, even if the bed isn’t part of your work rotation. The site should have been clean for Christmas.
Conclusion
When you take care of details on your sites, it will show. I will see that somebody cares and that’s what we want. World-class landscape maintenance work. Be great!
