Simple contracts
Most landscape maintenance contracts are fairly simple. You write down your list of services to be performed on a weekly basis and for how much. Both parties sign, and you’re good to go for ten or twelve months. If anything goes wrong, the contract details the cancellation terms. Usually, either party has to give at least one month’s notice, but this can be a problem for bigger companies because they have the whole year planned out.
Last year, I had to cancel a landscape maintenance contract at a small building because the new garden liaison who took over became extremely abrasive. He even approached me and gave me two days to prove that I was on-site the week before. The man was so senile, he couldn’t remember that we had worked together for a bit on that day. Of course, I had pictures, and I sent them to the strata. Once I gave them notice, they didn’t even care about me finishing the last month. Only later I learned that scaffolding was coming on the building, and that would have eliminated most of my bedwork areas.
Best contract ever!
Now, let’s talk about the best landscape maintenance contract I have ever seen. It came from an average strata (multi-family) complex in White Rock, British Columbia. It wasn’t a huge complex, but it was made up of huge houses arranged into duplexes.
And the grounds were beautiful, too. Still, it surprised me when I heard that the landscape maintenance contract specifically asked that a Red Seal journeyman horticulturist and an ISA certified arborist be on site every week! No way! That made me smile because it validated what I had been saying all along: get certified!
You would be surprised to know how many co-workers dismiss a certified landscape manager like me. But now they had to suck it up. They needed me, and it irked them, especially the foreman in charge of the site.
Why the requirement?
Why would they request certified people, you might ask? Because knowledge and experience should lead to fewer mistakes and top-notch maintenance work. One example is the foreman’s discussion with a resident about the possibility of moving a holly specimen somewhere else. But technically speaking, the shrub in question was false holly or Osmanthus. That’s the Red Seal difference.
Another example involved a panicle hydrangea pruning request. When I finished pruning it, there were only four branches left on the main stem, which could alarm some people. But panicle hydrangeas will flower nicely; they don’t care about old and new wood like some other hydrangea varieties. The shrub flowered nicely, of course!
The best example is an annual planting job at one of the entrance beds. The garden liaison made me install new plants, and she watched me like a hawk. Now, normally this kind of planting would be done quickly, but not at this site. The lady watched the depth of my planting holes, and she insisted on watering every single hole before planting.
This was literally the best morning ever! Our lawn care dudes looked jealous as I slowly dug planting holes, and carefully watered them before planting, while they ran around with noisy machines. Being a Red Seal journeyman horticulturist gave me the confidence to handle this lady with a smile.
Tree work
Tree work is even more serious. People baby their trees. And I personally agree that trees should be maintained by ISA-certified arborists. Why take chances? This is why I openly encourage all landscapers to get certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. It can lead to pay raises, more work, more job security, and the ability to step into a contract like the one we are discussing here.
All you need is three years of experience to sit the ISA exam. I believe you can now take it online from home after going through the study manual.
A poorly pruned tree might look awful and, if topped, for example, it could send out suckers that will require even more pruning. Plus, trees are expensive to replace if you consider the cost of removal and replanting.
It’s also important to train lawn care workers to avoid trees with their machines. Many workers think they have the right of way, and they’re wrong. You can’t crash your mower into trees or strip their bark with line trimmers. This causes injury and stress, and if repeated over and over, it can kill the tree.
Once you get some work experience in the field, definitely consider getting Red Seal and ISA certified. You never know, you might be the only person on staff to step into a landscape contract.
