Normally I think of landscaping as fun, hard work. I’m totally happy outside working with plants and soil. Some days are very interesting and some are routine.
After eighteen seasons in the field, I keep thinking I’ve seen it all. And of course, I’m wrong. Just consider today’s episode of anger in the landscape.
We were on a site to take care of a few projects. One of them involved removing dead cedars, moving one cedar over and shuffling a rhododendron into the gap we were about to create. Sounds easy right. And it was.
Both dead cedars popped out easily. Resident kids had asked me if they could use one for their fort. Sure. The one cedar transplant was routine. The rhododendron in the back took some effort to dig up but, again, it was fairly routine. Then we moved it forward into the gap where the dead cedars had been. It took some time to position it correctly.
The last step was installing half a yard of aged mulch. I love doing this. The mulch is fresh and the look is awesome instantly. Except on the way back with a loaded wheelbarrow we noticed a resident running up to our work area. He jumped and rudely side-kicked the freshly moved rhododendron to the ground. Then he disappeared into his unit. Bizarre! Now what?
This was clearly a problem because my strata-approved quote included this rhododendron transplant. I moved my helper to another project area just to make sure it was safe to continue. Then I replanted the rhododendron wondering why a resident would aggressively waste my time.
Later that day we found out that the angry resident had planted the rhododendron years ago. This happens a lot. People get attached to trees and shrubs. Often I joke about prize roses gifted from England by some long-gone grandma. But it’s no joke. This resident today was so upset about “his” rhododendron getting moved, he angrily kicked it over.
Two lessons for landscapers.
1) Stay safe in the field; strata residents can not take liberties. Abuse in any form can not be tolerated. As a supervisor I am responsible for the safety of my workers.
2) Expect residents to have attachments to their plants and respect them.
It was totally bizarre to see an adult male side-kick my transplanted rhododendron and run away. I hate the aggression. There must be a better way to handle this. I think the strata council will get him a new, nicer rhodo.
