2021
I have no idea what 2021 will bring but I’m optimistic. It feels great to move away from 2020. Here’s what I learned from the 2020 pandemic year.
- Essential worker
March 2020 was a bit stressful because it looked like everything would get shut down, including my day-job. And that’s scary with two kids to feed and bills to pay.
It was also unclear what would happen to my side-jobs. Then our provincial government regulations made landscapers essential workers. Who knew?
My wife was a bit skeptical at first but then her friends’ husbands started losing their jobs. I kept mine all year, including many side-jobs, and for that I am extremely grateful. Financially speaking, 2020 was my best year ever!
Then, months later, we got interesting feedback from multi-family (strata) complex owners. Self-isolated at home, they were happy to note their landscaper’s regular visits. It brought some normalcy to their days. It’s possible that seeing unmaintained landscaping outside would just add to their stress levels.
2. Pruning for light
I don’t have any numbers to back this up, but anecdotal evidence clearly shows that more residents requested tree pruning to get more light. This isn’t exactly new. When trees and shrubs push out new foliage in late spring, the residents notice. And then they ask for pruning.
Last year, it seems like the requests took on more urgency and, when completed, triggered more thanks. Perhaps having more light reaching your home while you’re isolated inside is comforting psychologically.
This is my completed work on a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). The owner could tell the difference and thanked me profusely while I quietly worried about the tree. I prefer to prune maples in the fall, up until Christmas. Summer pruning can stress the tree. I try to limit summer tree pruning to obvious obstruction issues.
3. Reduction pruning
Reduction pruning was another frequent request. It seems like overnight every cedar and yew hedge turned into an oppressive wall which deprived its owners of light and encouraged degenerates to hide behind it.
I reduced Rhododendrons, cedar and yew hedges. Nobody cared about lost Rhododendron blooms next year.
Below are two examples.
I dropped this yew (Taxus) hedge by two feet.
Here there were some issues with car traffic sight lines and potential for low-speed car crashes.
Here I reduced and thinned out the Rhododendron island with some loss of 2021 blooms.
4. No change with side-jobs
Relying on one day-job income is scary. I don’t recommend it. So, I try to create several income streams and landscaping side-jobs are one obvious source of extra income. In 2020, I really lost only one small strata client and gained a few residential ones. During a pandemic! Again, I’m grateful for every single project, however small it might have been.
For example, the owners of the lawn below got stranded by COVID-19 in Taiwan, while their son worked in Southern California. So, this lawn cut was the first and last of the season.
With people staying home more, they turned their attention to their homes and landscapes. We know this from booming garden center sales. Now, I just hope it stays that way in 2020.
What lessons did you take away from 2020?
