Landscape Management, July 2011

I ts funny how society looks at age Sometimes its revered other times its reviled Fortunately as companies get on in years theyre more likely to be revered Its been said that wisdom experience and strength come with age With this issue Landscape Management LM magazine begins its 50th year of publishing Weve been around longer than any other publication covering the Green Industry But this really isnt about us In the stories that follow the editors of LM spoke with the leaders of three veteran enterprises that in the case of two surpass us in experience and the third that is just shy of our 50 years We wanted to get their perspectives on where the Green Industry is right now how its changed and where its going Senior Editor Beth Geraci examines the roots of Bartlett Tree Experts the elder statesman in this veteran trio to fi nd out how the company has survived and plans to grow into its second century Editor at Large Ron Hall explores how Barnes Nursery continues to reinvent itself in an ever changing marketplace Finally Editor in Chief Dan Jacobs talks with Grasshopper Lawns at 47 the youngest member of the group to fi nd out how different the business is with a second generation running the operation Thank you readers and advertisers for making the past fi ve decades possible Were proud to have had the honor to serve the Green Industry for half a century and we look forward to the next 50 years BY DAN JACOBS BETH GERACI AND RON HALL LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET JULY 2011 10 Bartlett Tree Experts Francis A Bartlett must have been on to something when he founded family owned Bartlett Tree Experts in 1907 He built the company on sound science and ethics the cornerstones of the company to this day Any company thats lasted more than 100 years must be doing something right The companys come a long way in the last century and as it creeps into its second one Bartlett President Greg Daniels shared his insights on what makes the company tick and where Bartlett Tree Experts and the Green Industry are heading today His outlook is both realistic and optimistic Despite the Green Industrys current fi nancial woes he says it still has a lot of good opportunities facing it The future is very bright Why so positive In todays housing market Americans now realize that stellar landscaping makes their homes more marketable explains Daniels Consequently demand for freshly paved driveways garden installations or in Bartletts case tree care and preservation is steady if not growing Thanks to technological advances Green Industry professionals work much more effi ciently today than in years past For Bartlett technology has been instrumental in streamlining its business process Daniels says from wireless communication to being able to produce proposals on site in minutes Bartlett also now has electronic data on every tree its worked on in recent years Despite technological advances in some ways the client demands Bartlett confronts today are the same as those its faced since Francis A Bartlett founded the company 104 years ago Take insect and disease control for example Every year you read about new insects and diseases that are being introduced into the country Daniels says There always seems to be that cyclical up and down of insect and disease prob COVER STORY Three pioneering companies share LMs rich history and offer their views about where the industry is headed SOWING THE SEEDS OF HISTORY