Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/217626
landscaper of the year finalist Pappas says, "and the temperatures here can reach well above 100 degrees. I asked myself, 'Why did you have to open your big mouth and say you could handle it.'" Throughout the '80s and early '90s, Pappas steadily built his business by adding more commercial accounts along with crews and equipment. "Once property managers saw how we worked and the quality of our projects, they asked me to bid on other jobs," he says. "And management of neighboring properties often would do the same. Pretty soon, I would find myself doing the whole block." Pappas worked out of his home in Tempe, Arizona, during this period, and the rapid growth of his company meant he had crews and trucks full of materials parked outside his residence. He attributes finding and buying the property where he's now located in central Phoenix as a major breakthrough that allowed Xeriscapes to grow exponentially to its present size. Today, Xeriscapes' location includes a 2,500-square-foot office and 10,000 With Arizona residents enjoying about 340 sunny days a year, square feet of creating relaxing outdoor spaces is one of Xeriscapes top services. warehouse space. "With this much space, we were Phoenix, with rainfall of only able to grow our business signif4 to 6 inches annually. Pappas icantly," Pappas says. He and his saw this coming and was an wife Deanna, who is vice presiadvocate for it 20 years ago. dent of the company, employee "Using native plants, which 50 people, consisting of eight require less water, accentuatmaintenance crews, two coned with boulders and lighting struction crews and three irrigacan really create a beautiful and tion crews – plus office staff. appropriate landscape." In fact, Pappas notes bulldozing mesSustainable works quite trees for new development "Water management" have is now prohibited. These natives become buzzwords in places like have to be salvaged and relocated as close as possible to their original locations. And while some landscapRod Pappas developed a maintenance mantra that he preaches ers might think these properties to his crews known as "The Seven Simple Steps for Landscaping." would mean less work for their It is a systematic formula from which he rarely deviates. "You do businesses, Pappas has seen everything just once," Pappas says. "I've seen plenty of crews the opposite. "Indigenous landmow first thing and then prune and blow leaves out onto the scaping doesn't mean we're out areas they just mowed." of a job. In fact, it requires a far missed by raking. Weed. First thing early in more delicate and informed type the morning Edge. Usually done with of maintenance than one full of edgers and push mowers Prune. As needed, still in tropicals where you basically the morning hours when Line trimming. To take homeowners don't want to just water and prune." care of walkways and 7 SIMPLE STEPS FOR LANDSCAPING 1 2 be annoyed by sounds of equipment. 3 4 Rake. Gather pruned materials and clippings. Mow. This also cleans and picks up any materials 28 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c om D E C E M B E R 2 013 5 6 7 other areas not accessible with mowers Blow. Backpack blowers take care of what's left and neaten the property for a finished job. Smarter ways One of the breakthroughs in water-management systems is smart controllers that allow adjustments to watering times