Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/356210
landscaper of the year finalist always been outdoors. So, when it was time for the upstate New York native to attend college, he chose dual enrollment at Syracuse Univer- sity and State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environ- mental Science and Forestry to study in the landscape architec- ture programs. Upon graduation, Gilligan ignored Mother Nature's tug and took the conventional road to success, accepting a position as a landscape architect with a large firm in Washington, D.C. It didn't take long for Gilligan to become unhappy with the job, though. "I was in a cubicle for nine hours a day," he says. "I went stir crazy." Pursuing passions Fortunately for Gilligan, fate intervened. At a bar- becue, he met his future wife, Kristen, a Virginia native who wanted to return home. The couple moved to Virginia Beach, with Gilligan taking a position with a local firm. Although he enjoyed design work, he knew he needed to follow his passion for being outside. With Kristen's enthusiastic support, he launched Magnolia Landscape (maglandscape.com) in 2007. "Matt was so frustrated in the office," she says. "He was really unhappy, so I said, 'Start your own company.'" The Gilligans knew launching a business would be a challenge, which would then be intensified by a struggling economy. They started by lining up mowing clients to have an income while steadily 3 8 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c o m A U G U S T 2 014 (Above) Magnolia Landscape provides a range of landscape styles, including this natural design that allows the customer to add personal touches. (Right) This small space includes container plantings and large palms, which were lifted in with a crane.