landscaper of the year finalist
Mustard Seed."
Started in 2003, The Mustard Seed Landscaping
& Garden Centers is located in Chaska, Minnesota,
and is the only company to be chosen as a finalist
for TLC's Landscaper of the Year twice. They offer
landscape design/build, over-wintering of Koi fish,
site planning and maintenance of shrubs, trees,
perennials and annuals.
The couple, married 27 years with two children,
provide a good
balance to the
company. Mark has
been in the indus-
try for 29 years,
having worked for
his father's land-
scape company
before starting one
of his own. Kay,
who studied land-
scape architecture
and forestry in col-
lege, works as one
of the company's
designers. (Read
how The Mustard Seed got its start
at totallandscapecare.com/mustard-
seed-backstory.)
In addition to offering landscape
services, the company also has
two garden centers that sell lawn
chemicals, yard art and other home-
owner products. Having the garden
center also gives their customers the
opportunity to come and pick out
the plants for their projects.
The main store even has a pet-
ting zoo with chickens, roosters,
donkeys and goats, along with a
playground to entertain customers' children. "We
want to capture that generation of children so they
think kindly of us," Mark says.
Marketing matters
Spreading the word about their business is noth-
ing new for the Hallas. They even ramped up
promotions when the market took a hit – doubling
their marketing budget during the recession. "I'm
very analytical, so I had to plan ahead – which
helped during the recession," Mark says.
From online to print media, The Mustard Seed
constantly looks for new ways to reach potential
clients. "If anyone thinks of landscaping, we want
our name to be in the mix," he says.
3 4 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c o m A P R I L 2 014
Located in Carver,
Minnesota, this
backyard project
includes a water
garden, putting
green, deck, patio
and fire pit.
