“We are planning for a new facility in 2022, however, the pandemic has us rethinking the need for so much office space,” he says. “We will rely more on remote work in the future. I live in Ja- pan and do my job remotely regardless of the pandemic. But the rest of my team is also more remote now.”
OUTDOOR LIVING WILL REMAIN HOT One thing that’s certain is that the residential market remains hot. With more people spending time at home, lawn and landscape professionals who work with residential clients anticipate that outdoor living trends will continue to thrive — and maybe even grow. People are caring more about creating “staycation” spots at home — and also are concerned with keeping their property neat and tidy. Blanchford says that it was the com- pany’s mission to get people outdoors to stay mentally and physically healthy before the COVID-19 pandemic. But he says the times are coinciding with the company’s objectives and he sees that carrying into the new year. “I think the demand for spaces that people can spend time in outdoors will only grow in 2021,” says Blanchford. “Outdoor living is a way to safely con- nect with family and friends.” Beyond the typical design/build trends that have been steady — such as outdoor living spaces with amenities like outdoor kitchens, landscape light- ing, pavilions, and swimming pools — companies that perform maintenance are also seeing an uptick. “People are home more,” says Bill Dysert, LIC, owner of Exscape Designs in Chesterland, Ohio. “They have their eyes on their yard more and that’s in- creased the maintenance opportunities for us. We have not always had their attention in the past when we’ve tried to sell those services. But now, they are more focused on what their property looks like. As we perform walkarounds, clients are a lot more engaged.” Jack Moore, president and CEO of Grassperson Lawn Care & Landscape in Lewisville, Texas, reports similarities and also sees the trend continuing. “Assuming the coronavirus continues
until effective vaccines and treatments are invented and deployed, I believe that there will be a lot of people work- ing from home,” says Moore. “I believe this will bode well for our industry. Many of us have seen an uptick in proj-
ect work since more people are work- ing from home and they have more time to notice various needs. They also want to enjoy their outdoor space since they are not going out as often.” Moore says that some industry trends he’s seeing include more companies beginning to diversify their service offerings in order to grow their wallet share from existing clients. “Many companies continue to downplay basic maintenance and focus on more profitable income streams such as irrigation repair, chemical lawn care, outdoor lighting, natural water features like ponds and water- falls, enhancements like flower beds, privacy enhancements like the addition of trees and shrubs, and hardscape installations,” Moore says. “Another trend I’m seeing is the use of artificial turf in areas where there is a lot of pet pressure or sports use.” Chris Lee, president of Earthworks, Inc., in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Hous- ton markets, agrees that the synthetic turf is a big trend right now — and one that he doesn’t see going away. He says the company — which is 90 per- cent commercial work and 10 percent municipal — has installed around a half million dollars’ worth of artificial turf. “Ten years ago, I never would have predicted we would be doing that,” Lee says. “But it’s come so far, and it looks so real. We’re seeing a lot of conver- sions to synthetic turf on urban sites that get a lot of foot traffic.”
ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGY REMAINS A PRIORITY One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to do is adopt new technology. Level Green’s Mayberry says that even once COVID-19 is gone, they’ll keep technological changes in place that have made a lot of sense. Team members are learning to work from home and connect using platforms that allow them to hold virtual meetings. Mayberry says that’s improving efficiencies in a lot of ways. “Technology has been a focus for lawn and land- scape companies because of the ways they now have to communicate,” he says. “It will
shape everything going forward. We’re learning to communicate constantly, quickly, and efficiently with clients and the expectations they now have about our responsiveness will not go away. I think the pressure is really going to be on companies who are not using technology to the fullest because it’s becoming status quo. If you want to be competitive, you’ll need to see where technology can be enhanced.” Another technology trend that’s getting lots of buzz and that lawn and landscape business owners see growing in 2021 is the use of robotic
Technology is also being adopted more to improve responsiveness to clients. Photo: Grassperson
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