Falling snow is one of nature’s most beautiful displays. Unfortunately, snow turns into a problem when it starts to pile up on your commercial property. When it covers driveways, parking lots, and walkways, it can bring your business activity to a standstill.

The timely management of ice and snow issues on your property is critical to the safety of your clients and help keeps the business operating properly.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a process to manage pest problems, while reducing risks to people and the environment. IPM is used to eliminate all types of pests, in agriculture, urban, natural, and wildland areas. IPM is based on a strategy that aims for the long-term elimination of pests and their potential for landscape damage, through a variety of techniques such as habitat manipulation, biological control, planting of pest-resistant varieties, and use of a modification of cultural practices to secure your commercial landscape.

Fall is almost here. Temperatures will be dropping, leaves will start changing color, pumpkin-spice everything will make its yearly comeback, and stores will soon be putting out their Christmas displays.

As in any business, timing is everything in the commercial landscaping. There are certain landscape maintenance tasks that should be completed at specific times of the year. Doing the right things, at the right time will result in your property reaping the benefits of a carefully coordinated and scheduled landscape maintenance plan. The best way to secure a great looking landscape is to partner with an experienced commercial landscaping company to keep your commercial property in great shape for the fall season. Here are a few landscape maintenance tasks to get ready your landscape ready for fall:

This guest post was written by Alex, about his intern experience with us this summer.

I am a senior at the University of Central Florida, majoring in Business Management. Having previously been a part of the Yellowstone Landscape family I reached out to them for an internship opportunity. I was very fortunate to be accepted into the program where I have gained managerial and technical experience, and plenty of professional skills! As I began this program I knew I wanted to develop myself professionally while adding value to the team in Daytona Beach.

This guest post was written by Evan, about his intern experience with us this summer.

Before starting my summer internship at Yellowstone Landscape, I had never worked in an IT Department. My only exposure to computer systems was self-taught and through classes at the University of North Florida.  These varied types of hands-on experiences have shown me how broad Information Technology is!

This guest post was written by Zach, about his intern experience with us this summer.

I am a junior at Mississippi State University majoring in Landscape Architecture and Landscape Contracting. When I was introduced to Yellowstone Landscape by a professor, I was excited about interning at a company with an outstanding reputation. After communicating with their recruiter, Lisa Hall, and learning about the diverse opportunities available, I knew I had to intern at Yellowstone Landscape. Lisa helped with my transition into the program and was there from beginning to end. She is a huge influence in the program and helps interns in any way she can.

This guest post was written by Paula, about her intern experience with us this summer. 

For the second year in a row, I’ve had an incredible summer at the Orlando South branch! Last summer, I learned the ropes of landscape maintenance; this summer has been focused on leading crews as a Landscape Superintendent. I have been tackling the parks of Celebration – a residential neighborhood and an offshoot of Disney – and building upon the work of my Mentor, Doug, who is the property’s Account Manager. I learned the most important elements of leading a crew and was charged with leading two crews myself. Together, we transformed Celebration’s landscape to achieve the perfect look for the “perfect town,” for which it is known. It feels amazing noticing a problem or being alerted of one, fixing it, then being complimented on it later by the client and residents. My eyes were opened to problems only briefly touched on in school, such as nematodes or cinch bugs in the soil or weed pressure. This priceless, hands-on experience of managing has greatly improved both my problem-solving and landscaping abilities.

This guest post was written by Adam, about his intern experience with us this summer. 

After high school I was unsure of what direction I wanted to go.  Long story short, I was in school for a long time without any direction.  I also hadn’t worked many jobs in the Information Technology field, so when I was chosen for this internship I was hesitant.  Not because I didn’t want the job, but because my skill set was so random I worried that I would not do well at any specialized task.

This turned out to be inaccurate as the days turned into weeks and I got a better feel for the IT Department and Yellowstone Landscape’s culture.  I had only one previous IT internship and I assumed this one would be like my last, that for the most part I would be ignored and given busy work.  That has not been the case, the culture is very social, and communication is a must!  The people here care about my progress and want to make sure I not only do a good job for the company but learn at the same time.  I grew skills here that I couldn’t and didn’t get in school, skills that will serve me in my professional life for years to come.  Melody, my direct boss and one of my Mentors, is one of the best people I could work with.  She is a driving force to keep us on task and always makes time to explain how to complete those tasks.

You’ve reached a point with your landscape service provider where it’s obvious to you that they just aren’t cutting it. It could be a string of obvious mistakes and missteps that have built up, or just a general, slow decline in the appearance of the property. Whatever the cause, your landscaper has failed to meet the expectations laid out in your landscape service agreement.

As the property manager, you’re dissatisfied and stressed. Your job is to manage the entire property and landscaping is just one of the many aspects that you oversee.

What should you do when your landscape provider isn’t owning up to what was previous agreed upon? Should you cancel your contract immediately and start the search for another landscaping company?

The problem is that it was an arduous process selecting the right landscaping company for the job the first time, and to even consider restarting the search before the contract expires would give anyone a headache.

This guest post was written by Kristina, about her intern experience with us this summer. 

This spring, I finished my junior year as a Plant Science student specializing in Landscape and Nursery Horticulture at the University of Florida. I spent my previous years jumping around the plant science fields going from ethnobotanical research to organic agriculture to ornamental production. In my quest of finding what I want to do in the green industry, I’ve learned a lot from my experiences as well as the people I’ve encountered along the way. While I tried various horticultural areas I’ve always had a love for design and art; painting on the side, using my skills in Illustrator and Photoshop to make flyers, and even designing a landscape. It was after I designed a landscape on campus I realized I could combine my two loves, plants and art, to pursue a field I think I was always searching for - Landscape Design.