Simple Can Be Beautiful
Posted by nurseryman at 4/11/2009 9:02 PM 
Categories: Landscape maintainence, Landscape Design, Landscaping
Categories: Landscape maintainence, Landscape Design, Landscaping
I had the opportunity to attend this Wednesday's practice round at Augusta National Master's Tournament. What an unbelievable place. The grass, the flowers....the simplicity. I did not go there to see the best golfers in the world. I saw most of them the week before in the Shell Houston Open. I wanted to see what was so special about this golf course and it's storied beauty. In it's original state it is a nice piece of real estate but nothing special. Rolling terrain, pine trees and a creek. You can find that particular combination from Northeast Texas all the way to Florida.
What they have done is to keep it simple and create their landscape with plants that will peak when they need them to. The first week of April in North Georgia. Azaleas, White Dogwood, Pink Dogwood. There was little else that was needed to create a visual impact. When I saw azaleas I did not see a grouping of 6 or 7 plants. One example was the 13th hole where there was approximately 250 yards long and 40 feet deep of mature mixed blooming azaleas and dogwoods. I am going to guess that there were about 800 azaleas in full bloom. Spectacular today, but In two months all the winter rye grass will die, nothing will be blooming besides the gorgeous 150 year old Magnolia trees. The grounds will hardly be recognizable.
The grooming was beyond adequate description. Golf courses are places that grow grass but never have I seen it so thick and lush and perfect. I walked along all 18 holes and my shoes, including the soles, were perfectly clean when I left a course that had no cart paths. No bare dirt areas and no mud. Where there was not grass there was clean, neat pine straw.
Here is a great example of keeping your landscape simple. Plant flowering shrubs for effect but remember they peak and cycle through their beauty. Have reliable evergreen plants that will form the foundation of your landscape and above all don't neglect to prune, mulch and provide nutrition to the plants that you expect to reward you with their beauty.
The experience of going to the Master's at Augusta National was exceptional. I have never seen anything organized and run as well as they did on the scale they were working with. The food lines moved along and were never stagnant. I bought a great sandwich and a soda for $2.50. Security was thorough and courteous, unlike at the airport in Atlanta. We even had hosts in the restrooms that directed traffic. Everything was first class and I got an all day ticket for only $41. There were over 25,000 fans there with food and drink and I never saw a piece of trash on the ground after being there 8 hours. Amazing! Tell me where else that would happen.
What they have done is to keep it simple and create their landscape with plants that will peak when they need them to. The first week of April in North Georgia. Azaleas, White Dogwood, Pink Dogwood. There was little else that was needed to create a visual impact. When I saw azaleas I did not see a grouping of 6 or 7 plants. One example was the 13th hole where there was approximately 250 yards long and 40 feet deep of mature mixed blooming azaleas and dogwoods. I am going to guess that there were about 800 azaleas in full bloom. Spectacular today, but In two months all the winter rye grass will die, nothing will be blooming besides the gorgeous 150 year old Magnolia trees. The grounds will hardly be recognizable.
The grooming was beyond adequate description. Golf courses are places that grow grass but never have I seen it so thick and lush and perfect. I walked along all 18 holes and my shoes, including the soles, were perfectly clean when I left a course that had no cart paths. No bare dirt areas and no mud. Where there was not grass there was clean, neat pine straw.
Here is a great example of keeping your landscape simple. Plant flowering shrubs for effect but remember they peak and cycle through their beauty. Have reliable evergreen plants that will form the foundation of your landscape and above all don't neglect to prune, mulch and provide nutrition to the plants that you expect to reward you with their beauty.
The experience of going to the Master's at Augusta National was exceptional. I have never seen anything organized and run as well as they did on the scale they were working with. The food lines moved along and were never stagnant. I bought a great sandwich and a soda for $2.50. Security was thorough and courteous, unlike at the airport in Atlanta. We even had hosts in the restrooms that directed traffic. Everything was first class and I got an all day ticket for only $41. There were over 25,000 fans there with food and drink and I never saw a piece of trash on the ground after being there 8 hours. Amazing! Tell me where else that would happen.
Victor, Although I agree with your observations on the beauty of simplicity in the landscape, I would like to direct my comments towards your closing remarks. Your years of owning your own business are evident in the appreciation that you have for all of the operational and not just aesthetic qualities that made up your experience!All of those beautiful colors would have paled quickly in your mind if your basic needs of parking\transportation, restrooms, seating, food, and the clear directions to all of these had not been made readily available! You were obviously given these necessities and therefore you felt welcomed and relaxed in that setting. The fact that all of those people attending resulted in no trash on the ground does not surprise me. Two factors attribted to that are A: It would be sacrilegious in such a pristine setting, and B: they probably had more than enough recepticles convenient for their guests to use. It has been my experience that when you have these two conditions, people will respect their surroundings and want it to remain as they found it. Those of us who operate garden centers should recognize that every day is an "Event" and should be treated as such! Look at the bacic needs of your customers and ask yourself if you are addressing them properly. What is the condition of your parking lot, shopping carts, aisleways, restrooms and refreshments? Do you have enough visible trash cans for your customers to use when needed? Are there signs to direct them to departments, restrooms or the cashier? How easy is it for them to shop at your store? Are the grounds of your center inspirational (or at least neat and orderly)? EVERYTHING SPEAKS.... the way you do business is exactly how you are perceived by your customers and no, some things are not acceptable simply because you are just a "Garden Center"!!! These details, along with having quality products, should be equally focused on because they have a direct affect on one another in the customer's perception of their "experience". Beautiful plants are important....but they are only part of the whole. Thanks for sharing your experience at The Master's this week.....your whole experience!
Reply to this
Visited your new place on Saturday---just spectacular. So glad to see a knowledgeable, independent nurseryman be successful. Congratulations.
Reply to this
Thank you. We hope to service North Houston and beyond for many more years.
Reply to this
Scott, my last comment about the trash does come from a skeptical opinion of the way some people treat others property. I say "some" because if 3% of the patrons are "trashy" you can have a messy place. My neighborhood park surrounds my lot and house...literally. No next door neighbors. Behind us is a well maintained two acre lake with water features, a landscaped island with a bridge and a maintained concrete walkway around the lake. Most evenings, my wife and I feed the ducks and walk around the lake. There are 5 trash cans in plain sight. You should see the empty beer bottles that are thrown in the lake. Trash is often dropped 10 feet from an empty receptacle. My wife and I pick up the trash and drop it in the cans. I also see customers pull up to my nursery and get out of their car and flick their nasty butts on my clean parking lot. I was just trying to say how impressed I was with the people I shared my experience with this week without mentioning how nasty many people are. I thank you for your comments and the time it took to write them.
Reply to this