“I encourage attendees to have a game plan before attending Equip,” says Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), which owns and manages Equip Exposition. “Download the app ahead of time, book your hotel room now and plan what you’ll do and see there. And definitely wear comfortable shoes.” 

The Equip app (iOS and Android), a helpful guide to the show, is sponsored by CASE Construction Equipment. 

Equip offers the following tips for the best experience possible: 

Before the show

1. Register now. Registrants receive Equip’s emails about event details, additions and special events. Sign up at EquipExposition.com for $30 before prices double to $60 after Sept. 10. On Oct. 20, the price doubles again. The at-the-door price is $120.  
2. Add education, certification classes and training to your registration before sessions sell out. Explore ways to grow your business, address common problems, develop employees and learn new skills and business opportunities at these sessions. Select classes, including the popular From Worker to Leader course, are also available in Spanish. Attendees can buy individual education sessions for a fee, but an Equip Academy pass for $170 will give attendees access to dozens of education sessions. 
3. Book travel arrangements and hotel reservations. Last year, show attendees booked most available hotels (many on a complimentary shuttle route). Booking a room now ensures you are close to the event. 
4. Bring company teammates. Bring your coworkers, service department personnel, sales team and, if a dealer, your customers. Equip is a great team-building opportunity, from shared educational experiences and testing new equipment, to having fun at concerts. Acting on new knowledge and ideas when you get home is easier with a bonded team. 
5. Download the Equip Expo app. The app, which works with any iPhone or Android phone, is your event guide. Find the event schedule with start times for sessions and maps for the entire facility, where the biggest giveaways are held, and more. Favorite events or locations to build a custom schedule.
6. Determine the top three business problems you are trying to solve. Identify and prioritize the speakers, exhibits and education offerings that could help you in those areas. 
7. Plan your route. Map the route from your hotel to the KEC and other venues, and look at available shuttles or rideshares to the event.
8. Learn the main areas of the show.  
   • The North Wing has registration, exhibits and badge pickup. 
   • The South Wing has exhibits, Mulligan’s Mutt Madness, the Education Center and easy access to the 30-acre Outdoor Demo Yard and the UTV Driving Experience.  
   • The West Wing has exhibits, food options (as well as the rideshare pickup/drop off zone) and badge pickup. 
   • Freedom Hall hosts Tree Care Arena featuring hands-on workshops by Academy Trained and The Davey Institute. 

At the show

1. Don’t get stuck in traffic. For ease of entry, don’t use the main gate at the show’s rush hour. If you are coming to the KEC later than 10 a.m. on a show day, use the Crittenden Drive or the Preston Highway gates and park on the North side, which is the best way to enter the KEC. Leave via a similar route to avoid any bottlenecks at the main gate. Parking at the KEC during the show is free.
2. Start your day in the West Wing. Rideshares and shuttles will drop off at the West Wing where attendees will find food and badge pickup.  
3. Avoid lines for badge pickup. Print your badge at the Welcome Reception, sponsored by Caterpillar, at Churchill Downs’ First Turn Club or in the North Wing at the KEC. More locations are scattered throughout Louisville hotels and the airport.
4. Talk with others. Equip is a city-wide event. People in your hotel elevator and restaurant are likely attendees. Take time to meet your colleagues as you navigate the halls, stand in line or grab a bite to eat. 
5. Have fun at the events. Go to:
   •  Welcome Reception at Churchill Downs sponsored by Caterpillar on Tuesday evening. 
   • Mulligan’s 5K Fun Run and Walk, sponsored by Active Dynamics, on Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m.  
   • The opening keynote on Wednesday morning featuring Mike Holmes, one of North America’s most trusted contractors and star of the HGTV show, Holmes Family Rescue, sponsored by Kress.  
   • 4th Street Live! Concert on Wednesday evening, sponsored by the Propane Education and Research Council. 
   • The Morning Show at Expo, sponsored by Rehlko, on Thursday morning. 
   • The Women’s Leadership Reception on Thursday at 4 p.m., sponsored by Belgard, SiteOne, and Hunter/FX Luminaire. 
   • ENERGIZE on Thursday afternoon, sponsored by Exmark and Boss Snowplow. 
   • The Closing Paristown Block Party on Thursday night at Old Forester’s Paristown Hall and the surrounding block, sponsored by Gravely. 

After the show

1.  Follow up with the people you met. Swap ideas and remind each other to do “that thing you said you would do” when you returned home. 
2. Put new ideas from the show into action. Take that leap, do the “new thing,” roll out better pricing, marketing, services and more.
3. Register for next year’s show, planned for Oct. 19-22, 2027 at the KEC.  

The show will begin a two-city rotation in 2029, biannually moving between Louisville and Orlando. Equip will be held in Orlando in 2029 and 2031 and will be held in Louisville in 2030 and every other year thereafter.  

<p>The post Equip Exposition’s tips and tricks for first-time show attendees first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

Small Space, Massive Color: Little Lime Punch® Hydrangea

Introduce continuous, high-impact drama to smaller gardens with the Little Lime Punch® Panicle Hydrangea. Growing in a beautifully compact 3-to-5-foot habit, this standout deciduous shrub reblooms all summer long, transforming from lime green to an eye-catching mix of white, light pink, and rich cranberry red.

• Best Performance: Plant in part sun to full sun.
• Hardiness: Zones 3a–9b.
• Versatility: An effortless fit for modern landscape borders, tight foundation plantings, and decorative containers.

Bring these stunning blooms to your next project—contact us to place your order.

<p>The post Petitti Family Farms: Little Lime Punch Panicle Hydrangea  first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

COMPANY Eastern Land Management (ELM)

DETAILS River Oaks on the Rippowam is a 30-acre HOA community of 59 homes. ELM provides full-service, sustainable landscaping for all homes and common spaces, including specialized irrigation and eco-friendly pest management.

Upon taking over the property, ELM consolidated multiple landscape vendors under its management. By bringing these ancillary services in-house, “we were able to fully manage the landscape maintenance of the property,” says Bruce Moore Jr., president and CEO of ELM. The team implemented an accountable program that he says consistently meets residents’ expectations.

This comprehensive maintenance plan contributed to ELM winning a gold award from the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ 2025 Awards of Excellence program for the commercial landscape management of this project.

The firm upgraded River Oaks’ irrigation systems to improve coverage and watering cycles, creating healthier, resilient turf.

However, managing this landscape remains complex due to the community’s location along the Rippowam River, which flows into Long Island Sound. Managing lawn and plant health is challenging due to the need to protect designated wetland buffer areas on the property. “We guided the landscape committee in creating a property list that fulfills environmental, aesthetic and horticultural standards,” Moore says. 

<p>The post Inside ELM’s award-winning landscaping at River Oaks in Stamford, Conn. first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

They’re rarely top of mind, but tire performance affects equipment performance, surface wear and how efficiently crews get through the day. For contractors working across a mix of equipment and properties, those effects aren’t always obvious at first. Instead, they show up through added wear or unexpected downtime.

Testing tires in changing conditions

A typical day rarely involves just one type of terrain. Crews might start on a soft lawn, move to a hardscape install, drive across gravel and finish with cleanup using a UTV or trailer. Every jobsite is different, and your tires feel it first.

Softer ground demands flotation and low impact to prevent damage. Hard surfaces require durability and resistance to wear. Mud and uneven terrain call for traction. And when equipment hits the road, tires must manage added load and heat. This leaves contractors constantly balancing traction, durability and surface impact depending on the job.

Early-season conditions make those trade-offs even more noticeable. Wet, uneven ground increases the risk of rutting and slippage, especially when equipment is used too soon. Tire choice directly affects both productivity and turf quality in these situations. More aggressive tread can help maintain traction, but it can also damage sensitive turf. Tires designed for turf spread weight more evenly and reduce surface impact. However, they may struggle in slick conditions.

Tailored traction

For UTVs and skid-steers, switching between soft dirt, gravel and pavement demands versatile tires. The wrong choice risks punctures in rough terrain, poor traction in mud or rapid wear on hard surfaces. 

Mower tires prioritize minimizing surface impact and distributing weight evenly to protect turf, which sacrifices traction in wet or uneven conditions.

Trailers introduce another set of challenges. They’re constantly moving equipment and materials between jobsites, often under heavy loads and over long distances. That combination creates heat buildup, which is one of the leading causes of tire failure. These failures can then lead to job delays and even serious safety concerns. 

The good news? Many of these issues come back to controllable factors such as improper load matching, low tire pressure or uneven weight distribution.

Common mistakes costing you tire life

Even with the right equipment, small missteps in tire selection and maintenance can create bigger problems. Most tire issues come from how they are used and not the tires themselves. 

It’s not unusual for crews to rely on general-purpose or factory-installed tires, even when those options aren’t well suited for the conditions they’re working in.

Basic maintenance is another area where small gaps can create big problems. Tire pressure, for example, plays a direct role in traction, wear and overall lifespan. Both overinflation and underinflation can lead to performance issues. On the transport side, uneven or excessive loading is also a frequent challenge. This is especially common with trailers and can shorten tire life or increase the risk of failure.

Field-ready tires

Avoiding these issues doesn’t require overcomplicating tire selection, but it does require a more intentional approach.

Start by matching the tire to how the equipment is used, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all option. Conditions, terrain and daily tasks all play a role.

It also helps to recognize that every tire involves some level of trade-off. No single option will deliver maximum performance in every situation; prioritize what matters most for the job at hand.

Regular pressure checks and visual inspections help keep performance steady. Tires, load, terrain and usage all work together; small adjustments across those areas can improve everyday performance.

<p>The post The hidden tire mistakes costing landscaping crews time and turf first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

I get calls all the time from owners who have relied on word-of-mouth for 20 or 30 years and are just now stepping into marketing for the first time. Not because they suddenly want to modernize, but because referrals are no longer keeping them consistently busy or supporting the growth they are aiming for.

Old playbooks no longer work on their own. As crews grow, overhead increases and competition becomes more sophisticated, referrals alone cannot maintain steady revenue. The result? The phone is quieter, projects are less predictable and there is no clear way to increase demand when work slows down.

That is when companies need to shift from relying on referrals to building a more predictable pipeline.

Referrals don’t end with a recommendation 

Today, a referral is only the starting point. When someone is referred to your company, their next step is almost always the same. They look you up, read your Google reviews, visit your website and often check your social media before deciding whether to reach out.

Your digital presence now plays a role in every referral you receive. If your reviews are limited, your website feels outdated or your online presence is inconsistent, it can create doubt. Even a strong referral can lose momentum if the customer does not like what they see. When your online presence reinforces the referral, it builds confidence and drives them to call.

Your Google Business Profile: The new first impression

For many of the business owners I speak with, the biggest opportunity is their Google Business Profile. It is just as important, if not more important, than your website. It establishes instant credibility, boosts local search visibility and drives customer decisions before they even contact you.

When your profile is strong, with consistent reviews, updated photos and regular activity, you stand out immediately. You become the company they want to work with. Google reviews act as referrals at scale, validating your work before you ever have a conversation.

Your website needs to support the decision

Your website plays a supporting but still critical role. It reinforces that credibility once someone clicks through. A website should not be more than five years old. Design standards and user expectations change quickly, and an outdated site can make a strong company feel behind.

Your site should clearly communicate your services, service areas and what sets you apart. It should also be structured in a way that helps you show up in search results when customers are actively looking.

When done right, your website and Google presence work together to attract and convert leads.

Create consistency with Google Ads

Even with a strong online presence, demand will fluctuate. Weather, seasonality and economic changes all play a role. Google Ads allow you to take control of your lead flow.

If your crews are booked out, you can scale back. If you need to fill gaps in the schedule, you can increase your spend. This gives you flexibility that referrals alone cannot provide.

Retargeting ads add another layer. When someone visits your website but does not act, these ads keep your company in front of them for days afterward, increasing the chances they come back when they are ready to move forward.

Turning referrals into a growth engine

Referrals will always be valuable. They bring in customers who already trust your work. But on their own, they are unpredictable.

The companies that continue to grow are the ones that support referrals with a strong online presence and a controlled lead flow. When someone hears your name and looks you up, you need to show them they made the right choice. And when referrals slow down, you need a system in place that keeps opportunities coming in.

At that point, you are no longer waiting on work. You are creating it. 

<p>The post Why referrals alone can no longer sustain your landscape business first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

Besides the sweaty, sunny conditions that can bog LCOs down, issues start arising in the turf itself and in the applications made to correct them. Drought and turf stress start to prevail, and herbicides start losing their effectiveness. 

“Once the turf goes through a period like this, it stresses out, and you begin to lose some turf — particularly in cool-season grasses — due to the hot weather,” says Jay Wyrick, turf and ornamental account manager for Orion Professional Turf Products (formerly with FineTurf in North Carolina). “I think the weeds become more prevalent because Mother Nature’s trying to fill a void and close those holes up.” 

Heat hurts

In the summer, many grasses and weeds slow their metabolism and growth to conserve energy, while other undesirable plants like crabgrass can thrive. This can throw typical application processes out of whack, especially since herbicide efficacy usually drops when weeds are faced with the heat. 

“If you’re not getting enough moisture from rainfall, your herbicide efficacy can be less because the weed itself is not willing to uptake that herbicide active ingredient,” Wyrick says. 

Wyrick’s second biggest issue with making applications is that the high heat with an herbicide spray can result in turf burn, especially as temperatures climb to 85 degrees F and above. With grass already stressed and some herbicides becoming more volatile in the heat, unintended injury and even evaporated chemicals moving onto non-targeted areas is possible. 

Outside of the applications themselves, the warm summers also pose challenges to technicians and LCOs. Technicians should already be wearing personal protective equipment — including rubber boots, long clothing and/or a protective hat — and combined with temperatures nearing 100 degrees F or more, Wyrick says staying hydrated and taking cooling breaks is crucial. 

“One thing I always used to preach … is to start drinking water the night before to hydrate. Stay away from the sugary sodas and the Big Gulps at the convenience store during the day,” he recommends. “If you can do those two things, that will reduce cramping, and it’ll reduce (dehydration).”

Save your summer

When trying to deal with summer herbicide problems, Wyrick says the first and most important step is to always read and follow the chemical’s label. Not only is it the law, but it will tell you what temperature range the product can be applied and stored in. 

Another key tip when the temperatures soar is to swap from ester-based products (more oily) to amine herbicides (more water-based). Wyrick says amine products are less likely to burn turf or have vapor drift onto nearby plants, making them better for the warmer seasons.  

One of Wyrick’s biggest suggestions is to use more wetting agents in lawn care, something he thinks the industry as a whole should be shifting toward. Proper use of them can maximize water and irrigation efficiency, eliminate localized dry spots, improve nutrient absorption and promote deeper root growth.

“I think it’s something we, as an industry, need to probably start doing more of. Golf does it quite a bit; it’s something that they use on a regular basis,” Wyrick says. “On our side of things, a lot of the wetting agents have to be watered in. There are one or two that do not require watering for them to start taking effect, which is a good thing, because not every homeowner or residential property or commercial property is going to have irrigation.” 

<p>The post How to overcome summer lawn care challenges first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

The company provides pest, mosquito, wildlife and termite control, as well as lawn care, for residential and commercial properties. It constantly adapts its pest control strategies and leverages the latest technologies, says Madelynn Mongiovi, lawn care supervisor at the company. 

One way Best Termite and Pest Control does that is by attending industry events and conferences throughout the year. Mongiovi says she heard about the 2025 Landscape Management Growth Summit from a past participant who encouraged her to attend in December.

The annual three-day event in Orlando, Fla., offers lawn care operators (LCOs) the opportunity to network with other professionals, talk one-on-one with leading supplier partners and demo new equipment. Mongiovi says seeing some familiar faces at the event was a welcome bonus.

“In this industry, you get to see a lot of the same people and form connections,” Mongiovi says. “I’m really grateful I got to go to the Growth Summit.”

From dinners and roundtables to golf and other networking events, the attendees discussed their businesses to share helpful insights. Mongiovi especially enjoyed learning about employee retention strategies and identifying actionable takeaways to implement at her own office. 

Whether the other LCOs were located near or far from their fellow attendees, they were all open and honest about their businesses, struggles and best practices, according to Mongiovi.

“No one is trying to keep secrets about what they’re doing,” she says. “Everyone wants you to succeed.”

Since her Florida-based business primarily deals with St. Augustinegrass and chinch bugs, she appreciated the opportunity to hear from other industry professionals about the challenges they manage.

“It was cool to see what grass types other people are dealing with,” Mongiovi says. “It was nice to meet different people from all across the country.”

Attendees utilized the Growth Summit to network with various lawn care vendors and discuss tailored solutions. She specifically appreciated the expert strategies shared for managing chinch bug infestations and intends to use some of the products recommended by the vendors.

“There are a lot of cool products coming out,” she says. “Being able to make those connections and meeting them in person gives me somebody to call if I have a question about the products later on.”

She says she enjoyed having direct contact with the different vendors in a smaller setting and was open to seeing all the new products and equipment. 

Following the Growth Summit, an attendee from Ohio toured her office. Mongiovi plans to visit their facility soon to learn about their operations.

“It was really nice to talk to other professionals who do the same thing as me,” Mongiovi says. “That allowed me to see different sides of issues.”

Mongiovi encourages other industry professionals to apply for the Growth Summit in the future.

“I’m appreciative of having that experience. I hope to go back in the future and see how everyone has grown,” she says. 

<p>The post Why lawn care operators are flocking to LM’s Growth Summit for networking and solutions first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

The intrigue is not new, as the sector checks all the right boxes in terms of where private equity firms seek to deploy capital. It’s a massive, highly fragmented market, with essential and recession-resistant demand fundamentals. The industry also has attractive financial profiles driven by recurring revenue and the opportunity to pursue an aggressive merger-and-acquisition (M&A) strategy.

What has really shifted and driven the record interest in the sector comes down to a handful of important contributors that will drive significant interest and activity in the sector for years to come.

1. The macroeconomic environment, highlighted by inflation, tariffs and general uncertainty, has shifted private equity investment focus further away from sectors that are directly impacted by those headwinds (i.e., discretionary products/services) and into sectors that are much more insulated, such as landscaping.
2. Certain sectors in which private equity has meaningfully focused on historically, such as fire and life safety and commercial heating and cooling, have become increasingly competitive for both new platforms and add-ons, which has resulted in firms expanding their investment scope into other sectors with similar attributes, where the opportunity to deploy capital and achieve their required investment returns feels like time and resources better spent.
3. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has meaningfully amplified interest in essential service businesses due to the inability to disrupt these business models and has even caused private equity firms that have historically focused on software and technology to begin to expand their investment scope into essential services.
4. There is more capital seeking to be deployed than there are opportunities to invest in, with private equity dry powder hitting $3.7 trillion at the start of 2026, roughly doubling since 2019, driving increasing demand for new opportunities, especially within essential services.

A large, fragmented market

One of the most compelling attributes of the sector and the reason it has drawn so much interest and investment to date is the overall size and level of fragmentation. The sector has thousands of small services providers, many of which are owned by aging generations with no real transition plans, as well as younger operators who could meaningfully benefit from private equity support or the resources of a larger platform to grow faster and more effectively.

Current data from the National Association of Landscape Professionals reports that the landscaping service industry consists of 692,777 businesses, with a market size of $188.8 billion.

Additional data from Landscape Management’s LM150 analysis notes that the top 150 landscaping companies generated combined revenues that exceeded $22 billion, representing an 18-percent increase from 2025’s total, the second year running that total exceeded the $20 billion mark. This level of fragmentation lends itself to the ability for investors to pursue aggressive buy-and-build strategies in which private equity firms are more comfortable paying market-clearing prices for platform companies, given the ability to blend down their entry multiples over time through M&A.

Value creation through M&A is also driven by the ability to grow and optimize EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of the acquired companies and ultimately generate multiple expansions through building a scaled, more diversified platform. 

Valuation drivers

The No. 1 determinant that drives valuations for companies in the sector is the service mix. If a business or a homeowner pays a landscaping company a recurring fee for traditional landscape maintenance, that results in a model that is very predictable, driving greater cash flow certainty, less year-to-year fluctuations and less overall risk, which is highly valued by investors.  

On the other hand, a business that is heavily dependent on project-based or weather-dependent work presents the opportunity for a heightened level of year-to-year performance fluctuations and less predictability, which is valued less by investors. Accordingly, the companies that have attracted the highest valuations have been those that are in densely populated coastal and warm-weather regions in which most of the service mix is driven by year-round maintenance.

Aside from service mix, there are many other factors that influence how investors value landscaping businesses, including scale, revenue diversification, historical financial performance, the strength and depth of the leadership team, the level of operational sophistication and scalability, the historical track record of add-on M&A and the level of integration of acquired companies. 

Notable transactions reflect broader trends

Transaction activity from the fourth quarter of 2025 through the first half of 2026 highlights the continued active participation by private equity in the sector.

In November 2025, Agellus Capital acquired Atlanta-based HighGrove Partners. HighGrove subsequently acquired Lawn Enforcement Agency in May 2026 and Synergy Landscapes in April 2026, both Florida-based landscaping companies.

In December 2025, Unity Partners formed a new Midwestern landscaping platform spanning three states with completed investments in Yardmaster in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lakes Lawncare in Detroit and Kunco Landscape in Erie, Pa.

In January 2026, TruArc Partners acquired Schill Grounds Management (now known as the Schill Landscape Collective), a Cleveland-based commercial landscaping company, from Argonne Capital Group. In February 2026, Schill announced the acquisitions of Begonia Brothers Services and Atlas Outdoor, representing Schill’s first acquisitions in Michigan. 

In the second quarter of 2026, Visterra Landscape Group, one of the fastest-growing commercial landscape platforms backed by Trinity Hunt Partners, made several strategic transactions to grow its footprint in key regions, including its acquisitions of Huntsville, Ala.-based Clover Landscape Group and Tennessee-based Land Corps Landscaping, supporting Visterra’s continued expansion across the Southeast. Visterra has announced 14 strategic partnerships since its inception.

Together, these transactions illustrate the opportunity to use M&A to expand geographically, build greater regional density and create a scaled, more diversified platform.  These examples also illustrate the fast pace at which private equity firms seek to pursue add-on M&A following their initial platform investment.

AI: Friend or foe?

The rise of AI is reshaping industries, and the landscaping and lawn care sector is no exception. While the extent of its impact isn’t quite known yet, investors have clearly recognized that blue-collar essential services businesses are in a prime position to adapt and benefit from AI, rather than be disrupted. 

It appears the landscaping industry stands to benefit significantly from the different use cases of AI. AI-driven tools can process vast amounts of data quickly to help companies make more informed decisions. Businesses can use AI to predict demand for services in different regions, optimize routes for maintenance crews and manage equipment more effectively. Algorithms can analyze data from sensors installed on equipment to predict when maintenance is needed, which can help prevent equipment malfunctions, reduce downtime and extend the lifespan of expensive machinery.

What’s ahead for the M&A

There is no slowdown in sight for interest and investment in the lawn and landscaping sector, and the increasing pool of private equity capital and the rise of AI should only amplify the interest and opportunity. Add-on M&A will continue at a fast pace, and as time evolves, many of the private-equity-backed platforms will also begin to eventually consolidate, which will drive ongoing deal activity for years to come. 

Another trend likely to emerge over the coming years is that, as the industry continues to consolidate and competition for add-on acquisitions intensifies, many platforms will begin looking more closely at adjacent service areas. These may include more technical services such as stormwater maintenance and pond and lake management. Because these services are highly complementary, they represent a natural expansion opportunity for platforms seeking to broaden their capabilities and the markets they serve. 

<p>The post Record deal activity in landscaping: What’s fueling the private equity surge? first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

SmartLink is the industry’s most comprehensive water management platform. More than just a connected controller, it’s the irrigation solution that commercial landscapers need to stand out in a crowded industry. By streamlining time-intensive manual tasks, SmartLink helps you boost the productivity and efficiency of everyone on your workforce.

See how SmartLink can help your landscaping business increase profitability by unlocking the potential of your irrigation division.

<p>The post Weathermatic: SmartLink first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

That was the essence of an email I received from a reader recently. He was deflated about a process at his landscape company that he felt was inefficient. He wants to improve it, but how? Who should he turn to? There must be an expert out there, right? His weakness must be someone else’s strength. 

That email really got me thinking. I also keep getting reminders of that email. 

I recently traveled to Omaha to attend Envision 2026, hosted by LM columnists and longtime industry consultants Ken Thomas and Ben Gandy. While some of the event took place at the downtown Marriott, the site visit took place at Greenhall Commercial Landscapes (previously known as Mulhall’s Landscape), a company that has incorporated Envisor’s Green Dot System.

In 2022, CEO Mick Mulhall and his team traveled to Olive Branch, Miss., to attend their first Envision conference, hosted by Michael Hatcher and Associates. They were so impressed with what they saw, they decided they wanted to be like Mike. Now, four years later, they feel like they are. 

They found someone whose strength was their weakness, and they learned from them. 

“Four years ago, we had no plan,” Bob Brakenhoff, branch manager, said. “Job planning is fundamental to what we do now.”

A specific example: Four years ago, it would take crews as many as 35 minutes to roll out of the yard and start heading to the jobsite in the morning. Two years ago, that time was cut down to 15 minutes. Roll call, a safety talk, stretch and flex and then get going. 

Nick Searl first started working at Greenhall Commercial Landscapes when he was in high school. He smiled when he described rollout back when he first started. “It was like a happy hour, but with coffee,” he said.

Today they’ve whittled it all the way down to eight minutes.

“I wonder, in a couple years … will they shave another two minutes off that time?” Ben Gandy asked aloud, with a smile.

This big idea sharing isn’t unique to the scenario I’ve described above. At GROW! 2026 in Dallas, I learned about a change to the rollout Complete Landsculpture implemented over the last few years. It’s improved their efficiency, and many attendees asked about it. And guess what? It wasn’t their original idea. They learned about it from another company in the industry.

In this month’s cover story, penned by LM Editor-in-Chief Scott Hollister, he talks to three different companies about how they’ve implemented autonomous mowing. I enjoyed the story because it ties into what I’ve been thinking about: Who is really good at X, and will they share that information with me and my readers? 

All three sources share valuable insights, but I’ll spotlight Tyler Reiter of Florida Image Landscaping for what he said about getting out there and searching for the solutions. It’s not just Envision, it’s not just GROW! It could be any meeting that exposes you to a new way of thinking.

“That’s why events like Equip are massive,” he says. “My dad and I going and spending just 10 minutes … changed the entire trajectory of how we run and operate our company.”

What are you really good at, so good that you think others could improve their operation if you had a chance to share your process? And would you be willing to share that story? Or would you keep it all to yourself?

Only you can answer that question. But if you’re willing to share and help your fellow landscape business owner — someone younger or older than you, but someone you could relate to …

You know how to reach me. 

<p>The post The power of peer learning in landscape businesses first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

The change reflects the company’s expanding truck bed offerings, as well as its alignment with the Hilltip portfolio of snowplows, spreaders, de-icing sprayers, sweepers and other road maintenance equipment manufactured in the same Fort Wayne facility. 

Hilltip Premium Truck Beds designs and manufactures hook-lift and interchangeable beds, as well as dump beds, flat beds and custom-built or private-label solutions. These products are engineered to outlast the commercial chassis while providing optimal load capacity, stability and versatility. 

“We’re proud to build on strong legacy of Industrial Truck Beds and further strengthen our commitment to North American manufacturing,” said Craig Sandmann, managing director for Hilltip North America. “This new chapter reflects who we’ve become — a team dedicated to producing premium custom truck bed solutions that help people work smarter and more efficiently. Despite the name change, customers can expect us to continue delivering the quality and reliability they’ve expected from this line of truck beds since 1986.” 

<p>The post Industrial Truck Beds rebrands under the Hilltip name first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>

<p>The post LM Gallery: July 2026 first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>