PROBLEMSOLVER
LANDSCAPE TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS » BY H. BRUCE HELLERICK
Rolling Stones lead singer
Mick Jagger once said,
“Anything worth doing is
worth overdoing.” While that may be true
for rock music, it doesn’t hold for landscapes. As professionals, we need to
create more interest and excitement in
the landscape. Many contractors use various tulip and viola combinations to create
great-looking beds, but sometimes the
execution is a bit too enthusiastic. Here,
the entire bed is filled with pansies and
tulips. How do you accommodate the
client’s desire for both violas and tulips
without creating too busy a scene?
PROBLEM
Contractors often get
carried away planting too
many bulbs to make a spectacular
display — and forget that it’s the vio-
las that really provide the long-term
color presentation. By simply plant-
ing fewer bulbs with wider spacing,
however, you allow each type of
flower to be spectacular instead of
competing with one another.
In this case, we removed about 24
extra bulbs along the front and sides
of the bed that did not need to be
planted, which also helps the bottom
line: 24 bulbs times 20 cents per bulb
is $4.80; multiplied by 100 beds is
$480. You save money and keep your
client very happy.
SOLUTION
Every day you see horticultural problems. Sometimes the solution is obvious, but others are much more difficult to solve. Brickman Group Senior Horticulture Specialist H. Bruce Hellerick tackles these issues each month in Problem Solver. He can be reached at Hellerick@BrickmanGroup.com.
