Commercial Projects are my beat here at Christensen’s Plant Center. I spend each day advising and developing relationships with project managers, landscape architects and estimators on upcoming projects. The last two seasons have been extremely disruptive for commercial work. Many projects were delayed, abandoned, or just in limbo. Work dried up to a trickle, but, as the economy opened up, so did the project pipeline.

You can get your company into the pipeline in two different ways. Many commercial projects come through the bid letting sites, such as Dodge, BidNet (MITN), and MDOT. These are great sites to start your journey. Some are free, others charge, but each can be a beneficial resource when you’re looking.

Many projects are awarded based on relationships and connections. Project and construction managers are extremely loyal and protective of their teams. Commercial jobs can be demanding. Weather, change orders, and delays are all routine. Your team’s ability to respond and perform will earn you that loyalty. When you build these relationships, you will never lack for opportunities. I know project teams that have worked together for years.

What type of projects work for your company? Many times, project failure is just a mismatch of landscape contractor and the type of work involved. Large projects lasting many years have longer payment cycles that may not work for you and your suppliers. New construction, weather delays, inspections and approvals are all considerations and potential headaches. After you have been successful, and figured out “your type”, that should be your focus for the future.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge project is huge with thousands of plantings to be installed - how many companies can handle that scope of project, or even want to? This was never more apparent to me than this spring when I delivered some wetland plants to one of our contractors on Lake St. Clair. He was in a wetsuit, on a very nasty day, working in the water! He had his entire team in wetsuits. Now that’s a company that has found their niche and never will lack for project work. They can probably pick and choose what they want to work on. What a competitive advantage for them!

Focus your efforts on finding your projects. Build relationships with construction and project managers that specialize in your type of projects and sell your passion! Develop your team to earn more profitable projects and work on your type of projects. Don’t waste your time chasing the ones that won’t work. All projects are not created equal, so focus and discipline is required.

If I can ever assist you in developing your Project Team, let me know. The next few seasons will be like drinking out of a fire hose. The projects are going to come at us so fast and furious, we will look back at last year as the good old days. The supply chain shortages will sort out over the next few years, but last year is a taste of what’s coming. The disruption while challenging, also creates opportunities for you and your team. Start developing your Project Pipeline today. Build relationships that will keep your Pipeline full. Focus on your projects, and turn that fire hose into a drinking fountain!

Over the past three years, the green industry in Michigan, and indeed the country, has been on a high. But that high has come at a price, and that price has been our supply pipeline. The media has spent the past many months talking about supply chain woes. Anyone that has bought a car recently knows. Our supply chain woes have been slow in coming, and, regrettably, will be slow to reseed as well.

Growers in the nursery industry have spent the last three years trying to keep up with almost unprecedented demand. Unfortunately, our products take significant time to come to market; time that the growers have not had. Since an 8’ tall spruce takes almost 10 years to come to harvest, growers have done the only thing they could do to keep up with demand, which is to sell material early. In 2019, landscapes consumed some of the material slated for 2020 projects. In 2020, landscapes consumed all of that year's crop, and a large part of 2021’s crop, compensating for what was used for 2019 and covering the increase in sales. In 2021, the cycle repeated itself. 

Now we find ourselves in 2022, and there is nothing left to steal. Growers find themselves selling smaller and smaller plant material as landscapers accept smaller sizes to fill a planting. This does not allow for the filling of the pipeline with larger material, as it is all sold in a smaller size. 

With our product that takes between a few months to a decade to produce, the refill will be slow. 

Christensen’s will be a landscaper’s best friend as we navigate this supply issue. We are in constant contact with growers all over the country sourcing material. Our relationships allow us access to material often before it is published on an availability. Please use this resource! Let us use our reach instead of you spending hours trying to get answers.

Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers is honored to be the resource for the landscape industry in southern Michigan. The relationship we have with you drives us every day to make sure that we are doing everything we can. And this year is no different. 

As I write this, I am watching our yard operations crew unload yet another load of trees. With the first trucks of the year arriving in mid-February, we continue our preparations for the 2022 landscape season. Plants and hardscape materials will continue to roll into our yard. I encourage you to use our 91 years of experience.

Alliance Lighting’s Bluetooth series of fixtures continue to gain in popularity. What started with the single, yet revolutionary, BL200-BT “bullet” fixture has grown to over 20 different fixtures, which include path light stems, understep fixtures, downlights, uplights, and more in a short period of time.

Let’s talk about how to market these to your clients.

Have you proposed installing these versatile, high-quality fixtures only to be told that your client is not interested in color-changers? Maybe they can’t anticipate ever using anything but white, or don’t want to be locked into “color” only. But here’s the thing - the RGB color change ability is completely optional. These fixtures can stay entirely in the white spectrum, and even have three preset “white” color temperatures. Or you can choose just the right tone and brightness from the graphical interface in the Alliance bt app.

Here’s another selling point - setting up and running your own custom lighting scheme is dead easy. You can group fixtures into zones that all run the same program, for instance. An example might be to zone six directional spots on the front of the house, another with three wide-beam spots on various focal points on the property, and a third for four or five path lights on the walkway to the front door. Each zone can be controlled independently by the client right from the app. Any fixture in your installation can be grouped with any of the others, no need to be on the same run. Also, you can define up to three "scenes" that can be toggled on and off at will.

One more feature: All of Alliance’s BT series of fixtures are dimmable. Clients have the option of changing how bright or how soft they choose to illuminate every aspect of their property, by fixture or by group. There are no additional switches, transformers, or other equipment needed, and changes take effect instantly. The app makes setting lighting schedules easy and they run on their own thereafter.

In conclusion, Alliance's BT series can be zoned, are dimmable, and run from an easy-to-use mobile app. The color change ability is an extra, fun option to use seasonally or whenever the whim strikes, without having to invest in more equipment later. The app is available for Android and Apple devices and is free to download and use.

Landscape lighting just keeps getting better and better. There are few properties that can't be enhanced by outdoor lighting and having a professionally designed and installed system like Alliance's can make a big difference in a client's property value.

At one time we had a 10-day tagging policy and we always tried, in spite of limited yard space, to honor that. Many times those tags would even get re-dated until the order eventually left, or was possibly cancelled! This had the effect of tying up inventory that could have been sold while it was fresh and pretty, disappointing everyone. I can’t even tell you the number of times tags got switched or removed and material “stolen”, leading to near-fistfights in the yard.

When we changed to a 5-day tag policy along with adding storage space we were able to hold more material and keep everyone happy – until BOOM – economic recession. Companies were wiped out, people were laid off, and growers had to cut back production in order to stay afloat.

The recession eventually ended. Even though significant financial damage was accrued, new demand for material skyrocketed. In our line of work, plants take time to get to a saleable size. Our industry was just getting caught up when the COVID crisis hit. All those people staying home decided to fix up the place, leading to – yep – new shortages.

With record levels of demand for nearly everything many growers sold into the following season’s crops. The demand hasn’t slowed, and it is getting difficult to find new sources of plant material let alone trucks to get it here.

To fill orders for projects, we may find ourselves having to hold material longer than 5 days when, for instance, a ship date is set but a truck is not available. All committed material is marked with order and/or delivery date information. Under NO circumstances are contractors allowed to pull off those tags. We can’t monitor everything that happens here, but we are very good at knowing what material is “No Touchy!” Yes, you can always ask, orders do get cancelled and you might just get lucky.

It’s story time now: 

Recently a contractor’s customer (I will refer to this person as CC) came in early to look around before their appointment time. As I’m working on preparing an order for another contractor, I notice the CC wandering around in our Japanese maple house. Something didn’t seem quite right, so I went in closer to investigate. As I enter the Japanese maple house, I see them removing tags from a tree I had triple-tagged for someone else and putting them on a different tree. So, I approach and say “Excuse me, CC, are you removing tags from that maple?”. The CC, LITERALLY with a tag in their hand tying it to the other maple, says, “No.”

No! You can’t make this stuff up.

CC is caught red-handed. I then say, “CC, that maple that you are removing the tags from, that I personally tagged, is leaving on Tuesday next week. Do NOT do that, and please put the tags back on it”. As I returned to the main shop, I alerted my coworkers to this CC and another sales representative went to engage them. They were politely asked to wait in their vehicle until their contractor arrived, and the rest of their visit was supervised. And trust me, any time we catch someone doing this, we remember. I repeat: WE REMEMBER.

So please, when visiting the nursery, respect material that has tags on it, and respect your fellow contractors who are just trying to get by same as you are. We do our best to look out for you but we can’t be everywhere, and you would not appreciate getting hit by the Karma Bus yourself one day.

With the amazing number of bulb varieties in the world it is always a difficult task to decide what to order for our shelves each season, which is why we encourage you to order ahead of time (now) if you want something in particular.

We get 80% of our bulbs from the same vendor and have been doing business with them for over 30 years. We continue this relationship because they can provide the best quality and size bulbs. People always ask if size matters, and the answer is YES!  The bigger the bulb, the older the bulb. It is like buying an already established plant in a little package. You get a stronger plant with lots of blooms and instant display. The plants themselves are also more robust, producing more bulblets for more flowers!

All bulb packages show the bulb size, which is measured in centimeters and references the girth of the bulb at the widest point. When we say a bulb is “top size” that means you are getting bulbs at the high end of the range and you will see that reflected in the garden next season. Your customer will expect a nice display, but how about giving the unexpected - a grand display!

As you will notice on the bulb mailer we sent out recently, many of our varieties are tried and true and have earned their place as staples. Start with the Emperor tulips, with their large flowers, many colors, and sturdy stems. Another classic choice are Darwin Hybrid tulips. Blooming a little later than the Emperors, they also have strong stems, lots of colors, and are known to perennialize, which can maximize their potential. The dark plum ‘Negrita’ Triumph tulip is another show-stopper - pair it with a pink like ‘The Cure’ or ‘Pink Impression’ and wow!

If you are a narcissus fan, you can’t go wrong with ‘Dutch Master’ (yellow), or ‘Mount Hood’ (white). But you can certainly mix it up a little by choosing other varieties in different heights and colors to add some kick or longevity. The white and yellow ‘Ice Follies’ is a gorgeous traditional narcissus that can naturalize and withstands cold, wet spring weather.

Everyone must have a giant Allium, of course! Some people look at them as niche, others think of them as truly great performers. Bulbous Alliums require a little patience. They do not look like the picture on day one, but oh… give them time and they will stand up straight at 3’ with massive purple globes.

Don’t overlook the minor bulbs - not very tall but they get a lot of attention as they are our first look at spring. Many of them naturalize and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a great sea of blue scilla carpeting the flowerbeds. Crocus large and small, Chionodoxa, Iris, Muscari and the short early narcissus like ‘Tete-a-Tete’ prove themselves year after year.

If you’re not installing bulbs in your designs, it’s time you did - take your client’s landscapes from wow to POW!

In my favorite Westerns, “Howdy, partner” was a common greeting. Having partners and friends was the key to survival in the Wild West. Today, partnerships can be a wonderful way to do business. The collaboration brings out the strengths in each organization, and deficiencies can be offset with shared experience and knowledge. Partnerships require honest, open communication to be most successful. It’s hard to be an expert in every aspect of today’s projects. Knowing what is going on in the marketplace and being prepared has never been more crucial. When you partner with your supplier, your team now has the knowledge and expertise of hundreds of growers, manufacturers and distributors. When your projects come in, share with your partner all your concerns and opportunities so you can work together for better outcomes that build your partnership.

Welcome to 2021 - the most challenging year in your career. The economic shutdown and Covid-19 has nearly destroyed the nursery and horticulture supply chain as we know it. We might as well be building it from scratch. It started with the evergreen shortage, quickly spread into commodities, containers - all the products we use every day and then - not to be left out - our hardscape suppliers have also been doing everything they can to keep up. The industry that took decades to build was brought to it’s knees in a little over a year. The creativity from our buyers and the flexibility of our vendors has been nothing short of amazing.

In addition, the transportation challenge has many aspects. The industry lost many drivers, and the demand in other industries is off the charts. The long and short of it is, transportation costs are through the roof, and our ability to move product has been greatly impacted. Another challenge I know you are familiar with is labor. The saying “Good people are hard to find” has been replaced with “Anyone has been hard to find”. When you can get a signing bonus at McDonald’s, you know the labor market is jazzed up.

We have faced many of these challenges in the past, maybe not all at the same time, but we have survived. But here’s the thing. You have never had so many opportunities to make money. The phones won’t stop ringing, the projects keep getting signed and the demand is not letting up anytime soon! So, buckle up, “Partner”, each week brings a new creative solution to our ever changing season.

This year will continue to test our mettle, but we can come out of this better, more adaptable, and willing to meet any challenge. We are learning and changing to meet the needs of the day. When you partner with Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers rest assured, we are working hard every day to be the best supplier and partner we can be. So, stop in today and say, “Howdy, partner” and let’s meet this challenge together. Partnership, collaboration and our shared experience will lead to our success. Enjoy the summer season and remember we are all in this together.

The number one question we’ve been asked this year is: “Do you know when you will be getting (insert literally anything here) in?” This season has been one big game of "Go Fish", and I am lousy at fishing! The shortages have been across the board, with almost nothing unaffected. But what if I told you that you could play a key role in keeping something from running out? If that does not raise an eyebrow - what if I told you that you will get paid to do this?

You're not alone - the concrete vendors who produce pavers, wall units and steps are also facing shortages. They have plenty of aggregate and colorant, but what they are in dire need of are the empty pallets that your product was loaded on. You paid a deposit for that pallet, wouldn’t you like your money back? Instead of waiting until the end of the season when you have a gigantic pile of skids, bring them back as often as possible. Don’t risk the skids in your yard becoming damaged and unusable, weather worn, or magically vanishing. That is your money disappearing!

Concrete vendors need these pallets to be returned so they can be reused or refurbished. If they don’t have returned ones, they’ll buy new ones - and at the current prices of wood, vendors will be forced to raise their prices. Recover your cash by returning those skids, and don’t let your money evaporate by failing to return pallets in good condition.

Here is a list of things we at Christensen’s look for when you are returning brick skids to us: 

• Does it have all the boards on top, bottom, and in between? When boards are missing, the pallet can no longer effectively hold what could be up to 3500 pounds.
• Is the wood rotted? Do you see mold? If yes, that wood is no longer structurally viable, which in weakens the entire pallet. This is a huge safety concern.
• Is it a returnable skid? All our vendors have either spray painted or burned their name or logo on the side of the pallet. Brick pallets are specially constructed to support the weight of the product and are easily identifiable.
• Did you buy the product from us? We only accept pallets by the vendors and brands we carry, so if there are other brands mixed in, we will give them back to you.

Help us slow potential price increases by reducing the pallet shortage. Make sure all your employees are aware of the pallet deposit as well, so you do not have an accidental $500 bonfire! As always, feel free to call us with question or concerns, or if you want to try your luck at "Go Fish". But be warned, we have a very well stocked pond.

When I started in the nursery long ago there were maybe five other women I knew, and two female landscapers, in the entire industry. Well, ok not really. I might be exaggerating. But It was a man's occupation for sure. But nowadays we women are absolutely everywhere! Fabulous! 

I would say that more the half of all the contacts I have in the industry are women. Perhaps way more than half. Once it used to be a female landscaper would come in once a week, now it is more like several times a day. I also get forwarded a lot of plant lists from designers and architects and most of them are women. Even Christensen’s is being taken over by women. There are fourteen of us on staff here now.

Back to that long ago time. There were just four girls at the Plant Center. Problem was three of them worked inside the office and the fourth was me! So it was me and the boys at break, me and the boys helping customers, me and the boys unloading trucks, fixing irrigation, pulling poly, going to trade shows (and hanging out with more boys!). Then I got to hire a girl for the perennial department and then another and another. Before you knew it - it was not the perennial department but the "perennial girls". I was so proud!

Now, new hires of either gender feel comfortable joining our team. A recent hire expressed how pleasantly surprised she was at the equality she found here at Christensen’s. Her experience with another green industry company had not been so amiable and she feared that it would be an obstacle she faced no matter where she went in our industry.

Thinking about how I was going to write this I looked at some statistics and it all made perfect sense, from 2012-2019 Michigan women owned business grew 29%. In 2015, 11% of the landscapers nationally were women, in 2021 it was 21%! I hired my first perennial girl in about 2012-2013 and now there are six of them. Move on over boys, the ladies are here to stay!

Inclusivity is always a good idea in any business, but especially in an industry where a majority of the end consumers are women. It is important to have perspectives that reflect all of the customers to know and understand your clientele.

I am happy to have witnessed the ascent of women in this industry. I may be a little impartial being a woman myself but the rise of women in the industry is the truth.

Do you buy a fresh Christmas tree? I do. Still a traditionalist. December 2020 was a "stay at home" year which meant Christmas tree shopping. Boy did I get a surprise, not just sticker shock - but finally on our third stop I found a tree “I could live with”. I tell this story because the scarcity of all evergreens is scary. Not just cute sheared Christmas trees, but 6’, 7’, 8’, and up, Colorados, Black Hills, even Chamys (can’t spell that word – it would make a great password). Soon Arborvitae? Then…? Get them as soon as you can and lock them up!

Unfortunately plant material in general is going to be scarce. 2020 was a boom year for “gen-whatever” to plant or get planted for yard fun. 2021 is going to be identical – just much harder. No, not harder – “more interesting”, as Tim would say. You might want to come to pick plants with a couple of options. Knowing which is more important: size? color? or location. If your customer really has to have “THAT” plant make sure they know, they may have to wait for “THAT” plant to grow up a little!

We are prepared!! We are working hard to make sure your job is easier. Remember: dull is well, just dull, but “more interesting” has sparkle.

What does it mean to be ready for a delivery? Let me put on my Delivery Driver’s hat and go over some areas where a little forethought can make everybody’s day run smoother.

A good place to begin is knowing who is managing the information flow. How does your crew find out what product is coming to the jobsite, and when it will be there? Someone should decide in advance where the product will be placed for efficient use and general safety, also in what order to bring in materials. You don’t want 20,000 lbs of paver pallets placed in the side yard if a load of aggregate still needs to be dumped in the backyard.

Knowing your jobsite includes knowing the way in from major roads. Look up and around, think about a semitruck driving on that road, unloading, and importantly, getting back out. Confirm the delivery location, especially if it’s new construction that may not be well addressed. Let your Christensen’s Salesperson know about any location concerns ahead of time.

On delivery day our drivers call the contractor before they leave the yard. It’s a quick conversation confirming that a crew will be on-site and ready to receive the delivery.

For plant material there should be enough help to toss cans and stand up trees for your machine to pick them up from the trailer deck. Stage them so they are not in the way and may be watered. Tree balls can be lifted by forks or nursery jaws, or even carefully rolled into a bucket. Potted plants can be slid into a skidsteer bucket or handed-off into the bed of a truck or onto the ground.

Hardscape materials frequently weigh up to 4000 lbs and the deck of a semi-truck may be chin-high. Many skidsteers cannot handle that kind of weight, especially at that height. Consider having a Christensen’s driver unload your product with our Moffett. Our operators are bright and well trained, they can unload and place your product safely and efficiently. Consider having pallets placed near where they will be installed so there are short carrying distances. Keep products that will be blended for color of size patterns near each other. Try to know the ground conditions of your staging area. Stacking pallets on unstable ground can be dangerous. A Moffett is a very large, wide machine. Make sure there is a clear pathway to your staging area.

When there are ancillary products on the delivery consider what must be protected from the weather. For example, polymeric sand must stay dry and glue shouldn’t freeze. Caulk guns and other small tools may “disappear” overnight.

There is, of course, a business component of a materials transaction. Plan payment method ahead of time with your salesperson. Any member of our sales team can accept payment on your order at the Plant & Hardscape Centers or over the phone. Cash, check, credit card, or on your house account. Though our drivers can accept a check, settling ahead of time streamlines the process on delivery day. Whatever the plan for payment is, be sure it is indeed a plan and discuss it with your salesperson.