Aalbu T. Yorozu Gardening Universal Contracting Hendrickus Schraven

Aalbu Aalbu Landscape Maintenance Inc. was awarded a contract this February for landscape care, parking lot sweeping and snow removal for all 135 Washington Mutual Banks in Utah, Oregon and Montana. This contract, according to Tim Aalbu, founder and president of the firm, is an example of one-stop-shopping and management outsourcing among large customers for landscape services. "The more we've talked to clients, the more it seems to be a real interest to get rid of (in-house) property management people." Hewlett Packard Headquarters is a proving ground for environmentally-sensitive landscape practices. Maintenance is provided by Aalbu. Aalbu is based in South Everett, and has traditionally had business covering Lake Stevens, Redmond and Silverdale with a year-round staff of 25. Now, "We're subcontracting close to 50 percent of it. We may open an office in Vancouver Portland area." The company is increasingly serving clients with multiple sites or property management companies. There is a full-time crew in Lake Stevens just to service the 135-acre Hewlett Packard campus. Hewlett Packard and other corporate clients are becoming "very environmentally sensitive," said Aalbu. They are also looking for ways to get good value and reduce cost. All this adds up to in ways to use fewer fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Aalbu is only to happy to lead the way with practices such as mulching instead of picking up grass clippings. Besides turning grass into mulch on a selective basis, the company is doing some on-site composting. Integrated pest management or IPM is another area of environmental advancement in landscape maintenance and alternative to fogging the area with pesticides. With long-term contracts, it works. "We can do a lot of more creative things if we're in it for the long term," he said. Aalbu credits WALP, the Washington Association of Landscape Professionals, with bringing different elements of te landscape industry together. "It used to be such a battle between the landscape architects and the maintenance," said Aalbu. "Now we have designers, installers, and maintenance people working together. . . So much of our success and cost is dictated by how a project is designed." Back to the top. T. Yorozu Gardening It's a good time to be in business, according to Ken Yorozu of T. Yorozu Gardening. The 50-person firm, which was founded by Yorozu's father over 60 years ago, has "a lot of public works projects." Other markets are commercial, and "We try to do two residential jobs a year." Current projects include landscaping for SeaTac International Boulevard Phase One, and he finished an irrigation project for West Point Treatment plant last August. Another recent project is the REI flagship store. As current president of the Washington Association of landscape Professionals (WALP) Yorozu sees important opportunities in greater exchange between landscape architects, designers, contractors, and maintenance providers. And although there have been recent advances, "We haven't touched that resource," he said. "There are fences to be mended." Back to the top. Universal Contracting Through Universal Contracting Services, Lynn Johnson and her company provide comprehensive landscaping services from Edmonds to Kent to West Seattle. Johnson's firm provides landscape design and construction from CAD generated design to installation. by providing all of these services in one job, she can we can "develop the design and see potential problems before it gets to the construction stage. Her business has been growing for the past for years, and she attributes her success to a "good marketing plan" and membership in a professional networking and referral network. She sees a growing market for residential landscapes that follows recreational trends. Increasingly, people like the idea of "having fun with plants." "We do a tremendous amount of educating about tying the finished product into something that works for them," she said. "the form follow the function." "Environmentally friendly landscaping is all the rage," said Johnson. "Most people want a lower maintenance, lower water-requiring landscape. Many people are are getting away from pesticide use." Back to the top. Hendrickus Schraven 1996 was a very good year, according to Tina Peterson of Hendrickus Schraven. The firm continues to choose projects according to quality rather than size or budget. The firm, which has been in business for 23 years, is continuing to develop its specialty in "healing gardens," outdoor spaces strategically designed to relax and open the senses to healing opportunities. The firm is marketing design ideas to health providers for clinical settings. "We're very strong in organics," said Peterson. "We've been pushing our custom organic maintenance division. The firm seeks to collaborate with other creative specialists, such as Jolly Miller, which provides sculpted concrete for zoos and other special applications. Back to the top.

Return to Landscape Architecture & Construction top page

---

Copyright © 1997 Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.