Sean Adams
06-13-2008, 11:02 AM
I know there is a real gray area when it comes to the difference between what everyone in this industry considers to be a "landscaper".
Technically, this industry is referred to as a lot of different things....
Lawn Care Industry
Landscaping Industry
Lawn Care & Landscape Industry
Green Industry
etc, etc, etc....
When someone asks you the question.... "So what do you do?", the answers always seem to vary. From experience a lot of people just say...
"I own a landscaping business." - to make it easy. Others will say...
"I own a lawn care business." - depends on the person.
Obviously the work done differs significantly. Everyone here on this site knows there is a big difference between mowing and hardscaping. Just like landscape lighting and irrigation are two different beasts.
It's really not easy to break these things apart. This is primarily because a lot of people/companies offer multiple serivces, so they are not really one or the other.
Right now if you look at LawnSite, there are a lot of different kinds of people on the site offering a lot of different kinds of services. You can see this just from how and where they post on this site.
This is actually one of the reasons we started LandscapeConstructionSite.com - to show that there is in fact a difference between certain services and segments of the industry.
If you look up the formal definitions of "landscaping" and "lawn care" it sorta makes things more clear...
Landscaping - A term that is very comprehensive and sometimes misleading. It is usually used to indicate only planting, instead of planting in conjunction with the installation other landscape features -- walks, walls, patios, decks, etc.
Lawn Care - Improving a lawn by a combination of fertilization, aeration, turf plug planting, and/or seeding without killing or removing all existing turf.
But wait a minute, if you look at the definition of "lawn care" it sounds more like actual care for the turf as opposed to the "maintenance" of the turf or the landscape itself.
So then a third category or option then obviously exists - Lawn Maintenance.
Oh crap - that doesn't do it either. "Lawn Maintenance" would include things like mowing, trimming, edging, etc... but what about the rest of the landscape.
If someone mows, trims, edges, mulches, trims shrubs, prunes treees, etc... then they do a lot more than just "Lawn Maintenance" - they would actually be referred to as a "Landscape Maintenance Contractor", right?
So let's see, what do we have so far....
Landscaping - the people who plant, design, install different or new parts of landscape, which includes things like lighting, irrigation, hardscaping, etc...
Lawn Care - the people who care for the actual turf by fertilization, weed control, pest control, aeration, seeding, etc...
Lawn Maintenance - the people who mow, trim, and edge the turf areas
Landscape Maintenance - the people who maintain the appearance of the landscape such as trimming shrubs, mulching, pruning trees, etc...
I think this makes sense???
But what if your company mows lawns, trims shrubs, fertilizes the lawn and shrubs, and installs patios and lighting....?
Would you then be a Landscaping & Lawn Care & Lawn & Landscape Maintenance Contractor???
Maybe it is just easier to say "I'm a landscaper"....
Not too long ago we created a different forum specifically for "Landscape Construction" - there are sections of that forum similar to the ones we have here at LawnSite and there are also forums that are more involved and more detailed in relation to "landscaping" - if you haven't checked it out, pop in to http://www.landscapeconstructionsite.com and sign up.
It's free just like LawnSite.com and it might just give you the opportunity to have certain more involved discussions.
Technically, this industry is referred to as a lot of different things....
Lawn Care Industry
Landscaping Industry
Lawn Care & Landscape Industry
Green Industry
etc, etc, etc....
When someone asks you the question.... "So what do you do?", the answers always seem to vary. From experience a lot of people just say...
"I own a landscaping business." - to make it easy. Others will say...
"I own a lawn care business." - depends on the person.
Obviously the work done differs significantly. Everyone here on this site knows there is a big difference between mowing and hardscaping. Just like landscape lighting and irrigation are two different beasts.
It's really not easy to break these things apart. This is primarily because a lot of people/companies offer multiple serivces, so they are not really one or the other.
Right now if you look at LawnSite, there are a lot of different kinds of people on the site offering a lot of different kinds of services. You can see this just from how and where they post on this site.
This is actually one of the reasons we started LandscapeConstructionSite.com - to show that there is in fact a difference between certain services and segments of the industry.
If you look up the formal definitions of "landscaping" and "lawn care" it sorta makes things more clear...
Landscaping - A term that is very comprehensive and sometimes misleading. It is usually used to indicate only planting, instead of planting in conjunction with the installation other landscape features -- walks, walls, patios, decks, etc.
Lawn Care - Improving a lawn by a combination of fertilization, aeration, turf plug planting, and/or seeding without killing or removing all existing turf.
But wait a minute, if you look at the definition of "lawn care" it sounds more like actual care for the turf as opposed to the "maintenance" of the turf or the landscape itself.
So then a third category or option then obviously exists - Lawn Maintenance.
Oh crap - that doesn't do it either. "Lawn Maintenance" would include things like mowing, trimming, edging, etc... but what about the rest of the landscape.
If someone mows, trims, edges, mulches, trims shrubs, prunes treees, etc... then they do a lot more than just "Lawn Maintenance" - they would actually be referred to as a "Landscape Maintenance Contractor", right?
So let's see, what do we have so far....
Landscaping - the people who plant, design, install different or new parts of landscape, which includes things like lighting, irrigation, hardscaping, etc...
Lawn Care - the people who care for the actual turf by fertilization, weed control, pest control, aeration, seeding, etc...
Lawn Maintenance - the people who mow, trim, and edge the turf areas
Landscape Maintenance - the people who maintain the appearance of the landscape such as trimming shrubs, mulching, pruning trees, etc...
I think this makes sense???
But what if your company mows lawns, trims shrubs, fertilizes the lawn and shrubs, and installs patios and lighting....?
Would you then be a Landscaping & Lawn Care & Lawn & Landscape Maintenance Contractor???
Maybe it is just easier to say "I'm a landscaper"....
Not too long ago we created a different forum specifically for "Landscape Construction" - there are sections of that forum similar to the ones we have here at LawnSite and there are also forums that are more involved and more detailed in relation to "landscaping" - if you haven't checked it out, pop in to http://www.landscapeconstructionsite.com and sign up.
It's free just like LawnSite.com and it might just give you the opportunity to have certain more involved discussions.