Embrace change
I hate losing clients. Especially, during a pandemic but I only take care of private clients part-time because I have a full-time job as a landscape manager. Plus, I have other projects on the go, like blogging and developing online courses. But, still, it hurts to see old clients sell their house and move. Change is inevitable but I always struggle to embrace it.
The residence is special because there aren’t any lawns to cut. Since the owners are nice, successful people who travel a lot, it didn’t make sense for them to have lawns. It was bad enough last year, when they spent most of their time with family in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, and I maintained their garden.
This is why they decided to sell and move. The price was right and, with COVID-19 still raging, it made sense to stick with family.
Features
I love the design: Heuchera and Thyme cover most of the front garden. The Heucheras flower nicely and look great with their dark purples; the Thyme forms a soft bed which gets covered, absolutely covered, with insects in summer. My job was to make sure weeds and bamboo didn’t take over. And in the fall, I picked up the leaves. Nothing super special.
The bamboo forms a sort of wall between the garden and the neighbors; and the neighbor’s Persian ironwood (Parottia persica) provides great fall color.
In the back is a pool with one flowering dogwood (Cornus), Hibiscus syriacus, and my favorite, the Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), the only palm that survives in our colder climate. Grape vines cover the wall.
2021
While I’ve asked the owners to kindly introduce me to the new owners, I’m not holding my breath. It wasn’t a huge money-maker for me; more like a bi-monthly maintenance visit. Since I have other clients on the same street, I will get to see the house periodically. I would love to continue my work there but, as we know, change is inevitable. It might be time to pick-up new clients somewhere else.
Stay safe and healthy!
