HLS at Farm and Career Day

Today Robert and Ashley took time to participate in the Gilbert Primary School Farm and Career Day. This was a neat way to give back to the community where we're based and to show off some of our equipment along with other vehicles (police, ambulance, car hauler, tractor trailer, tractors) and farm animals. 

Along with the HLS truck, we had a propane-powered lawn mower, a ride-on fertilizer spreader and a sod roller.  

Levi is in first grade at GPS. Mason and Tyler (pictured here on the lawn mower) had to check out the HLS set up, too. 

Merry Christmas from the HLS Family

As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas, we wanted to share special wishes and blessings with all of our Heritage Landscape family and friends. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season that is filled with joy and hope. 

A few pictures of how we've celebrated this holiday....

 While Holly (Robert and Debbie's oldest daughter) was home with her fiance, Greg, the McLeod and Harman crews braved the zoo as an entire family. The "snow" and lights were magical for all ages!

This past Thursday, we held the annual Christmas party for our employees. The guys always look forward to a good meal (this year delicious BBQ chicken cooked by our shop manager, Darryl) and everyone goes home with a door prize.

 Over and over we say our company would not be who we are without having a good team. We're thankful for all of the guys who work for us, who make your properties look their best, and serve with positive attitudes. 

So from the Heritage family to your's, Merry Christmas and happy New  Year!

Surprise! Snow in November!

This past Saturday we woke in Gilbert to unexpectedly find snow falling down like white chicken feathers. It quickly blanketed the area. At our house, Ashley measured snow as deep as 6 inches in some spots. It made for a great day of  rolling huge snow balls (like rolls of sod) and doing wintery things. 

All the beauty wasn't without problems, however. Many people lost power (including us and Robert and Debbie) and trees fell and lost huge branches weighted down with leaves that had not fallen (because, really, it's still fall!).

This surprise snow event is a good reminder for all of us to be prepared for the next snow storm. Please contact Heritage to discuss how you would like your properties managed during winter weather.

 And until then, enjoy fall!

Large Sod Replacing Project

A few weeks ago, the Heritage install team replaced five acres of unhealthy centipede grass with over-seeded perennial rye grass at the Colonial Life campus with Bermuda turf. This took a lot of man power but we're pleased with the results. Here are some pictures to walk you through the job. 

The first step was Kevin spraying out the existing grass. 

Then we power-raked and removed the dead grass. 

Kleck and Ashley brought in some extra helpers for the late afternoon shift one day. Kleck's son Parker and Ashley's boys Levi, Mason and Tyler were on site. While Ashley and Kleck walked over the site and discussed the job with their crew, the boys piled up all of cardboard tubes that held the sod rolls. They had a lot of fun doing this and Kleck rewarded them with a trip to Chick Fil-A for ice cream afterward.

A few days later, the front lawn started rooting in. 

Whether the job is large like this one at Colonial Life or small, Heritage prides itself on providing high quality service to our customers. We're always happy to help you improve the look of your properties. 

Happy Fourth of July from the McLeod/Harman Family!

We hope you and your loved ones had a special July 4th, celebrating the freedoms we have as Americans. The Harman and McLeod families gathered for the Peach Festival parade in Gilbert and then lunch and games at Grandma and Da's (Debbie and Robert's). 

The grandkids are growing up--here are the youngest five in Robert's red truck. Parker, Levi, Mallory, Tyler and Mason (left to right). 

76 Tons of Material Recycled

Recently Heritage Landscape Services earned recognition from the SC Smart Business Recycling Program for our efforts recycling more than 76 tons of material during the fiscal 2013 year. This includes our used oil, scrap metal and other materials. That's 76 tons of material that was recycled instead of filling our landfills.

For more information about South Carolina's Smart Business Recycling Program, visit here: http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/lwm/recycle/smart_business/index.htm. 

Following in Daddy's (Landscaping) Footsteps

Levi, Ashley and I's oldest son, is finishing up Kindergarten. It's been Career Week at his school this week and he's had the opportunity to draw, write, and dress up like someone who works in his future profession. It probably comes as no surprise that Levi wants to be a landscaper like his daddy (although last year's 4 year-old Career Day choice was a swamp logger). 

His drawing below depicts a landscape crew that is raking, laying sod and planting a tree. 

Levi's outfit was complete with a plaid shirt (and he insisted on wearing a white shirt underneath to be like Daddy) and a Rain Bird hat. 

He wanted to take an action picture--here he is pulling a weed.
 

We won't pressure Levi to take over Heritage anytime soon but he's making a great landscaper-in-training (should he choose this as his profession). He is always right beside Ashley when work is being done outside, whether that is planting trees, laying sod, or repairing irrigation. It's a blessing to have a business continue on to the second generation (Robert to Ashley)--and we believe our family relationship makes us a stronger company. 

We hope your spring is going well. It's our pleasure to serve you and your properties as we help make the area we live in a beautiful place.

A Trip to the Desert

Recently Ashley and Kleck were invited to visit the Rain Bird pump manufacturing facility in Tuscon, Arizona.  Rain Bird manufactures a full range of landscape and irrigation materials. They are the only company that supplies a complete irrigation system, from the pump to the irrigation heads.

In addition to touring the Rain Bird facility, Ashley and Kleck enjoyed a Jeep tour of the surrounding desert, sponsored by Rain Bird. 

The landscape was a little different from South Carolina...

Ashley and Kleck came back even more knowledgeable of the systems provided by Rain Bird. Next time you see one of them, ask them about their trip. 

Thrifty Roots

A common groundcover that produces a blanket of purple flowers in the spring, creeping phlox or "thrift" has a special connection to Heritage. As we mentioned in our company history, Robert has fond memories of  working on his uncle's thrift farm in Clinton, S.C. When going through some family papers recently, Robert came across this newspaper article from the 1960s that describes the family farm as one that, at the time, produced the largest thrift fields in the world. You can click on the image below to read the article. 

If you want to learn more about this beautiful (and easy to grow) plant, visit: http://www.gardenguides.com/69043-plant-creeping-phlox.html. 

We hope you're enjoying the spring weather. Our crews have been busy making sure your landscapes are green, well-groomed, and ready for spring flower installation. 

Going Green for St. Patrick's Day

For Heritage, "being green" has a lot of meanings. We're part of the "green industry" because our work focuses on keeping landscapes green and growing. We hold our "green certification" because we make environmentally responsible decisions. 

So it makes sense when there's a holiday where everyone wears green, we would be sure to join in. The McLeod and Harman crew gathered this afternoon for lunch and we snapped this quick picture of Robert, Kleck and Ashley with all the kids in their green. 

We hope you enjoyed this great weekend of weather as the Midlands greens up for spring.