“By now in the Baltimore area, snow is (hopefully) a distant memory. Birds are back in town, and they’re doing more tweeting than the average teenager. Trees and owerbeds are full of buds and the occasional bloom. Eager for sun, you’re ready to spruce up your front yard before summer’s heat arrives. But what should you do?”… Excerpt from Business in the Front by Greg A. Lohr
BUSINESS IN THE FRONT
BY GREG A. LOHR / CONTRIBUTING WRITER / THE BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL
Take a cue from the pros – February through May is an especially busy time for landscaping companies, as they clean, edge, fertilize and mulch their customers’ planting beds. Spring is also ideal for cutting back any ornamental grasses or winter-interest plants that weren’t cut back in the fall, says Jim McWilliams, vice president of Baltimore-based Maxalea Landscaping Co., a family-owned business that was founded in 1929.
While many homeowners are comfortable with light-duty yard work, such as weeding, deadheading plants and pruning bushes and small trees, they’re often inclined to call a company like Maxalea to handle bigger projects and dangerous tasks. Maxalea trims trees or shrubs less than 20 feet tall, McWilliams says. For taller growth, the company hires a specialist, who either subcontracts under Maxalea or works directly with the client.