Page 23 - BusinessWest May 16, 2022

Steve Corrigan leads his crew as they install pavers at Loomis Village in South Hadley, one of many current projects for his company, Mountain View Landscapes and Lawncare.
that while his company has backlog of business through June, he’s not as confident about the rest of the year.
“We’ve had internal discussions that we don’t have as many leads compared to this time last year,” he told BusinessWest. “People are still requesting work but we’re wondering if we will be as busy as last year.”
Two years ago, the pandemic forced people to spend more time at home. Many looked at their outside surroundings and decided they needed to invest in their yards, in many cases using money that would normally go toward a vacation away from home. This created a huge boom for landscapers who could barely keep up with all
the demand for their services.
“Now that people are able to travel again,
it seems like the COVID spending is slowing down,” Omasta explained, adding that on top of leisure travel increasing and people returning to the workplace, landscapers are experiencing an unseasonably cold spring that brings with it other challenges.
“Every year is different,” said Dave Graziano, project manager of the landscape division of Gra- ziano Gardens in East Longmeadow. “If you talk with any independent businessperson there is some worry this year about what’s coming.”
That worry usually involves how to handle increased business costs, finding workers, and
managing supply chain issues with various prod- ucts. And landscapers are certainly having to cope with all those issues and more.
Indeed, all the landscapers we spoke with have commercial clients as well as residential customers. Rachel Loeffler, landscape architect and principal with Berkshire Design Group in Northampton, said there is often competition, if one can call it that, between commercial and residential when supplies are short.
“Those who have the money and want to improve their yard are still going to. For everyone who was on the fence about it ... not so much.”
“Sourcing for plants can be challenging in normal times,” Loeffler said. “Now contractors check with five or six nurseries when they would normally go to one.” This scramble for plants often means finding substitutes.
As a landscape architect, Loeffler often recom- mends using products like cedar wood that will remain durable for years to come. When cedar became, in her words “extremely expensive” it changed the conversation with clients.
“They had to go back and figure out how to build something that was durable and sustain- able, but would also fit their budget,” Loeffler said.
Creating Beautiful Landscapes Since 1979
Creating Beautiful Landscapes Since 1979
Design & Build
• Parks
• Playgrounds
• Athletic Fields
• Irrigation
• Patios
• Walkways • Retaining
Walls
• Hydroseeding
& Bark Blowing
413.584.2550
• Hadley, Massachusetts • www.OmastaLandscaping.com
BusinessWest LANDSCAPING & HOME IMPROVEMENT
MAY 16, 2022 23
Staff Photo