Devon Wilson - Vista Landscapes

Devon Wilson is the co-owner and founder of Vista Landscapes located in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2007 and started up this new business last July. Through his seminar he discussed what he did to get to where he is today. First he talked about scholarships. "Who doesn't want free money!?" Scholarships are wonderful things to put on resumes and can be what separates you from other applicants. Once you put hard work into one scholarship, others usually have similar requirements. (You can find scholarship information on the scholarships tab above or on our website) Next, he discussed the importance of networking and interviews. You can't just rely on one resource (or job offer); see what you can get and always have a Plan B. In interviews, he suggested to interview the employer; ask them smart open-ended questions that gives you the information you need to make a good choice. Then, Wilson talked about how hard work says a lot. You need to earn your respect from customers and employers. Step out of your comfort zone and show them what you are worth; remember to charge what you're worth as well. The old adage still holds true, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Have a great portfolio that looks professional and document everything! You never know what a customer may ask for. Next, he talked about running your business, your way. Build your image and challenge yourself (you'll be surprised what you can do). Also, use common sense in all your business decisions. The next topic was education and beyond. He talked about how graduation is only the beginning. There are licenses, certifications, seminars and classes. You must learn to roll with the punches because everyday will be different and you can't control everything. Another thing that he said that I thought was interesting was to keep your textbooks. He said that he looks at them all the time. Finally, rely on the Lord. When you show forth your faith, you will receive blessings. Overall, this was a great way to end Seminar this semester. He summed up a lot of the things that the other seminar speakers talked about. If you are interested in contacting Devon Wilson, his email is devon@vistalandscapesidaho.com and his office number is 208-954-0671.

Ann Bates - Idaho Nursery & Landscape Association

This week in seminar we had the privilege of having Ann Bates come and talk to us. She is the executive director of the Idaho Nursery & Landscape Association. She talked about the association (INLA) and then she gave us a good overall look of what the INLA is doing now and the green industry as a whole, what some hot trends are, what skills we need to develop and what we need to do to prepare for the future.

There are many good things happening at INLA. Their website says, "The Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association is an organization of professionals including retail nurseries and garden centers, wholesale, growers, landscape contractors and maintenance firms, arborist and allied trades. It is a resource for increasing professionalism in the Green Industry." Bates really hit this last point hard. One long-term return she gets from coming out to talk to students is the increased professionalism that the next generation (us) will bring to the industry. INLA is a part of PLANET and members of BuyIdaho along with many other organizations. They work hard to help their members get the newest, up-to-date information on the market during their yearly Horticulture Expo as well as great opportunities to network.

The current economic downturn has definitely affected the green industry as well as the rest of the nation. When the housing market crashed, many people lost their homes and many others quit adding landscapes or started maintaining themselves. This really hurt the Design/Build/Maintain firms. When the gas prices rose, the growers were hit extra hard. Their business is shipping to their buyers and when the gas prices go up, their prices do too which diminished their sales. When the credit market lost all trust, loans were harder to get and interest went up.

The recent trends Bates has noticed within the past few years were very interesting to note. She mentioned that many homeowners and business owners are starting to prefer gardening in containers. Also, there has been an increased interest in outdoor "living spaces." Many people have vacationed less and stayed home so they have wanted a comfortable outdoor area. This leads us to the next trend which has helped keep the industry alive recently. People have been rethinking their landscapes and redoing them or changing parts of them. They have wanted smaller trees, more edible plants (like veggie gardens or fruit trees), and more annuals in their landscapes.

The skills Bates listed as essetial for us to develop as students to become good employees in the future include:

• Mathematical & analytical skills
• Creativity
• Problem solving skills
• Environmental awareness
• Technology
• Enthusiasm for design
• Love the outdoors
• Anxious to work with your hands
• Aspiration to help people

To prepare for the future, one of the best things you can do in this industry is to get certified. Certification is huge! If you are the only applicant that is certified, you will be the one hired, hands-down. One of the many great benefits from being a member of INLA is the help and support you get in receiving your certification. Students get free membership into INLA and this helps to push you onto the next step. They offer three different certifications which are the Certified Nursery Professional, the Certified Plant Diagnostician and the Landscape Nursery Certified. If you are interested in getting certified, you can check out their website for more information on each certification.

If you have any questions for Ann Bates about the Idaho Nursery & Landscape Association, you can contact her via email at abates@inlagrow.org.

Susan Hanley - Signature Landscapes

This was a much anticipated seminar by all students. Signature Landscapes has done more for our program than any company in the Horticulture industry. They need interns and we need internships. They love our program and the hands-on emphasis we have. They also love the energy and good ideas our students have. Susan Hanley is the head of Human Resources at Signature, and is in charge of hiring.

The first thing she talked about during her presentation was the phenomenon of the Teflon grad. These graduates find a company to work at and quickly move on to the next one for an unknown reason. They are coated with a non-stick material.

The reasons she has found for the Teflon grad:

• Too high of expectations when starting a job (They think they will be a project manager in 3 weeks and they don't become one.)
• Sticker Shock (They didn't do their homework in looking at the price of a bag of groceries, gallon of gas, and the cost of living. Now they can't afford to have that job in that location.)
• Home sick blues (They miss their mom and call every day.)

Then she suggested ways to help us as generation Y to avoid being the Teflon grad. First of all, we need to disprove the stigma given to generation Y. We need to be hard workers, lack entitlement, and use our techno savvy skills for good and improving the companies we work for. We can avoid the 3 reasons she gave for the Teflon grad by asking the company we are interviewing with important, relevant questions. She said to ask, "Where will this company be in five years? What promotions will I have access to? Will you pay for any certification I complete? How often do you get together with employees outside of work? What associations are you a part of and are you active in those?" This will help you to realize your potential growth in the company and prepare you for the company culture and expectations.

Next she talked about Signature's culture. Their unofficial slogan is, "We work hard and have fun doing it." The interns they take on during the year hop around to every part of the company to get a good feel about each aspect. They do expect hard workers and a good number of hours every week, but you are not giving your life for your job. She said they realize that you need a life outside of work. Signature is involved in the community, in PLANET and in Career Days at many universities. Some of the skills Signature is drawn towards include critical thinking, leadership, flexibility, patience, humility, honesty, and integrity.

Finally, she talked about Mike Ethington who is an alumni of our program who has been working at Signature since his internship there about 3 years ago. Susan suggested that if we really wanted to know the reality of a company we should talk to a new hire (like Mike), not a recruiter (like her). New hires are more likely to be honest and not sugar coat reality. Mike and other successful employees grow their division, love their job, work hard and are honest.

If you are interested in Signature, contact Susan Hanley at susan.hanley@signaturels.com or call her phone at 425-868-5885.

Upcoming Horticulture Seminar Speaker

GREEN INDUSTRY SEMINAR
WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR IN A RECRUIT

Is ‘book knowledge’ valued by the green industry employer?

Susan Hanley of Signature Landscape Services, Inc. will present a lecture on the skills, knowledge & abilities green industry employers appreciate in employees. This lecture will resonate with anyone seeking a career, internship or summer employment.
Susan will be interviewing on campus for employment and internships. Email Brother Dewey if you are interested in interviewing with Susan.

DATE: Tuesday, October 27th
TIME: 12:45-1:45
LOCATION: Benson 232

Don’t miss the annual “Signature Pizza Fest” to be held @ 4 p.m. in Benson 232.

Davey Tree - Seminar Speakers

Mark Noark and Bill Whitmire came to visit the campus again and to speak to the Horticulture Seminar students and also, in a few select classes. Mark Noark is the main recruiter for the business. He goes out and visits universities about nine months out of the year. Bill Whitmire is the Vice President of Operations and specifically in charge of the Western Operating Group. Davey Tree is the 4th largest company in the green industry and the largest full service tree care company. If you want to do anything in arboriculture, you need to talk to these guys. They love the students that come from our program; in fact, they have one working there now.

One thing they emphasized a lot during their presentation was customer service. Davey has amazing customer service, the best in the industry. They understand that if you burn bridges with one customer, it can ruin your reputation instantly. However, it also happens to work the other way. If you work your hardest to make it a good experience for your client, they will be customers for life and most likely refer family, friends and neighbors. This principle applies to all areas of business.

They are more than just a tree company. Davey Tree is so diverse with a great skill set and many departments. Not only do they do full tree care, they do utility line clearance operations, large tree moving, commercial and residential care, and golf course maintainance. They also have a resource group (primarily women) who give it their all when it comes to project. Mark Noark said, "There is nothing they don't do, or will not try." The resource group checks electrical lines, performs surveys, conduct tree inventories for national cemetaries etc.

Davey is the 16th largest employee-owned company. Each employee invests in themselves which helps to motivate even more. They help their employees to grow within the company to become the best they can be. Davey has great employee retention; you are still a newbie if you have worked there 15 years. They value hard work, honesty, a good attitude and creativity. Bill Whitmire said, "You need to be able to roll with the punches and think on your feet." Good things (such as promotions) happen to people when they least expect it and are not looking for it. They said that they always are watching their employees even when they are going their routine jobs, they are watching for dedication and service.

Check out their website at http://www.davey.com/ and/or join their FaceBook group. They are an excellent business doing all the right things. Bill Whitmire's email address is bill.whitmire@davey.com.

Jay Warnick - World Class Athletic Surfaces

This week in seminar Jay Warnick came to speak with us. He is one of the best of the best in horticulture, and especially in the sports turf industry. He came here when it was still Ricks College and was a communications major and decided to change to horticulture after realizing his interest in sports turf. He has worked with many professional sports teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and the Baltimore Ravens. Currently, he works for a paint company called World Class Athletic Surfaces. They manufacture stencils of team logos, field marking paints and grass dyes. Their paint is better for the players and the grass itself.

Jay Warnick focused on the 3 C's he wished he would've known more about when he was in college. They are communication, commitment and curiosity.

Communication is the key, he said, business. The role of managers is to communicate and convey information to the team. He said that it is no longer a world where managers sit in the office and never speak to workers in the fields they manage. Not only does communication include speach but writing as well. He said that we need to be able to write up a well thought out memo to tell our superiors our opinion or to write proposals for improvement.

Next, commitment which means engaging oneself. We must commit FULLY to the job at hand, not immediately start looking for the next job or the next best thing. If you commit, he said, you will move up the ranks naturally because it will show your dedication to the company. When you do something you love, you have the natural energy to do it.

Finally, he talked about curiosity, which is the desire to learn or know about anything. Learning doesn't stop with the degree. We must always be looking for new things to learn or improve on. This will make us much better employees.

If you would like to contact Jay Warnick, his email address is jay@worldclasspaints.com.

Steve Zollinger Seminar Speaker

Today in seminar we heard from Steve Zollinger who is the Internship Coordinator for the Ag & Life Sciences Department. He basically spoke about resumes and interviews. He started out with resumes by saying that there are no uniform or standard rules for a resume format, but there are, however, do's and don'ts which are on a handout available in the Kimball building. On average, a resume is only glanced at for 10 SECONDS! That's not very much time to grab their attention. Resumes should be neatly organized, with not too many words, plenty of white space and only one page. We, as students, need to taylor our resume for the specific job opening we are applying for and show the employer what they want to see. The best way of doing this is to research the company and network.

With regards to the actual content of the resumes, we should show accomplishments, honors, teamwork, creative thinking, and how you added value to the company. Brother Zollinger talked about using action words and verbs to help to promote each bullet point. A good list of verbs to use in a resume can be found here. Commonly, resumes have bullet points and sentence fragments to create focus with each achievement. Be specific and give numeric values to your experiences. There are great resources from the Career Preparation Services online that help with resumes, cover letters, interviews and general guidlines.

A few good rules with regards to interviews are:

• Be on time (or a little early)
• Dress like a professional for that specific field (don't over dress)
• Be prepared (know your behavior based questions)
• Express yourself clearly
• Ask questions! "Questions are good, but they need to be good questions." --Zollinger
• Follow up (initially give a thank you, call or send a note saying you are still interested; DON'T BUG THEM!)

A few other things he mentioned to be aware of are your MySpace and/or Facebook page. Employers look at any social networking site you may be a part of. Don't have embarassing, immature things on your profile page. Also, your cell phone answering machine should be professional and to the point. You should get rid of the corny stuff you say on it. Finally, attitude and personality matter. People generally hire those people that they like that they think would fit in well with the company.

Go out there, be yourself and be professional. Be proactive and find great jobs and internships like the students we heard from last week.

Successful Horticulture Internships

This last seminar was great and really fun to attend. We got to hear from four of our very own about the internships they served over the summer break. We learned a lot about how to get internships. One main concept was to be persistant. Most of them had to check back with the various companies a couple of times to make sure they were considered for the job.

First, we heard from Rachel Arnold. She got an internship at Every Blooming Thing in SLC. They were the 2009 National Florist of the Year! They are a high end florist and try to do everything different and unique. Once Rachel would do an arrangement, her supervisors would say, "Now make it different." They always go the extra mile and are really creative. Every design they do is different than anything else they have done before. Rachel learned some great ways to be creative with just moss and to make the design have a totally different feel than before. She said about her experience there, "When I look at my first arrangements compared to now, I can see a tramendous difference. I don't think I would have learned as much if I went anywhere else." You can check out her internship blog at everyrachelsthing.blogspot.com.

Next, Jane McNaught told us of her internship in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia working at Helen Olivia which is also a very high end floral shop. Some of their clients include the Vice President's residence and the State Department of Protocal. Most of their advertising is through word of mouth. The Helen Olivia style is very compact, tight, roundy-moundy arrangements in a square vase wrapped with satin ribbon. You can see some of their designs at their website, http://www.helenolivia.com/. A few things that Jane pointed out that she had learned was to be very personable with your clients and that floral design is a trade and the best way to learn is to do it and learn from advanced designers. She said that no amount of formal education can teach you the art of floral design. You need hands-on experience and that is what she got this summer. You can check out the actual designs that Jane put together at her blog, janelillianflowers.blogspot.com.

Then, we heard from Jackie Nielson who actually had the opportunity to serve two internships throughout the summer. First she worked at Signature Landscapes out of Redmond, Washington. Signature is a big time supporter of our horticulture program. They are actually setting up a scholarship for our students because of the students like Jackie that have been so valuable to them. Signature does large residential landscapes and commercial. One of their trademarks is seasonal color and they love to display that in the landscape. Jackie was a labor hand for them in installing some landscapes but she also learned some managerial techniques. Once she finished up with Signature, she had time left in the summer before school. She got set up with T&L Nursery down the road from Signature. T&L is a wholesale only nursery so they don't sell product to the general public. They use recycled water and propagate a lot of their own product. Here she learned to work in the greenhouse and out in the fields. They gave her a field to care for and grow during the time she spent there. She loved feeling in charge of caring for those plants.

Finally, Kyle Steadman ended the presentations with his internship at Heads Up Landscape out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are a full service landscape company that does commercial design, build and maintain. The way that he got this internship was when they came to campus to recruit. They had a pizza party and he started talking to them, networking and then following up. Heads Up is an amazing company and they were rated #54 in the Lawn and Landscape magazine. Since the recent 'green' movement and with their location in New Mexico, they have worked a lot with xeric landscaping and drought tolerant material. During his internship, Kyle was given the chance to do an outdoor paver project from start to finish which included designing and installing the area. He had a great experience and was given some great opportunities.

This was a great seminar to learn about what our peers are doing and learning. One main ideato take from this seminar was to "get out of dodge" whether it is New Mexico, Washington, Utah or Virginia. There are great opportunities out there for amazing internships and to be able to be representatives for the school. Great job guys!

Blake Connell

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Blake Connell, of BYU-Idaho Buldings and Grounds. Blake was among the second graduating class in horticulture at Ricks College--consisting of only fifteen students, and he shared with us the details of his career, having owned four businesses, which includes two landscape businesses.

Blake has over 30 years of experience installing and maintaining beautiful natural-looking landscapes. He has been installing water features since 2004 exclusively using Aquascape, Inc. quality products. In 2007 Lawns. Ponds & Lights became a Certified Aquascape Contractor, one of about 300 Certified Contractors in the United States.

Before Blake came to work at BYU-Idaho, he was doing landscaping work in the Idaho Falls and Jackson, WY areas. He still does pond work in his free time, and you can find his blog at http://www.lawns-ponds-lights.blogspot.com/, which includes Blake's contact information.

Modern Design

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we were pleasured by hearing from Raelynne Johnson, a manager in the floral department at the Salt Lake City, UT location of Modern Display. "Since 1940, Modern Display Service, Incorporated has been the leading provider of exposition and event related services and decorative products in the Intermountain West." Their retail store sells home decor items, collectibles, even store fixtures, and their motto is, " If we don’t have it, we’ll find it for you. And if we can’t find it, we’ll make it."

Another specialty of theirs is event planning services that cater to corporate events, bar mitzvahs, weddings, or any celebration. Or, if you'd like to throw your own themed party, Modern Display has rentals items available for just about anything from the 1950's, to the wild wild west and arches to urns.

An additional dimension to Modern Display is their home and holiday decor services. Their trained staff can transform a home into a warm winter wonderland, filled with scents of cinnamon and pine cones. For more information about Modern Display, give them a call at 801-355-7427, or check out their website at, www.moderndisplay.com.

Glover Landscape Services

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Steve Glover, a successful businessman formerly of Symbiot Business Group, and currently from Glover Landscape Services. Steve shared with us great information regarding how to run a business, and keep it growing strong. "Be creative in how you manage your business," he said, encouraging us to keep our heads up in the current economic crisis.

Symbiot Business Group has teamed up with a network of service providers that cater to property managers nationwide. Some of the services that Symbiot offers are:

Landscape
Snow Removal
PestControl
Parking Lot Maintenance
Custodial
Electrical/Lighting
HVAC/Plumbing
Painting
Fencing
Locksmith

What this means for property managers is that they only have to write one check a month for any of these services, and Symbiot arranges local vendors to provide the service. For more information about Symbiot, check out their website at http://www.symbiot.biz/, or call them at 888-233-5518.

In regard to Steve's new business venture, he and his sons have recently acquired a few landscape service companies in the Salt Lake area, creating Glover Landscape Services--which will provide landscape maintenance in the Greater Salt Lake Area. For more information about Glover Landwscape Services, or to speak with Steve, give him a call at, 801-918-6767, or email at sglover@gloverlandscape.com.

Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc.

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Tim Hawkins and Eric Hagburg from Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc. in Freemont, CA. Both Tim and Eric are former students of BYU-Idaho, and it was great to have them back on campus speaking to us.

Serving the San Francisco area, Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc. specializes in any kind of landscaping requests, which include landscape management, design, construction, irrigation, and even organic recycling of green waste. What this means is that their clients get both superior service and unbeatable efficiency. Their firm is large enough to deliver and stand behind any size project, yet because they are locally owned, they are small enough to care about every project they work on.

Tom Del Conte, founded the company in 1972 by providing rototilling services. Since then, his company has grown to over 100 employees, with a 75% growth in sales in 2007 alone. Although they now specialize in providing landscapes and maintainence to residential properties, Del Conte's Landscaping has also done commercial jobs for big names like the San Fransisco Zoo, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Oakland Airport.

Something that makes the Del Conte team so successful, is that they have weekly training sessions, to not only ensure that they are using the most up to date techniques, but also to ensure safety. They have only had one minor injury in the last five years.

Del Conte is also known nation wide as conservation specialists by using a central computerized irrigation management system, SMART controller technology, as well as conventional timer programming management by use of our own proprietary irrigation scheduling software.

For more information about Del Conte's Landscaping, Inc., check out their website at http://www.dclandscaping.com/, or give them a call at 510-353-6030.

Blanchford Landscape Contractors, Inc.

Today in seminar, we heard from Andy Blanchford, of Blanchford Landscape Contractors, Inc. out of Bozeman, Montana. Andy has been in Bozeman since 1994, and started the company in 1997 to, "Create exceptional environments for great experiences!"

Andy and his crew specialize in full-service landscape design, installation, and maintenance--typically working with private residences--and has award winning projects.

His biggest project took four years to complete, and cost 2.5 million dollars, but they also work on smaller projects in landscape design and installation, irrigation and lighting, and garden services and maintenance.

Andy's vision for his company is to make their projects sustainable, and believe that proper planning reduces waste. They use native and drought tolerant plants and grasses where appropriate, and they recycle all of their office waste and most of their construction waste. Andy also has an employee carpool incentive to minimize the miles driven to work.

Because of this conscientious effort to promote sustainability, Blanchford Landscape Contractors has been Ecostar (a pollution prevention program in Montana) winners the last three years, from 2006-2008. They are also graduates of UnCommon Sense, a Yellowstone Business Partnerships two-year leadership program that is helping businesses become more sustainable in all aspects of their operations.

For more information about Blanchford Landscape Contractors, Inc., check out their website at http://www.blanchfordlandscapecontractors.com/, or give them a call at 406-587-3057.

Mountain States Plants

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Layne Flint, VP of Idaho Operations at Mountain States Plants. Mountain States Plants is a wholesale plant and flower distributor who has been in business for over 50 years. They raise their own plants and flowers in four locations, two in Utah, and two in Idaho which are heated by natural hot spots, with water flowing as hot at 165 degrees, Fahrenheit.

Some of the plant varieties that Mountain States Plants grow are: Shamrocks, African Violets, Cyclamen, Kalanchoe, Begonias, Gerbera Daisies, Chrysanthemums, and of course, Poinsettias. They have also recently begun growing their own foliage plants, instead of purchasing them out of California.

Mountain States Plants customers include supermarkets, retail florists, garden centers, mass marketers, interior decorators and others licensed to re-sell floral products. Their trucks and vans deliver throughout Utah and Idaho.

After the seminar, we were also told that Mountain States Plants has recently been "renting" out their plants and dish gardens to people looking for an extra way to decorate at wedding receptions, parties, or family gatherings. For more information about Mountain States Plants, check out their website, http://www.msplants.com/, or contact their Layton location at, 1-800-326-4490.

Mansion Gardens

This week in seminar, we had the pleasure of hearing from Carole Malia Sneider, of Mansion Gardens in Jackson, Wyoming. Carole Malia and her crew at Mansion Gardens provide design work, installation, and maintenance to private residences in the Jackson Hole area. She began working in the industry as a hobby, growing two veggie gardens in the area, and has expanded her business to having about 20 gardeners on her crew.

Carole Malia attributes the success and growth of Mansion Gardens to a few strokes of good luck. Aside from inheriting clients from a friend who was getting out of the business, she also hired someone to take care of her books, rather than trying to figure all the bookkeeping out by herself, AND getting her hands dirty. She took classes to familiarize herself with the business side of things, but by having someone specifically running the books, she feels like Mansion Gardens was able to grow to the successful business that it is today.

A few things that Carole Malia emphasized were:

• Don't have doubt about what you can do; just get it done
• Do have compost
• Learn from as many sources as possible

Carole Malia was a delight as a speaker, and we wish her well in her upcoming working season. For anyone that would like additional information about Mansion Gardens, you can contact Carole Malia at maliafish@aol.com.

Scenemakers

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Doug Smith and Danny Setjo from Scenemakers, an event planning company based in Salt Lake City. Scenemakers does both corporate and private events, 70% in Utah, and 30% elsewhere.


Doug and Danny established Scenemakers in 1996, and in the last 13 years they have recieved 10 Best of State metals, which "recognise outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses in Utah. By recognizing excellence in our community . . . we hope we will all be inspired to reach a little higher, to try a little harder, and to work a little longer for our dreams and goals."


From their presentation, Scenemakers made it clear that they are deserving of the Best of State metals, and allowed us to take a few shots of their concept boards used for making presentations to clients for events. Here are a few:

Scenemakers offers services for event management, purchasing, scheduling, site decor, delivery and installation, stage design, and vendor coordination. Scenemakers provides full themed event environments.

As you can see, the presentation media is beautiful and professional. It was delightful to have Doug and Danny come visit with us from Scenemakers. For more information about Scememakers, check out their website at http://www.scenemakers.com/.

Chanshare Farms

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Joshua Marble, of Chanshare Farms; a sod production farm in Tremonton, Utah. Joshua's grandparents, Boyd and Cheryl Marble, got into the sod business almost 30 years ago. The family has been in the area over 100 years, since 1907, and used to raise alfalfa and turkeys before switching to sod in 1979. They now have 1,600 acres of sod/turf, which they harvest as grass hay, along with the sod.

Chanshare Farms has won many awards, including the Best of State for Utah, Utah's Most Admired Companies, and ranked 1,901 out of 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies by Inc.

A part of their success is due to following their mission statement, especially the third tenant by Enriching the lives of their employees and shareholders.

Some notable projects that Chanshare Farms has done are:

• ReAL Salt Lake Practice Field and Stadium Exterior
• Franklin Covey In Field
• LDS Temples: Monticello, Vernal, Ogden, Salt Lake and others
• UofU, BYU, USU, WSU and UVU Sports Fields
• Golf Courses: Cedar Hills; Cascade (Orem); TuHaye; Soldier Hollow; Evanston; Davis County; Skyway, etc.
• Kaysville Sportsplex & Heber Valley Sports Complex
• McKay Dee Hospital

Chanshare Farms uses a water-wise seed blend of Kentucky Blue Grass, which means that for every ten seeds in the mixture, six are drought tolerant seeds; this of course means that the sod Chanshare Farms produces needs less water to stay green and healthy. This is especially important for the often-in-drought-state of the Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada customers that Chanshare Farms provides premium sod and services to.

For any additional questions for comments for Joshua Marble, or Chanshare Farms, feel free to contact Joshua at the details above.

This was the last seminar for the semester, so look forward to more updates once the new semester rolls around in January.

Masters Students from USU

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from two Masters Program students at Utah State University. First, we heard from Melody Reed, who is earning her Masters of Horticulture in Plant Soils and Climate. She went over information about: advice if you're thinking of going to graduate school, what to look for in a masters program, and suggestions to prepare for graduate school.

Some advice Melody suggested when thinking about graduate school is:

• To decide if grad school is for you, do an internship as a research assistant, since doing research is a large part of grad school.
• Check out the internet for conferences that relate to your desired subject, and go to them.
• Learn to like scientific articles, you'll be reading a lot more once in grad school.

Some things that Melody suggested when looking for a masters program are to:

• Think about if grad school is really for you--if you like school, do it! If you don't like school, maybe you should look into something else.
• Think about your interests, and how you can delve deeper into a particular subject.
• Find a good professor to work with. She suggested getting referrals from your current teachers for potential schools or professors to work with.

Once you've decided you want to go to graduate school, you should:

• Start emailing potential advising professors early, so you get to know them, and they get to know you. Networking is everything.
• Be sure to take enough chemistry and math--especially statistics--so that you'll be prepared for your advanced classes.

Second, we heard from Sherri Jones, a student earning her Masters of Landscape Architecture, which is a first professional degree. Sherri talked about how she got to where she is as a grad student, explained what kind of program she is working with, and that thesis papers can be about almost anything.

Starting out, Sherri talked about how she ended up at USU.

• She majored at BYU-I in Horticulture, with an emphasis in Landscape Design.
• She decided she wanted to look for grad schools that were accredited with ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects.
• Decided what kind of plant materials she wanted to work with, geographically. She picked a school in the geographic area that would teach her to use plants that she wanted to work with in the long run.
• Once the schools were narrowed down geographically, she looked at what coursework was available at each school in her program, so she could find an ideal fit for what she wanted to do.

Sherri's program is actually a three year Masters Program, which is unusual because typically, Masters Programs are only two years. During her three years, Sherri's expected load is:

• The first year will be all coursework.
• The second year will be some coursework, and research will begin.
• The third year will be all research, unless additional coursework is needed.

Lastly, Sherri spoke about what kinds of thesis papers her professors and classmates have done, which vary greatly depending on what the student wants to specialize in. Some of these examples are:

• How to reduce criminal behavior in parks
• Recreating pioneer gardens in environmentally friendly ways
• Roof gardens in small space designs
• Optimizing the landscape

Overall, it was a very interesting and informative Seminar, given by two former BYU-I students. Both ladies mentioned that as a grad student you must be very self motivated. Teachers don't hang due dates over your head, or remind you to get assignments done. Most grad students get stipends and assistanceships for their research, which, more or less, make them their own boss. Yes, that's right, you get paid to go to school!

So, if you're thinking about going to graduate school, talk to your professors and see how they can get your feet in the door. Brother Dewey mentioned that when it comes to graduate school, "Horticulture has lots of demand, but not enough supply," your teachers would be happy to help you with looking up possibilities.

Because of scheduling changes, next week we will have a presentation from Chanshare Farms.

Floral Art

This week in the Horticulture Seminar, we heard from DaNae Beebe of Floral Art, which is a retail flower shop known for it's original designs, located in Idaho Falls. DaNae was a student at BYU-Idaho when the floral design program was still very young, and she treasures her time spent here as a student. Being from the Boise area, she worked at a floral shop in that area for about twelve years before coming to Idaho Falls and working at Floral Art. DaNae is now a co-owner of Floral Art, along with Ian and Tania Whipple.

Although the store serves as a retail flower shop in the Idaho Falls area, they also have contracts with many hotels in Jackson, WY. In January, Ian and Tania Whipple will also be expanding to to include contracts with the two Four Seasons Resorts on the island of Lanai, Hawaii.


During DaNae's presentation, she took raw materials and crafted this design. It was exciting to see how a professional floral artist can take a few simple sticks and flowers to create a design of beauty. Something that she mentioned throughout the presentation, is that you have to be able to work with what you've got; problem solving skills are a must in the floral design business. Also, she mentioned that a person having a good work ethic and working hard is at times more important than being a really, really good designer. Of course it helps, but it's not everything.

Something that Floral Art prides themselves in is producing quality work. They are known for being a little more expensive, but that is because the flowers and materials they use are of higher quality, and typically last longer. Also, they encourage their designers to treat the designs as if they were their own, "If this was mine, how would I want things to be?" she said. By doing so, it creates a sense of pride in the designs created and sold in the shop.

Floral Art has taken BYU-Idaho students as interns throughout the years, usually having at least one a year, if not one each semester. For more information about Floral Art, their telephone number is 208-529-4887.

Be sure to check the blog during the week for any updates on next week's speaker, Josh and Eric Marble, of Chanshare Farms.

Weeks Berries of Paradise

This week in the Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Mervin "Merv" G. Weeks of Weeks Berries of Paradise, which is located in Paradise, UT, in beautiful Cache Valley, about 12 miles south of Logan, UT. Merv has been working and growing berries full time since 1987, and now grows about ten different kinds of berries, including raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and red, white, and black currants; they have 90 acres of land, of which 50 acres are currently in production. Merv got his Bachelors degree from BYU in Horticulture, and then later attended Utah State University for his Masters degree, in Plant Science.

Weeks Berries of Paradise specializes in products that get your mouth watering. They sell juices, jams, frozen jams, frozen fruits, syrups, bottled juice concentrates, and, in the summertime, fresh raspberry tarts. They do have a few large customers, like Maceys and Gossner Foods in the Logan area, but as Merv mentioned, "having 100 small customers is better than having only one or two big ones." That is why Merv has sold the Weeks Berries of Paradise products in a variety of outlets like at roadside stands, farmers markets, and even by walking into a beauty parlor--to sell to both the employees and customers. "Any fool can grow [a product], but it takes skills to sell it," he jokingly remarked.

After Merv's comments, he allowed the class to taste test samples of the Royal Black Currant Juice. It was very well received, and Brother Dewey and Brother Romney lucked out by getting to take home the leftovers.

For more information about Weeks Berries of Paradise, their contact phone number is 435-245-3377.

Be sure to check back next week for info about the upcoming presentation from Floral Art, in Idaho Falls.