Michael Todd’s Landscape Specialties

While 2020 marks only my 7th year in business, it also well over my 35th year studying, learning and working in the “Green Industry”.

A large portion of those 35+ years have been in retail nursery and garden center management. Having this type of background has been very beneficial because it allowed me to communicate and interact with a large number of homeowners, landscapers, and weekend warriors to help them solve issues in their landscape, select proper plants/trees for their location and really help them understand some of the basics and practices of horticulture.

I’m sure many of you have been to the local nursery in the spring and have seen the guy or girl running around, trying to help as many people as possible, with a couple of customers waiting patiently for their turn to talk to them and the cashier calling out for customer assistance in grass seed, chemicals or fertilizer inside… yeah, that was me. Hectic? yes, but I loved it. I could always tell when I was doing a good job because customers would come in or call and ask for me by name, to the point that I would develop a following. I really enjoyed working with all of those people that were trying to improve their landscapes, introduce more color, wanting to learn more about the proper care requirements for their plants to be successful and just get outdoors. It was (and is) always so much fun to talk with customers that share an interest in or learning more about landscaping or plants, be it shrubs, trees, perennials or anything “green” related! (Sometimes I would learn a thing or two, as well!)

In most garden centers, spring time is always just absolutely filled with customers, then summer hits and, well, nobody. Nothing to do but water, weed and maintain. So, Summertime meant I was able to step out of the store, get my hands dirty, be creative and build. While I did a lot of landscaping, in the general sense, I tried to target specialty or element type projects. Projects like Walls and Pillars, Paver Patios, Lighting, Ponds, Waterfalls and Streams. These types of projects are often referred to as Hardscapes now, by many. While I love annuals, perennials, shrubs & trees, I looked forward to working with different materials in a creative way and also to utilize the construction/mechanical type background I carry from my youth. These landscape/hardscape projects allow me to do just that.

In 2011, I accepted a management job at a larger garden center in the Hilliard area. Although I liked the location, I really enjoyed who I worked for & with, and I learned quite a bit about the production end of the industry, it was a little bitter sweet. After having the past summers to expand and explore my creative side for so long, here my attention and presence was required full time, even in the summer. I quickly realized that I felt trapped.

2 years later… Michael Todd’s Landscape Specialties was “born”.

My wife and I feel so blessed and fortunate to have had such a successful start to this business. I’m very grateful for the many loyal, satisfied customers that I have had the pleasure of working with, not only with Michael Todd’s but over my past 35+ years. I look forward to helping & working with many more in the coming years.