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Whether you just acquired a new property to manage or if you feel that you need to make a change regarding your current service provider for grounds maintenance and snow removal services, the start of acquiring a vendor to provide service to you can be time consuming and sometimes frustrating when deciphering all the options to see who will be the best fit for you and your property. In regard to the amount of time that you will spend with RFP’s and the process of selecting a vendor… it is truly a choice on how extensive you get with the number of firms that you wish to contact, set up meetings with etc. We do encourage that you have face-to-face meetings on site so that everyone can be on the same page regarding the needs of the property as well as each party’s expectations. After that, and once the proposals from the various vendors have been obtained, selecting the right landscape firm is still not an easy task. Looking at the bottom-line expense between each vendor can vary greatly. Additionally, when you have a big variance in numbers… a careful review of the services provided must be performed and compared to your desired services. In order to sort out the best prospects before you obtain the proposals, we recommend the following thoughts to qualify who will be bidding on your project. Four questions to ask your landscape provider: 1. What is the reputation of the landscape provider, and will they be reliable? While it may seem obvious, it is still quite common to see property managers and business owners who hire firms based on the lowest price with no consideration of the track record of the firm. “How long have you been in business?” This is a wonderful question to start off your interview when soliciting a vendor to bid on your property. This will give you great insight hopefully as to how the potential vendor has weathered hardships and where they plan to go. Ask for references. If they haven’t been around for very long, ask for a few personal references that you can contact to confirm the firm’s ability to be able to meet the demands of service that you require. While contacting the references, ask the hard questions of not only the positives of dealing with the firm you are inquiring about, but also ask about the concerns that they have had. There is not one landscape company on this planet that is perfect, and if anyone ever sells the idea that they are a perfect firm, then that should be a red flag to you. “At Akehurst, we strive for perfection, but we do occasionally make a mistake, and when we do make a mistake, we don’t ignore it or hide it, we fix it… and that is when some of our clients truly see how great of a company that we are… when there is a problem we fix it.” - Company President, John Akehurst. We believe in the American Dream, and we believe that everyone should have an opportunity to start somewhere. After all, we had our “opening day” too. Our firm was started by Charles Akehurst back in 1876. Charles probably never envisioned that the tiny seedling of his business would still be around today having experienced and survived through economic upswings and downturns the Second World War, presidential assassinations and blockbuster blizzards. Now, with the sixth generation of his family being a part of the business team that services its clients; Akehurst prides itself in leading the industry and continues to expand its operations in the growing commercial market. We encourage you to read more about our story ( https://www.akehurst.com/about-commercial-landscaping-company ). 2. What value will this vendor bring to me and my property? As a property manager or facilities manager, you have a lot of responsibilities associated with the maintenance of your property. When you can rely on a single service provider for your landscape, you free up some of your time in management. Outlining what you are looking for in a vendor will give you some good insight into questions to ask those who will be providing quotes to you and assist you in the decision-making process. Some routine values desired that we have found common among our clients are: - Vendor responsiveness. - Vendor reputation. - Vendor quality of work. - Vendor professionalism. - What other service offerings are provided by the Vendor. - The ease of doing business with the Vendor. - Pricing. At Akehurst, we can provide you with much more than just the normal spring mulching and mowing services. We can also assist you with storm damage clean ups, tree removals, landscape design and installation, storm water management maintenance ( https://www.akehurst.com/a-101-on-storm-water-management-structures-and-what-you-need-to-know ) holiday decorating, power washing, parking lot sweeping as well as 24-hour snow & ice management ( https://www.akehurst.com/commercial-property-landscape-maintenance#CommercialSnowRemoval ). The ability to provide a broad range of services is a convenience to our clients. Many of our services are done in-house but we also partner with an elite group of contractors that we have screened and selected for specialty services such as concrete work, paving, grading and more should the need arise. Because we can oversee all these services, Property Managers know that they can consult and rely on our seasoned Account Managers at any time to take care of all their needs. With a century and a half of experience, Akehurst has partnered with property owners and property management individuals all over. Our services giving them peace of mind that their individual needs will be taken care of. When selected for a project, Akehurst takes ownership of the work that they provide resulting in a landscape that shows that we care. We consider the fact that our client’s properties are of utmost importance and we respond to any requests and or concerns with value added solutions. 3. Will I have a consistent response, and landscape aesthetics throughout the year? We know that the image of your landscape means everything for a first impression to your tenants and customers. From early spring clean-ups to fall leaf removals we utilize our depth of knowledge and experience to create, maintain and enhance commercial landscaping. Whether you’re a business owner, developer or property manager, the vendor of your choosing should take on the worry and hassles of your landscape and snow removal, allowing you to focus on what you do best. With 150 years in business, we encourage and teach our staff to be efficient and train them on the proper techniques to ensure a great curb appeal and a safe environment for the properties that we serve every time we make a visit. We recognize that our reputation relies on yours. And we want your property to shine brighter than the properties that surround yours. With that in mind, we often make value added recommendations to assist you with enhancing your property’s appearance. If there is a need, your point of contact that is familiar with your property will respond. 4. What kind of reliability will I have with this vendor? This should be another key question to find an answer to before you finalize the decision process on who you will entertain a proposal from. Especially if making sure that the work that you need to have performed is taken care of in a timely manner. A professional vendor should be a true partner whose goals and vision align with yours and that of your property. With the depth of resources within our organization, we are able to respond quickly when there is a need. And for those after-hour events, such as a downed tree from a storm or a busted water line in the parking lot during the middle of a freezing winter night, a simple phone call to our storm emergency hotline will instigate a response to handle your emergency. Another asset to your site is the partnership that we build with our clients on creating and maintaining the image and safety of the site. Many times, an Akehurst Account Manager will contact you concerning a safety issue before you may be aware of it.  5. Does the proposal I received follow the site needs that I have requested? Many contractors will use vague language in their contracts in relation to the number of times they will mow or how many times they will weed, prune etc. At Akehurst, we provide you with the details of how many occurrences per season in our proposal with the pricing so that you, as the customer, will know how many times each service will occur throughout the season. If your property has a special space of attention, such as a storm water management device that you require to have mowed 4 times per season… our contract will show that as a separate line item and your Account Manager at Akehurst will schedule that it receives attention 4 times per season. Take your time in doing your investigation in the beginning to eliminate your risk. Choosing a new landscape provider is time consuming, but finding the right fit for you and your property is essential for a decrease of your burden of management while ensuring the proper aesthetics of your landscape and safety of your tenants, employees, customers and residents who reside or visit. Please contact us today if you wish to learn more about how great landscapes begin when you begin with Akehurst.

We are all somehow influenced and enjoy living near the Chesapeake Bay. Whether it be eating crabs (a favorite Maryland pastime) or just getting out for a lazy boat ride. The Chesapeake Bay is a significant and enjoyable natural resource that we all should care deeply about and the protection of it for future generations. Living in Maryland, most of the state’s surface water run-off eventually finds its way into the Bay. This is a significant issue that affects this natural resource, with pollutants and erosion which can affect the aquatic plant life, fish, birds and more. In 2007, the legislature of Maryland passed the Storm Water Management Act (SWM) with guidelines of how they are to be created and managed. According to the Harford County Government website, Harford County alone has over 1,000 structures that they inspect.  Each county/jurisdiction in Maryland is responsible to oversee that the storm water management plans are followed. And this results in routine inspections to make sure that your property is compliant. The owner of the property is accountable for storm water drainage and that means that they are required to maintain their Detention and Retention Ponds/Basins.

One of the biggest misconceptions of lawn management by the public is that left on its own, grass will grow and produce a full rich lawn naturally. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If a uniform full look is desired, aeration and overseeding is a vital step among other steps to achieve it. Together these techniques help to create a beautiful, thick, green, and lush lawn.