Get Your Green Back . . .

By George Schmok

OK . . . I know it's weird writing about the Green Issue to the Green Industry, but since the Green Industry has grown beyond the Green Industry . . . Well . . . You get the picture.

So anyways . . . Obviously the public is becoming aware of 'Green' and who better to serve the growing demand than the original Green professionals . . . You!

So even in these times where winning a job can be like winning an MMA fight, there is growing opportunity for Landscape Contractors, both on the install side and on the maintenance side.

Like you see on the cover of this issue, Green Roofs are not only gaining acceptance in major cities like Chicago (with nearly 500 green roofs, covering more than 7,000,000 square feet), in some places, like Montgomery County, Maryland, where all new school buildings must have a green roof, they are becoming the law.

Some green roof projects are not much bigger than a decent sized residential project, while others can cover several acres of underground parking, and end up looking like there's nothing below it but dirt, rock and magma. However, there are many nuances to a rooftop landscape that need to be learned and practiced to make these projects complete and profitable. As such there is a premium one can charge for both sides of the project.

For the installer, knowing the planting media and making taller trees stable in two feet of soil is a skill not everyone can offer. Irrigation and drainage structure are huge issues that need special attention. Paver bases and substructure are all in play on a rooftop, so is ET and runoff.

For the maintenance professional, knowing how tall and wide a tree can be, on top of a windy roof in two feet of soil, is required. As is getting equipment and supplies up to the roof and getting them, with cuttings and who knows what, back down to the ground without disturbing the residents.

Landscape Architects usually draw the plans for rooftop landscapes, but curiously it's the old tar and tile roofer that is vying for the business of installing things on a rooftop.

It seems as though roofers, as licensed contractors, have all the rights to installing things on a roof. They are arguing that there are too many structural elements involved in a rooftop to turn it over to some unlicensed posy planter with a bunch of non-union, undocumented labor and no knowledge of roof protection . . . Hey . . . That's what they say . . . Not me . . .

It may turn out that in the states where landscape contractors are already licensed, addendums to the laws will be needed to qualify and allow landscape contractors to work the rooftop without interference, or at least as the primary, subcontracting with a roofing consultant to meet code.

In states where there is no licensure regulating landscape or irrigation, it may turn out that you will need to be subcontracted by the roofer, and not be allowed to be the primary on the job, unless you have a general license.

I think this is another reason the industry, as a whole, needs to look at getting licensure for landscape contractors. Licensing landscape contractors and including things like rooftop and maybe, on the maintenance side, things like applying pesticides would help consolidate and define the business.

Either way, if you know of any roofing contractors, now would be a good time to make time to sit down and begin to learn the industry.

So . . . Whether you focus on rooftops or whether you create more business by retrofitting irrigation systems with low water-use technology, Landscape Contractors have a lot to gain in the greening of America . . .

Including recapturing the title . . .

God Bless . . .

George Schmok, Publisher