Profile: Michael Kobold, K&B Landscape Services, San Ramon, Calif--Striving For 100% Perfection

By Leslie McGuire, managing editor

"This backyard design has a vineyard going up the slope which is probably 24 to 30 feet up and 50 feet across," says Kobold. "We put in the stakes as well as the grape vines. People are trying to retain that small feeling of having a nice pastureland and vineyards of their own, just like the good old days in Tuscany. The addition of an outdoor fireplace makes it usable space and an extension of their home."

"I have been in construction all my life, I was even in the carpentry union, but then I went off to college and got a degree in business marketing. When I graduated, I came back and this little nursery I?EUR??,,????'?????<

"I studied hard, and learned horticulture, even though I had no degree in horticulture." Kobold has always been very creative and, with his construction background, he figured there was a niche to be filled and he could fill it. So, he started a landscape design and construction business while he still had the nursery. After many years, he built the business up and then sold the nursery in 1990-91. From there Kobold concentrated solely on landscape construction and started building that up. At the time, he kept the name Kobold Nursery and Landscape because he had name recognition.

The Artistry of Landscaping

Initially Kobold did his own designs. Since he'd always been creative, he could go out into a yard and see it in 3-D. "I have that kind of mind. It's so different and many people can't do that. But it's kind of a nice trait." Kobold says he's creating art, and since landscaping has become an extension of the whole house, it's very satisfying. The area around homes used to be used just as a play yard, a place for the kids to play. Now, as an extension of the home people are doing more entertaining and are extending their homes right out into the yard. There are no more huge lawns because people are using the space differently.

The curved wall is made of natural rock ledger stone, with brick caps. Stairs lead up to an upper patio, with steps made of pressure treated wood as step risers with stone in between. A dry creek bed runs under a little bridge, giving the feeling of walking across a pleasant natural stream.

Soon Kobold decided he needed to hire a designer to help him out. The first one he hired was from the University of California at Berkeley, and had a degree in landscape architecture. Then from there, as they grew, the company hired more designers. At that point, Kobold gave designing up altogether, but he'd learned quite a lot. "We're seeing a lot more water features, fountains, and retreat areas like the ones in their favorite resorts. In addition, we're doing more drought tolerant landscapes. Over time, we've become better at it. Now we're able to create more landscapes that are lush and beautiful at the same time as being drought tolerant.

"There's no lack of color just because it's drought tolerant. There are succulents, perennials and shrubs that don't need a lot of water once they're established. We try to spread the color throughout the year so something is always coming into bloom. Our designers are trained and taught this isn't your yard, this is the client's yard and we have to give them what they want. If it won't work, we guide them towards what will."

This property, set in foothills of Mount Diablo, near the San Francisco Bay Area, featured lots of slopes that had to be turned into a multi level yard. There are three or four levels in this one area that step down to lawn and patio. "We had a very natural setting, and used cultured stone and brick retaining walls, dry creek beds flowing free form to meld with the hills," says Kobold. "The curves of the retaining walls match the curves of the driveway, and the patio is stamped concrete."

The Design Phase

The whole process starts with the sales rep who goes out discusses what the client wants, the types of features they dream of. Then they establish with the client what kind of cost they're looking at while trying to be practical about it. From there, they make suggestions within the budgetary constraints. Then the designer comes in and goes into more detail about the type of things the client is looking for. They need to learn the client's wants, needs and dreams, as well and then try to implement that. They'll ask, "What do you want to get out of this yard, what are the uses, what kind of look." The designer then puts a design together and then the sales rep presents it to the client. They do revisions, and sometimes several phases of revisions with additions or deletions. "Once it's finalized we go through a material selection process, so the client can sit down and go through everything-concrete masonry woodwork, tile, flagstone or slate, They walk through everything with the client and help them select materials, colors, as well as having a nursery walk. They show the client the plant materials which gives the client an opportunity to say yes or no and then find something they do like. "That way," says Kobold, "there are no surprises."

Online Plant List

Once the clients have the plant list and they're signed up, then they can go through all the different plants they've chosen online before they do the nursery walk through. That way they have a feel once they are at the nursery that what they've chosen will look good. Not many companies offer this service. "A good portion of the look of the yard is the plant material," says Kobold. "It like getting a puppy. They're cute when they're small, but then they grow up. Some plants start out being one foot tall, but may end up ten feet tall. People need to see this."

"Slopes are a challenge, because you are trying to make the space usable, and include things that will work and be accurate. In addition, moving materials on and off the area is a challenge," says Kobold. "We built the walls, with all the rock facings and caps, and put in waterfalls coming out of them that spill down into the swimming pool. On either side of the walls is a stairway on one side and a slide that goes down into the pool on the other"

The Construction Process

Once started, the project manager takes over. Each project manager has a crew with journeymen each of whom knows their part of the construction. Some do nothing but masonry, barbecues, walls, paving, or facades. Some only build decks, overhangs, screens and fences. Some do softscapes, irrigation installation, drainage, plantings, lighting, or water features. "Every aspect of the construction is completely under us," says Kobold. "We don't sub out anything but pool installs. But we do all the work around the pool-brick work, coping, tiles, and plantings." The firm also does a lot of formal and informal water features such as waterfalls that feed into pools, water that flows out of walls, and fountains that shoot up in the air.

The Staff

The company employs about 70 people now because they have added a maintenance division. They concentrate on commercial properties plus high end homes or estate homes. They take care of pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers-everything. They want to make sure they help the owners maintain their assets. About 40 people are in the maintenance division and 30 are in installation. They, of course, have licensed pesticide applicators as part of their maintenance staff.

In yet another property, grapevine poles are being set up with mulch around the base. They then string the wires and put in the grapevines. The clients maintain the plants themselves, or they hire K&B to do it. So many people in northern California are doing this, there is now a specialized company that goes to everyone's home vineyards to maintain their grapes.

The Equipment

The maintenance division has branding on their vehicles, of which there are close to 30 in their fleet. In addition, of course, they have ride-on mowers, blowers, edgers, hedgers, big walk behind mowers, as well as smaller 32-inch mowers-all the requirements necessary for doing the job correctly.

As far as installation equipment is concerned, most of what they own is small, such as roto-tillers, but nothing large like tractors. "We have people we use who own that kind of equipment," says Kobold. "If we need something, we can rent it. By the time you get through vehicle maintenance and the constant care requirements, it depends upon how much use you're getting out of the big equipment whether it's more economical to rent or own."

Growing the Business

"It's been up and down, but basically up," says Kobold. "We grew rapidly until the 1991-1992 recession. Then the housing market fell, plus there was a seven year drought and we had to downsize." After that, the company got to a comfortable size, but Kobold wanted to spend more time with his family. He made a conscious choice not to work on the growth of the company for a while. Now, however, the children are older, so he's started developing and growing the company again. Three or four years ago Kobold bought another company from Randy Blair who is now his VP. Blair is a horticulturist who got his degree in horticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and he's in charge of all the maintenance operations. That is when the company really started to grow again. "It was a change of direction," says Kobold. "That's when we officially became K&B Landscape Services."

They intend eventually to branch out into the Sacramento Valley area. They're presently adding a commercial division and have already started a focus on building commercial even though the company has always done some. "Then we're going to expand out operations into the South Bay and are also looking into the North Bay as well," says Kobold.

"Fire is becoming a very popular site amenity for yards, especially the combination of fire and water. Glass stones in the fire pit shimmer and light dances off the glass chips, creating lots of bouncing color. Gas piping under the rocks shoots the gas flames up," says Kobold. "We did the walls with water shooting out in to the pool and stamped concrete around the pool deck."

Measurable Results

"My people do beautiful, high quality work," says Kobold. "We stress not only the quality of the work and the customer service, but we make sure the client is treated with the ultimate dignity and respect during the project. My feeling is how to help people perform even when things don't go perfectly. Not only do we take care of out customers, we also monitor our results. We hand out evaluations, and when they are returned, we show a 96.4 percent approval rating. That means, Good/Excellent for service and product, and would they refer us to others and/or use us again. Of course, we strive for 100 percent perfection, but 96.4 isn't too bad."

"The problem is there's a lot of lip service out there about 'quality work' but it's only through actions that you can achieve that," says Kobold. "The type of people I have working for me, their dedication, their work and their satisfaction with what they've built is what backs up our quality. How do you measure that? We actually do measure that. I'm never satisfied with the level we've achieved. We're always looking at how can we do it better and service our clients better. My advice is, never stop trying to find a better way. That's what sets us apart. We actually live it and we constantly strive to be better professionals.

Michael Kobold has learned his business-every aspect of it-from the ground up. With a degree in business marketing, he studied hard and learned horticulture. Then he added to his background in construction by learning landscape construction, and even did all his own designs before he hired landscape architects to work at the firm.