Feb 15, 2019
Top Tips for Outdoor Spaces, from Intimate to Crowd-Pleasing
Imagine RELAXING! Finally… after a week that took few prisoners. Here on the Central Coast, we like to turn to our outdoor gathering spaces to enjoy our time and recharge our batteries. It may be at home, or it may be at a winery, restaurant or bar. So, if you’re planning to improve your hospitality business or your home, here are some tips for patio landscaping:
Form Follows Function – Your outdoor gathering space needs to be beautiful AND It needs to serve its purpose. Whether used for cooking, eating, drinking, entertainment, or warming by the firepit, make sure it works; and then make sure it feels good to be there.
It’s a Material(s) World – When considering patio hardscape design, the materials need to be appropriate to complement the space, as well as fitting your style, priorities, and budget. Materials choices also determine the cost of energy over time. Obviously, these energy costs can and should be kept as low as possible. Energy savings can be greatly affected by good Site Design, careful planning of machinery use, and wise choices of the landscape materials themselves, and their embodied energy (including manufacture, extraction, shipping and life-cycle energy costing).
So Imagine Relaxing… leaning back in a comfortable patio chair, warming next to the fire pit, feet up, a glass of wine close by, enjoying the last rays of the sunset. It’s hard to beat the feeling of enjoying your outdoor environment when it suits your needs and lifestyle.
Or….visit a winery or outdoor event that has captured the essence of what makes THAT place so special. Successful patio hardscape design can do a lot to add to your relaxation and recharging, contentment and inspiration.
If we can help, let us know: 805-466-6263. MadroneLandscapes.com
Oh, wait – That’s the Getty. Never mind!
Sep 24, 2018
To continue off our “Meet the Team” segment, we would like to introduce a new-ish member of our team: Coner Boaen. Coner started out as our Service Technician, but is currently running his own crew as a Project Manager for our construction team. He hit the ground running and is doing an awesome job with our clients – thanks for all you do, Coner! See what he said when we asked him some questions about himself and the job:
How long have you been working at Madrone? 5 Months!
What is your favorite thing about working at Madrone? Having the freedom to be a Landscaper!
What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on and why? Paso Robles Residence – Got Daniel out of his flip flops and into some boots and helped me get a rock wall started!
What is your favorite, or least favorite, plant and why? Favorite, that’s hard. I am really liking the Silk Trees right now! Least favorite, anything with thorns like agave or barberry.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and who would you bring? I have the aloha spirit in my heart. All I need is my girls and a white sandy beach in Hawaii!
Aug 10, 2018
At Madrone Landscape, our partnerships with the community, our clients, and subcontractors are a priority. One of the partnerships we highly value is with subcontractor Porter Construction, Inc. For the past five years, Lucas Porter and his team have played a critical role in a variety of commercial and residential projects. As a small locally-owned business, they provide full-service general engineering contracting – including grading, excavation, and underground utilities – in addition to being masters of concrete craftsmanship.
To illustrate how the two companies work together Lucas describes, “To begin with, we do the mass grading and basically make the site look like a bomb went off,” he says with a smile. “We then put in curbing and parking lots, followed by soil in the planters and landscape areas. This is when Madrone comes in with their finesse to make the project look pristine and polished.”
Porter Construction shares a common value with Madrone – building partnerships. “We’re a small company and we work on repeat clientele business. Madrone is one of the larger landscape companies in our area, but they hold small company values,” explains Lucas. “A lot of guys in my trade, they don’t really want to have a relationship. They want to get in, get out, and get their work done. But, early on, I realized the value of truly partnering and creating working relationships.”
By having strong working relationships between contractor and subcontractor, Porter Construction and Madrone Landscape have been successful in bidding and completing several large commercial projects. A few of these projects have been Central Coast winery and tasting rooms; however, when you ask Lucas what his favorite project has been to date, he says it’s the Cold Canyon Landfill. This was an eco-system project, consisting of wetland remediation and drainage channel cleaning. Porter graded it and removed debris, and then Madrone came in to plant. “We did very well on that project, in part due to Madrone’s organization. They were good support, asked me what I needed and didn’t start their work until we were done,” says Lucas. “That was a unique project, pretty fun.”
In addition to the commercial and winery landscaping projects, Porter Construction works with Madrone on residential landscapes. Often, they come in to construct custom concrete elements such as: radius retaining walls, decorative concrete flatwork, colored and stamped driveways and walkways, seat walls, and benches within Madrone-landscaped patios and gardens.
Lucas continues by sharing what he appreciates most about working with Madrone. “From top to bottom, they are good people to work with. Everyone is fair. It’s like a family atmosphere. It’s a team – I want to do my best to make sure they are well represented and they do that for me as well.” Here’s to working together and looking out for one another – a true business partnership. We appreciate Porter Construction and look forward to working together on many more projects in the future!
Jul 25, 2018
To wrap up this month, we at Madrone are celebrating our long-standing relationships. As we think back over our time in business, we are grateful for our many San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County business associations with whom we have created strong connections and shared common ideals, principals, and philosophies. One of these is Semmes & Co. Builders, a Central Coast contractor with whom we have had the honor of working with on several projects.
Just over four decades ago, Rick Mathews started hosting jazz programs at the local radio station KCBX; some of you might know him as the host of the weekly show Freedom Jazz Dance. At that time, Turko Semmes was the host of an evening blues program. In our small community, they quickly realized their shared interests extended beyond music, and included their day jobs: the design and build profession. Rick was starting Madrone Landscape; Turko was founding Semmes & Co. Builders. “I found a kindred spirit in Turko,” says Rick, “With our similar values of quality, integrity, and sustainability, coupled with our similar experiences starting businesses, we became extended family to one another.”
Fast forward a couple of decades, and we have a generational transition taking place. Daniel Mazawa, Madrone’s General Manager, and Jessica Steely, Semmes’ General Manager, joined the companies at roughly the same time, and have formed a great working relationship. “The history is there,” states Rick, “Jessica and Daniel ‘grew up’ together, with many of the same core values.”
Madrone has worked on several projects with Semmes over the years, typically sustainable homes in San Luis Obispo county. The residences include rammed earth elements and zero net energy homes. “When we work with Semmes,” states Daniel, “we know the project will be highly customized; it won’t be like anything else.”
We look forward to our continued working relationship with Semmes & Co. Builders in the years to come!
Jul 1, 2018
Who knew stewardship felt so good?
No matter where you live, you make an impact. For communities to function well over time, conscious efforts must be made by many to contribute to the positive impact toward the development of that community, or else who will? That is stewardship. We recognize this at Madrone Landscape, and try to do our part. https://madronelandscapes.com/about-us/stewardship/.
One recent effort that Madrone participated in was the design and installation of a low-impact landscape at El Camino Homeless Organization(ECHO). ECHO is a non-profit organization with a 50-bed transitional shelter helping families and individuals find permanent housing within three months of entering the facility. The organization is located on the Central Coast of California serving North San Luis Obispo County, and you can read more about their efforts here.
Working with ECHO’s Board of Directors, Madrone came together with community volunteers and students from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The Madrone team and volunteers installed shade trees, screening, and a drought tolerant, native plant pallet. A quarter acre of fruit trees including apples, peaches, plums and figs were planted and a raised vegetable garden was also installed to make the most of what the facility has to offer.
Over two weekends of fun and hard work, Madrone’s general manager, Daniel Mazawa, led the charge with the help of Cal Poly professor Christie O’Hara and Rainscape manager, Victor Rocha, as 60 volunteers transformed the space into an aesthetically pleasing and functional landscape. Prior to the planting and mulching, Madrone’s build team graded the area, installed the irrigation and assembled all the needed materials. Local businesses donated irrigation parts, soil amendments and mulches. A little bit of conscious stewardship can make a big difference, and the benefits of this project will “ECHO” for years to come. The smiles say it all!
