Cedarglen Homes Landscaping 2013
By Corey McCloskey, Landscaping Supervisor
As all good stories ought to start, it was a dark and stormy...morning...in New Brighton Grove. Cedarglen’s Landscape Team had completed the prep work and a 44 pallet sod day was on the docket. Our office staff was ready to go, freshly fuelled up with a Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwich and a coffee, and the sod trucks were on site, with yards and yards of fresh green grass, ready for unrolling. It was an ambitious morning, no question, but Cedarglen was ready for the challenge. That’s when the landscaping gods stepped in.
It began with a hydraulic failure on the first sod truck’s picker, but Omar and his skid steer rode to the rescue, unloading the remainder of sod from the flatbed. The lightning soon followed, sending staff scattering for cover. Not long after, the rains came. I stood in the street, completely drenched and covered in mud, shook my head in disbelief, and laughed. We were done by 10:30 that morning (as if there was any doubt), but what else did this summer have in store?
Landscaping 2013 featured an early start in May, which proved fortuitous, as the historic floods at the end of June set our timetable back, not because of the flooding but because of the water restrictions! An extended stretch of wet weather into July made for tough sledding, as we slowly picked away at rounds of sodding in New Brighton. Humid conditions and late day thunderstorms continued to harass our progress into August, finally relenting after the long weekend, giving way to a beautiful run of hot, dry weather. We were poised to take advantage, completing over 50 homes in Auburn Bay in a three-week stretch!
With the arrival of September, the majority of Cedarglen’s landscape summer students returned to their studies, requiring a renewed commitment from everyone to continue carrying the load. Staff stepped up to assist with both prep and sod days, ensuring continued progress. As promised, the mornings grew darker and the air frostier, and some untimely fall precipitation brings us to the present. So where exactly are we, anyways?
We are 235 landscaped yards ahead of where we were at the start of the year, that’s where. That’s a lot of sod, and is an achievement we should all be very proud of. I’d like to think I had a chance to thank everyone in person over the course of the summer but, if I happened to miss you, this one is for you. Thank you. There are so many people who contribute to the success of this initiative, from my team to the field and office staff, our trades and suppliers, and our homeowners, and it’s been a treat for me to be involved this year. A quick spin through an area we’ve completed is reward enough, but I’ll let you be your own judge.
With October half gone already, we are winding down for 2013. With next year will come new challenges, and I look forward to getting started once Mother Nature backs off in the spring. Until then, dust off those snow shovels!
Enjoy your weekend!