If you're reading this, it's likely that you're considering one of two things: 1) Going into business as a landscape contractor or 2) Working as a landscape contractor. First and foremost, let me preface by saying that if you're doing any work on your own property, there is no problem with that at all. Hopefully we can all agree that we would never hire someone to do something for us without first having tried it ourselves. I'm asking anyone who reads this not only to please keep in mind the true definition of what a "contractor" is and does (i.e., someone hired to perform professional service), but also consider why hiring someone else may actually be more economical than trying yourself! And please don't feel like you're wasting your time or money if you do try doing something yourself. There is nothing wrong with learning by trial and error, but in this day and age when so many jobs are outsourced because of low prices, why not just hire someone who's already done it successfully? You could learn three times faster than if you had to figure it out yourself! Now that I've hopefully got everyone who doesn't work for themselves on the same page.... If you're reading this because you want to be a landscape contractor, then let me tell you... there's no easy way around it. It's hard work, every day. And let me also say that if anyone tells you "Well, landscaping isn't really my thing, so I'm not going to do it", they are sadly mistaken. There is no "not being able to do landscaping". Maybe you have a green thumb, maybe you don't... so what?! It doesn't matter how good or bad you are with plants and healthy soil. You can learn anything if it's something that genuinely interests you. If landscape work isn't your thing, then hire someone else! Let's take a look at some of the things that go into becoming a professional landscaper: First off, there is a lot of physical labor involved in working as a landscape contractor or in any form of gardening for that matter. Unless you're creating sites from scratch, much of the work will involve heavy equipment such as mowers, weeders, or perhaps a Bobcat if you're doing a great deal of earthmoving. I'm going to tell you now that injuring yourself is not only very possible, but also highly likely. And any injury will not only affect your work performance and quality, but it may also cost you more than just time out of work! Many insurance companies do not cover injuries suffered during "landscaping jobs", so even though you may incur large medical bills from treatment after an accident on the job site, the company that hired you won't be held liable for that bill and there's no way they'll pay for it either. You may even lose your health insurance entirely if the company has less than five-time employees (i.e., if you're a contractor who works for multiple companies, in which case your responsibilities will vary widely depending on the company in question). So here's a word of advise: Don't take any chances! You can injure yourself doing just about anything, but why chance it when there are so many ways to protect your body from harm? Make sure you have full coverage with your insurance company and that they know what you do for work. Wear good boots that fit properly. A lot of landscapers wear non-slip shoes or boots when working around mowers and other heavy machinery; these kinds of shoes cost between $50-100 and come with an anti-vibration sole designed to reduce stress on legs and feet (not to mention a steel shank embedded in the sole to make them about 100x more durable!). Don't be intimidated by a little pain after a day's work. If you've ever had a hard-toreach muscle, you know it can hurt if you press on it just right. That being said, there are easy exercises that stretch out those muscles and keep them from cramping up too much while working! A quick 20 minute workout before going to bed will do wonders for your body. So if landscaping isn't really your thing , then don't try it -- hire someone who does have a green thumb and likes getting their hands dirty! Secondly, let's look at knowledge... The word "landscape" is defined as an area of land that has been improved by landscaping to make it more attractive, such as adding plants or other decorations. So if landscaping is the "art of making a garden", then landscapers exist for the purpose of improving land so that it meets a certain standard... and this means you need a great deal of knowledge about plants and flowers! There's nothing stopping anyone from going out and finding someone who knows what they're doing to plant your garden, but it will cost you more money than if you just saved up enough to hire a professional landscape company! In addition to knowledge about flora, you also have to know how everything interrelates with each other. What's the point of having a pretty lawn without anything else around it? With that being said, landscapers must know how to layout a garden and even design their own, and that's where landscaping companies Saskatoon can be of help! They need to know what types of flowers and plants will best coexist with one another (or with animals if you have pets!), and they need to know exactly where everything needs to go. Thirdly, we'll talk about tools... Let's face it: most landscapers don't like using cheap hand-tools for this line of work. If you're going to do something wrong (be it planting the wrong flower or cutting down a tree outside of its designated area), then you may as well use the right tool for the job. For example, you won't see many people cutting down trees with an axe -- no matter how hard they hit it! Even if the axe is made of carbon steel, it will chip and warp after just one or two swings. So what kinds of tools does a landscaper use for this kind of work? First off there's your standard shovel, which in the world of landscaping is called an earth spade (harder materials like concrete can be loosened with this shovel). If you need to move around heavy piles of mulch, rocks, sod (grass), dirt, etc., then you'll need a wheelbarrow (or three!). A landscape rake is good for smoothing out newly laid turf; larger rakes are used to collect leaves during fall -- even when they've fallen into shrubbery! A pry bar (which looks like an extra width crowbar) is good for getting rocks out of tight spots, and scaffolding makes it easier to reach high branches. Finally, there's the chainsaw which can be used for taking down trees or cutting logs into shorter pieces to make moving them around easier. Fourthly, let's look at heavy machinery... There are several awesome machines that landscapers use for their day-to-day work: Bobcat loaders and skidsteers (which can each lift up to 4 tons!) are awesome excavating and digging tools; they're very common in landscape construction. Frontend loaders (made by companies like Cat and Volvo) come with buckets that measure anywhere from 2'x2' to 8'x12', allowing you to load soil, mulch, gravel, etc. into dump trucks . If you need to move around tons of dirt or rocks, but don't necessarily want to buy a truck yourself, you can rent them for the day! Finally there are dozers which are used for grading hillsides by leveling off steep terrains. They usually have the blade attached on the back end (though some smaller ones may have it on the front), and some even come with attachments that allow them to push over trees without having to touch them with the main blade. And finally... 5th - Hiring some landscapers is your best option! Of course there are more steps involved in choosing the right company, but this article just goes over a few things you should know before getting started. When you decide to hire a landscape contractor, ask around and do some research on your potential candidates! Our team is always here to answer any questions you may have regarding landscape work or a project you're thinking of taking on. While landscaping definitely requires a lot of work and the right tools to get the job done, it is an extremely rewarding experience and one that we think everyone should enjoy at least once! We hope this article help to acknowledge what goes into a landscaping project, and will give awareness towards making decisions regarding your landscape needs and questions.