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February 5, 2016 by ppmadmin

An Easy Winter? A Fallacy in the World of the Landscaper

Surely one could say that it has been a different sort of winter thus far: only a couple of salt applications; merely one plowable snow-fall; record-braking Christmas Day high temperatures; and a bunch of confused vegetation that does not know whether to stay asleep or start blooming again. If nothing else, it is a sign that the way in which we approach our winter maintenance practices each year changes. As year-round landscape maintenance contractors, we must keep up with the changing times in order to ensure that we are always providing value to our clientele.

Long-gone are the “like clock-work” times when November 15th would hit and the fall clean-ups would instantly end… the weather and the season changes are just not that predictable. Unfortunately, we do not get to communicate with Mother Nature to reconcile the calendar dates with the reality of what she is actually going to do!

As much as the thought of the winter season gives the majority of us the chills, the reality for folks in our business is that we actually do want it to happen like clock-work. It is very complicated to manage seasons that bleed into one another. The majority of condominium maintenance contracts are all-inclusive and all-season. In other words, condominiums typically pay us the same monthly landscape maintenance rate every month. As pleasant as it may be to still see bare ground in December, there is a costly reality for us… continuous fall clean-ups that do not end! As conscientious landscape maintenance providers, we do not stop our weekly site visits until we are actually settled into the winter season – typically after a considerable snowfall blankets the ground. Can you imagine a landscape company that did not make regularly scheduled weekly visits in the summer months? That negligence would be grounds for dismissal with cause. Despite that our contracts outline that the winter season begins November 15th, we are always conscientious of the perception of things. A mild November 15th, like the one we had this year, is perceived as too early to stop regularly scheduled weekly visits. So for that reason, we continue to treat it as if it were like any other part of the regular season. And because fall clean-ups are expensive (labour intensive, fuel intensive, and costly disposal fees all add-up quickly), fall clean-ups that are dragged out longer than they should be can cause significant damage to the bottom-line.

In order to continually outperform our competition, we work hard to retain the best and most reliable staff in the industry. The only way to do this from our experience is to pay staff a consistent, competitive, and most importantly reliable salary to be on-call – this ensures that staff who may not be physically working a full work-week throughout the winter months have a base pay that they can rely on to put food on their families’ tables and enjoy a quality of life that they deserve. So continuing on the topic of costs associated with a never-ending fall season, it is a financial burden to pay hourly staff to clean-up leaves while also paying winter salaries – all the while at no cost increase to the monthly landscape rate.

In addition to the financial challenges, there are also logistical ones. During these seasons that cannot make-up their minds, it is not uncommon to be cleaning leaves one morning and then plowing and salting the very same evening. To take a rig that is set-up to be cleaning and transporting leaves and transform that into one that is meant to manage snow\ice maintenance, is no easy feat. This process is very thorough and time-consuming if you want to ensure that it is done properly. Our full-time in-house mechanics feel the stress of the inconsistent season changes just as much as the rest of the organization does.

With all of the above said, we are consistently reminding ourselves that condominium owners are paying maintenance fees and deserve value for their hard earned money. If we had a nickel for every time we overheard dialogue that included: “I pay maintenance fees, and for what?”, we could cover all of our clients’ maintenance fees and then-some! Anyone without insight into the behind-the-scenes would probably agree with the sentiment that they are paying for nothing. We take these sentiments as our responsibility to demonstrate to our clients that our costs are very justified and there is a great deal of work happening behind-the-scenes although it may not snow on exactly the first day of the winter contract. As such, it is important to think of your landscape maintenance fees as an annual payment, broken into equal instalments. This may help to calm the nerves when one is concerned that they are not getting their “daily” value from their maintenance fees because we are not physically plowing the snow every single day.

Any good winter landscape maintenance contractor is putting the fees that you pay them to good use… remember that equipment is rented for the entire season, not just for each storm; reliable personnel are paid for the entire season, not just for each day and night that they physically shovel snow. Good contractors also site check daily to ensure that isolated areas are not freezing-up. Another thing to remember is that you pay us to assume your liability – it is in our best interests to ensure that we are doing our jobs to limit the potential liability from slips and\or falls on your properties.

Please enjoy a safe and happy winter season.


This article was featured in the Condo Confidential Magazine Winter 2016 Issue

“An Easy Winter? A Fallacy in the World of the Landscaper” by  Pristine Property

Filed Under: Snow Maintenance Tagged With: Snow Maintenance for Condominium Owners

March 24, 2015 by Alicia Tyo

Steps To a Beautiful Planter

Who doesn’t like stepping out of their front door on a beautiful July morning and being greeted by the birds, the sun, the morning dew, and of course your beautiful planters that you put so much time and effort into in May that are now showing their true beauty.

You start your planter with a showpiece sun-loving plant – like a Mandevilla, Draveana Spike, Dragon-Wing Begonia, Hibiscus, or Grass (just to mention a few fan-favourites).  Usually we like to plant the showpiece in the centre or centre-back of the planter.  There are hundreds of other options, but we have had lots of success with the plants mentioned above.

After the centerpiece is chosen and installed, you will then step down to the four-inch pot varieties.  These could be any type of sun Impatien (note that due to the Downy Mildew disease, normal cell pack Impatiens are no longer recommended), Tuberous Begonia, or Gerannium (note that Geranniums need regular dead-heading so while beautiful, they do require a bit more work).

After the centerpiece and step-down flowers have been installed, you will likely want to focus on filler plants, unless of course your planter is very large and you have enough room for another step of flowers.  Recommended filler plants are Fiberous Begonias or Marigolds (for a pop of yellow or orange colour).  Your local garden centre may have other options and you should really at this stage go with something that catches your eye.  At this stage, you can’t really choose wrong as the four inch pots that you planted in the last step will eventually take over the filler plants.  With that said, however, you will need to add more fillers to avoid any early-on bare spots – which will likely exist until approximately July.

Now that you have completed the centerpiece, the step-down flowers (maybe one or two layers, depending on the size of your planter), and the fillers, it is time to focus on the finishing touches.  Vines, Ivy, Ivy Geranniums, and Lobelia look amazing hanging or draping from your planter – this will add platform and depth to your planter.  These flowers also serve a practical purpose – their health are a good indicator of how much (or how little) water your planter is getting.

We have touched on “sun” planters – that is, planters that are exposed to practically full-sun.  When working with shade planters, you do have far fewer options – you might want to stick to a grass in the centre (that is at least part-shade) and more leafy annuals like Coleus, Caladium, Ferns and Hypoestes.  You may experience success with New Guinea Impatiens, but you might find that they prefer more sun than part-shade.  When looking for Ivy, just make sure that you find a variety that works in the shade (you will likely be fine with most varieties found in southern Ontario).

Annuals are great for a number of reasons… they provide amazing colours and are changeable – if you dislike it this year, take note and change it up next year for minimal cost compared to perennial planting.  Good luck and happy planting!

Filed Under: Planters

March 24, 2015 by Alicia Tyo

Seasonal Planters

The very fact that we are discussing anything related to OUTDOOR PLANTING is a welcoming sign that winter is nearly past us and we are ready to welcome Spring with open arms!  We are regularly discussing with condo clients the best ways to spruce up their front entranceways – while of course working within their budget.  When a tight budget is the constraint, we often recommend simple: a few fibreglass planters (or cast iron, depending on the conditions) filled with gravel as a base material (to allow water flow) and then a seasonal display of potted florals – we can usually put this entire package together for under $1,000.

There are numerous benefits to investing in planters and having them flank the front entranceway (or most common throughway).  The primary benefit is that the planters themselves are permanent fixtures – so their cost is a one-time-only.  Once the permanent planter is in place, we charge a nominal seasonal cost for the insert that we install into the planters themselves – and because these are seasonal, they are changing four times a year which means that they are always adding refreshment to the unique charm and character of your property.

One of the largest challenges to overcome when planting anything is the balance of dominant sunlight and wind.  Not considering these elements is probably the biggest mistake that we see and as a result, plants die very quickly.  As Landscape Designers with extensive knowledge, expertise, and experience, we take these factors into consideration first and foremost when making any recommendations for planting.  Some buildings will get sunlight only at certain times of the day and others will have consistent wind – these are considerations that we must take seriously if we want to ensure that we are recommending the most suitable materials.  We try our best to balance these important considerations with what the client is looking for.  At the end of the day, it is better to have a beautiful and natural display of flowers in a slightly imperfect position than half-dead looking plants in a visually ideal spot!  This is the message that we try hard to underscore in every recommendation that we make.

One of the largest changes that we have seen happen to planters is the design of the planters themselves.  Once upon a time, planters tended to be only for the Spring\Summer season and as a result, they would be filled with vines and the like that would grow downwards and outwards to cover the actual planters themselves – thus it did not matter what the planters themselves looked like.  Now that we do planter inserts for every season (including fall and winter), the design of the planters is something that we take into serious consideration.  Some of the planters on the market today are very artistic and can be quite bold just on their own – this can pose some serious design challenges when it comes to balancing the planter itself and the planting materials.  We are always cautious to ensure that the planter design fits the space itself and that the materials we are going to be installing complement the planter – one should not try to overpower the other.

In terms of complementing, our Landscape Designers work on designing the materials in planter inserts in “levels” for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, the levels that we design with ensure that every plant in the mix has its presence and adds either colour, texture, or order to the presentation.  While we certainly plant vines, we are sure to trim them as part of our regular weekly service so that they do not overpower the artistic impression that the planter itself can have.  Planting in levels also allows us to install a “showpiece plant” in the middle of the pot (or at the centre-back) to ensure symmetry and that each of the component plants work together in unison.  Levels also ensure that “shade annuals” have the appropriate exposure to sunlight and that “full-sun annuals” have just that.  A general rule of thumb on this note is that sun plants typically provide brighter flowers and flower more often and that shade plants make great fillers and usually provide the best cover.

One very important component that we have not yet touched on is water.  It does not matter what type of vegetation you are planting, flowers need water!  Depending on the type of property and again on budget, the best idea is to alter the existing irrigation system by installing drip lines – this is something that we often recommend doing and certainly specialize in.  Drip lines will provide the appropriate amount of water to the planters and will ensure that there is a consistent and regular-interval flow.  Without an adequate irrigation system, someone will be required to water the plants regularly – that is seven days a week, every week (sometimes twice daily during the dry months).  One weekend without water during hot and dry weather can kill your planting materials.  The price range for making these irrigation system amendments can be anywhere from $500-$1200, depending on the property and existing components.  It may seem as though this is a large cost, however, depending on the type of impact you want from your front entrance flower display, irrigation systems really are the best way to protect your investment.  There is no better way to ensure your flowers and vegetation is getting the correct amount of water at the correct intervals than an irrigation system.  Our regular maintenance contracts include a regular inspection of the irrigation system to ensure that it is doing what it is supposed to be doing and when.

Filed Under: Planters

September 16, 2014 by ppmadmin

The NITTY and the GRITTY about SNOW

From the PRISTINE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE TEAM

Snow maintenance is a tough business.  Let’s face it, most folks hate the cold, the snow, and the ice!  It is not that people typically hate the idea of a serene picture perfect winter landscape: a beautiful fresh blanket of fluffy white snow; a secluded country side; and the comfort of a cozy chair and a warming fireplace. However, this is not our typical winter day. Winter’s agitation comes from the more common reality: awaking at six in the morning to prepare for the already stressful day ahead; looking out the front window and seeing ten centimeters of snow on the car and driveway; bundling up the kids and yourself for the negative twenty degree weather and wind-chill; running outside in your PJs to warm up the car that does not want to start; realizing that you have not yet put the snow tires on and should have done that last weekend; and a commute that takes four times as long as it should. Does this sound relaxing to anyone?  This is where the very thought of the “snow plow guys” make people cringe – we are to what a lot of people actually associate winter.

Pristine Property Maintenance Limited, has been servicing the condominium market since 2005. During this time, Pristine has grown from servicing one single condo townhouse development to well over one-hundred-and-fifty.  Oh the stories we could share about the roads (sometimes bumpy) we have plowed! Throughout our history, we have hit several milestones worthy of celebration – and many lessons have been learned along the way.  Today, we are a stronger company for the simple reason that we are committed to never making the same mistake twice.

The most important lesson of all has been the importance of preparation – a fundamental that we drive into everything we do as a leader in our industry. As such, snow and ice has become our business and it is something that we take very seriously.  The logistical challenges of managing an operation this size is one that does not get a lot of consideration from people outside of our realm. What many people fail to realize is the time that goes into preparing for a Canadian winter. The equipment necessary to handle the amount of snow and ice we experience each year requires a lengthy preparation process.  One cannot simply walk into a dealership on the first day of November and say “hey, some contracts came in and now I need ten snowplows and ten trucks and I need them by Friday.”  This caliber of equipment takes months to order and often comes from different countries across the globe.  Once the equipment lands in our shop, there are numerous considerations that still need to be made, such as up-fitting (including installing plows, salters, dump inserts, GPS systems, truck bed liners, safety lights and beacons, and reverse cameras). These additional considerations can often add-on several additional weeks and as such, we typically need to make these arrangements in July or August in order to be prepared for mid-November.

Part of our success in the snow and ice business is due in part to “our commitment to our clients through our commitment to our equipment”. We have a very rigorous maintenance schedule and a very thorough program to ensure that our equipment is the best, the most reliable, and the safest on the road. We have a very specialized formula that we use for ordering, maintaining, and retiring equipment – this is a system which we have heavily invested in perfecting through some impressive and uniquely specialized asset management hardware and software.  The logistics of such a program means that we must be prepared – more than six months in advance.  Lacking proper preparation and lacking the foresight of such, is a road that we have been down in our earlier years and a lesson from which we have learned an incredible amount.  We are a large and successful provider because we are prepared and therefore experience little downtime thus putting us in a much better standing ahead of our competition.

Filed Under: Snow Maintenance

Toronto, Ontario
 

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Featuring maintenance services for all seasons.

24/7 PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

Pristine Property Management Inc. provides property maintenance services and competitive packages for Residential, Commercial, and the Municipal sector including Townhouse condos Our services Include:
  • Snow\Ice Maintenance
  • Grounds Maintenance
  • Irrigation System Maintenance
  • Tree Maintenance\Pruning\Removal
  • Asphalt Repair
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Toronto / GTA

381 Westney Rd S
Ajax, ON
L1S 6M6, Canada

Phone: 416-737-8978

Kawarthas

1622 Hwy 7
Lindsay, Ontario
K9V 4R1

Phone: 705-879-8409

Testimonials

"As the Property Manager who manages the Shared Facilities with almost a 1,000 residential units, I find Pristine Property Maintenance is very responsive to the “out of the blue and challenging” requests from our neighborhood throughout the years of ground maintenance services provided. They are always reachable and are very reasonable to deal with."

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