AUGUST 2020
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GOING FARM-TO- BACKYARD
Something I love about landscaping is that it involves the heart, mind, and the feeling you get once you understand how the climate and environment are affecting a plant in your hands — it’s much like a good friendship or partnership. You have to go by instinct. I’ve been in this industry for 22 years, and I’ve known my business partner, Carey Duryea, THE JOURNEY OF RC TREES
Even with my landscaping experience and having worked at a nursery once before, I’ve learned many new things in the past two years from setting up RC Trees and planting the crops. For one, you can spend all the time in the world planning, writing, and making spreadsheets, but there’s no way to lead your business in the right direction other than just doing
for 25 years. As lifelong friends, I know, by instinct, there’s nobody I’d rather run a tree nursery with than with Carey. I haven’t mentioned our nursery business — RC Trees (R for Robert, C for Carey) — in the newsletter before, so it might come as a surprise. In actuality, we’ve been working on the nursery for the past two years. Like most enthusiastic entrepreneurs, my dream of starting an additional business came before I considered starting a nursery, even though one of my first jobs was in a nursery! And still, today, I work closely with many wonderful nurseries in Florida while having good relationships with them. For me, it’s important to not only visualize which plants to
it. The pulse of a nursery isn’t in the Excel sheet but in the trees and deciding when to pot them up into a larger container. You have to monitor the water, heat, and wind and choose the best source of action with the land you own. You’ve got to be out in the trenches. The relationship between the land and plant health can be hard to understand without spending hours and hours studying and observing it.
AS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY PLANTS THRIVE IN THE WAYS THEY DO — THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO KNOW THAT THAN TO GROW THE PLANTS YOURSELF, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
And, even still, there continue to be many risks. I started writing this while thinking about Christopher Columbus, and how he set off on his journey on Aug. 3, 1492. I think there’s something special about the idea of jumping into the complete unknown and going on a journey because you believe what you’ll discover on the other side will be worthwhile.
use in a setting but also understand what makes them thrive. With this in mind, I mulled over product and online business ideas with Carey, who had his own career as an irrigation contractor.
That’s what I feel like we did with RC Trees. Trees take a long time to grow, with many risks and challenges along the way. The nursery will always require a constant financial and time investment to maintain — but whenever I customize plans for my clients and plant the perfect tree for their yard, with an intimate understanding of how it’ll thrive there, I know it was worth it. Those little details can last a lifetime and make us appreciate the outdoors so much more.
Then, we came across an interesting concept: What if we ran a nursery that sold trees to landscape designers like myself? I knew there was a demand for trees, especially high-end trees. I knew people in other nurseries who’d provide good advice, so we invested in the land ourselves and started RC Trees. The philosophy behind RC Trees is similar to the farm-to-table concept. Like I mentioned earlier, as a landscape designer, I want to understand why plants thrive in the ways they do — there’s no better way to know that than to grow the plants yourself, right from the beginning. Being stewards of the land and of the plants has been part of our business strategy from day one.
Celebrate some of the epic journeys of your life this month, friends. Have a great August!
Robert Burns
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WHY INVEST IN A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER? To Have a Special Outdoor Experience From Home
As I write this in my office, I’m listening to George Winston radio on Pandora. I love this station, which includes a lot of music from motion picture soundtracks. When I am designing or
reflecting on a client’s property, this station helps me a lot. Why? Because designing landscape is a lot like creating a movie or Broadway show. My actors are the textures and colors of foliage, trees, stone, and wood. The scenes are views of a lake, pool, or wooded preserve. The soundtrack is of flowing water from a waterfall or the rustling of leaves in a tree. My clients invest in me to create an experience. This investment saves my client’s valuable time, gives them access to superior materials and workmanship, and provides a stress-free installation process. Most of my clients are very busy people, whose most valuable asset is time. They don’t have time to waste meeting multiple different companies that sometimes don’t show up or get back with them or that lack experience. When I visit my clients in their homes, I always show up on
time. I listen to them to get to know them and understand their dreams. Then, I create a design plan inspired by them and present it at their kitchen table. I bring samples, pictures, and a vision
TEDDY’S PAW-SPECTIVE THE ULTIMATE SECRET TO KEEPING COOL IN FLORIDA HEAT
to fly off to enjoy fireworks on a cool night in China
with my family. All I have are our sweet, sweet stone tiles. It’s the next best thing.
Alright, I know what you’re thinking: Teddy, we don’t have tiles everywhere, and I can’t roll
Hot? Sweaty? Need an instant cooling pad? I’ve got two words for you, buddy.
around in the bathroom all day. How else can I cool down? I’ve mentioned before that I jump in
Stone. Tiles.
the fountains in our yard for fun, and that’s still one of my favorites. The only problem is that I’m getting a feeling that it’s not the most popular activity with my family … That doesn’t mean that fun with sprinklers is out of the question, though! Even the small humans love that!
If you’re my parents, you might see “French limestone” when you look at our kitchen floors. Me? I see free real estate. This past month, I’ve been rolling on my belly every day across our cold floor tiles like it’s my job. Which it is. I’m a Cavapoo (a mix between a Cavalier King Charles spaniel and a poodle)! Knowing Mom and Dad, that’s probably French for “walking carpet.” It’s SO hot in the summer having a coat like mine. I might have just as much personality as Aladdin’s flying carpet, but I don’t have reality-defying physics or a way
(And while we’re on the subject of humans, I’ve seen people doing an unusual thing lately: spraying mist in their faces. Don’t they know that’s a punishment? How are they supposed to learn to be good boys and girls? They even seem to enjoy it! So strange.) I’ve shared all of my tricks for surviving the summer heat, but we shouldn’t forget our main priority to stay cool: drinking plenty of water! It’s really tough to know when we’re thirsty sometimes, but even if we’re barely parched at all, we need to keep fresh water in our healthy little bodies. Stay hydrated and cool, friends — and when in doubt, roll around on stone tile again.
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OUR CLIENTS SAY IT BEST!
they can understand. I guide them to the landscape experience of their dreams — all in the comfort of their home.
As an FNGLA-Certified Landscape Designer in my 22nd year of business, I bring a unique set of experiences. I have done it all: worked at a nursery, mowed lawns, planted trees, dug trenches, and installed pavers. I am completely self-taught and understand what works and what doesn’t. My relationships with nurseries and suppliers allow me to give my clients access to the very best materials. My team has decades of installation experience, and we are serious about our clients and the experiences we create for them. We are available to answer any questions you may have, and we have a firm belief in doing things the right way, in the right order. There are no surprises and no stress, just a smile when you look out your window. My team and I are 120% dedicated to you and the happy experiences we create — call us today to get started!
I contracted BLG Environmental to completely remodel the front exterior of my home. From driveway pavers to landscape, Robert and his team provided conceptual drawings
that exceeded expectations. BLG provided a high- quality end result that we are very happy with. I’d highly recommend them.” —Mark Nelson
Robert Burns
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” –2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” –1 Peter 5:10 HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?
EASY OUT
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WE MAKE YOUR OUTDOOR AREAS BEAUTIFUL
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The Journey of RC Trees
Why Should I Invest in a Landscape Designer? Teddy’s Paw-spective: The Ultimate Secret to Keeping Cool in Florida Heat The Good News Hear From Our Clients Take a Break Meet the Man Who Stole the ‘Mona Lisa’
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THE MOST FAMOUS ART HEIST YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF Meet the Man Who Stole the ‘Mona Lisa’
O ne hundred and nine years ago this month, one man — or was it three? — fled from the Louvre Museum in Paris, carrying what would quickly become the world’s most famous painting: Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” Historical accounts of the theft agree only on who was the ringleader: 30-year- old Louvre handyman Vincenzo Peruggia. He was a house painter, an immigrant, the bearer of a glorious Monopoly Man mustache, and a vehement Italian patriot. At some point on the morning of Aug. 21, 1911, Peruggia lifted the glass case he himself had constructed to house the “Mona Lisa” and smuggled the painting from the building. Some versions of the story say Peruggia was assisted by two brothers, fellow Italian handymen Vincenzo and Michele Lancelotti. NPR reports the trio spent the night preceding the theft huddled in one of the Louvre’s supply closets, lying in wait to steal the portrait. In his documentary about the theft, director Joe Medeiros claims Peruggia acted alone, driven by an obsession with the work and a dream of returning the painting to Italy.
Either way, we know that Peruggia successfully spirited the painting back to his one-bedroom apartment. There it lay concealed in a false-bottomed trunk for more than two years. This period of mysterious absence (during which police grilled and dismissed Peruggia as a suspect in favor of J.P. Morgan, Pablo Picasso, and playwright Guillaume Apollinaire) is what made the “Mona Lisa” world famous. Peruggia was eventually caught attempting to sell the painting in Italy. He pleaded guilty and spent eight months in jail. After his release, he enlisted in the Italian army to fight in World War I, surviving the war only to die of a heart attack on his 44th birthday. Though Peruggia married after the war, some suspect that the true love of his life was the “Mona Lisa” herself. In a CNN article, author and art history professor Noah Charney speculates that over his two years with her, Peruggia developed romantic feelings for the portrait. Perhaps he fell victim to a kind of “reverse Stockholm syndrome,” Charney suggests, the captor falling in love with his hostage. “In this case,” he says, “the hostage was a work of art.”
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