I started in landscaping 22 years ago working in smaller jobs, like seeding, small topsoil jobs, creating flower beds. In 2008 I moved to more hardscape projects, installing our first retaining wall and raised gardens. In 2009 we laid our first pavers, creating walkways and small patios. Most of that time through till 2018 I worked as an aside to my real job, which was teaching. I come from a rural background, learning about growing plants from my father and my grandfathers through their farms. I was employed for a number of years by a University in Illinois where i learned to lay sod, build ball fields, all about irrigation, and various other tasks. Most of my learning has been through self-taught, and some certification programs. Landscaping has come far in the last 20 years, and it’s important to grow with the scope of work that you do. Today’s landscaping is not last years, products have changed, peoples wants and needs have changed and we change with that. In 2018 I jumped into landscaping full time making Peterson's Landscaping a real business by creating the LLC and hiring my first employee. We discovered a few niches in our world and developed the need for a full-time mowing crew. Today in 2022, we have a 3-man landscaping crew, a municipal maintenance crew and a full 2 man mowing crew. We reach into a seven-county area, and have serviced areas as far north as Mackinaw City and Cheboygan and into the thumb near Port Austin and Caseville. 

 

I like to walk in the plant nurseries on a rare day to get plants, just to be among the trees, enjoying the breeze. While everyone enjoys a blank slate to work with, sometimes its great to rehab an existing space to make a great place for a firepit, or an outside relaxation area, develop a walkway to a river or create a garden for beautiful flower, or an edible garden.