BLG Environmental Services - March 2021

BLG Environmental Services - March 2021

MARCH 2021

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BLGENVIRONMENTAL.COM

HOW TO GO THE EXTRA MILE

A UNIQUE SKILL SET CAN GIVE US A BOOST

I think about this a lot: How can we go the extra mile in everything we do?

I think that’s about right. My aunt, a Yale graduate and researcher in the medical field, is an extremely smart woman with a very accomplished career in science. So, it surprised me when she once told me that she wished she had taken more business classes in college. “I could do a lot better if I learned how to present myself as more valuable,” she told me.

Is it about doing a little extra work every day to accomplish a big task? Or is it about seizing the right opportunities at the right moments? Or maybe a bit of both?

There’s a reason why I’m inspired to talk about going the extra mile this month. March 24 will be the anniversary of the 1944 Great Escape, and there are a lot of reasons that this

We all have some unique combination of skills, but we need to give ourselves the opportunity to grow and deepen those skills, too. When I was around 20 years old,

story inspires me in particular. If you aren’t familiar, the Great Escape is the true story of when Allied prisoners devised a plan to escape a German prisoner-of-war camp, Stalag Luft III, during World War II. The camp was heavily guarded and built on sandy soil, which made tunneling difficult. Yet the Allied prisoners didn’t break out with one tunnel, but three. The odds were that if two were found, at least one would reach completion — and that’s exactly what happened. I think it’s admirable, and sometimes even necessary, to dig multiple tunnels, so to speak, in many efforts in our lives. Reflecting on my own life and business, I learned quickly that I didn’t want to mow lawns forever. I wanted to be doing multiple things.

I used to do irrigation work for free for a few of my friends in the industry, just so I could learn from them. I searched for mentors everywhere I looked, and sometimes I was lucky enough for them to find me. BLG Environmental is the epitome of my lifetime of learning and represents the blending of four specialties — landscaping, hardscaping, lighting, and irrigation. This unique skill set has helped me earn my biggest clients, and it’s changed my business forever. It would’ve been harder to make a living if I had just focused on one thing, and now I have more control of my time.

BLG ENVIRONMENTAL IS THE EPITOME OF MY LIFETIME OF LEARNING AND REPRESENTS THE BLENDING OF FOUR SPECIALTIES — LANDSCAPING, HARDSCAPING, LIGHTING, AND IRRIGATION.

That’s why I think going the extra mile isn’t just a decision we make in a given moment. We have to work toward it every single day. And one day we’ll look back and

I heard on a podcast once that the odds of becoming legendary in our times — like Pablo Picasso or Tiger ˆWoods — is maybe one in a billion. But if you’re really good at two different things, say being a business person and a writer, and you put those two skills together, you can create a unique position for yourself in the world.

realize how far we’ve come.

Robert Burns

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How to Pick Your Landscape’s Biggest Star ALL ABOUT TREES

Hello again! Robert here. I saw the Broadway show “Wicked” when it came to town a few years ago, and the main characters were absolutely captivating! They definitely brought the production to life. Similarly, I tell clients all the time that your landscape is like a movie or Broadway show — and high-quality specimen trees are the A-list actors. When you choose to use quality trees in your landscape design, their size and beauty carry the rest of the supporting cast: shrubs, flowers, pottery, lights, etc. Without great trees, nothing happens. Here are several of my favorites that you might want to use in your next project. Standard Crape Myrtle Blossoming with beautiful red flowers for 100 days out of the year in Florida, the crape myrtle is very ornate and

stately. Its branches bend in and out, which brings a unique characteristic to your landscape.

Eagleston Holly A lovely evergreen holly that creates small round berries in the cooler months, the Eagleston holly is far less subject to disease than other

species in the holly family. It’s becoming increasingly popular because it’s an excellent privacy hedge that requires relatively little care. Japanese Blueberry These lustrous trees are captivating year-round. The foliage emerges with an orange-red tinge, then moves into a brilliant shade of emerald green before

Hi, newsletter friends! Most of you guys know that my dad owns a tree nursery of his own. Well, so do I. It’s a huge nursery. The biggest the world’s ever seen! Anyway, my dad had a bunch of extra trees that were left over from the previous owners over 20 years ago. Basically, a MILLION years ago. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really anything he could do with those extra trees. That’s why I thought I’d do my part to help him out — and burn them. IT’S BURNING, MAN GAVIN’S GUYS

It was sick, man. We burned them all through the holidays because I was out of school and wanted to help my dad. As you can

imagine, a big bonfire is a ton of fun. Imagine if there was a party with thousands of people, dedicated to one giant bonfire. That’d be crazy.

I’ve been helping ol’ Dad with some other projects too, of course. I helped make some pipe fittings for an irrigation system. Then I blasted country music on the highway. Dad was driving, don’t worry! I may be a wildly successful entrepreneur, but I’m also very responsible. And since you’re probably asking, my favorite country song is definitely “God’s Country” by Blake Shelton. You know what I don’t get, though? My sisters weren’t really into the whole bonfire thing. Or the tractors. Or cutting irrigation pipes. What’s with that? You’d think they’d be into massive machinery and huge fires. I don’t get it. Girls are weird. Now that I’m writing about all this, I guess I’ve been pretty busy. Landscaping with my dad is kinda like opening a pack of Lunchables. At first, you have a ton of things to choose from, and then once you dive into it, it’s already over. Time really flies when you’re having fun!

Well, that’s it for me this time. Thanks for reading and see ya next time!

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LANDSCAPE - HARDSCAPE - IRRIGATION - OUTDOOR LIGHTING

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OUR CLIENTS SAY IT BEST! We had our entire yard designed and landscaped by Robert and his crew. Our design included a paver patio, a revamp of our irrigation system, a small retaining wall, and a number of beds. Robert helped our vision come to life, and the finished product was even better than we envisioned. Throughout the process, Robert was responsive to any/all questions, ideas, and suggestions. It was easy to trust Robert and everyone involved, and we do not have one negative thing to say about our experience with BLG. We look forward to enjoying what they created in our yard for years to come.” –Doug Walker

settling into a dark, lustrous green. Mature foliage returns to orange-red before blazing into a brilliant crimson prior to the leaves dropping. It’s actually an evergreen, so the changes happen gradually, with dark green foliage peppered with beautiful older leaves throughout. There are also seasonal white flowers and ornamental blueberries that give it its name.

Bracken’s Brown Beauty Magnolia It’s rare that anyone sees this gorgeously full tree and doesn’t stop and stare. Bracken is characterized by its upright multiple branching with dense, lustrous dark green foliage on top and a gradient of velvety soft brown below. It’s a tree that’s stood the test of time, and it’s a well-deserved favorite in the industry.

There are many more trees that I adore and that grow perfectly in Central Florida. Just give me a call if you’re ever curious about giving your landscape a fresh start with some new leading-role trees.

Robert Burns

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” –Ephesians 2:8–9 “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?

EASY OUT

–Romans 16:17

“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

–Hebrews 13:1–2

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WE MAKE YOUR OUTDOOR AREAS BEAUTIFUL

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What Does It Take to Go the Extra Mile?

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Your Landscape’s Biggest Stars Gavin’s Guys: It’s Burning, Man

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The Good News Hear From Our Clients Take a Break! It’s Time for a Virtual Field Trip!

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FIELD TRIP DAY, RIGHT FROM THE LIVING ROOM

4 Virtual Adventures to Take With Your Kids

F ield trips are always an exciting time for kids. It changes a monotonous school day into a learning adventure. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has put field trips on hold for the time being. Luckily, there are ways kids can still enjoy field trips from the safety of their homes through virtual field trips! Check out some great virtual field trips below. Visit the National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art provides 10 digital educational resources for children and adults to explore. These resources include video tours, educational PDFs, and even a few lessons and activities. Children can become engrossed in art, expand their knowledge of the arts, and practice some creativity of their own. Find out more and get exploring at NGA.gov. Learn about farming with BrightFarms BrightFarms’ virtual tours let viewers explore indoor farming, specifically how leafy greens are grown, harvested, packaged, and delivered to grocery stores. The growers narrate the videos in an easy-to-follow tour that

is perfect for kids and adults alike. Find these tours at their website at BrightFarms.com or Vimeo.com. See Buckingham Palace In this virtual tour, your kids can explore Buckingham Palace’s throne room, grand staircase, and white drawing room. Each room has a 360-degree view to look around each room, and, by clicking on the information icons, you can learn about certain aspects of each room. This is a wonderful chance to bring your kids into a completely different world right from your living room by heading to Royal.UK/virtual-tours-buckingham-palace. Fly to Mars and the Moon By heading to AccessMars.WithGoogle.com, you and your kids can embark on an exploration of Mars with narrator Katie Stack Morgan, a NASA planetary geologist on the Mars Science Laboratory mission, and the rover Curiosity. Morgan takes viewers through certain points of Curiosity’s adventures on the real surface of Mars. NASA also has a virtual tour of the moon’s surface at Moon.NASA.gov, providing viewers with information gathered since 2009.

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LANDSCAPE - HARDSCAPE - IRRIGATION - OUTDOOR LIGHTING

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