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Neave Outdoor Solutions

Keep Your Commercial Landscape Maintenance Contractor Honest…and Your Commercial Property in Top Condition

By Chris on November 23rd in Details

Commercial property managers have a lot on their plate, and maintaining the landscape is just one of the many things on their list of worries. Hiring a professional commercial landscape maintenance contractor should lighten the load of that worry, but it may surprise you to know that not all contracts are followed to the exacting specifications they were created under.

In fact, this is so widespread among commercial landscape maintenance contractors that third-party firms have emerged to audit contracts and help ensure that they’re followed.

One of those firms is OLM, Inc., a contract-management company based in Kennesaw, Ga. Their “Performance Payment” program dictates that if a contractor consistently underperforms during monthly service inspections, they’ll actually lose out on an incentive payment.

There are many other companies out there like this, too; each does things differently to ensure contract adherence, but the idea is the same.

With Neave Group Outdoor Solutions, you can trust that every aspect of your contract will be followed to a T.

So, how are we different?

First, we’re proactive: We measure every property ourselves — in person — and walk through each site with property managers to ensure that we are including all areas on the property. We also make notes of anything that is in question, including areas that need special care.

Second, we’re thorough: When a client awards us with a contract, we create comprehensive checklists and schedules that we follow closely, down to specific line items. We also ensure that the products we specified during the quoting process, such as fertilizers and pest-control products, match the products we actually use.

And finally, we don’t nitpick. Beyond the line-item checklists, we don’t make a huge issue out of little issues. We normally handle those small issues without needing to write a change order. In looking at the big picture, it’s all about client care — and if we’re already on site, we just take care of it.

It’s just as much in our interest as it is yours to pay attention to the contracts we create with our clients and stick to them. It helps our operations run more smoothly, manages expectations for both sides and ensures that our clients are happy.

If you are a commercial property manager, please consider giving our professional team at Neave Group Outdoor Solutions an opportunity to maintain your property. We handle all contracts and properties with integrity and a dedication to client satisfaction. In the New York and Connecticut area you can contact us at (845) 463-0592, or in and around Boca Raton, FL call (561) 235-1680.

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Florida’s Rainy Season Is Ending… Now What?

By Chris on November 9th in Advice and "How To"

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Every year around this time, things start to dry up in South Florida. It’s not unusual for us to go weeks with no rain — and despite the fact that this is an annual occurrence, it’s jarring nonetheless. So what’s a property manager or business to do when faced with the end of Florida’s rainy season?

Of course, the most important consideration for any landscape is whether the plants you’re using are the best fit for your location in terms of soil type, sun exposure, watering and more. It’s a simple concept but one that’s easy to overlook when there are so many beautiful plants to choose from in South Florida.

Choose the right plants

You can visit the Florida-Friendly Landscaping site for an interactive, searchable plant database that offers plenty of information on which plants are best for your landscape.

Neave Group Outdoor Solutions can also offer professional recommendations on low-maintenance plants to add to your commercial property and landscape — or design a brand-new landscape that’s perfectly suited to year-round Florida weather.

Know the rules

You’ll also want to be sure you know local rules and regulations on when watering is allowed. Go to floridaswater.com/wateringrestrictions for a great chart that lays it all out. It’s important to note that these restrictions are pretty far reaching: They apply to private wells and pumps, ground and surface water, and water from public and private utilities.

Be diligent about maintenance

Use sharpened blades on your mowing equipment, set to the right height; dull blades will increase your water usage. Fertilize with the right amount of properly blended fertilizer to improve plant health and reduce stress. Water deeply twice a week to encourage deeper root growth.

(And if you’re not sure about these things, Neave Group provides professional turf and ornamental management with well-maintaned equipment and perfectly blended fertilizers applied at the right time!)

Keep tabs on your irrigation system

If you have a sprinkler system, make sure it’s up to date on inspections and maintenance. There are a lot of moving parts and factors in keeping an irrigation system in good working order, including pressure, coverage, components, clock settings and other fuctions.

You can install emitter heads or drip systems in beds to reduce your water use and improve water delivery to the plants. They also reduce mildew caused by traditional heads’ tendency to overspray.

Neave Group can provide professional irrigation checks to cover all these bases — an irrigation system in good condition saves your business money and uses much less water.

The common thread among all these tips is being proactive. Neave Group offers professional property scouting to help identify small issues before they become big problems when you need them the least.

Give our Boca Raton office a call at (561) 235-1680 to talk about making the most of your landscape during Florida’s dry season — and year round.

image source: Patrick Feller

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Introducing…Neave Group’s Florida Division!

By Chris on November 2nd in Community

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As the rest of our team up in the Hudson Valley gears up for holiday decorating and snow and ice management, the crew at our newest location is still enjoying their moment in the sun.

Did you know we’ve started a division of Neave Group Outdoor Solutions in South Florida? We opened up shop down in Florida not because the businesses and homeowners need yet another landscaping company — because there are plenty of those. Here at Neave Group, we’ve never been concerned with becoming the biggest — we’re working toward being the best.

Everyone knows Florida is a lush, gorgeous state with incredible vegetation — in fact, it’s one of the top three states for landscaping, sandwiched between California and Texas. Where in other states there may be 30 types of plants available to choose from in planning a landscape, in Florida there are more like 300!

All that verdant land and space to improve with that beautiful plant material means there are a lot of companies vying for Floridians’ landscaping and outdoor living business. Some of them are huge, and some of them are really, really cheap.

But this business has never just been about price. The “sticker price” isn’t everything a homeowner or business owner pays. There’s a little thing we like to call total cost of ownership that begins with the base price of services and plant materials, then adds in maintenance and upkeep. Hiring an unqualified or underqualfied landscape contractor may be cheaper in the short run, but the total cost of ownership could skyrocket in the long run: They could select the wrong plant material, plant a $10,000 palm tree incorrectly, cut corners on your irrigation service or need to perform more frequent repairs to your other systems.

Neave’s employees, from our landscape designers to the crews we hire to perform installations and maintenance, are qualified. We’re proactive in helping our clients make “landscape investments,” services that minimize cost overall — sometimes 20 to 40 percent less than they’d end up paying with a long-term bargain landscaper.

Our Florida staff can provide many of the same services as our Hudson Valley team, with a focus on irrigation, pest control and care for the beautiful plants unique to the warm climate.

And our location makes it easy for us to serve many cities within South Florida, including Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Hollywood, North Miami, Palm Beach and South Beach. See a full list of our locations on our website here.

Read more about getting Neave Group Outdoor Solutions’ fledgling Florida division rolling in another blog post here. Then give us a call at (561) 235-1680 to learn more about how we can help make your South Florida landscape more beautiful than ever!

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Five Holiday Decorating Trends for 2012

By ScottNeave on October 15th in Advice and "How To"

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Well, it’s official: Halloween isn’t even here yet — heck, fall only began a few days ago — and we’re already seeing holiday decorating items in stores. The “Christmas Creep” is nothing new, but this year, we’d like to help you get excited for the season by inspiring you to go all out with your holiday decorating!

Whether you’re just focusing on your indoor decorations or ready to make a wow statement outdoors, too, we’ve got plenty of ideas. Here’s a look at five holiday decorating trends we’re seeing for 2012.

LED holiday lighting

There are more and more displays of LED holiday lighting cropping up. These types of lights save a lot of electricity and help cut down on electrical issues, especially for outdoor holiday lighting, but as this technology becomes more widespread, they’re looking much more like incandescent lights, softer and more natural. Before long, you may not even know the difference!

Cool colors for holiday lighting

Blue was a huge holiday decorating color trend last year — all the holiday lighting manufacturers actually ran out of blue lights in 2011! — and we’re expecting more of the same this year. Blue is cool and modern, and it looks beautiful against a backdrop of snow, which we didn’t have much of last Christmas…but you never know for this year! Homeowners really looking to stand out with their outdoor holiday decorations may choose a color like this that’s unexpected and classy.

Themed outdoor holiday decorations

We’re also hearing a lot of homeowners want to create a décor theme throughout their homes. Some want a classic red and gold look; others favor a luxe silver and gold. They’re also asking for fun accents like snowflakes or icicles, toy trains and soldiers, even fruit, berries and twigs for a natural look. These themes can begin with outdoor holiday decorations with lights and garlands, then continue the holiday decorating inside with swags of greenery, themed trees, mantel displays and more.

Old-fashioned, multicolored holiday lighting

For those still longing for the “good old days,” those oversized multicolored strings of lights are becoming popular again for an old-fashioned look. You can keep those displays simple and just line the house with multicolored strand after strand of holiday lighting, or you can mix them into your decor with tiny white lights for an eye-catching blend of old and new!

Don’t forget Hanukkah

Finally, our commercial clients are excited to be more inclusive in their holiday decorating by celebrating all religions in their holiday displays: neutral holiday lighting, Christmas trees and other displays, as well as Menorahs and other decorations for Hanukkah.

There’s still plenty of time to make your arrangements for truly memorable holiday decorating this year! If you need help, one of our designers can help you make the most of the holiday season at your home or business. Give us a call at (845) 463-0592. (And if you’re looking for more inspiration, check out our Holiday Décor Ideas Pinterest board or view the gallery on our Christmas decorating website!)

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Neave Group’s Snow & Ice Division Honored in Snow Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Awards

By ScottNeave on October 5th in Uncategorized

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It may seem strange for a bunch of snow and ice management professionals to get together and powwow in the middle of the summer, but here at Neave Snow, there’s nothing more natural — we live for winter weather and spend all year preparing for it!

So it wasn’t weird at all to fly down to one of the country’s southernmost cities, shortly after the Republican National Convention kicked off, and add countless snow pros to the mix of politicians, political enthusiasts and members of the media in Tampa.

The Accredited Snow Contractors Association — yes, there’s an organization for just about everything — holds a meeting every year to help us stay educated and get to know other professionals in our field. And every year, GIE Media’s Snow Magazine releases a list of the top 100 snow and ice management contractors in the United States, and we’re happy to report that Neave Snow was honored with a spot on the list, coming in at #55! They announced the honorees during ASCA’s meeting.

In addition to recognizing those who made the top 100 list, a lot went down at the summit to help us all be better at what we do. There’s now an educational program that focuses on certifying individual snow contractors and helping our operations minimize risk and ensure your safety. The ASCA also developed an ISO certification that allows companies like Neave Snow to receive evaluations based on a third-party audit — these help ensure things are running smoothly and service quality is top rate. You can read more about the event on ASCA’s website.

Our president, Scott Neave, was at the ASCA Executive Summit along with Leah Speck and Mark Ciccarelli representing Neave Snow and the rest of the Neave Group Outdoor Solutions Team, and he had a great experience meeting other professionals from the industry and talking as a group about ways to work smarter for clients like you.

“Like any conference, it was a good networking event. Being with the best contractors in the industry and seeing that we’re all facing a lot of the same challenges…it’s a great opportunity to strengthen a lot of relationships and meet new people. It makes me excited about where we’re heading as an industry.”

So while snow and ice management may seem like an everyday task, you can rest assured we think about it every day — even when it’s not snowing — and are always working not just to stay on that top 100 list, but also to serve you better and keep you safer every winter.

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A heavy-duty shovel and bucket of salt from the hardware store may be enough for your home driveway and front walk during the winter, but when it comes to your business, snow and ice management is truly serious business. As a property owner, you have an obligation to your employees and customers to keep your site clear of snow and ice, and safe for everyone who visits you.

There are plenty of unique factors that will contribute to your choice of snow and ice management contractors. Download our FREE white paper, “The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Snow & Ice Management Contractor” to learn about the 10 must-have attributes and core values of a top-notch snow and ice management contractor.

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