As Joni Mitchell so somberly puts it in her song, “Big Yellow Taxi”, this culture too frequently “paves paradise to put up a parking lot.” Consequently, land care professionals, like Hanselman Landscape, are left to deal with the repercussions: uninspiring lots with minimal links to natural beauty, water issues, and a have-it-now mentality that often requires costly redos.

James Hanselman, owner of Hanselman Landscape, knows paradise. He grew up there, he says, “in the mountain valleys of a tropical island, surrounded by natural beauty and interacting with nature every minute of each day.” Upon returning to the United States, he was saddened to find that “in this land of magnificent beauty, paradise was being discarded to make room for yet another development.” It became his mission to reverse the trend and bring paradise back into the daily experience of his clients.

Want to capture your own slice of paradise? Subsequent posts will feature inspiration from James Hanselman for turning your yard into a relaxing space you’ll love coming home to.

Contributed by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& fellow pilgrim)