A Conversation With ... Eric Hartley

I’ve been in this business for 20 years this year. I was going to college, and I was working through school … for a lawn care company called Commercial Lawn Service. Two years into college, he decided to sell the business and gave me first chance to take it over. Back then, it was pretty much just lawn care. There wasn’t a lot of landscaping like there is now. It was pretty much a lawn service and trimming a few bushes, and snow removal. As the business was (growing), I started seeing a change in what my clients wanted. Irrigation was becoming more popular. People were putting in more landscaping … (and) curb appeal was becoming more evident. By 1995, it was real evident. The business … had so many mowing crews going that I couldn’t just shift pace and go in the direction that I knew it was going to head. So in 2000, I sold it. My current business is actually my second.

Tell us about Eric Hartley Lawn & Landscape.

I started it in 2001. I used my name because I’ve been doing this so long … and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out whose this company was. It didn’t take long. This time, it’s the high-end customer. People who want the manicured lawns. They want the bushes trimmed. They want the flowers planted. A lot of them have water features. In the subdivisions … a lot of them have lakes, and I take care of those by keeping them algae-free. I have three employees. I go to every job. I’ve tried not to, and it doesn’t work.

Can you tell us more about the services you provide?

We do weekly visits to our clients’ homes or businesses. I just let the clients tell me what they want. Pretty much anything that’s outside, I can do, or I know someone who can do it, and my customers don’t have to mess with anyone else. I watch for diseases. Diseases just blow in on the wind, so if you catch it early and treat it, you don’t have to worry about things dying. I won’t come in and totally redo landscaping, but I’ll maintain anything outside. … Probably 80 percent of my work is high-end, and 20 percent is just general maintenance.

Besides diseases, what causes the most problems for yards and landscaping?

For the yards, it’s a lack of water. For the landscaping, it’s the insects. I try to tell my customers to watch what they plant, because there are a lot of bushes and plants that are disease- and insect-resistant. You can plant a lot of things that ward off (diseases and insects) but are still attractive.

What, if anything, about the Ozarks’ environment makes your job easier – or more difficult?

We’re in a good zone. The growing season around here is getting longer. If you go back 20 years ago, my season was shorter. The winters are getting milder and milder. Irrigation is real big now, which keeps everything greener longer.

Who are your clients?

My clients are on the east side of Springfield, the south side of Springfield and in Nixa and Ozark. Probably one of the things that I’m proudest of is (taking care of) Wildhorse subdivision. Also, I take care of Lions Gate, a gated community, and National Place. I take care of several homes in Highland Springs, and also Mike Wilhoit’s (of Wilhoit Properties) home. Businesses include Super 8 Motel, Ryan’s Steakhouses and Caroline’s Pampered Pet Motel.

What sorts of things do you like in terms of landscaping?

For me, I don’t like to look at my neighbors, so I surrounded (my house) with trees. I don’t like to use privacy fences. I’d rather use different trees. And you don’t want to plant a lot of the same thing, because if you plant one thing, and a disease comes along, it wipes out the whole row.

Tell us about your family and your hobbies.

I have two kids. Erica is 5 and Emma is 2. There’s dance class with the 5-year-old, and gymnastics. They take up a lot of my time. My wife is Tammy. It’s fun and hectic.