Busy Season is Already Growing Like a Weed.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, excitement is sprouting on schedule at Rosehill Gardens. Their landscaping calendar has been filling up and seasonal features at headquarters in Martin City will soon blossom into big attractions.
“Winter held on too long last year, but this year we’re off to a great start,” says co-owner Curtis Stroud. “We started seeing 60 degrees in February and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.”
Rosehill Gardens is typically booked solid with landscape design projects in April, May, and June, and March can be a wild card (especially true this year!) “Good weather in March helps us avoid a bottleneck,” says Stroud. “People start thinking about their yards earlier and that means we can work more customers into our schedule earlier.”
That’s how residential landscaping works. Regardless of the weather, spring is the hot season for homeowners after the snow melts and before the lazy days of summer take over. In contrast, there isn’t much of a peak season for commercial landscaping projects. Fortunately, they keep coming month after month. The result is a year-round business that brings superior quality and beauty to hundreds of properties across Greater Kansas City, and as far away as Springfield, Missouri.
Of course, the pandemic is on the minds of all customers this year, but Rosehill Gardens’ work is considered essential to the sanitation of the environment. The business will remain open and operating under current restrictions and is taking extra steps to make sure its people and their equipment remain safe and clean.
“We’re doing everything we can to protect our customers and employees,” says Stroud. “The good news is we’re still hard at work with landscaping, maintenance, irrigation, and delivery services.”
Curtis Stroud, co-owner of Rosehill Gardens.
More than a century of experience puts Rosehill Gardens’ $16 million operation in a league of its own. They’re experts in every facet of landscape service from design to maintenance and even do millions of dollars in snow removal during the winter. Stroud says nearly 200 workers are on the job when things really get rolling.
“We’re designing, planting, growing, trimming, mowing, whatever it takes. And we know exactly what we’re doing. We’re pretty unique in that we work year-round and keep most of our employees busy the whole time. Dozens of our people have advanced degrees and really live for the work they do.”
Valuable Partnership That’s a Cut Above
Landscaping on this level requires a lot of scientific knowledge that’s applied as an art. You have to understand how to piece together a complicated puzzle in a custom design that considers everything from climate trends and unexpected weather conditions to the smallest details of every plant or tree that brings a landscape to life.
Typical Rosehill Gardens customers are not do-it-yourselfers. They just want Rosehill to do it right.
Rosehill Gardens’ landscape architects creating custom design plans
“Our work goes deeper than the individual components of a landscape. We’re focused on our partnerships with our customers and doing what it takes to deliver a vision,” says Stroud. “Our team is highly skilled from design and planning to long-term maintenance and support that ensures a sustainable landscape with lasting appeal.”
Photo courtesy of Rosehill Gardens
You know you’re in good hands with a landscaping staff that includes ten designers, an architect, and an arborist. At least a dozen crews regularly spread out over the area, bringing uncommon talents to every project.
Some have been at Rosehill Gardens for 40 years or more, working their way up from basic manual jobs to leadership positions. Does all of that experience matter? Stroud says the evidence is everywhere.
“If I could tell you how many times I’ve seen somebody else put the wrong plant under a window or a tree in the shade that needs sun. Happens all the time. It may look good initially, but you can easily spend $20,000 on a landscape that becomes worthless in a year.”
Rosehill Gardens is obsessive about quality and that commitment shows in the quality of the live plants, shrubs, and trees they use. Most are grown locally at their nearby company farm where workers track and control everything that eventually winds up on a customer’s landscape.
Compare that to the plastic trays of anemic annuals and other flimsy plants from unknown sources at small-time shops or pop-up landscaping businesses.
“Anyone can plant something for you, but that bush or tree may have been grown in Texas and won’t hold up in Kansas City’s weather,” says Stroud. “Going the cheap route can really backfire on a customer in all kinds of ways. We’ve had people go that route only to come to us a year later to replace dead plants and in some cases just start over.”
Rosehill Gardens’ quality is visible in everything they put in the ground.
When Rosehill Garden pros dig into a landscape project, they’re already thinking ten years ahead. Stroud says that’s the only way to look at a landscape investment.
“What will it look like over time? How will the plants interact with their environment? How is nature going to affect them? We know how to manage these things. A landscape should be created to survive and flourish. We offer a long two-year guarantee, but the reality is our work is intended to last much longer.”
Standards like those are especially important when it comes to commercial projects. The Rosehill Gardens team is typically called into action when beauty and sustainability are high-profile priorities at properties like Cerner’s new South Kansas City campus or Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums.
Kauffman Stadium landscape
Installation of trees at the Cerner Innovations Campus. Photo courtesy of Rosehill Gardens.
“We often get involved in the early stages of commercial projects. Architects will contact us about everything from plant selection to availability and design input. We’ve been working with build teams and leaving our mark all over the area for years.”
Striking a delicate balance at The Legends. Photo courtesy of Rosehill Gardens.
A Natural Destination with Growing Appeal
If you really want to get a sense of what makes Rosehill Gardens special, visit their headquarters in Martin City. The entire property is carefully designed as a source of inspiration.
Spend a little time there and you’ll find plenty of reasons to get excited about what Rosehill can do and what’s possible at your home or business. Even if you’re able to restrain your imagination and ambition, you’ll simply love the experience of strolling through a scenic Martin City treasure.
Starting with the Garden Center, you’ll find an evolving array of stylish landscape decor when it reopens. This year you’ll want to pay close attention to the new handmade ironworks that come from Rosehill’s partnership with a nonprofit benefiting communities in Haiti. You’ll also find examples of new retail creations fresh from the farm.
New Haitian ironworks available this year in the Rosehill Garden Center.
“Our farm production team is always experimenting with new varieties, testing them out from season to season to see what works,” says Jeff Menefee, Rosehill Gardens Events and Marketing Director. “This year we’re hearing about an echinacea that’s better suited for Kansas City’s climate and a new sweet gum tree that doesn’t drop those annoying prickly balls and grows in a nice column that can make a good natural screen.”
Jeff Menefee, Rosehill Gardens Events and Marketing Director.
This would be a great place for a wedding! – That’s something Rosehill heard over and over again through the years until they finally decided to explore the idea. Last year they officially unveiled their outdoor Event Space and this year it’s already booking up with weddings, birthday parties, and retirement parties.
“There’s no telling how far we’ll go with this,” says Stroud. “It really is an ideal natural setting for all kinds of occasions. And it’s a great opportunity for people to see what we’re about.”
Rosehill Gardens outdoor event space with tent
At the heart of Rosehill Gardens is the Somerset Wine and Cider Bar rooted in the company’s own winery and vineyard, and artfully shaped around an elegant Courtyard where mingling happens in a warm atmosphere complete with music, food and a terrific view of Martin City’s sunset.
It’s the perfect addition to the nightlife along 135th Street that defines a big part of Martin City’s destination appeal. Meneffee says the concept has really taken off and excitement is building for this year’s opening on May 22nd.
Somerset Wine & Cider Bar on Rosehill Gardens courtyard patio
“You know, we helped with Martin City’s beautification of 135th Street and now the wine bar is really adding to the atmosphere. This will be our third year and you can expect crowds. We’ll be open again on Friday and Saturday nights. If you want a table, you better make a reservation.”
Live music on Friday and Saturday evenings at Somerset Wine & Cider Bar
“Every year we’re attracting more people,” adds Stroud. “I probably hear more about the wine bar than anything else out in the community. First of all, it’s in Martin City, which is already a great place. Then you’ve got a unique experience inside our courtyard which fits so well with the dining and entertainment diversity up and down 135th Street. I love it.”
Local wines from Somerset Wine & Cider Bar served on weekends on the courtyard patio
We love it, too! Good luck with spring landscaping, Rosehill Gardens. We’ll see you out in the community, in the Garden Center, or at Somerset Wine and Cider Bar. Thanks for all you do to grow Martin City into a truly special place.
