89: Matt Berry of Dos Amigos and Electric Equipment

Plant of the Week:

The Daffo-Freaking-Dill

Unlike crocuses, last week’s plant of the week, if squirrels go around making your daffodils their lunch, they are in for some health problems. That being said, their curiosity and annoying excavating ways could displace a few of yours.

With over 32k named cultivars and so many colors and shapes and sizes that I can’t keep straight, daffodils thrill me just by

Being around at this time of year
Being so varied that I don’t even begin to want to understand the different types
Being so bloody cheerful
Being toxic! It’s handy when one only has a limited supply of the ‘let’s share with nature’ attitude.

“ I’ll just offer this mini-list of criminal offenders, once revered, now feared: Foxgloves, rhododendron, yew, Easter lilies, lily-of-the-valley, tansy, lantana, mountain laurel, rhubarb, DAFFO-FREAKING-DILLS.”

— Marianne Willburn

Artist Karen Blair

You heard me mention my friend Karen Blair on the pod. Karen is a local Charlottesville artist who sponsors Into the Garden with Leslie

Have a look at what Karen can do— she worked with one of my listeners, Anne Brooks Rudzki, of Capital Roots Containers, and created this beautiful commission of Anne Brook’s garden.

Follow this link to see more of her paintings.

And follow her on Instagram here.

Matt Berry of Dos Amigos

In case you are wondering, the original partners were Lee and a guy who spoke Spanish.

Back in 2014 when I knew I needed to partner with a landscaping company to help LH Gardens get some more of the heavier work done, I chose Dos Amigos Landscaping.

Why? Because both the owner at that time, Lee Witherow, and the owner now, Matt Berry, are nice guys and they returned my phone calls.

I cannot tell you how glad I am now to have established that affiliation. Lee has since retired, and both he and Matt continue to be nice guys who return phone calls, but MUCH more important than that is where Matt is taking this business.

Change isn’t always easy, but Matt has chosen the electric gear and transport route. Every time he needs a new tool, he replace an internal combustion engine with an electric battery powered tool.

Jeff and I have used electric mowers for over 10 years now, and it was easy for me to only have electric blowers and string trimmers for LH Gardens, as we didn’t do much heavy work.

But for a company with as many customers as Dos Amigos to make this commitment— it’s a big step. In the interview, Matt makes it clear that he does NOT want Dos Amigos to be alone in the electric field; he wants colleagues from all over to dive in.

What do you ‘hear’ when you see this photo? It wouldn’t be quite what you think with a battery pack.

Matt and I also talk about the possibility of changing clients’ understanding of ‘the perfect lawn’ and working to spread the word that any chemicals applied to one’s land don’t stay on one’s land.

All landscapers are in the business of making customers happy: they would probably ALL be much happier by contributing less noise and pollution to their neighborhoods.