Spring Creek Nursery & Landscaping
While working at Spring Creek I did a little bit of everything. When I started it was May so the nursery was still busy. I spent a lot of time interacting with customers and helping them with questions. I also planted many plugs getting perennials ready for next spring and also planting 4" cups to make mixed pots. I kept the inside of the store stocked and clean and checked customers out and got them loaded. Once the nursery slowed down I got to go with the crew in the field as we installed landscaping and sod. Some jobs were design- build and I got to talk customers through our plan and what their best options were. Other jobs were just work for home builders and no plan had to be made as they gave us a set budget and we did everything to fulfill that.
Internship - DFW Site & Design
In the summer after my sophomore year I interned at DFW Site and Design which is a residential landscape company based out of Celina, Texas. While working for DFW I was given the task of placing all the plant orders for every job we did. So I was reading the landscape plans that had been created by our designer and making a list of the quantity and variety of each plant and then every afternoon I called out suppliers to make sure they had everything the crew needed in stock. I also contacted the homeowners of the new builds and spoke with them about their plant choices. Some of them were moving in from out of state so I had to explain what the plants looked like and their sizes at maturity to help them decide what they wanted where. This was quite a task often making many calls and emails back and fourth before they could finally decide. When doing this if the homeowner wanted changes I was responsible for creating change orders and making sure payment was received before the work was scheduled. I also was able to design a few landscapes myself using the program, ProContractor. The designs I did had to follow city specks as well as subdivision requirements.
Johnson Turf
While working at Johnson Turf after my freshman year I got to work with the crew in the field. I really enjoyed seeing everything that we could get done. We worked mainly for cities doing landscape work for parks and city buildings. I got to meet with the city planners and architects making sure everything was being done to specification and approving each plant before it went in the ground. I would read the landscape plans and get plants laid out and beds set up so I could instruct the crew on what needed to be done. I operated machinery such as skid steers and mini excavators. I also got to help in the bidding process for an HOA of a subdivision being built. I completed all the take-offs and put in pricing for the needed materials.