A view of landscaping work done by Culver’s outside The Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids. PHOTO/CULVER’S
There may be as many possible configurations for the design of someone’s yard as there are blades of grass, which is why Ryan Novak spends considerable time etching out the possibilities long before his work is brought to life.
Mr. Novak is a landscape designer with Marion-based Culver’s Lawn & Landscape, which prides itself on its customizable designs. The company achieves this using plants specifically selected for the Corridor’s climate, and pairs its work with a wide variety of outdoor lifestyle options, including patios, lighting, arbors, water features, pathways, wood-fired ovens and rooftop gardens.
“Landscaping can mean lot of different things to a lot of different people,” Mr. Novak said.
Culver’s growth has followed a long road that started in 1982, when founder Todd Culver was mowing lawns in Dallas, Texas. Two years later, he returned to his home state of Iowa and resumed his lawn care business, which blossomed into a landscaping service, full-service garden center, greenhouse and gift shop over the next three decades.
The company is also a certified Segmental Retaining Wall Installer, according to the National Concrete Masonry Association, and has concrete installers certified by the International Concrete Pavement Institute.
Culver’s has a staff of about two dozen “core” employees who work with the company year-round, in addition to about 140 seasonal employees.
“We truly pride ourselves in the growth we have on an annual basis, based off our reputation,” Mr. Novak said. “I think everybody strives for that. I just hope we’re doing the best at it that we possibly can.”
The company has discussed building additional facilities outside their Marion location for easier access to more distant work sites, but it plans to keep all major operations headquartered at the business’s 24-acre campus for the foreseeable future.
“There’s been discussion about that, but we’ve got a great resource here and we’re willing to go anywhere,” Mr. Novak said. “It’s just nice to be able to manage everything from here, if you will. So there hasn’t been a real need at the moment to look for a satellite facility.”
With a large staff and a literal ecosystem to maintain at the business’s sprawling grounds, Mr. Novak also said senior staff regularly evaluate trends, which favor more attention to detail than ever before, he said.
“Every year is a learning experience, because I’ve been doing this for 22 years … and the things we’re doing now, I would never have dreamed of,” he said. “The amount of detail and things people request, it’s awesome. I wanted to go to school for architecture, and got into horticulture, and one of the things that we’re doing now is creating things with architectural flair, and it’s been a blast.”
– Chase Castle
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