Olympic Landscape & Irrigation
Neil Hedman started his landscape company with a dream, a degree in Botany, and a background working as a field supervisor at a wholesale nursery in Buckley.
Rooted in humble soil, Neil began Olympic Landscape & Irrigation Co. by working from his own home in 1977. Today, Olympic Landscape & Irrigation Co. has blossomed and offers a broad range of outdoor services such as landscape planning, landscape construction, sprinkler and pond service, and backflow assembly testing.
Some of Neil’s passions are bringing people and material together to create exciting projects, and working with highly skilled professionals in the landscape and irrigation fields. His designers are some of the most creative out there. Lead designer at Olympic Landscape, John Sullivan, is one of the design leaders that has worked right alongside Neil since 1977—creating the Olympic Landscape vision and mission.
“John has a real talent for architectural lines and plant knowledge. He just knows how to layout a landscape,” said Neil of Sullivan’s talents.
When talking about his love of landscaping, John freely admits he’s inspired by architecture and layout. But mostly, he has learned, the job is about getting to know people. “The client’s personality makes the hugest impact on how I determine a design,” explained John.
“Our customers are often referred to as ‘friends.’ So many of our clients start out as customers and then become our friends. It’s a growing relationship that develops between us. And over time, a friendship forms between our customers and Olympic,” added Neil.
Olympic Landscape may have a comfy, friendly feel about how they do business, but they have a cool finger on the pulse of innovative outdoor escape and entertainment trends in the Pacific Northwest. In recent years, Neil and John revealed they are seeing lots of water and water falls, stone and rock work and lighting in current outdoor designs. Outdoor landscaping is being shaped for entertainment. “On a broader scope, incorporating the yard into the living environment is a big deal for a home owner. When you are inside at night, outdoor water features and creative lighting brings the beauty of that landscape into the home. To be able to go out and enjoy your yard with conversation areas, patios, outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplaces and fire pits, these enhance the yard. It becomes a place that you can enjoy with family and friends,” said Neil.
The wet Northwest weather and native plant life also shapes the unique landscapes they create. “There’s a good foundational plant palette native to the Northwest that makes for great landscaping. A lot of those plants are native to our area and do very well without extra care—it’s a great start for foundational planning,” stated Neil. “These native plants also strategically enhance the natural scenery surrounding a home. The summer and fall colors of these plants are always in transition, so it’s not just one color all the time. The whole yard and landscape scene is constantly changing throughout the year.”
As Olympic Landscape & Irrigation Co. continues to flourish, Neil looks forward to servicing a larger area of the Puget Sound and creating awareness and interest in what his company does. The company exhibits walk-through garden and landscape areas at venues like the Puyallup Fair and local garden shows. Landscape lovers won’t want to miss their garden exhibit at the Tacoma Dome Garden Show in January 2011.
“We are really interested in developing our reputation as designers and educating people on how important it is to get professional help to do landscape work without going through trial, error and expense. Whether it’s accenting a garden or designing a whole area—it should bring a lot of joy.” For further information, please visit olympiclandscape.com.