“Building long-term relationships with our customers sets us apart from our competition,” says John Sullivan, lead designer at Olympic Landscape and Irrigation Co. He cites an example of the company serving two generations of the same family: Beautifying the outdoor space at the family’s Puyallup home led to doing the same when they moved, and again when the couple settled into their retirement dwelling. Recently their son, who’d been a child in the first house, hired Olympic to develop his own yard.
Olympic Landscape owner Neil Hedman began the company in 1977 after working for another landscaper who focused mainly on sprinkler systems. Hedman wanted to widen the range of work he could do, offer quality craftsmanship and have a financially sound business. Now with 30 employees and 30 years of workmanship under his belt, he’s accomplished what he set out to do by giving customers what they want.
“Our practice is almost 100 percent residential, and half of that includes renovating existing landscapes,” says Sullivan. “We do paving, stonework, stunning water features, decks, plantings or whatever the customer needs.” And he says they aren’t afraid of a challenge.
A homeowner with an 11,000-square-foot log home asked for all of her plantings to be 100 percent native to the area and that any plants or seeds come from sources west of the Cascades. For her two-acre garden, that took a great deal of research, says Sullivan, but he also admitted he had fun doing it.
He says everyone at Olympic is driven by the creative spirit. All the creativity and enthusiasm begins in the office with a team approach. “We treat our fellow employees like we treat our customers,” says Sullivan. “That shows in our work.”
HEATHER LARSON
5620 112th St E, Puyallup
253.922.7075
olympiclandscape.com