When Scott and Peg Bormann first launched Creative Landscaping of Berrien Springs in the U.S. Bicentennial year of 1976, they did so with a used pick up and a few hand tools. Their desire to share their passion for plants and the great outdoors was the primary motivation behind their little start-up business. Now…forty years later as they mark a considerable milestone in the landscaping industry, they dispatch a team of 14 employees daily to enhance the natural beauty of Michigan's Great Southwest as one of the premier landscape design and installation companies in the entire region.
Scott and Peg, who both received their formal plant and landscape education at Purdue University and are Michigan Certified Nurserymen, operate their business in Berrien Springs with that same passion of forty years ago. The company specializes in hardscape and softscape projects that create extensions of a home’s living spaces and solve site problems including drainage, circulation, erosion, and noise pollution. And while their mission has always been to get people outdoors, Peg and Scott have seen significant changes over the years in the manner in which landscaping helps make that happen.
As Peg recounts, “When we started, it was all about plants, trees, lawns, and the occasional retaining wall. Nobody asked to have a pond installed back in the ‘70s,” She notes that concepts have changed dramatically, saying, “Now, outdoor space is viewed as another 'room' of the house that expands the home’s living space with patios, outdoor kitchens, and pergolas.”
As a high school senior, Peg aspired to be a teacher but after a visit to Fernwood in Niles, she fell in love with gardens and began working in the greenhouse at the popular botanical garden and nature preserve. That experience turned her educational focus to horticulture and landscape design.
Scott, too, worked at Fernwood during and after college. While interviewing for a job with a landscaping company outside of southwest Michigan, the owner commented that with his background and education in landscape and nursery management, Scott should start his own landscaping company. He took that advice to heart, discussed it with Peg, and together the husband and wife team established what is now one of the longest operating landscape design and installation firms in Berrien County.
Scott tells us, “Back then, no one knew how much the landscaping industry would grow or in what direction.” He admits, “We’ve learned and grown with the advances, and have been able to blend new ideas with the experience we’ve gained along the way.”
Since the 1970s, there has been an explosion in the variety of plants and building materials available for developing and constructing a design. Advances in hybridization have produced more flowering plants, a large selection of dwarf varieties, and new long-blooming variations. New materials not available 20 or 30 years ago, including architectural tiles, fabricated blocks & stone, composite decking, and LED lighting, have introduced new levels of durability and design adaptability to the landscaping process.
Peg says, “We have so much more flexibility when developing design solutions for our clients than we ever had in the past.” She chuckles when she recalls, “We use to have maybe a dozen shrubs available for creating a design plan. Now, there are easily 200 or more choices for our southwest Michigan climate. Where we basically had brick and poured concrete as options for patios, we now have books upon books of products to choose from. The options make it fun for us and our clients.”
Among the biggest trends the Creative Landscaping team is seeing now are requests for fire pits to be built into patios, the inclusion of water features, the integration of lighting solutions, and clients showing more interest in incorporating native plants into their plans.
Technology has had a large influence on the way in which the Creative Landscaping team serves clients. Hand-drawn designs have been replaced by computerized design and conceptualized imagery using photos of the client’s property overlaid with images of plants and hardscape features for a realistic view of what the end product will look like.
Scott says, “It is a great way to make sure the design we are developing is on target with the client’s expectations. It also helps them understand what the finished project will look like before we ever turn a shovel full of dirt.”
Scott and Peg are joined by Gary Krokker who serves as the company’s operations manager, and Shannon Godby who joined the company’s design team. Ten skilled crew members implement the design plans.
Creative Landscaping is fully licensed and insured. It is a Western Michigan Better Business Bureau Accredited Business and proud member of the Michigan Nursery & Landscape Association. For more information about Creative Landscaping or to arrange a design consultation click this link now: www.CreativeLandscapingInc.com or you can call 269-473-1356.
Creative Landscaping, Inc. is a full-service landscape design and installation company in Berrien Springs. Founded in 1976, the company serves clients throughout Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties, as well as those in Elkhart, St. Joseph, and LaPorte counties in Indiana. Services include landscape design and construction, as well as lawn care and garden maintenance. Products include patios, decks, walkways, and retaining walls; fire pits and outdoor kitchens; gardens and plantings; and water features including ponds and waterfalls.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com, Peg & Scott Bormann are shown at the center of the photo in front of the truck door, with the balance of the Creative Landscaping team on each side.
