I tell people all of the time that I'm like an annoying toddler, asking "Why?". "Why? Why? Why?" 

Part of "adulting" is being gainfully employed. There are bills to pay, possibly a family to support. If we're lucky, we find a job we enjoy going to everyday (or at least most days). The ideal is to find an industry you can call home, whether or not you stay with the same employer. I was curious why my fellow Christensen's employees worked here and why they work in the industry. So I sent them all a short survey to ask "Why?"

Sometimes the "why" is as simple as Larry's "I needed a job". Other "whys" included expected answers. But there were also some unique stories. Can you relate to any of them?

Like many of you, some of Christensen's employees have been in the industry a long time. As expected, owner Eric has been around since the age of 12. But so has Matt (with a break in his 30s). Kim, Barry and Cinco provided similar answers with 40+ years, 40 years and 45 years respectively. Chris and Dave are close behind with around 30 years. Christensen's also has the relative newcomers like Jen who's in her second season with the company, but has been in the industry for seven.

When asked why they're in the landscaping/green industry, there was a common thread that many employees enjoy the outdoors. Barry agreed, adding "the industry is still fun. Problem solving and meeting some of the most interesting people" were reasons he's stayed.

The plants are, of course, an important element. Chris said "I like working with the plants and seeing all the new varieties that come out." 

One of the more unique stories was Jen's. She was laid off from a hospital during COVID and was hired at a neighborhood nursery. "I always liked plants, but truly came to love them. I look forward to the insanity that comes with spring time in a nursery. I take a lot of satisfaction in adding to the sustainability of our planet and helping people solve problems all while adding beauty around them."

According to a recent survey, 76% of employees with close friends at work are far more likely to stay with the organization. Another study reveals that most workers see friendships as a critical factor in their decision to remain at a company. In the fight to retain key talent, fostering meaningful relationships could be a game changer. (Leveraging Social Capital by Michael Arena)

"Relationships I've built over the years stand out the most" for Matt. He went on to say, "It's the people. We move thousands (even millions) of dollars in products around, yet most of us understand this industry is full of SNAFUs and unpredictability. Success comes from working as a team, staying ahead of problems, managing expectations, and celebrating the small wins along the way. At its core, this industry is about picking things up and putting them back down again. But it's how we work together to make that happen, while creating more beautiful spaces and providing for our families, that I reflect on."

As for me, I'm in this job because I needed a part-time position that would work around my kids' schedule and Christensen's needed part-time help for the buyers. But, after almost 7 seasons, I've come to enjoy learning about the plants, using the resources to alter my own landscaping and being surrounded by so much natural beauty.

It's Sunday morning and stores aren't open yet. You're still in your pajamas anyway. So you go online to shop for a new piece of furniture. But it's so difficult to visualize that new chair, couch or side table in your living room. Wait, there's a button that says "Show Me" or "Try It In Your Space". Suddenly, a picture of that sofa appears on your screen with the instructions to point your device where you want to "place" it. 

Augmented reality is a fun tool. It allows you to "try before you buy", saving money and hassle.

It's also an opportunity for you, as a business owner or project manager/sales person. But who has the resources to develop that kind of technology? The hardscape vendors you buy from through Christensen's have done the work for you. They've developed everything from project galleries to augmented reality. What have you used from this list?

Oaks Landscape Products provides several inspirational opportunities. The Oaks Landscape Project Gallery includes 5 pages of image projects. Their website also has an extensive list of technical information and guides in their Resource Center. You can find it on their website on the top ribbon. Find the Landscape Project Gallery and more under the Inspiration drop-down menu on the top ribbon.

High Format offers over a dozen Inspiration Galleries on their website, each with detailed pictures and specs of the products used in the project. Downloads are also available, providing project details as well as links to an Outcropping Layout App and Outcropping Height Guide Tool.

52 years of dreaming about seeing the tulips!

I'd heard of the gardens in the Netherlands most of my life: the colors, the amazing variety of flowers. I dreamed of being there!

Then I chose a seasonal, spring-dependent career and devoted many years to that beautiful business. Supporting my clients and my staff (that had become used to eating regularly) required time, toil, worry, and stress!  But how rewarding to know that Christensen’s had (indirectly) planted thousands upon thousands of perennials, shrubs and trees over the span of my work-life.

Then came the day I decided to exit Christensen’s. To this day, I struggle to say "retired". But, the nursery was well established, the staff very competent and experienced. It was time.

Retirement allows my wife, Penny, and I to thoroughly enjoy traveling. It was finally time to live my dream and travel to Amsterdam in April of this year. We chose a river cruise with day trips to different sights. One of our first visits was to Floralia Brussels. It is a spring flower show at a private estate, Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden, which opens during tulip time for visitors.  It features 14 hectares of daffodils, tulips and other minor bulbs planted in beds or in naturalized settings. There are one million bulbs planted annually with 500 different varieties.  We were stunned by the beauty of the estate and the dazzling colors.

The highlight of the trip was the Keukenhof Gardens!  We arrived by bus and the first thing we saw from the bus was the fields of production tulips, hyacinths, and minor bulbs planted in mass. Think acers of one color of tulips in full bloom! Reds! Yellows! Blue hyacinths! There had to be 150 acres of color!  Fantastic!

Keukenhof is a park like setting covering 70 acres. Walking paths lead you through bed after bed of color. There are ponds reflecting brilliant color. It is truly a horticultural park where they plant 7 million bulbs annually. There are over 800 varieties of bulbs! I was impressed with a display of blue grape hyacinths planted as a meandering stream of color. It was stunning! 

You've got to go and fill your eyes!

Hi! I am Molly and I have been with Christensen’s for 14 years. Many of you may remember me from my days on the perennial lot. These days, I am the perennial buyer, sadly working at a desk (not so sadly during a heat wave or rainstorm). My main goal is to source fresh, quality perennials that are landscape ready!

I wanted to give you a little peek behind the curtain, so that you can understand all that goes into offering the best customer care possible!

Let me start with the most important aspect of my job: timing. The plant buyers are always working one to two weeks out. For example, today is Monday July 13^th. By the end of this week, I will have trucks for the week of July 20th set in stone and am unable to make additions or changes.

You might be wondering, why do I need to know this?? As the contractor, it’s important to understand the lead time required to get your material to Christensen’s. Basically, the buyers need a week or two, sometimes more (depending on time of year) to get you exactly what you need. If you need something ASAP, let us know ASAP so your material arrives fresh and in a timely fashion.

If a project requires a large quantity of a plant, or something funky no one has ever heard of, please let us know, in advance! We want to help! But we order your plant material from all over the country, and with the logistics involved, it takes proper planning on our part.

There is another snake in the grass to be wary of. Say you give me the list of materials and deposit right on time, I order it for the following week, and all is good. Then the dreaded “bounce back” email arrives, notifying me that the plants are no longer available: crop loss, water issues, pruning issues, someone stole them for another order. Whatever the reason, your plants are not coming as planned.

As a buyer who prides herself on meeting deadlines, this is not an ideal situation for either of us. After follow-ups with your salesperson, who will then notify you of the snag, the plants are added to my “get it here now!” list and your arrival date is pushed back at least another week.

Why am I sharing this bit of information? It’s a gentle reminder that some things are out of our control and many issues can be mitigated with advance planning. For example, after receiving a “bounce back” email, there still might be a chance to meet your deadline because it’s several weeks away.

The moral of the story is that we, the buyers, are committed to providing you with quality material, in stock when you need it. That quality, however, requires regular turnover. Therefore, we may not have the quantity or item you’re looking for on any given day. Advance notice allows the buyers to work with you to source the material you need when you need it. When situations out of our control pop up, please know that we work hard to make it right.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your orders!

Christensen's offers a full selection of fertilizers for landscape professionals. With so many options available, choosing the right product can sometimes feel overwhelming. Here's a quick guide to help you match common landscape applications with the fertilizer best suited for the job.

Quick Fertilizer Guide

1. New planting Trees and Shrubs → Bio-Tone Starter Plus + Root Stimulator
2. Long-term feeding → Osmocote
3. Acid-loving shrubs → Holly-Tone
4. Established Trees and Shrubs → Plant-Tone
5. Flowers → Flower-Tone
6. Roses → Rose-Tone
7. Bulbs → Bulb-Tone
8. Turf → Milorganite

If you'd like a little more detail, here's a closer look at each fertilizer and where it fits best in the landscape.

Application Tips

• Bio-Tone: Mix into the backfill during planting.
• Root Stimulator: Water in at planting.
• Plant-Tone, Holly-Tone, Rose-Tone, and Flower-Tone: Mix into planting beds during installation or apply to the soil surface around established plants and water in.
• Osmocote: Apply to the soil surface under mulch or lightly incorporate into the root zone.
• Milorganite: Broadcast over turf and water in.

Christensen's prides itself on partnering with landscape professionals to help them install and maintain beautiful, successful landscapes.

While fertilizer can help plants establish and thrive, more is not always better. Fertilizer is most effective when plants are healthy and actively growing. Avoid fertilizing plants that are drought-stressed or experiencing significant transplant shock. Sites amended with quality compost may also require less fertilizer than expected. In most cases, proper watering, soil preparation, and planting practices will have a greater impact on long-term plant success than fertilizer alone.

My degree is in American history. I was particularly fascinated by the Civil War era as well as how immigrants/emigrants shaped the country.

However, learning lesser known historical facts is always fun for me, no matter the era. Admittedly, my recall abilities aren't very strong. So I'm not necessarily an asset on trivia night. But I love the learning!

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, I thought it would be fun to test your knowledge. Answers are below my byline.

No cheating!!

Sources

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-declaration-of-independence

https://www.annapolis.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Little-Known-Facts-about-the-Declaration-of-Independence-copy1.pdf

https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/three-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-american-revolution/

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/ten-facts-about-the-revolutionary-war

https://www.americanrevolution.org/fun-facts/

https://azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/American-Revolution-Trivia-Questions.pdf

Answers

As we enter the summer months, and even into fall, why not think of adding something out of the ordinary into the landscape by using a fountain pond? Christensen’s has long been a distributor for EasyPro, based out of Grant, Michigan. This year, we've added products from another Michigan based company, Blue Thumb.

Blue Thumb offers something a little different with their fountains, ranging from vase fountains, to real stone fountains and even metal fountains.

While planning for later this year, or even next, keep in mind the option of adding a small, relaxing element into the plan. If I was redoing my patio, I would surely add in a fountain set to relax with after being at work. 

Next time you're at Christensen's, please ask any of us about the fountain pond options from EasyPro and Blue Thumb and we will get you all the information.

For the past several years, it seems that every new pest or disease affecting boxwood has sparked another round of conversations about removing these iconic shrubs from the landscape. Most recently, the arrival of box tree moth in southeastern Michigan has many homeowners wondering if it is time to replace their boxwoods with something else. In my opinion, the answer is still no. Boxwood has earned its place in our landscapes over decades of performance. Few shrubs can match its year-round color, versatility, deer resistance, and ability to provide structure and formality in the garden. While box tree moth is certainly a challenge, it is a manageable one.

The key is understanding that box tree moth is an insect pest, not a death sentence for every boxwood plant. Like many landscape pests, it can be effectively controlled through regular monitoring and timely treatment. Homeowners and landscape professionals who inspect their plants for feeding damage, webbing, caterpillars, or defoliation can often identify problems before significant damage occurs. Several treatment options have proven effective when applied at the proper time. For example, Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) is readily available. The reality is that maintaining healthy boxwoods through monitoring and treatment is often far less disruptive and less expensive than removing mature plantings and starting over.

When considering alternatives, it is important to remember what would be lost. Boxwood has long been the standard for foundation plantings, formal hedges, and landscape accents because few shrubs offer the same combination of size, density, evergreen foliage, and tolerance of pruning. Even Michigan State University Extension, while discussing alternatives, acknowledges that there are currently no perfect replacements that fully replicate the performance and appearance of boxwood. Replacing established shrubs often means waiting years for new plants to reach the same size and visual impact already present in the landscape.

For landscape contractors and homeowners in southeastern Michigan, my recommendation is simple: don't give up on boxwood. Learn to recognize the signs of box tree moth activity, work with a knowledgeable landscape professional, and implement a treatment program when necessary. With proper care, boxwoods can continue to provide the timeless beauty and structure that have made them a landscape favorite for generations. The best boxwood replacement is often the healthy boxwood already growing in your yard.

Installing joint sand on paver projects is crucial for both the structural longevity and lasting aesthetics of the installation. All joint sand fills the gaps between concrete pavers to lock them together, creating a rigid yet flexible surface. It evenly distributes weight, stops pavers from shifting, prevents weed growth and keeps out insects.

Today though, we're tip-toeing into air-cured, resin paver joint sands.

If you’ve been installing pavers for a while, you already know joint sand can make or break a job. It’s the last stage of the project and often the final step before you collect your check.
With polymeric sand, installers must keep a close eye on the weather, temperature, and even ground moisture levels that may keep your concrete pavers too moist on a shady day.

That’s where air-cured resin sands have been gaining traction. From our side of the counter at Christensen’s, we’re seeing more contractors make the switch simply because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Site prep and scheduling are more straight-forward. Yes, it’s initially more expensive than traditional polymeric. But it’s also more forgiving and less weather-dependent. With resin sand, you’re not racing the clock or watching the weather the same way you are with polymeric. There’s also no chance of polyhaze showing up after the pavers have dried and your crew has left the site.

The installation is straightforward. 

1. Clean the compacted pavers surface, leaving it slightly damp (not flooded)
2. Sweep or squeegee the sand into the joints with the help of a garden hose.
3. Sweep off the excess
4. Lightly mist to settle everything in.

After that, it cures from the top down as the resin becomes exposed to air. No mixing, no polyhaze, and no stressing about a surprise rain shower rolling through right after you leave.

Gator Nitro Joint Sand (stocked at Christensen’s) brings something extra to the table with its semi-permeable setup. It firms up hard and allows water to pass through. This can help with jobs where drainage matters or where permeable specs come into play.

Gator Nitro-X Fine Joint Sand installs the same way as the original Gator Nitro, but features a finer grain, making it a better fit for tighter joints and more refined surfaces. This tighter joint surface encourages water to sheet from your paved area. This may be especially useful near pools where you may grade towards a drain channel.

At the end of the day, resin joint sand isn’t necessarily about replacing every bag of polymeric sand you use. It’s about having another tool that’s a little more foolproof when conditions aren’t perfect or timelines are tight. Resin sand may offer a smoother day on site, and fewer return trips just to deal with joints.

Coralburst® Crabapple (Malus 'Coralcole') is salt-tolerant, grows well in normal, sandy or clay soil and grows to be about 8-12' x 10-15'.

Magnolia stellata 'Royal Star', because it blooms later than other Magnolias, is less susceptible to frost issues. This native of Japan can grow to be 10-20' with a spread of 8-15'. 

We'll close out the show with the elegant, purple flowers of Roseum Elegans Rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense 'Roseum Elegans'). This fast-growing, evergreen shrub thrives in cooler regions like Michigan and is an option as a hedge or privacy screen.

Join us at Christensen's to see what's blooming.

The variety is staggering.