One of my favorite toys growing up was Legos. I loved the kits and themes they offered; their designs were amazing. And best of all, you did not have to follow the instructions, you could just make up anything you wanted so long as you had all the pieces. I am lucky to have a daughter that was equally as interested in Legos as well. She was young when she started, so I had to make many of the initial kits for her which gave me an excuse to play with these bricks once again. As a child, I always remember getting so excited around Christmas when I would pick up a box, and you could hear the pieces parts rustling in the box knowing that was going to be a great gift for sure! I am slightly older since the Lego days, but here I am still playing with bricks and blocks. And just like before, I am excited to announce that I have a brand new shiny set of Legos to play with: Techo-Bloc!

Techo-Bloc was founded by Charles Ciccarello back in 1989, starting the company with only 5 employees. Now, 34 years later with over half a dozen state-of-the-art factories throughout North America, they are one of the top manufacturers of pavers, wall stones, steps, and curbs. Most of the products that Techo-Bloc produce have a modern design to them and tend to lean toward neutral earth tones and colors. This has been a growing trend over the last few years, and I do not expect that to change for several more years. Colors such as reds and oranges have been phasing slowly out as well as circle and curved designs.

We hinted at this new addition in the mid to late summer of last year. We were testing the waters with some of Techo-Bloc’s accessories such as their Flexlock polymeric sand and Gator sealers and cleaners. We were planning on bringing the pavers and wall stones in over the winter, but due to the immediate demand for some of their more popular items, we decided to get a head start.

We are starting out with Techo-Bloc’s most popular paver, the 60mm Blu HD2 in both smooth and slate texture in the Chestnut Brown, Greyed Nickel, Shale Grey, and Champlain Grey. We are stocking the 3 pc Slab series, but we can special order the Grande and the 6”x13” pieces if your job requires them.

We are stocking Techo-Bloc’s Raffinato and Brandon wall series in both the 90mm and 180mm sized pieces. You can find the Beige Cream and Greyed Nickel in the Raffinato wall, and the Champlain Grey, Shale Grey, and Oynx Black in the Brandon wall. There is also Brandon and Raffinato wall caps in stock, too. We will also be carrying some of the Raffinato Steps.

We will continue to add and adjust the products stocked as the demand grows and changes. I expect a truckload of products from Techo-Bloc to arrive weekly, so please ask us about special order items, or concerns for your larger-sized projects. We can check into Techo-Bloc’s online inventory and help you know what, when, and where the status of your material is.

I do not get to play with the blocks like all our contractors do, but I do enjoy watching how they use them! I hope to see the enjoyment that you will have through the successful pictures of your beautifully created projects. And don’t worry, if you happen to lose that one piece you really needed, give us a call. I have a salesman with bare feet that will find it for you in a painful moment!

For many years, people and companies have spent countless hours and dollars on re-inventing themselves. We’ve witnessed changing logos, hairstyles, business practices, flavors, and cultures. But did they really re-invent anything, or were they just bored?

This winter, Christensen’s updated our point-of-sale system to the current model. There was nothing wrong with the version of the software we were using, except that it was older, and the manufacturer would no longer support the old version with updates to keep it credit card compliant. In other words, a forced upgrade. So here we are with the new version. It looks almost the same as the old version. The colors are different, and there are some buttons in different places. But overall, the systems operate the same and look very similar.

Like Coca-Cola becoming New Coke and then going back and becoming Classic Coca-Cola. Nothing really changed, and perhaps it never should have. Frequently, we are asked to look and see the newest, latest, and greatest shiny thing. However, very often, the original is way better, works more effectively, and did not even really go out of style.

Much of the nursery and landscape industry is just this way. We do many of the same tasks that we have done for 100 years because it is the right thing to do. Pruning, mulching, plant care. It is wise to make sure, in your company, you are not changing just to change. Some of our industry’s greatest strength comes from the fact that we perform time-tested services to ensure the best possible outcomes. It is also wise to avoid the fad that only looks good for the moment. I think that it is time that our industry celebrates our endurance and stability. We should be telling our clients that what we do has stood the test of time. While we may tweak what we do, our history is what makes us stand apart from others.

For our 92^nd year in business, Christensen’s is maintaining itself as your premier partner in the landscape industry in Michigan. And this year is starting out with a good outlook. Fuel prices are beginning to stabilize, and even drop in some areas. This is allowing freight to stabilize across the country. Hardscape material shortages of the past years have been dealt with and the manufacturers are not anticipating large issues in supply this year. Plant material remains in tight supply. The past several years of sales have not allowed the supply of plant material to catch up to the demand. And unfortunately, it will take years for this to catch up. But rest assured that our team of professional buyers are doing their very best to find all of the material that you need for this year. After all, it is what we do.