Landscape Express service offers one-of-a-kind garden plans

Jayme Visnesky has literally spent a lifetime at Penn Hills Lawn and Garden, the nursery her mother Beverly founded 32 years ago. She loves her job and all the people she’s gotten to know over the years.

“Growing up in the business was just wonderful,” she says. “This is my life.

“I did my homework underneath the desk in my mother’s office,” she adds with a laugh. “It was a fun way to grow up, learning about plants and nature.”

Jayme took over the garden center in 2000 when Beverly retired, and she considers her customers as friends.

“Every spring they come in,” she says. “I remember the kids when they were a foot high; now they’re out of college, it’s amazing.”

All those “friends” are one of the reasons she started the Landscape Express service a few years ago.

“I wanted to be able to help our customers in a way that would be economically good for them. When you think about the design aspect, it can get pretty pricey,” Visnesky says.

Design, delivery and plant placement is free as long as customers purchase the plants and materials from the nursery when using Landscape Express.

Gardeners can simply go to the Penn Hills Lawn and Garden website, fill out a form which includes measurements of the garden, adding a photo of the area and other details. Then she’ll create a one-of-a-kind garden plan that includes the plants.

Customers can choose to do the planting themselves, or hire their favorite landscaper to do it for them. Visnesky says about half of the Landscape Express clients do their own planting to save money and get their gardening fix.

“Some people don’t have time to do the planting,” she says, “some people can’t do all that heavy digging, but still want the curb appeal.”

The nursery is also happy to assist with finding local landscapers to complete the plan. The plants are delivered to the garden, but also put in the right location and spaced according to the design. Need bulk goods like soil and mulch too? Add those to your order and have them delivered at no charge.

Each plant comes with an identification sheet and information on how to take care of the variety. Then all that needs to be done is to put them in the ground. When at the site, someone from the nursery will explain how much soil is needed, where to add it, demonstrate how to put a nice edge on the garden and show how to install the landscape fabric, too.

Landscape Express options

It’s not just an online-based service either. Gardeners can physically bring the information and pictures to her, and she’ll create a planting design that’s perfect for the space. It’s extremely important to schedule an appointment though, as you will want to work closely with Jayme to give your space the time and attention it truly deserves.

Visnesky prides herself in being flexible and finding plants that customers want. She’s also there to provide suggestions of plantings that add texture, color and something special to each garden.

“It’s all about communication,” she says. “Tell me what you need and I’ll try my hardest to give you what you want.”

She’ll never forget the first Landscape Express customer who was overjoyed to work with her to create a unique gardening space that was tailored to his personal taste.

“It was such a sense of accomplishment,” he said to her, “to be able do this himself and tell people he planted it, he was just really happy.”

Starting with a blank canvas is one of the things she loves about the Landscape Express service.

“It’s awesome. You can take it from nothing to something beautiful,” she says proudly. “To see it come alive from the paper to real life, that’s what makes it fun.”

Penn Hills Lawn and Garden is located at 200 Jefferson Road in Penn Hills. Reach them at pennhillslawnandgarden.com or call 412-241-0411.

Tags: gardening, Landscape services, Penn Hills Lawn and Garden