Hilltop Landscaping fun facts: 40 years adds up

Author: Victor Rodriguez; Published: Feb 28, 2011; Category: New Mexico Landscaping; Tags: Irrigation Systems, Landscape Design, New Mexico Landscaping, The Hilltop, Xeriscape; No Comments

Arguably, The Hilltop has done more to change the face of Albuquerque than other landscaping contractor. And any company that has been in business for a long time starts to build up some accomplishments. After 40 years in the landscape business, The Hilltop has quite a few, so I decided to make a short list. And while I don’t mean to brag (well, maybe just a little), when I looked at this list I was rather impressed myself!

In the past 40 years The Hilltop has:

• Landscaped more than 50,000 homes in the Albuquerque area
• Done the “streetscapes” in more than 50 subdivisions
• Completed thousands of commercial projects
• Put down enough gravel to make a two lane road from Albuquerque to Santa Fe—and back!
• Designed and built 40 city and private parks
• Planted more than 150,000 trees
• Planted 1,000,000+ shrubs (yes, more than a million!)
• Installed more than 750 miles of irrigation (enough to run a pipe from Albuquerque to Los Angeles)
• Put in over 19 miles of irrigation in 2002 (enough to a run a pipe from Nine Mile Hill to Tramway Blvd.)
• Installed enough grass to make 1000 NFL-size football fields.

But even after 40 years we are not basking in our accomplishments. What has helped The Hilltop be successful over 40 years is our ability to grow and adapt to changes in what customers want. In the late ‘70’s and 80’s water savings were not on people’s minds and customers wanted lush lawns. But through the 90’s and after the turn of the century, customers have become more aware that water is an expensive commodity. We’re now at the forefront of xeriscaping, educating our customers about xeriscape alternatives and helping them create xeriscape gardens.

Most of our success though, has to be tied in to the loyalty of our clients. We have some clients that have used us for every house they have bought, from the starter, two-bedroom tract home, to their much larger dream home 20 years later.

Our clients today want beautiful landscapes that do not impact the environment as much. We do that by providing you with solutions that fit your lifestyles, be it an intimate back yard with a kiva or fire pit; or even an outdoor kitchen! Or perhaps you want to take advantage of Albuquerque’s Xeriscape rebate program.

Whatever the landscaping “landscape”, we are proud to continue to serve Albuquerque and the rest of New Mexico after 40 years.

Why, oh why, am I in the landscape business?

Author: Jim Forrester; Published: Feb 9, 2011; Category: New Mexico Landscaping, Residential Landscaping; Tags: Residential Landscape, The Hilltop, Winter; No Comments

As I write, it is the coldest day in Albuquerque in four decades (-10°F). The ground is frozen solid; very little work can be done. I could find this frustrating, but I have an email tucked away for days such as this:

Dear Jim and staff of Hilltop:

Every time I spend time in our beautiful back yard, I think of you guys and send a message of thanks for your hard work and ingenuity for creating our little sanctuary.

Moving from a much larger space in New Jersey, I wasn’t quite sure how it was all going to “work” here in Albuquerque. Meeting Jim Forrester and having him assure us that Hilltop could make something useful, interesting, and beautiful out of our little “sandbox” was really something we wanted to hear. I wasn’t so sure I really believed him at the time, but it was still nice to hear. We gave Hilltop the go ahead and the fun began. I think it took a total of 12 workdays, with the nicest and most  cooperative crew of guys there could be.

Our back yard is not really our back yard, it is another room to our wonderful Paul Allen Green home.  We eat outside, read outside, sway in our hanging hammocks while enjoying beautiful Albuquerque.

Thank you, Jo

What a joy to be a part of creating such a lasting and important addition to someone’s home and life! This couple moved to Albuquerque after living in many other cities. Joanne and her husband fell in love with New Mexico because of the beautiful skies and great outdoors. They chose a Paul Allen Home, and after getting several other proposals, chose Hilltop as their landscape contractor. She wanted a yard that would “Wow” her and it did! (Click any image to view before and after images.)

This is a real-life transformation. Another one of the many reasons “why I am in the landscape business!”

Guest Post: How I learned to relax and enjoy heavy rains in New Mexico’s high desert

Author: Admin; Published: Jan 13, 2011; Category: Residential Landscaping; Tags: Drainage, Residential Landscape, The Hilltop; No Comments

This is a guest blog post by Ray Gulick, a satisfied Hilltop customer who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I’ve lived in my house for seven years, and during that time, I’ve learned to fear heavy rains. Maybe not fear, exactly, but they make me nervous. Not because I don’t like moisture; I appreciate it as much as the next high-desert inhabitant. But my house sits below the road, and my driveway (and all of the front yard between the house and the road) slopes down toward my garage. Really heavy rains send muddy water into the garage. The first time it happened (unexpectedly), it ruined some books in boxes sitting on the garage floor. Since then, most of the stuff that can be damaged is up on pallets or blocks, which we’ve occasionally discovered are not high enough.

It didn’t occur to me when I bought the house during a very dry summer that this would be an issue. Most of us don’t think of things like this in the middle of a drought. It obviously did not occur to the builder. And it’s funny that the previous owner or their realtor never thought to mention it…

When Jim Forrester, The Hilltop’s president, walked around the property with me, he saw the problem right away, of course. But then, he’s been in the landscaping business for a while, and things like that jump out at him. He assured me we could route the runoff around the front of the garage and down an arroyo behind the house. While we were at it, we discussed ways to make the front courtyard more appealing.

Within a few days, one of The Hilltop’s folks came out and took measurements, snapped photographs, and made a lot of notes. That information was taken to one of The Hilltop’s landscape architects, and in a couple of weeks I was reviewing plans with Jim in his office. They included colored concrete walks, gravel, boulder features, shrubs, and a new tree or two, along with an automatic drip watering system.

Jim encouraged me to make changes and notes on the plan, but it all appeared so well thought-out that I didn’t see a reason to do anything except add a sitting area in the front courtyard (now that it was going to be an inviting place to sit in the evenings).

Not long after, a crew of 4-5 guys was working in my front yard and courtyard. They dug holes, poured concrete, planted plants, hauled stones, installed an automatic drip watering system, spread gravel, and reset flagstone in mortar until the courtyard and driveway looked great! And they completed the work in a remarkably short period of time.

As for the drainage issue, several things were done. First, a gentle swale was added to the driveway to channel water to the side instead of toward the garage. A concrete pad with a drainage channel was added to the front of the garage to catch any water that made it past the swale. Then, a trench from the side of the house to the nearest arroyo on the backside of the house was dug to drain water away from the side of the house. Finally, a depression or “holding pond”, dry most of the time, was dug to collect water that drains toward the driveway from the front yard. Now, I can’t wait for the next heavy rain. I’ll be like Sergeant Dan (from Forest Gump) in the storm: “Is that all you got!?”

If you need landscaping help like I did, you can’t do better than working with The Hilltop. They have great people who do great work, and they thoroughly understand New Mexico plants and landscape issues. Give them a call and let them fix whatever’s keeping you from enjoying your yard.

I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV, but I’ve helped resuscitate a few landscapes

Author: Victor Rodriguez; Published: Jan 10, 2011; Category: Commercial Landscaping, Landscape Maintenance, New Mexico Landscaping, Residential Landscaping; Tags: The Hilltop; One Comment

The Hilltop was selected Best of the City in 2007

35 years ago, when I was a pre-med/biology student at The University of Vermont, I never would have guessed that I would be doing landscaping for a living. And while landscaping is not brain surgery, being a landscaper has its own rewards. The sense of accomplishment that I get from seeing a project go from bare dirt and weeds to a beautiful living space is a joy for me and the other people I work with. On behalf of my friends and colleagues at The Hilltop Landscape Architects and Contractors: Welcome to our new website!

I have been working with The Hilltop for 24 years. The Hilltop is a full service landscape company started in the early 1970’s. We employ several hundred people. As a design/build firm, we have architects and designers that can take your ideas and make them come alive. Our installation crews are knowledgeable in irrigation, plantings, concrete work, masonry, and carpentry and many other things. Our landscape maintenance division does high end residential and commercial maintenance. And our tree care division will help you maintain the aesthetic quality of your trees.

Being a part of the biggest (and best) landscaping company in New Mexico has been a great experience. I found that being a landscaper is more than just pushing a lawn mower around or digging trenches. Through the years I have learned that to be successful you have to work hard, and be willing to learn. The Hilltop has a vast wealth of knowledge and this website is designed to share some of that expertise with you.

• Our blog will feature short articles from our experts to draw attention to aspects of landscape design, construction and maintenance. This blog will help you find solutions to your landscape problems. You may subscribe to the blog using the RSS feed button in the footer; that way you won’t miss a single post!
• We encourage you to leave comments or ask questions for future blog articles in the moderated comments area. E-mail us or call us to set up a private consultation.
• The Plants and Trees for New Mexico Resource will help you find plants that are adapted to the New Mexico climate. Our goal is that the list will serve as a resource to help educate our clients, so that we can work together in creating a landscape that meets their specific needs.
• Photo galleries highlight some of the work we have done in residential, commercial, landscape maintenance, treecare and xeriscape; and give you ideas for your own landscape. Look for “featured” landscapes in each of our service sections.
• From time to time we will offer special savings to our customers, so visit often.

I am very excited about our new look and what our site has to offer. It’s not heart surgery, but we at The Hilltop will continue to pour our hearts and souls into every project we do.