Good morning, Andy—
Your team has been working away today at Limewood Mews. Looks great to see green again. Amazing the quantity of leaves they move.
If you have any questions about my note yesterday, feel free to call me ….
Thanks and regards,
Michael
Shannon
Hi Andy,
I spoke with Pablo and Ernesto today about the area uphill from the new catch basins and biologs. As you can see from the photo below, that area has been seeded and strawed, with cones marking where the seed is. I requested that Blade Runners not mow down past the top catch basin (marked by the red cone in the middle of the photo) and that they avoid the narrow “wheelbarrow path” uphill from there on this visit and the next one. Pablo suggested that they use a hand mower, which I thought was a great idea.
I also reiterated the request not to remove leaves in the wooded area to help mitigate runoff there and to provide natural compost (he already knew about that). In addition we talked about some of the other areas that residents have complained about (he knew about almost all of them), and I agreed with his instructions not to mow areas that have no grass even if they’re marked on the map. I found it a reassuring conversation. And the community already looks much better thanks to their visit
Mary
Fall Mowing Service:
Mowing Service vs Fall Cleanup: It is important that you differentiate a fall mowing service (A1 service listed in your contract) from a fall clean-up service (B3 service listed on your contract). Your fall cleanup is dependent on the number of leaf removal services in your agreement. We often hear concerns about leaf removal quality when we are performing a mowing service. For example, during the non-leaf season, Blade Runners blows the outer curb of debris at each mowing visit. We suspend blowing these areas after the leaves accumulate in the outer curb because it moves the leaves around and isn’t picked up with this service. These areas will be cleaned with your leaf service.
As part of the fall mowing services, we use Mulching Blades: During the early fall mowing visits we use specialized mulching blades to grind and reduce leaves in the turf. We do not pile and remove leaves on these visits. This is a cost saver for you and is good for your soil.
Fall Leaf Removal Visits.
To help keep your property safe and reduce the possibility of damage, we do not blow or remove leaves obstructed by parked cars as it aggravates residents and creates damage claims. The thought process is that over several visits these areas will be cleaned. If there are residual concerns at the end of December, we can schedule a specific day in January to have cars moved and these areas cleaned.
Please review our leaf video for details of the removal service
https://www.blade-runners.com/leaf/
Leaf Removal Schedule:
The leaf removal schedule (B3 service in your contract) is dependent on the number of clean-ups in your agreement. Please see the schedule below
The clean-ups timeline depends on the number of visits you have in your contract and would follow this schedule:
1x Leaf Management = 12/1-12/31
2x Leaf Management = 11/10-11/30, 12/1-12/31
3x Leaf Management = 10/15-10/31, 11/10-11/30, 12/1-12/31
4x Leaf Management = 10/15-10/31, 11/10-11/30, 12/1-12/31, 1/1-1/25
5x Leaf Management = 10/1-10/15, 10/15-10/31, 11/10-11/30, 12/1-12/31, 1/1-1/25
6x Leaf Management =1 0/1-10/15, 10/15-10/31, 11/1-11/10, 11/10-11/30, 12/1/12/31, 1/1-1/25
At any point we are happy to enhance any service that is currently in your agreement to give you the service you desire.
We look forward to our continued relationship!
Hi Shannon,
MLCA hosted its annual meeting last Thursday evening, July 28. As you might imagine, one of the agenda topics was the landscaping work the board has undertaken, as well as the change in landscape contractor. The change in landscape contractor was first brought up in the context of the annual budget. The Blade Runners contract is significantly more expensive than our previous contractor and to cover the additional cost we will have to raise our dues.
Such increases are never popular, but there is good news: everyone in attendance agreed the landscaping looks very nice, and so there were zero objections when we explained the need to raise dues. Everyone agreed this is money well spent. One fellow not often complimentary of the board wrote us “The landscape seems more brilliant and adds to our street scape. And thanks for that.”
Thank you for the fine job the crew is doing. It’s very pleasant coming into our neighborhood and seeing well-kept lawns, trimmed sidewalks and flower beds without weeds. It’s a dramatic improvement, and we’re all very happy with the change.
Rich T…
MLCA Board
While doing work, another Board Member emailed:
Blade Runners was founded in 1984 by Eric Storck, a landscape gardener with a passion to deliver quality service in a courteous fashion.
Blade Runners strives to be different and better than our competitors. We believe the devil is in the details when it comes to comparing companies.
What sets us apart? Blade Runners has a commitment to a trained team of excellent employees. We only work in Northern Virginia, with locations in Sterling, Lorton, and Fairfax and we have a large number of clients located in close proximity to one another. We employee a wide range of progressive environmentally safe products. Our attention to technology is ahead of pack, and we have invested in different smart equipment to save time and money for our clients. Blade Runners has developed dozens of videos and articles to save our clients time making decisions and understanding the landscape maintenance process.
But don’t just believe us, visit our testimonials page or view our Google reviews.
Blade Runners, Inc.
3150 Spring Street
Fairfax, VA 22031
Blade Runners, Inc.
45763 Elm Wood Ct.
Sterling, VA 20163
Blade Runners, Inc.
7904 Hill Park Ct.
Lorton, VA 22079
