Letting nature lead the design: Behind the Business with Schwartz Tree & Landscape in Cranston, RI

David Schwartz opened Schwartz Tree & Landscape in Cranston, RI, in 1984. “I love doing this for a living; I’ve always loved it. Watching my clients’ properties through the years just gets better and better. We have many clients whose properties we have maintained for 20 to 30 years,” he said about his work, which focuses on trees and shrubs.

Schwartz is also a licensed arborist and shared that he sometimes works as “an expert witness in court when it comes to plant litigation.” Schwartz Tree & Landscape serves clients in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts.

The business owner discussed how working with trees and plants has always interested him and gave us insight into his business mindset. “I just find working with nature very satisfying. If we can produce a proper result with a plant, I know we’re doing something right. The rules of dealing with nature are very practical. We’re a small, quality-oriented company, and we are plant specialists. Everything that we do is designed to give a proper result with plant material. It’s not about selling. Yes, sales are important, but that’s only part of the picture,” the business owner said.

Schwartz and his team use a holistic approach to managing a landscape. “When I walk a property, I look at its strengths and weaknesses, like pieces of a puzzle, and decide how to best approach a management strategy for the maximum long-term benefit of the property. When I look at a property, each plant has its own contribution and a relationship with the surrounding plants; we focus of the whole picture,” Schwartz said about his company’s view on tree and plant care.

Schwartz pointed out that he is careful about removing trees. “I have been doing this professionally since 1969. I have over 50 years’ experience, and the learning continues day by day. It isn’t just about removing trees. Taking trees down is one possibility out of other tree-care options. What is the criterion for removal? Is it just that somebody doesn’t like raking leaves, or are they afraid the tree’s going to fall on their house? Every tree has to be evaluated. One of the things happening in Rhode Island right now is that there are a lot of trees being removed that really don’t need to be. We discourage unnecessary removals. Sometimes if a tree is starting to decline—eventually, it’s going to have to be removed. But how many years of contribution has it got left? I always make my clients aware of this. Yes, it is starting to decline, I can’t stop the decline, but it’s four or five years away from reaching that threshold,” he said.

The business owner elaborated on his design philosophy. “We deal with trees and shrubs; our landscape design is old school. We basically look to bring out the best a property has to offer. We incorporate natural pruning, and when we’re done, it looks like the property has never been touched and the plants have grown naturally,” he said of his company’s work.

In addition to plant management and tree removal, Schwartz Tree & Landscape helps homeowners design unique property landscapes. His team will evaluate the site and harmonize a design with each property. The company also offers deep-root fertilization and insect and disease control.

During the interview, Schwartz praised his employees. “I have three wonderful employees that work for me full-time and have been with the company for many years. The crew dynamics are really beautiful. If a problem comes up in the course of the job, the problem-solving abilities are just heartwarming. And again, for me, it’s always about pieces of the puzzle; there’s management, the people that work for us, and our clients. Every part of that cycle has to be treated in a respectful and productive manner. We look for a symbiotic relationship for all involved,” he added.

When Schwartz is not running his business, he enjoys photography.

For more information about Schwartz Tree & Landscape, visit their BBB Business Profile. To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit Behind the Business Stories with BBB in Eastern MA, ME, RI & VT.

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