BEFORE & After: Nelson Lawn Service
‘Keep Oklahoma Beautiful’ has been an Oklahoma motto since 1965 and for Andy Nelson with Nelson Lawn Care & Landscaping since 1995. Nelson’s fascination with cars motivated him, at 12 years old, to mow lawns to earn money towards his first car. 18 years later, Nelson’s passion for cars is only surmounted by his passion for beautifying the landscape of Edmond and Oklahoma City.
“I enjoy the role we play in keeping Oklahoma beautiful. As a full service residential and commercial lawn service company, our mission is to make properties look their best at all times. We provide weekly maintenance from April to October,” shared Nelson. But precision lawn care is just ‘icing on the cake’ for the landscape design services Nelson added to his genre 10 years ago.
Incorporating a 3D landscaping design in lieu of an architectural layout has been advantageous for Nelson and his customers. “3D design is life-like and basically shows the client how the landscape will look,” said Nelson. Landscaping isn’t simply for beautification, but adds value to a home. Nelson explained, “I’ve done a lot of research and studies show that investing as little as 3 to 5% of a home’s value by revamping outdated or minimal landscaping can increase the value by over 10%.”
Nelson’s uses perennials, annuals, evergreens and exotic plants that are proven to be ‘award winning.’ “We work with about 30 different plants that adapt to Oklahoma’s changing weather. Last summer, we won ‘Edmond Yard of the Week’ three separate times. We thought that was great considering it was something that just happened. I wasn’t aware there was an award for that until last year,” said Nelson.
From the first phone call to project’s end, every customer is priority. “We strive to answer every phone call, treat clients special regardless of project size and communicate through the entire process. We employ 15-20 people in the peak season, but my core team includes the sweetest secretary ever, Janelle, 10 guys that have been with me for six years and my dog Tugg. Tugg goes everywhere with me. When I pick up a crew, they know to get in the backseat because Tugg won’t move,” laughed Nelson. “We’re all like family, I attend their weddings and they’ll come to mine in June when I marry Keirsten Russel and adopt her dog Tallie.”
Another benefit to their success has been Nelsons’ brother-in-law, Baltazar (Brad) Prado. “Brad received his doctorate degree from OSU in Agricultural Economics and gained experience in his homeland, El Salvador. He’s brilliant and oversees a lot of the landscaping. It’s nice having him on the team.”
Nelson’s pride in landscaping lawns stems not only from years of experience but from the help that he’s had along the way. Nelson explained, “Landscapers who’ve been in the business for 40 plus years have helped guide me. Perhaps my best lesson was from the mistakes we made early on. We feel we’ve got it down to a science after learning what works and what doesn’t, especially in Oklahoma’s clay soil.”
To view a sample of their landscaping work, visit Spring Creek Assembly of God in Edmond. Find them online at nelsonlawnservice.com or call 202-4120 before April 30th to book your consultation and receive a 3D landscape design for just $79 (retail price $250).
