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Rain? No problem By Jennifer Nitson Ashland Daily Tidings Though landscaping projects often got muddy or flooded out during this rainy spring, local landscapers are grateful for the surplus of precipitation. With more than 22 inches of rain since September - 33 percent above average - Ashlanders are hopeful for relief from drought conditions. "It's good that we've got the rain," said Olaf Soderback of Soderback Gardens. "The plants need it. The trees need it. It will be dry soon enough." That's a sentiment echoed by many Ashland landscapers coping with the limitations of wet weather. Ashland's granitic soil drains readily, making for less mud, but using tractors or any kind of heavy equipment on soggy ground can get messy. When the soil gets waterlogged, landscapers put aside earth moving and irrigation installation and turn to other projects, such as retaining walls, rock walls, or pathways. "We can't depend on customers feeding us the kind of work we want when we want it," said Dale Goes of Goes Landscapes & Design. "From the landscapers point of view, winter time is a good time to do rock work." Still, landscapers slog on, tending and installing gardens for clients. Seth Barnard of Greentime Landscaping and his partner Stacey Page of Natural Ponds and Landscapes, Inc. employ 14 people full time, and have managed to keep them busy throughout the spring. "Everybody's doing something to their house and trying to improve their property because real-estate is the only good investment anymore," Barnard said. "There are the occasional projects that get flooded out. We're still able to complete basically all phases of landscape and installation work. Everybody's working everyday. We never know what the weather's going to be. Jobs take a little longer to get done, and that's OK." Ted Loftus of Loftus Landscaping agreed. "I don't think there's been a day this winter we weren't able to work," Loftus said. "There was no snow on the ground. We haven't had frost. It's been a pretty mild winter - sort of like the winters of the '60s and early '70s when we had the wet weather patterns." The wet weather is also beneficial to transplanted trees and shrubs, allowing rootballs to establish themselves. "Plants don't shock," said Alan Miller of Miller's Renaissance Landscaping, a business associate of Loftus. "They don't stress near as much in this kind of weather. In the summer they droop out more." Sometimes clients are surprised when Miller, Loftus and their crew arrive ready to work in the downpour. "A lot of clients will go 'How come you showed up for work today? You work in the rain?'" Miller said. "We say 'Absolutely. That's what we do.'" LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -