Stanford Shopping Center PLANET Environmental Improvement Awards 2008 National Grand Award Recipient: Gachina Landscape Management Category: Commercial Landscape Management Shopper’s Delight Upscale charm, beautiful landscape highlight shopping experience

o say that the Stanford Shopping Center, located in Palo Alto, California, is not your ordinary shopping center is an understatement. The area’s dominant super Tregional retail property is anchored by fi ve major department stores, features more than 140 high-end specialty retail stores and numerous upscale-casual restaurants and yet looks more like a charming Tuscan hill town than a venue for shoppers. The architecture is varied and special; the fl ora and fauna create a lush, beautiful landscape; and around every corner is another stunning vista.

“ Attention to detail is the main focus for managing this property,” explains John Gachina, CCLP, CLT, president of Gachina Landscape Management. This is the fourth year that his Menlo Park-based company has been meeting the high expectations of shoppers and visitors by installing and detailing spectacular color displays and providing the daily maintenance to the site’s landscape.

“We have a fi ve-person crew at the location year-round,” says Gachina.” They hand water, change out and detail literally thousands of bulbs, perennials and annuals in hundreds of decorative pots and raised planters. They also maintain other high-profi le, high-touch, close-in areas comprised of turf, shrubs, trees and ground cover and oversee the maintenance of the property’s exterior.” One of the keys to performing the work, he points out, is staying out of the way of shoppers. “Crew members arrive on the site early, sometimes as early as 5 a.m. on weekends, and complete most of the intense maintenance, including the hand watering tasks, long before shoppers arrive. They then spend the rest of the day performing detail work. For watering, they employ hand wands with shut offs to keep water off the blooms and avoid wasting water when moving from display to display.

Gachina goes on to explain that the site’s high public use requires an environmentally sensitive approach to maintenance, and demands a well-balanced integrated pest management program, with extensive use of organic and biological controls. Several events a year, heavy pedestrian traffi c, children playing and dogs create additional issues, not the least of which is ensuring that the crew maintains the highest level of safety while on site. “Its not unusual to see visitors taking a break from their shopping for a photo opportunity with friends and family members. The Colorful Palette colorful vistas offer a true destination for them.” An installation crew changes out the color twice a year and works closely with the property’s landscape designer, Jackie Stanford Shopping Center celebrated its 50th anniversary last Gray, from Merrivale Design, to ensure that the open breezeways year and is managed by the SIMON Property Group, Inc. It is and plazas feature a unique garden setting and a very European- adjacent to Stanford University and approximately 30 minutes feeling walkabout atmosphere. Visitors travel there for the from San Jose and 45 minutes from San Francisco. Approximately experience as much as they do the shopping afforded by Neiman 13 million shoppers visit the location each year. Marcus, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom department stores as well as the other specialty retailers. About Gachina Landscape Management For over two decades John Gachina has been providing leadership to his team of landscape experts. The company manages the landscapes of some of the Bay Area’s most prestigious corporate campuses, retail centers, public spaces and homeowner associations. Gachina’s portfolio of high visibility properties are a testament to the company’s reputation of delivering quality landscape services that remain on schedule and on budget. Gachina ensures property owners that the value of their landscape investment appreciates through proper care, maintenance and on going enhancement. From year round maintenance to seasonal color and tree care, Gachina delivers award winning attention to detail enabling our customers to create natural, beautiful and environmentally sound landscapes that leave lasting impressions.

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