Who Are We?

We are appreciators. We are survivors. We are ready.

2023

Hooray. Spring is coming. Sun, clear skies, longer days all herald the greening of the hills, the flowering of bulbs, the dreaming and planning of new outdoor spaces and time spent with loved ones in natural settings. And we are ready for another landscaping season.

Recent years have challenged every aspect of life. Staying healthy has been a priority; it’s the only way we can continue to serve the landscaping needs of our clients so we have streamlined, sanitized and worked remotely when possible. Serving the health of the Environment is equally important. We no longer use chemicals and encourage the responsible planting of cultivars that thrive in the Berkshires and support our environment. Pollinators and non-invasive plants are becoming more readily available; there is a resurgent interest in vegetable, fruit and nut production. We are expanding our services to meet these exciting changes.

We are learning new skills and new techniques; we are growing. We, Joanne and the crew led by Evan Campbell who has been with the company for 20+ years and is now training one of his sons, truly love the work. We get to play with flowers and trees and stone and the wonderful people who enjoy gardens.

If you are new to Pilling Landscaping, expect individual attention, expect us to show up when we say we will, expect practical solutions, imaginative ideas and expect to have fun with us.

Backstory

Glenn Pilling, known to his many dear friends as Barney, owned a dump truck and an imagination. He was also willing to go back to college (Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts) thanks to an extension of Veteran’s benefits for Vietnam Vets. There he was, a good 20+ years older than his fellow students, commuting to school, often with his partner, Joanne Kelly, riding shotgun and quizzing him on his homework. Of course Joanne couldn’t go every day; someone had to organize the mowing accounts and willing friends to do the work while Glenn was studying.

That is how we started. Glenn and Joanne loved each other and the work. We grew in knowledge and experience. Glenn operated machinery, drove truck, solved complicated drainage issues, did stone work and gradually Joanne, a gardening enthusiast whose background in art, stage and, of all things, Latin, and bookkeeping began to take over the design, the clerical and much of the scheduling and customer relations.

We built a reputation for being practical, experienced, honest and very good at what we do. We have stayed small, only 6 employees who have been with us a long time; the newest is going into season 12! We know what we are doing and we like doing it.

Here is the sad part of the story, Glenn died in 2009. Much heartbreak of course, it still hurts but we have gone on as he asked us to do. And that has healed us.

We are survivors; we are appreciators; we are gardeners and we are ready.