Ross was born and raised in the nursery/landscape business. Since his grade school days he has worked side-by-side with his Father mastering all aspects of the business including field preparation, planting, pruning and harvesting nursery stock. His design work began in 1982 when he learned to appreciate a “hands on approach” to landscape design and construction and enjoys working with customers to achieve the look they desire. Ross became President of Paul Swartz Nursery in 1996. In his free time, he is very involved in youth sports programs and spending time with his family.

John Mousourakis

John’s journey in landscape design began when he earned a degree from Coastal Carolina College in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Since 1993, when John became a member of the Paul Swartz Nursery design/sales team, he has been working intently with customers guiding them through the entire process of designing, installing and meeting their budget expectations to their complete satisfaction. John designs over 250 landscapes each year and feels his expertise lies in designs featuring low maintenance and four-season interest.

An established customer had recently built a home in a rustic rural setting. Paul Swartz Nursery was contacted to develop a complete landscape design that encompassed a driveway, front walk, brick patio and a seat-wall. After an extensive site evaluation, a drawing was rendered that met all the specifications the customer had outlined. The photos presented here show the landscape from several vantage points shortly after it was finished.

Unique challenges that were effectively resolved included: selecting plants that didn't appeal to deer while providing four-season interest, blending our nursery-grown plants into the surrounding natural area and working within the customer's budgetary and aesthetic guidelines.

Mike Olson

Mike has been employed with Paul Swartz Nursery since 1978. During that time he has designed and installed landscapes for hundreds of his own clients - in addition to acting as the project manager for Senior Designer, Gary Hardt. While possessing a broad range of experiences in landscaping, Mike has gained notable expertise in waterfall, retaining wall, brick paver and synthetic-putting green construction and installation – all integrated within a tasteful matrix of trees, shrubs and groundcovers. His greatest job satisfaction comes from the beauty and functionality his design installations bring to his clients’ homes as their landscapes mature.

This Lake Geneva lakefront project started with the teardown and removal of the existing home. The original landscape had a steep elevation change running 30' out from the house towards the lake. The client hired us to soften the slope and to install a series of steps and walkways out to the lake.

To accomplish this goal, we first brought in several truckloads of fill soil to reduce the severity of the slope. Next, we sculpted terraces from the soil upon which walkways/stairways were set. The construction materials consisted of a combination of granite fieldstones, paver bricks and Lannon stone stairs (6" thick). Plantings of groundcovers, perennials and shrubs were selected to beautify the site and allow for maximum viewing of the lake.

Many aspects of this project are not shown and include: redesigning the circle driveway, creating an additional parking area and installing a Lannon stone stairway (10' wide) along with Fieldstones to create a spectacular entryway to the house.