Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
Los Altos Hills landscaper Steve Grimes is known for his waterfalls and backyard barbecue areas.
Special to the Town Crier
Business Profile
Doug Grimes and his son Steve of Los Altos Hills were too busy working last week to read that their family landscaping business was named one of the "Largest Landscaping Companies" in Silicon Valley by the "San Jose and Silicon Valley Business Journal."
The oldest company on the list, the firm was founded by Doug in 1949 after he left the Navy and returned to the Peninsula to work with his brother, Philip Grimes.
"I was around here when it was God's country - so many orchards and dairy farms. When I lived in Palo Alto as a boy, we could get on a bicycle and in five minutes we'd be out in the country," Doug said.
Twenty years ago, he bought property in Los Altos Hills on Elena Road, which he and his sons transformed into a family compound with two homes, many beautiful garden areas, and a turn-of-the-century barn that is now the landscaping company business office.
In a former hayloft, modern office and design equipment replace the pitchforks and baling wire of yesteryear. Customer work schedules line the walls and Steve talks to his waterfall-building crew on a cellular phone.
"We just plain like what we do. I absorbed everything my father taught me as a young man, so I didn't have to learn landscaping from scratch," Steve said.
With 25 years experience, Steve now runs most of the day-to-day business, but his dad still advises and pitches in. It was Doug's early fascination with waterfalls on family outings in the mountains that led to his specialization in waterfalls and stonework. In addition to his love for stonework, he also passed along his belief in the importance of natural-looking pruning of shrubs and trees.
"Controlled chaos is the look which I like," Doug said.
Steve describes his landscaping philosophy in artistic terms.
"Every stone and every plant has a 'face,'" he said. "Planning a landscape or designing a waterfall is an art form. You can't really do it on a piece of paper; you have to be in the field, running back and forth and placing every stone to fit into the overall design."
Doug agrees, describing the process of deciding on one main rock as the center of a design and turning and judging its qualities before allowing it to settle into the right place.
"You never take your hands off that one rock until you find the right place and then it never moves again," Doug said. His skill led eventually to landscaping commissions for noted Bay Area architects, including the legendary Thomas Church.
"Most landscape architects turn over the plans to the contractor and disappear, but Church watched every move. You did exactly as he said on paper," Doug recalled.
Private clients have stuck with Grimes Natural Landscape, Inc. over the decades, calling the company back for garden changes, updates, pruning and special party preparations.
"I have had some customers for 40 years," Doug said.
"Yesterday, I worked with clients we've had for 22 years," Steve added. "Sometimes our new clients don't like us to take time to go back and do things for old clients, but I tell them that once their project is finished, they'll be old clients too," Steve laughed.
The company creates entire landscapes, from the design phase to the installation of the last sprinkler head.
"We do hardscapes, pruning, carpentry, waterfalls, sprinklers - there's nothing we can't do," Steve said.
He believes the landscaping business in the Los Altos area has completely changed in the last five years, because of Silicon Valley's economic boom.
"The big things now are complete outdoor kitchens - whatever you have in your kitchen indoors, you can have outdoors: sinks, drains, sewers, refrigerator, cabinets, ice makers," he said.
"And the new swimming pools are just amazing, whether they are designed to look natural or formal. 'Beach' pool entrances with sand and pools with vanishing edges are two examples of what we are building."
Staying tuned into current landscaping trends and a willingness to innovate are two of the qualities both Grimes see as key to the longevity and success of their firm.
"Today's landscaping amenities are a lot of fun. I have a lot of imagination and really enjoy innovating," Steve said.
Grimes Natural Landscape Inc. can be reached at 949-2654.