Good Neighbor Podcast: South of the River
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South of the River
Good Neighbor Podcast: South of the River
EP #104 Transforming Your Backyard with Mike Mesch of Dogwood Designs
Ever wondered how to transform your backyard into a sustainable paradise while being environmentally conscious? Join us as we explore the creative journey of Mike Mesch, the ingenious mind behind Dogwood Designs. Mike shares his professional journey into landscape design and consulting, revealing how his passion for creativity and environmental stewardship paved the way for his successful business. Whether you’re a DIY enthusiast or managing grand-scale projects for homeowners associations, Mike offers invaluable insights into crafting exquisite outdoor spaces enriched with native plantings, stormwater management solutions, and custom entertaining areas.
In our enlightening discussion, Mike tackles common misconceptions in the landscaping realm, emphasizing the pivotal importance of early planning, especially during the colder months, to ensure optimal results. His collaborative nature is evident as he describes his network of industry experts, from tree services to electricians, guaranteeing that every detail of a project is meticulously handled. Tune in to uncover the perfect blend of art and science in landscape design and get inspired to rethink your outdoor spaces into functional, beautiful environments.
Dogwood Designs
Mike Mesch
Phone#: 952-300-0499
Email: mike@dogwooddesignsmn.com
Website: www.dogwooddesignsmn.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mark Bratton.
Speaker 2:Welcome to episode number 104 of the Good Neighbors Podcast and dang, we've got a great neighbor today and friend who's the owner of Dogwood Designs, mike Mesh, with us. Mike, how you doing today doing great.
Speaker 3:Mark, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2:I I know we've got a chance to talk a lot about your business, but now it's time to share with everybody else. So what is Dogwood Design and what do you do?
Speaker 3:Dogwood Designs is an independent landscape design and consulting firm. We work with everybody from DIY homeowners to homeowners looking for large and small landscape installs that they need designed out. We absolutely love working with homeowners associations and property managers. It's great to work with them. We also work for about 25 different installers. Currently we are the as needed design for for about 25 different landscape installers in minnesota and western wisconsin. Projects range from a quick front entrance what's going on with my plants or all the way up to elaborate outdoor entertaining spaces. It's always fun working with outdoor kitchens, built-in gas fire features and there's just something to be said about working with a homeowners association on a 120-year larger townhome association. Bring multiple aspects of that come together. We do a lot with rain gardens, native plantings, stormwater management projects as well. Stormwater management projects as well.
Speaker 2:Wow, you know you mentioned the DYI thing and, man, you're vast knowledge already, but so did you grow up in that area. Did you just have something that inspired you, that wanted you to get into the business? Give me a little thought of how you really enticed you to get into landscaping and design.
Speaker 3:Well, I've always been creative. I've always been an idea guy. There's something about taking an idea, of working with it, shaping it. I've also been very environmental focused. I environmental issues have always been near dear to my heart. To actually have a master's degree in environmental education, natural science, um, environmental issues have always been near and dear and important to me. Landscape design allows me to work the environmental angle, but it lets lets me toy and shape my ideas into beautiful works of art.
Speaker 2:I know you uh, love to collaborate with people and we'll talk a little bit more about that, but that comes with the, obviously, with the landscape. You've got colors, you've got shapes, you've got all that stuff fences, brick, pools, you know, in the patios. Do you reach out to others for that, or is that something that just you do?
Speaker 3:Do you reach out to others for that or is that something that just you do? When it comes, I collaborate and I work with different industry professionals. There's tree services I work with. When it comes to actual design elements, that's all done in-house. Right now I'm the only designer of record for a dog, but I have one assistant that works with me. But when it comes to the different elements fences, all that I do have companies. I work directly for a number of different tree services. I work directly for exchange, work with our regular base, a couple of concrete companies. I've got fence installers that I work with. You know I've got a vast network. I mean I've even got a plumber and electrician that I work directly with and bring in on projects as needed.
Speaker 2:But I would get to meet you and talk to Mike. I love it. I think everybody else will too. So like all other businesses too, mike, there's always misconceptions and myths. What are some of the greatest myths that you hear out there? That is just not true, and you got to educate me on. Tell me, mark, you're not thinking the right way. Let me tell you what it really is.
Speaker 3:That's a broad and open-ended question, one of the biggest myths and misconceptions. I don't know, probably a misconception more than anything else, but Um, really the big, the big thing I could push is if you've got a larger landscape project that you're thinking about, don't wait till April. Reach out to us December, january, february. Um, big misconceptions of time table that things take. Uh, people think I'm just trying to generate work for myself in December and January, but the reality is that some projects that I've been involved in take six to eight months to get off the ground. I've been involved in some that'll take 18 months to get off the ground, with different permitting, material selection, design changes, engineering issues. It all adds time to it.
Speaker 3:Winter is a great time to get started on that project. If you're thinking about doing a project for the coming year, get started December, january. I understand people are busy with the holidays, spending money on Christmas gifts, travel over that time frame, but know it's, it really is a good time to start thinking about that big landscaping project for the upcoming season. Um, just the timetables with a realistic timetable is for a design. Most of the season you look at anywhere from four to six weeks of turnaround time. Um, in the winter that's a lot less.
Speaker 3:If there's engineering involved in it, you know engineers need to figure another four weeks. If there's city permits that have to be pulled, you're looking at another four to six weeks there. So on some of these bigger projects, you know you're looking at three, maybe four months from the initial consultation tell the time that project goes into the ground. That doesn't apply to every project. Smaller project sometimes you know I can do a quick design in a week or two and the installers can have it done with them within a month. But on the bigger projects, a realistic timetable for some of the bigger projects from initial consultation toable for some of the bigger projects from initial consultation to install is anywhere from three to six months. Uh, you can, the design can be done in December, engineer can be done in January. February can be waiting on the city to pull permit. Uh, let's say to organize permits, make design tweaks and all that in March and then you're ready to go mid-April and weather thaws out.
Speaker 2:I was thinking maybe you said three to six months there. I said, well, that's just a consultation between a couple trying to figure out what to do. He wants all his fun games outside in the backyard, but Mama wants all the flowers and trees and the bugs and the birds. So that's three to six months, right there, mike.
Speaker 3:I've definitely been there and done that. Where there's discussions at home and design changes between initial design and final final draft, it'll take three or four months. I've been there before and it's you know joys of who I am. I'm used to being patient with things. I'm extremely patient with my clients. If you need three months to figure the design out, but take the time you need, the most important thing thing is that you get the design that you need. You get the design you want. It goes in the way you want. That's the most important thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can see that you might just have the little time we've spent together in the last few months here. There's one thing you do you have a passion for the product. You have a passion for the people you're working with and seeing some of your posts of the projects, man diverse is diverse as diverse as they get. So, wow, now we know about dogwood designs a little better. What gets Mike going? I already know a few things that get you going when you're off the landscape world and you're off on to doing something by yourself or with your friends world and you're off on to doing something by yourself or with your friends.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm I'm not a morning person, but if it's time to go fishing, hunting, on a wilderness trip, something like that, the 4 30 alarm clock is a little easier when you're, when you're going out to do something fun. You know, if I'm going out hunting or fishing, that 430 alarm clock is a little bit easier than on a day when you got to go to work. When I'm not working, I'm usually outside doing something, fishing, hunting on the water. I've got a great group of people I hike with on a regular basis. I used to be a wilderness guide, part-time on the side. Those days were simpler, simpler and there was definitely an appeal to that lifestyle. But I still I'm always outside hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, um, backpacking that sort of stuff. I occasionally throw it around a golf or something like that just to spice it up.
Speaker 2:But well, I can, can see. With that, Mike, I mean we can all tell that by you going out and seeing all the different landscapes out there in the woods, outside the woods on a lake, you get to see all the houses on a lake. It has to give you just a ton of ideas to bank in your inventory of what you can do.
Speaker 3:And the time I spend in the water canoeing, kayaking, fishing, boating it's you know, even just cruising around the water and boating. It really makes me value water quality, the natural environment, and that's a really big driver in my work is I love doing projects that impact water quality. Rain gardens are a huge trend and that is so beneficial to the water quality, and spending time in the lakes, and especially in twin cities where water quality is a huge issue, it's really important to me, it's important to the work I do.
Speaker 2:That sounds great. I always throw this out because some people don't understand what drives us in the world that we have. I've really embarked on only two jobs in my life. It sounds like I love what you're doing there. So is there anything when you were growing up or something that happened whether it's a life challenge or your own personal challenge that drove you to the nature and landscape and design and just the love that you have for the landscape Is?
Speaker 3:there anything?
Speaker 2:out there, when you were growing up, that.
Speaker 3:Everybody's childhood has an impact on their life. At least, I'd like to believe that. I think that holds true for most people is their childhood experiences do have an impact on their life and I, growing up, I always loved being outside, got fond memories of growing up on On the farm with my grandparents spending time down southeastern Minnesota on my grandparents' farm where my mom grew up. My grandparents were big gardeners, farmers. That combined with just spending time outdoors, it's really driven who I am. Yeah, definitely has had an impact.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can definitely see that in the passion you have for your business and your work ethic, that you need to provide for all the people that you're working with, even those people that are sharing their ideas with you as well. As we're getting closer to the end here, mike, is there one thing that you want to share as we depart, that you want everybody to know as we finish up here?
Speaker 3:the big thing is if you need anything landscape related, dogwood designs is here to help you out. Our projects really range. Dogwood designs we're an independent design firm. We don't work on sales goals, sales goals. We really are here to provide you with non-biased, professional answers and information.
Speaker 3:I've been in the landscape industry almost 25 years. I've got a bachelor's degree in landscape design from the university of minnesota. Part of why I went out on my own is I got wanted to get away from the sales goals, sales quotas. I wanted to get away from the sales goals, sales quotas. I wanted to get away from a sales-focused environment. Yes, my installers still pay me a commission when I sell stuff for them, but Dogwood Designs really is that non-biased.
Speaker 3:Give you good professional information that meets your needs. It's site-specific. It's not going to be a high-pressure sales situation. We really want to be the company that you turn to for good professional information without feeling the pressure to spend money. I will frequently tell people that these ideas are not worth the money. Here's cheaper options that are going to fit your needs better, going to be better for you in the long run, a little bit more cost effective, and that's the joys of being an independent design and consulting firm Dogwood Designs, can tell you how it is Using 20, almost 25 years of experience. We have got no issue telling you how it is using 20 almost 25 years of experience. We have got no issue telling you how it is and just providing great experience-based information that you may or may not get elsewhere I love that.
Speaker 2:You just ended it perfectly. If you're going to deliver information, knowledge and an idea before anybody spends basically a dollar to knock out, tear out, you give them the idea, the thought. They can ponder, talk, change, move things around and you being the designer, you can guide them down the road to something just immaculate for them. And can't wait to see more of your designs. But how does anybody get ahold of you, mike? And can't wait to see more of your designs.
Speaker 3:But how does anybody get a hold of you, Mike Dogwooddesignsmncom, or the direct line is 952-300-0499. Watch us on Facebook. I'm frequently loading progress pictures on Facebook. If you want to see some dirty pictures, I'm great at loading pictures on Facebook. If you want to see some dirty pictures, I'm great at loading midstream freshly demoed pictures right onto Facebook. You've got to see how a project progresses in order to realize where it came from and where it's going. It's not always the fluff and buff six months down the road pictures you're seeing on Facebook from Dogwood Designs. It's day one, day three and the final day. Everything in between.
Speaker 3:Right your phone number is again nine, five, two, three, zero, zero, zero, four, nine, nine, or Mike at dogwood designs mncom, hit us up.
Speaker 2:That's Mike mesh. Everybody dogwood designs had a great time and look forward to seeing a whole bunch of your projects. Hit us up. That's Mike Mesh. Everybody Dogwood Designs had a great time and look forward to seeing a whole bunch of your projects. We are going to be out of here in a second. See you, everybody.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast South of the River. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPSouthoftherivercom. That's GNPSouthoftherivercom, or call 952-592-3737.