Vsitors of Longue Vue House and Gardens can only imagine what it was like attending a formal garden party in the mid-1950s, or entertaining the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, or John and Robert Kennedy.

Did you say your grandfather was in the landscaping/nursery business? And your father, too? Then what's left for you, Jonny Heinz, owner of Jonny Heinz Landscaping in Saginaw, Michigan? Quite simply this, "fine-tune my operation so it's the best it can possibly be."

The students gather for a moment before going to their next class. They are enrolled in Monte Vista Christian School, Watsonville, California, a co-educational and non-denominational institution for students in grades 6 through 12.

Craig Hughes is a man on a mission. As grounds supervisor for Tracy Public Schols in Tracy, California, he is responsible for maintaining 17 school sites. His crews mow upwards of 230 acres of grass weekly, perform saftey inspections at playgrounds, prep athletic fields and overall maintain the school grounds.

When Laura Breeze and her family moved from New Zealand to Calgary in 1977, landscaping was the furthest thing from their minds. Laura was a nursery school teacher, and husband Rex worked as a building operator for a property management firm. When the firm's maintenance contractor failed to show up one week, Rex's boss asked if he knew someone who could mow the lawn. Laura volunteered, and she's been mowing ever since.

By most accounts Brian Larsen is a late bloomer in this industry. He left the forest business and a desk job at age 50, and purchased a tractor mowing company. Homeowner inquiries led him naturally to the landscaping industry where he now maintains three large residential locations, 20 to 25 smaller residences, three institutional sites, and four commercial properties.