by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
HERMON — Twin brothers Billy and David Russo, 31, are landscapers once known as Green Guys Landscapers who once purchased supplies at Landscape Supply Center in Hermon. Now they are the owners of the centet which occupies three acres at 1196 Odlin Road. They acquired the Landscape Supply Center last fall.
“It has been a household name for 22 years,” Billy said.
“It was kind of meant to happen,” David said. “We dove in head first. You have to take risks to get anywhere in life. It’s pretty exciting.”
“There’s a lot of potential in this field,” Billy said.
The brothers credit Ray Byram, owner of Mainely Bark Co., who once owned Landscape Supply Center, for giving them plenty of support and encouragement.
“He has been a good mentor to us,” Billy said.
“He has an answer to just about everything,” David said.
The brothers, who grew up in Farmington and graduated in 2008 from the University of Maine Fort Kent — each with a bachelor’s degree in public safety — said one of the things they enjoy about being in business is meeting clients and building working relationships.
A gleaming one-ton white Ford dump truck capable of hauling four to five yards of loam, or seven to eight yards of mulch, and bearing the business name on its doors, is parked by a snowbank the brothers will be glad to see reduced to water. They are eager to get down to the business of providing landscapers and gardeners with the supplies they need and want, including mulch, aggregate materials, topsoil and compost, grass seed, lawn edging, weed blocker, peat moss, sterilized mulch and straw, organic compost, seafood compost, white cedar chips for playgrounds, beach sand and washed sand. More often than not, the driver at the wheel of the dump truck will be Landscape supply Center employee Rod “Rockie” Rockwell, the Russo brothers said.
Landscape Supply Center also offers A.M. Leonard gardening tools, RedMax power tools and Jonsered chainsaws sales and service.
“We are the only A.M. Leonard dealer within an 80-mile radius of Bangor,” Billy said. “These are quality tools.” He noted that Landscape Supply Center can special order items from A.M. Leonard — that company’s 379-page catalog contains thousands of horticultural tools and other supplies — if a client has something particular in mind.
“We are the only RedMax dealer in the Bangor area,” David said. “Service for the Jonsered chainsaws is through Dirigo Power Equipment in Brewer.”
Also parked and ready for the gardening season is a Kubota R520 loader used for loading stone dust, gravel, stone, sand, vegetable garden soil and loam into customers’ pickup trucks, and the center’s delivery truck.
“We have an all organic emphasis here,” Billy said. “Our loam is tested at the University of Maine. Our vegetable garden soil comes with spec sheets so people know what’s in it.”
Landscape Supply Center loam and garden soil are housed in its own building to protect it from the elements.
“We’ve got 300 yards of loam ready to go. It’s fluffy and moist,” David said. Landscape Supply Center will deliver materials within a 100-mile radius of Bangor.
The brothers also have a vision for the future of Landscape Supply Center. “We want to add greenhouses and make it a one-stop place for landscaping needs,” David said.
“Everything from A to Z,” Billy added.
The company offers a small discount to senior citizens and members of the military.
Landscape Supply Center will open for the season on Monday, April 20. Business hours are business hours are 6 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday; and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 941-2366, email landscapesupplyctr@gmail.com or go to landscapesupplyctr.net.