Iowa Landscaping Company: 'Anything anybody can dream of, we can pretty much do.'

Sam Peterson, 21, started Iowa Landscaping Company with a truck and a mower, going door to door, offering his services. Now he leads a high-end landscaping and property maintenance company. 

"We're there to do good work at a fair price and we're looking to make the community look better," Peterson said. 

When Peterson was a senior in high school, he was unsure what he wanted to do for a career. After graduating a semester early, he began his landscaping work. A few mowing jobs grew into small landscaping work such as installing rock and laying mulch, and at each step, he invested the money back into his business.

"We kind of just progressed a little bit more into the high-end landscaping stuff," he said. "We started to do more retaining walls, patios, pools, outdoor living, kitchens, stuff like that."

Now, Iowa Landscaping Company is starting its fourth year of operations, offering commercial and residential mowing, commercial snow removal, hardscaping, and 3-D design, as well as installation of concrete curbing, retaining walls, pavers, rock and mulch, plants and trees and more. 

Peterson described the business as offering both commercial property care maintenance and landscaping. On the commercial side, Peterson said he has clients such as Fimco Industries and Bickford of Sioux City. The team takes care of property by mowing, landscaping, sweeping parking lots, maintaining sprinklers and more.

On the landscaping side, Peterson said, "Anything anybody can dream of, we can pretty much do."

Peterson said he learned how to do the larger projects by diving into them, learning from other landscapers in the area and asking questions. 

Last year, the company completed a large project in Whispering Creek near the 17th hole of the Whispering Creek Golf Course. The project involved a pool, patio with furniture, retaining walls, planting, concrete curbing and more. 

"That was one of our biggest [projects] we've done to date," he said.

Another project Peterson said he was proud of included a a pool, hot tub, outdoor living area, deck, retaining walls and 3,700 square feet of paving. 

For these larger projects, Peterson said they start by 3-D designing and rendering the project, that way the customer can see what they will get and make adjustments before the installation starts. 

Iowa Landscaping Company won the First Time Exhibitor award at the most recent Siouxland Home Show. Peterson said the award brought more attention to their business. 

At first, Peterson got business through word of mouth and knocking on doors. Now, he does advertising through his website, door hangers and yard signs. In the future, he hopes to brand his vehicles for more visibility. 

This summer, Peterson will have his four full-time team members, as well as three high school and college helpers to help with mowing and property maintenance. 

The future of Iowa Landscaping Company is growth, Peterson said. He hopes to continue to expand and have a full crew of employees. 

"Pretty much just keep going and see what we can do," he said. "Doing some good work out in the community and making the community look nice."