I grew up living on a council estate, a wee place called Forgewood in Motherwell. It was predominantly full of 3 story flats. No one had a garden, it was all communal grounds.
When I was around 10 years old my Gran moved from her top floor flat into a house which had a massive garden. To me, this was an amazing space for me and my brothers to play football. To my Gran, it was a going to be a bit of a chore maintaining this huge garden and to my Dads despair, as it was his duty to cut the grass and trim the hedges!
I helped my Dad at the weekends to maintain my Gran’s garden which was hard work. It took around 4hrs every two weeks.
As I grew older and wiser one day I suggested to my Gran to buy a petrol lawnmower. I said, “It will save a lot of time and make the finished job look better.”
Even back then I was particular with detail. I was around 14 years old when my Gran, Dad, and Myself went to the local DIY store to buy a petrol lawnmower and petrol strimmer. I couldn’t wait to get back that summer morning to try out the new equipment.
My Dad and I were amazed the garden work was done within 1 hour. My Dad said jokingly, “You could start a business.”
From that day my Dads comment planted a seed! I took over maintaining my Gran’s garden. By the end of that summer, my Gran and her next door neighbours garden were looking great. The following year I had a couple of extra neighbours on the street asking if I could maintain their gardens for a small fee.
My service progressed from there, I started travelling further to other streets then to other areas. I left school to play full-time football for two years then got into construction whilst I continued to give up my weekend to earn extra pocket money. When I passed my driving test I worked from the boot of my car. I was loving gardening and enjoying the extra money in my pocket.
As the years went on I continued with my weekend garden service which slowly grew year on year, until I was made redundant in February 2009. It was then I decided I wanted to do this for real. I wanted to set up my own business. After spending endless days and nights planning and organising a start-up business from my bedroom. With no financial backing only the money from the sale of my pride and joy ‘Golf Mk 4 GTI’ Murray Landscapes was born in 2009.
Since 2009, Murray landscapes has gone from a sole trader to employing 9 full-time staff with 6 vans on the road, covering all aspects of Landscaping. We've collaborated with huge brands like DeWalt and Royal Bank of Scotland. We've appeared in local and national newspapers and even heard on the radio. Not to mention the awards we have won over the years for our craft as well as recently winning the title of "Best Landscaping Company in Scotland" 2022. As Murray Landscapes continues to grow as a business. We will endeavour to be the best, therefore we thrive on continuous improvement. I have many plans for the year ahead in 2023 let alone the future so watch this space!
Thanks very much for taking the time to read my wee story.
— Marc
