Reflecting on 2021: Thanking & Appreciating Our Customers

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    Autumn is a pretty magical time of year.

    We celebrate the change in the weather as the heat of summer recedes, leaving us with cooler days and nights. The landscape changes with the temperatures in some exciting ways.

    This changing season also gives us a chance to reflect.

    When we look back on how far we’ve come and what we’ve accomplished this year, a lot of words come to mind.

    Challenging. Fulfilling. Humbling. But one word stands out above the rest: Grateful.

    We are truly grateful and honored to have you, our customers, in our lives.

    Great Opportunities & Great Customers

    Influential business thinker and consultant Peter Drucker once said: “There is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer.”

    We can have great ideas, great execution, and a great team, but we only create a business by creating customers. Our business is alive this Thanksgiving Day and every day because of you — our customers — who have joined us in making our aspirations a reality.

    The High Prairie team takes pride in our accomplishments and successes, which have been all implemented with you in mind.

    We are excited about all of the opportunities 2021 brought and that 2022 will bring. High Prairie is built on 5 key principles: Ethics, Teamwork, Higher Standards, Overachieving, and Service. It is a privilege to work with others who are as impassioned with our core principles and who make it pleasurable to come to work every day. These principals are entwined in everything we do both internally and externally.

    Adapting to the “new normal” has been demanding, but High Prairie has risen to the challenge, embracing the change. Here are some of the ways we’ve adapted and are improving to better serve you.

    We Thank You For Your Patience & Compassion

    This year has brought unprecedented delays that aren’t typical for a small business to have to deal with, but we’ve faced these challenges well.

    And we can’t tell you how much we appreciate your patience and understanding as these issues have become a part of our business.

    • We’ve had to deal with limited availability of various products like pavers or other landscape materials due to COVID-19-related supply chain delays. We’re doing our best to secure items for you or find replacements that are of the same level of quality you expect from High Prairie.
    • Soaring prices on plants, plastics, fertilizers, and equipment have become the norm today as well. We are doing our best to navigate pricing to find the best solutions, as well as communicate with you when we notice changes.
    • Delivery trucks have been near impossible to find, which is causing industry-wide delivery delays, even for products that are in stock.
    • Limited parts for fixing or maintaining our equipment have caused some delays or management challenges for us. In addition to parts, equipment deliveries are also delayed. We finally received our maintenance division crew trucks in October that we ordered in 2020!
    • Staffing shortages continue as we try to find the best people to work with you — our valued customers. High Prairie disqualifies over 80% of applicants and runs rigorous background checks before hiring a team member. This ensures we keep our professionalism and quality high. We want to make sure we have the absolute best of the best people designing, installing, and caring for your landscapes.

    While these delays may cause some longer-than-normal wait times, our quality and professionalism remain at the highest level. And it brings us joy to deliver that to you.

    Thank You For Supporting a Small, Family-Owned Business

    When you support a small business, you support a family.

    Starting from humble beginnings and growing to include our family along the way, we are blessed to have such a great, dedicated High Prairie team. This team is our family. Just like the tiny acorn grows into a mighty oak, we continue to invest in developing our company into the best service provider for you in Kansas City.

    To do that, we continue to evolve. This year, we began offering Irrigreen smart irrigation systems to help you better manage watering your landscape — saving water, costs, and the environment along the way.

    Homeowners typically use more water outside (57%) than inside (43%), so small changes can make a big difference. With Irrigreen digital sprinkler systems, you can use half the water you use now and limit overspray and overlap, as well as save on maintenance costs. What’s more, you can manage your digital irrigation system from anywhere with a mobile app, making it more convenient to turn off in the rain or adjust your schedule when you realize the seasonal weather conditions have changed.

    Want the Hottest Plant Materials? We Got ‘Em!

    You know we like plants. You might even call us a bit overindulgent in finding the most unique flowers for Kansas City landscapes. There are so many great varieties; why limit yourself to basic and boring? We couldn’t agree more!

    Each year, we visit national trial gardens to continue selecting the best plant materials for our region, and this year is no different.

    In addition to procuring unique varieties so your landscapes can stand out, we also started a growing operation for hard-to-find plant materials at our production facility in Edwardsville. Nothing will stop us from suggesting great performers and better bloomers to give you color and texture to admire and enjoy throughout the seasons.

    We also have a new design studio at 6116 Johnson Dr. in Mission, Kansas. If you’re designing a new landscape, we will invite you to client meetings there. Come join us for a creative discussion about the changes you want to make in your home landscape.

    Sharing the Gift of Plant Education & Giving Back

    We believe as a small, locally owned business, we have a responsibility to give back.

    One way we do this is through education. We have a lot of plant and landscape knowledge, and we love to share it.

    • This year, High Prairie was a guest educator for Kansas State University’s horticulture department.
    • We served as an industry educator for Belgard University.

    Another way we like to contribute to the community is by donating our time, money, and effort into helping local charities and organizations. This not only warms our hearts, but also boosts employee morale.

    • High Prairie hosted a Pet Adoption Event and Donation Drive for Unleashed Pet Rescue called “Little Hounds on the Prairie.”
    • We donated a Traeger Commercial XL grill and smoker to New House Domestic Violence Shelter.

    Thank You For Supporting Us

    As the landscape transforms from verdant greens to vibrant shades of fall color, and leaves magically cascade to the ground, we embrace that golden autumn glow and become extremely grateful for our business growth and the backbone and reason we strive to be better each and every day: you.

    As you enjoy this thankful season, we hope it brings you closer to your goals and desires, as you’ve done that for us. Thank you for celebrating the season with High Prairie!

    Ready to see how High Prairie can transform your Kansas City landscape? We’d love to share our design and installation expertise with you. Get started today with a free consultation. Together, we can prepare a backyard oasis that you can truly enjoy and cherish.

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    About The Author

    Robyn is a 2009 Graduate of the Kansas State University Department of Horticulture. She grew up in South East Kansas where she graduated from Humboldt High School. She was a Kansas State University Leadership Scholar and President of the Horticulture Club. She married Bret in 2009 and they have a daughter Ellie, born in 2021. Their family is completed by three adopted dogs.

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