Even after more than 10 years in business, Paul Busby, the owner of Busby Landscapes, said he does more than just supervise his projects.

“I get dirt under my fingernails,” he said with a laugh. “I work.”

Owner Paul Busby has a background in psychology and software development. He launched Busby Landscapes in 2007.[/caption]

The landscaping construction company specializes in extreme customization for mostly outdoor properties, and Busby said he prefers to do custom-built projects. With a background in psychology and software development, he said he has always been a problem-solver.

“I find people and problems interesting. So when I go talk to somebody, it’s about consulting with them and then bringing in creativity,” he said. “It’s not that I just sell patios or plants or mow your yard—I meet with you and get to know you; the topic is just most likely landscaping.”

Other Busby staff include Landscape Designer PJ Gorski, an office manager and an average of five field workers.

Gorski has a master’s degree in landscape architecture and has been working alongside Busby for about five years. They average about three projects a month and will travel to sites an hour from Leander in any direction.

“We do everything from a $3,000 job to a $250,000 job,” Gorski said. “A typical landscape company might only do landscape, irrigation and sod, but because we’re custom, we can create the atmosphere that a person is looking for.”

Aside from Busby, the family-owned business includes a landscape designer, an office manager and an average of five field workers. The landscaping team will travel to sites an hour from Leander in any direction.[/caption]

When a potential customer is interested in personalizing his or her property, Busby and Gorski set up an introductory meeting. The team will create and present a design, and once a contract is signed, the work will begin, Busby said.

Busby and Gorski said their biggest project so far consisted of transforming a resident’s steep yard in Westlake.

“We put in a quarter mile of pathways on what was essentially a mountainside,” Busby said. “We put in an extensive lighting system, seating areas and multiple waterfalls with a stream running through it all—that was the largest thing we’ve done.”

The two said not all of their projects fit into the common perception of a landscaping service.

“The coolest party space we’ve ever done included strung lights and graffiti on a wall,” Gorski said. “It started out as Texas zen and became Austin funky.”