Why would a homeowner spend upwards of $9,000 on a mower? Just ask Carol Nelson of Paris, Illinois.

When the father, son and son-in-law team comprised of Gerald and Gerry Peddycord and Mike May drive the Walker mowers off their trailers, customers aren't surprised. After all, why shouldn't a lawn maintenance company from Walkertown use Walker mowers?

A drive through Holmes County, Ohio, about 1-1/2 hours south of Cleveland, will turn up all sorts of interesting sights. This Mecca of tourism will introduce visitors to one of the largest Amish settlements in the country and an attendant array of shops and restaurants, enough to keep even the most avid visitors busy all day. What the locals can't provide is bestowed by Mother Nature, a geography of beautifully rolling hills and steep valleys.

John Allin, president of Allin Companies, Erie, Pennsylvania, shrugs his shoulders when asked how his maintenance division is doing. "Last year, I would have told you not so well," he relates. After suffering through what the owner considered to be several sub par seasons on the maintenance side, Allin Companies wiped the slate clean and this year started over again, with new people and a new attitude. The results have been encouraging. Profits are up and employee attitude is better all around.

For Liz and Grant Monette in Guelph, Ontario and Bessie and Mike Krsovan in nearby Waterloo, being married is more than sharing a life, it's sharing an occupation, too. Both couples operate landscaping companies. 

When you've been in business only four years and you're looking grow, what's the best form of advertising? Mike Stegner, owner of Image Lawn and Landscape, Belton, Missouri, believes it's the work you do. In the "show me" state, seeing is believing. When prospective clients pass by Image properties, Stegner wants them to see the best. And they do.