Voices of the Bay: Alex DaPonte

The fleet of vehicles for Bristol-based DaPonte’s Landscaping Services is a familiar sight throughout the East Bay and Aquidneck Island. Originally founded in 1969 by Seraphin “Fee” and Marjorie DaPonte, the day-to-day operations over the past 20 years have mainly been the responsibility of the second generation, sons Michael and Seraphin, Jr. Recently, the family tree of leadership has expanded to the third generation: Michael’s son and daughter, Alex DaPonte and Elizabeth Anania, and Seraphin, Jr.’s son Ethan DaPonte. As project manager for landscaping installations, Alex offers some tips for the spring gardener and reflects on working in a family business. The Warren resident is a certified Rhode Island Horticulturist and a graduate of Catholic University with a bachelor’s degree in business with a focus on management.

Get Packing: When I was young, I received a phone call from my dad one summer morning around 6:30am. “Hey, you have to get out of bed. You’re going to go cut grass today,” he said. We had not discussed that I was going to go work for the business that summer, but the crew was short that day and he decided this was the day I was going to go to work. I had to scramble to find a lunch box because, as he said, “The guys are out front waiting for you right now!”

Design Plans: As I got older I started working more on my father’s side of the business – conventional landscaping as opposed to maintenance like my uncle. I enjoy that every day is different. The design plans for planting and the materials are always different, and so is the location. One day I might be in Bristol, the next day, Newport. One day it’s mulching or maybe planting. I have an appreciation for the creativity in the implementation of the plans. I like pulling up to a job site, seeing an unfinished product one day and within a few days or weeks it has been completely transformed into something totally different.

Mature Roots: There’s a lot of responsibility that the three of us have had to pick up in a fairly short amount of time, and that can be stressful. We are very lucky to have my father and uncle because they have so much knowledge; it’s an invaluable asset. There’s never a situation where nobody knows what to do. The business has grown so much in the past 10 to 15 years that I think it would kind of shock some people to see all the different moving parts, not only just from running the day-to-day with over 100-plus employees but all the different things that need to be handled. It’s good that we have the five of us to be able to work together and help each other.

Expert Advice: Examine the beds, remove debris from winter like sticks and trash. Determine the soil of the beds. You might want to amend with some compost which helps the soil structure with water drainage to the roots and past the roots so that water doesn’t pool in your garden. Compost helps provide nitrogen and phosphorus for plants. It degrades over time, so it’s like a slow release of natural fertilizer for your plant material. While it’s great to prune shrubs and plants, it’s very important that you are aware of the weather forecast in the future. If you do it too soon, and we were to have another freeze, you could jeopardize your blooms for that coming season. Aerating your lawn is great to do because when you apply your fertilizers for the season, the aeration allows for an easier transportation of fertilizers, water, any sort of pesticide to travel through the lawn and not just sit on top and get closer to the roots to fully absorb all the good nutrients.

Clock Out: We always say that work stays at work. We understand that we may get frustrated with each other Monday to Friday, but we leave our work at work as best we can, and then spend our time as a family. I think it’s very important, not just for our business but for any family business to not carry any baggage outside of the office. I think we do a good job of it. The nice thing about a family business is knowing that we’re all on the same side. The goal is for everyone to succeed.