31 Jan 2019 | A Year of New Beginnings

A fresh start.

A personal message from President, Gerry Kiffe.

Many of you have met or spoken with me in the past and together we have seen this industry grow. I was one of the first three individuals to start building commercial plant databases back in 1984. What started with large floppy disks transitioned to CDROM, and now a web application. Over this 34 year odyssey I have witnessed and been part of the growth and maturation of hundreds of landscape companies like yours. It has been a great source of pride and satisfaction to play a role, albeit a small one, in helping you succeed in one of the last industries in America made up of small businesses. So, with that in mind, I am extremely excited to be sharing the latest in our business news…

After almost 20 years, my dear friend and business partner, Mark Chilcott and I have decided to head in different directions. At GardenSoft, our company has always been comprised of two different businesses. We created and managed PlantMaster, a software program for the landscape design industry, while we also used the power of the PlantMaster database to create water smart gardening websites for water agencies across the nation. However, this past year we found that we each wanted to focus on a different half of the business.  So, as of January 1, 2019 I began focusing 100% of energy in PlantMaster and I am determined to make it an essential tool for any landscape professional; and Mark is dedicating his full efforts to building water smart gardening websites for water districts.  I wish him all the best and we will continue to work closely over the next few years.

2019 marks a year of change for our business. We ushered in the new year with a brand new business approach, a new look and feel, and a brand new company name. Though our product hasn’t changed, our company name has – our parent company is now called Acacia Garden Solutions (previously GardenSoft). We’re busy getting our new “house” in order for an epic 2019.

So, what does that mean for you?

It means that 2019 is the start of something wonderful. It means 2019 will be our year. It means that we are working full speed to implement the changes and features that you have requested. It means that you can expect many great things this year. We have also made several staffing changes:

Director of Marketing | Kamala “Kayla” Solis

We now have an art director and marketing professional on staff in Kamala Solis.  You’ve probably noticed that week by week the web site is starting to have better organization and better styling since she started helping us last year; stay tuned for even more improvements in 2019!  We have spent a lot of time this year cleaning up the presentation of the pages, thumbnails, reports, presentations and most recently the Project Page. Kamala is responsible for building the entire PlantMaster Blog which sets the stage for how we want all things to look on PlantMaster going forward.

Director of Engineering | Robert “Rob” Kiffe
We have a new Director of Engineering with Robert Kiffe.  Robert has extensive experience in web development specifically for universities and colleges.  He brings a modern sensibility to our efforts that is deeply appreciated by older horticulturists like me.  We look forward to seeing how he helps improve PlantMaster!

Whether we have met personally or not, my entire objective for building PlantMaster was to create tools for landscape professionals just like myself.  We are committed to building the best tools for landscape professionals and throughout 2019 you will really start to see a surge in features and design.

So much more is coming fast; stay tuned!
I would love to hear from you, so please call or email me at the contact info below.  My email has changed!

– Gerry

Gerry Kiffe
President | PlantMaster
805-499-9689
gerry@plantmaster.com