Vern Sampels Landscaping is one of the region’s first residential landscaping companies in Deschutes County dating back to 1972—and the company’s Bend and Redmond local roots are its signature quality.
The founder’s son, Kiley Sampels, has worked for his father since 1990, bought the company in 2004 once Vern retired, and describes the business as full service from the initial stages of landscape design, to irrigation implementation, garden bed creation and color scape innovation. “This is not a mow and blow company,” says Sampels. “We not only install but we maintain what we put in. We specialize in all services but one thing that stands out is we are a high quality company—it’s about quality and not quantity.”
Vern was born and raised in Bend, and Kiley was born and raised in Redmond, and together Vern Sampels Landscaping’s knowledge of the area runs deep. The company’s regional roots only add to the expertise covering all of Central Oregon from Redmond and Bend to Madras, Warm Springs, Burns, John Day, and as far as Condon.
Sampels says working with the high and dry climate of Oregon’s high desert plateau does not pose too many challenges. “We imitate rainfall through irrigation systems, we try to do what Mother Nature does,” adds Sampels.
The roughly 30-person crew is comprised of a revered group of female staff that Sampels adds is a critical addition in attention to detail. “We have an awesome lady crew—women are more detailed than men and look around and pay attention.”
“We consider ourselves to be a custom design landscape company. We do any and all aspects of landscape, and we do our own designing.”
The start of the season entails irrigation maintenance and cleanup from the winter months, and quickly rolls into landscape planning, garden bed planting, and rock work—both pathways and walls—lightscaping, and water feature installation. And, of course, continual upkeep.
With Bend’s continually booming growth, Sampels says, currently much of their clientele is new home construction, matching an already sound and established customer base where remodels and maintenance are key. Currently more than 2,000 customers are serviced each season.
“There is a lot of fresh lumber now, and the new construction world is a focus. I value our customers and the gratification we get from them—it’s very one-on-one and a personal industry. Our portfolio is broad.”
Vern Sampels Landscaping focuses on current trends which today resonates in color; crabapple and plum trees are just a couple of key components of their landscape design. And landscape protection against deer is also high priority.
“Every yard, every house, has its own perspective in terms of personality and budget, so we provide a lot of consulting,” says Sampels. “People like color, people like the splash of color.”
The landscaping season begins this month and runs through November, coinciding with construction season, with returning employees and returning clientele as the basis of the family owned business. “Our business is definitely family-oriented, our crews are friends outside of work also,” Sampels says.
Nearly 4,000 clients have been served in the span of Vern Sampels Landscaping long-running operation, and in that time, combined expertise of the crew spans nearly 100 years of experience, says Sampels who resides in Redmond with his three children and wife.
Sampels says their motto is “Let’s try not to do things too fast again and build Central Oregon to be the high quality community that everyone expects.”
Vern Sampels Landscaping , LCB 8092
1986 SW Canal Blvd., Redmond, www.sampelslandscaping.com, sampelslandscaping@hotmail.com
(Photo above: (L-R) Amanda Sexsmith, Bethany Grant, Vanessa Gulnac, Alex Strode, Elva Reyes, Shylow Ervolina and Miranda Duchateau | Photo courtesy of Vern Sampels Landscaping)
