Former student's design, construction
business featured in Houston Chronicle

Instead of taking expensive vacations, many homeowners these days are upgrading their homes' outdoor spaces with fireplaces, pools and fountains, a trend that's benefiting a former student's business.

A.J. Benys, who earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree in 1989, designs and builds projects ranging from $3,000 outdoor grills to pools with tabs of $45,000 and up, reported Sandra Bretting in the Nov. 21 issue of the Houston Chronicle.

Benys founded his company, AJ's Landscaping & Design, in 1989 and then turned it into a four-acre operation that today employs 110 people with a revenues of some $12 million in 2008, wrote Bretting.

While Benys originally focused on landscaping services such as designing gardens and yards, wrote Bretting, most of his business centers on outdoor construction. Whether it's a $5,000 outdoor fire pit or a $65,000 pool, Benys said each design is unique to the property, which also poses his largest challenge.

“How do you top yourself when you've been in this business for a while?” Benys said. “The challenge is to not get stagnant, but to continually create new spaces, to do something different.”

For Bretting's article, visit http://www.chron.com/disp

AJ's website is located at http://www.ajslandscaping.com

- Posted: Dec. 2, 2009 -