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PHOENIX (FOX 10) - A local company is approaching landscaping in a new way - making it both elegant and edible.
Justin Rohner comes from an Engineering background. But home is where the heart is - and Rohner's heart is in the garden.
"The one thing that felt most real to me was my little hobby-business called 'agriscaping' and I decided to put all my eggs in that basket back then," said Rohner, CEO of Agriscaping Technologies. "And it's been great ever since."
His business model is centered about landscaping that's both elegant and edible - from countertop gardens to massive botanical ones.
The agriscaping professionals will take care of everything from installation to maintenance, working within your budget. Or, if you're a DYI fan hoping to get your hands dirty, they hold classes for free.
"If you're one who wants to do it all yourself, we'll design it in such a way that makes it easy for you to maintain," said Rohner. "It's taking all the amazing production you can get out of a farm and finding ways to integrate that into your own landscape so that you can have access to food within steps of your own door while making it look beautiful."
Rohner says, contrary to popular belief, you can grow just about everything in Arizona. That's one reason he planted his business in Gilbert. If you can do it here, you can do it anywhere.
"all the fruits, vegetables, herbs, we've got over 30 varieties of apples," Rohner said. "Just apples alone that we can grow here in Arizona."
They use climate-control technology. It's what he calls a hyperproductive spin on the old-fashioned ro-farming.
"Each square foot in this garden averages about $7 and 82 cents in production per year," Rohner said. "The average a farm and produce is 40 cents."
So if you've been thinking about starting a garden or planting some ornamentals, why not do both? Now you know you can find all the resources in one spot.
"With agriscaping, you can have your beautiful garden and eat it, too," Rohner said.