Vendor Spotlight | Monika Hollosi | Landscape Magic
Monika Hollosi | Landscape Magic
Monika was recommended to us when we were looking to do landscaping work at our own home. We were so pleased with her design decisions and the install that she and her team did, that we now have multiple neighbors who have hired her to do their yards as well! Read below to get to know Monika and how she got started in Landscape Design.
How long have you been working in landscaping?
Since finishing my University in Hungary. I came over to the US, to Massachusetts first. It was a pretty Island called Nantucket where we were employed as gardeners/ greenhouse help. The owner got to know my passion and background and asked me right away to plant up the first house to enter the farm and store complex. It became their yearly family photo background. That was 27 years ago.
After that many gardens followed, still on Nantucket and in the Boston area. We formally opened our business in 2005 with my husband and had the pleasure to create gardens, outdoor places and anything connecting to plants and hardscapes. Moved to the lovely Raleigh area in 2007 and not planning to leave!
What is one piece of advice you give to home owners about their yards?
Spend lots of time outdoors, actively care for your plants, it will make you very happy! Not only the touch of nature and moving around (exercise) but having something created and completed gives a nice satisfaction!
Oh, yes, do not neglect the weeds, do not let them pass blooming because seeds, by the thousands will spread all over and you are getting punished for years to come with more and more weeds :(
On the other hand, many weeds are herbs, read up on them. Now in the spring the chickweeds for example are great for mixing into salads, dandelion leaves/ flowers are super good for your liver, etc.
What is your favorite part of the work you do?
Planting, by far! It is just amazing to put a plant in the soil, having to work with the soil (like when I was a child), that plant will have a new beginning and a new home, live there for many years and be happy there!
What is the most surprising thing you've ever seen during a landscaping project?
We were cleaning up a yard where new homeowners moved in. The home had not been occupied for many years before. As we were approaching the gazebo there, we noticed that small animals started to come up from a den under the structure. We thought they were wild kitties but when we heard the mother's screaming sounds we noticed that they were actually fox young. Beautiful and cute, but we knew better and returned the next day after they had found a new home.
Favorite local restaurant?
Neomonde Mediterranean Raleigh by the JC Raulston Arboretum. This is where I meet my girlfriends from time to time and walk around the arboretum. The restaurant is a casual, sit outside/ inside, store with Mediterranean grocery- type of set up. Nothing fancy but good quality. I can select good meal choices, the type of cuisine I do not cook at home usually.
Favorite local place to visit on the weekends?
Umstead park, Lake wheeler park (if I only have a few hours), biking, kayaking, or just watching the lake how it reflects the sun and sparkles on the rippled water. This planet is nice :)