In 1960 there was a 10 year old boy who wanted to earn some money. He began to work very hard mowing lawns in Maryland for his neighbors and friends. That boy was Ned Brooks. Ned continued to do lawn work and in 1962 his father bought a lawn care service franchise and they started to work together with a nice truck and equipment. For the next 2 years they worked together until in 1964 Ned's father decided to leave the lawn care business, but Ned kept working, all the way through high school, and then college. Upon his graduation from college in 1974 Ned decided to pursue another career.

 For the next 6 years, Ned was out of the lawn care business, but in 1980 all that changed. He had a truck that he wasn't using much and decided once again to use it for a lawn care service in Maryland. That year he started Relms Landscaping with two partners, one of whom was Wayne Offer who is still part of the professional installation crew today. At that time RELMS was the abbreviation for

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That all changed in 1987 when the company began to grow. Ned decided to move into the business full time and hired two more people including Jim Taylor who remains with RELMS as Vice President of Operations to this day. Soon RELMS was running two crews and taking on more work. At times during the early years, the RELMS employees did janitorial work at night in order to keep full time jobs. Finally, in 1989 RELMS was awarded a large contract doing landscape maintenance services for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. They were able to add more men to the crews and could also have warehouse space, since previously all of the equipment had been stored at Ned's house.

RELMS continued to grow into the 1990's securing outside storage, and buying warehouse space of its own. RELMS now had one commercial landscape crew, one residential landscape crew and one design/build crew. Also during the first years of the 90's Ned found himself transitioning out of full time work in the field to a management role and adding his first landscape designer. By the late 90's a second landscape designer came on board as the number of employees, trucks and jobs steadily grew. Michelle Tango signed on as a landscape designer in 2000.

In 2004 RELMS took a significant step by moving to a new headquarters, a beautiful 12 acre farm in Harwood, Maryland. The farm gives us the room we need and beautiful, green surroundings as a company home. Updated operations software, the ability to conduct business online, all increase our ability to provide stellar customer service which remains our highest goal. Today, the RELMS team has the field installation crews, professional design team and support staff to achieve great results and insure positive experiences for our valued customers.

The Relms Landscaping Team

Ned Brooks, President

Ned received his B.S. in Biology from Towson State University, and did post graduate work in Civil Engineering and Accounting. He has been in the green industry since 1962 and put himself through college. In 1980 Ned founded Relms Landscaping with one other man and two used mowers. Ned has lived locally in Anne Arundel County and cares deeply for the community around which his business was built. His family, both at Relms and at home, are held high, as is his faith. Currently, he is an active board member of the Anne Arundel County Youth Charity Initiative and is also active in the Boys and Girls Club of Anne Arundel County. Ned’s vision for Relms is that it will function as a legacy.

Jim Taylor Vice President of Operations

Jim received his B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Jim has worked in the Green Industry since 1981 and has been with Relms Landscaping since 1987. Jim has been a Maryland licensed Pesticide Applicator since 1991. Currently Jim is working on being certified as a Landscape Professional by the Landscape Contractors of America. He lives in Annapolis with his wife of 21 years and two teenage daughters. Married to Dianne in 1983 and has lived in Annapolis since 1986. Our two daughters are successfully completing their college careers. He believes strongly that we all must give something back to acknowledge what we have been given.

Hannah Goldbeck Residential Maintenance and Design Sales

Hannah has been working in the green industry since 1999, beginning as a sales associate at a premier local garden center. She moved on to hold several specialist positions before working as a Grower's Assistant and finally taking over the Education program. Hannah joined RELMS in June, 2004 to expand her work experience as a crew foreman for that season. Since completing her training in the field, she has been creating Landscape Designs and coordinating Residential Maintenance services. She is a Certified Installer of Concrete Pavers (CICP). Hannah currently resides in Riva with her husband and family.

Vicki Metzger Residential Sales

Vicki Metzger is a recent graduate of the Landscape Design Graduate Certificate Program at George Washington University. She has worked in the retail nursery business for several years and is an avid home gardener. She is a former Board Member of The American Ivy Society and helped the Society create display gardens at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Creating small gardens is her specialty. She has been a part of the Annapolis community for many years and formerly owned a bookstore on Main Street.