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NILES — The governor’s latest executive order included language that struck at many green thumbs’ hearts.

The inclusion of “garden centers and plant nurseries” in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-42 came as a surprise to gardeners, nursery owners, landscaping and lawncare professionals alike. The executive order has many wondering if and how outdoor services will be enforced.

Niles City Administrator Ric Huff said the governor’s executive order blankets Niles in the same way that it does other communities across the state of Michigan.

“We encourage everyone to follow the orders to the best of their abilities so that we can get back to normal as soon as possible,” Huff said.

Huff did say that there were situations where grass must be cut to maintain health and safety within the community.

“In these cases, we are not pursing enforcement, but this could change if we receive direction to enforce even in these types of cases,” Huff said. “We are sending notices to any company, landscaping or otherwise, that appears to be in blatant violation of the executive order requesting their compliance.”

Erika Pickles, of Owens Lawn Care, expressed that the company has not been able to do any maintenance since March 14, and their service is currently put on hold until April 30.

“This ban could be extended into May, which could have a major effect on lawns and public health not just here in Niles, but in the entire state,” Pickles said. “We always shoot for starting spring cleanup services the first week of April, so as of now with the extended ban, we will be one month behind schedule.”

Not the first industry to feel the weight of the heavy mandates in response to precautions against the spread of COVID-19, the lawncare and landscaping industry is one of the most recent to feel the impact.

Pickles believes lawncare is an essential service for the public’s safety.

“For many of our customers, especially businesses, we are responsible for trash removal from properties,” Pickles said.

She also highlighted the role that companies like Owens Lawn Care played during the eastern equine encephalitis outbreak through the area last year. EEE spread through mosquito bites in 2019, leading to six deaths in the Berrien County area.

“Berrien and Cass counties saw some of the highest number of deaths in the state,” Pickles said. “Lawn care professionals were urged to do everything in their power to help combat mosquitoes, like cutting grass shorter, utilizing pesticide companies and removing standing water from properties. We went into overload mode just trying to keep our customers’ properties as safe and sanitary as we could.”

The mildness of the winter could spell a bigger mosquito problem ahead as the weather warms up, and Pickles is worried about not getting ahead of that issue to potentially curb it.

“We understand that certain services like patio and fireplace installations can wait,” she said. “We agree with that. What we don’t agree with is the simple aspect of keeping Michigan’s outdoors clean and safe.”

Pickles said professional landscaping companies are usually in charge of outdoor maintenance for retail stores, government buildings, public parks and private residences. Sometimes, they service entire subdivisions.

Not everyone has a division that can be put to task on maintaining their greenspaces themselves. Pickles cites the cost of lawn equipment, time and able-bodiedness as reasons a lawncare and landscaping service may be considered essential to many.