Water Mill - "We have everything for everybody," Ken Olsen said. Olsen manages The Laurel Group's East End outpost on Montauk Highway in Water Mill. The full service landscape design center opened for business last spring in the former Baywoods Building on the corner of Deerfield Lane and the busy highway. "It's great exposure," Olsen said of the 910 Montauk Highway location. "We have entrances on both roads."

Location, location and location that's for sure and it has helped spur business for the well known landscape designers based in Huntington who do it all providing customers with one stop shopping and high touch customer service. Business seems to be recession proof so far. The Laurel Group, well known on Long Island's Gold Coast, has moved east. The move has been fortuitous for everyone. New jobs have been created, customers have top notch service close to their Hamptons residences and the hardworking gang at The Laurel Group loves the South Fork.

The Laurel Group will take care of your orchids, palm trees and other exotic plants and potted shrubs over the winter.

"We will cut a half-acre lawn or we will take care of a seven-acre estate," Aaron Engle said. Engle heads up The Laurel Group's landscape maintenance division. "We 'over winter' too," he said. For non-gardeners and reluctant grass cutters 'over wintering' means The Laurel Group will take care of your orchids, palm trees and other exotic plants and potted shrubs over the winter. They take your plants to their greenhouses and take care of them for you while you are gone. When you return in the spring they bring your plants back to you. No more worrying about watering the plants while you are gone.

"People love it," Olsen said. Olsen grew up Farmington, CT where he worked with his parents in their family owned landscape business part time as a youngster and then as a college student before pursuing a career in banking and finance.

"I came from a family of avid gardeners," Olsen said. Eventually he wanted to "get back to the garden" so he left the corporate world and transferred his business savvy to the world of landscape and design. He moved to Bridgehampton this year so he could stay on top of things at the new Water Mill location. He brings 15 years of experience in the retail garden center business to the table. Olsen deals with growers and selects the inventory for the operation. "We can sell you one plant, or we can do an entire project," he said priding himself on the company's no job is too big or too small approach.

The Laurel Group hopes to become an integral part of the community within a few years time as they formulate plans to make their new digs on the Montauk Highway a focal point for gardeners. "We want to create a place where people can come and sit in our garden. We want people to come here and learn about growing orchids or herb gardens," landscape designer Vincent Quartararo said.

"I grew up on a golf course watching my uncle work," Quartararo said. His uncle, a superintendent and grounds keeper at a golf course, gave Quartararo his first job at age 14. "I loved it," he said. "I liked working outside. I fell in love with Mother Nature." Quartararo wanted to be a golf course designer. "Then I ended up in landscaping," he said. "I started right out of college. Quartararo, a native Long Islander headed for California for a few years before returning to New York to work with The Laurel Group. Quartararo works closely with architects and builders when he comes onto a project. "The placement of a house, the pool and the tennis court, is very important in terms of landscape design," he said.

"We want to create a place where people can come and sit in our garden. We want people to come here and learn about growing orchids or herb gardens," landscape designer Vincent Quartararo said.

The Laurel Group made a seamless transition from the North Shore to the South Fork when they decided to establish a presence in Bridgehampton before moving to Water Mill. "We get a lot of foot traffic here," Olsen said. "People who know us from Huntington are coming here now. It's easier for them." The Laurel Group has been doing business Island-wide for years but is especially pleased with their new location.

"I was looking around for a larger place out here," Quartararo said. "The guy at The Green Thumb told me about Baywoods." The owner was looking to get out of the business but did not want to see a gas station or a shopping center replace his garden center. "He was really glad when we approached him," Quartararo said. "He liked the idea of another landscape design center coming in to carry on."

The newly renovated building has attracted the curious as well as the serious. A fall festival, a guess the weight of the pumpkin contest and the lure of colorful mums that scream golden October on the East End has lured a steady stream of customers to The Laurel Group. The free pony rides were a hit too.

"We will decorate your front yard for you this Halloween," Engle said. "That is part of our full service yard care." They plan to sell Christmas trees as well.

"We have been slammed since we opened," Engle said. Like Olsen, he attributes their success to customer service and pricing. Engle grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania. He married a girl form Long Island and decided to move to the area. "My wife wanted to come back," Engle said. "I've always liking working outside in the dirt and the fresh air. Green is good."

Sometimes green can be expensive. "A guy that has a seven-acre property knows he's going to get a big bill," Engle said. "But we can cut your half-acre lawn for $40 a week if you want us to. "

I have an old Yankee mentality," Olsen said. "I believe in value for the dollar."

Landscape designers at The Laurel Group work closely with architects and builders to provide the correct landscaping for each homesite.