Our story
One truck in 1987. Three generations since.
Walt Hollis started mowing lawns in Bramwell with a used pickup and a borrowed trailer. His sons Dan and Mike grew up stacking wall block in the yard, and Dan's son Sam joined the crew in 2023.
Since 1987
How we got here
Three generations, one yard on Quarry Road.
1987Walt starts mowing
Walt Hollis leaves his job at the quarry and buys a 1979 Ford pickup and a 36 inch walk-behind mower. Twenty-two lawns in Bramwell that first summer.
1993First stone wall
A neighbor on Mill Lane asks for a fieldstone wall along the drive. Walt builds it with stone from the old quarry. It is still standing, and we still drive past it.
1999The Quarry Road yard
We buy two acres on Quarry Road for a stone yard, equipment shed and office. Customers can walk the yard and pick their stone in person.
2004Hollis & Sons
Dan and Mike come on full time after years of summers on the crew. The trucks get repainted with the new name.
2009Certified installers
Dan and Mike earn ICPI Concrete Paver Installer certification. Every hardscape crew lead has held it since.
2014Walls done to standard
Mike completes NCMA Segmental Retaining Wall Installer certification. We start engineering walls over 4 feet with a licensed structural engineer.
2018Ruth joins as designer
Ruth Okafor, a PA Certified Horticulturist, starts our planting design service. Scaled drawings for every garden we plant.
2021Walt hands over the keys
Walt retires at 71 and Dan takes over as owner. Walt still stops by the yard most mornings with coffee and opinions.
2023Third generation
Sam Hollis joins the maintenance crew after finishing his horticulture degree at the state college.
20263,100 properties
We pass 3,100 properties worked on across ten towns. About a third of this year's work came from customers we had served before.
The crew
The people who will be in your yard
Six of the people you will meet on site. Four of them have been with us more than fifteen years.
Hover, tab to or tap a card to see their certifications
Dan Hollis
Owner, second generation
31years on the crew
- ICPI Certified Concrete Paver Installer
- Landscape Industry Certified Manager (NALP)
- OSHA 10 Construction
I walk every site before we quote it. If I wouldn't put it in my own yard, I won't put it in yours.
Mike Hollis
Hardscape and walls lead
29years on the crew
- NCMA Segmental Retaining Wall Installer
- ICPI Certified Concrete Paver Installer
- OSHA 10 Construction
A wall is only as good as what's behind it. Most of my day is drainage stone nobody will ever see.
Luis Ferreira
Patio foreman
16years with Hollis
- ICPI Certified Concrete Paver Installer
- ICPI Permeable Pavement Specialist
- OSHA 10 Construction
I check every patio with a 10 foot straightedge before we sand it. Customers laugh, then they see the puddles on their neighbor's.
Ruth Okafor
Garden designer
8years with Hollis
- PA Certified Horticulturist (PLNA)
- Penn State Extension Master Gardener
- Certified Landscape Designer (APLD)
Right plant, right place. I'd rather plant fewer things that thrive than a full bed that struggles.
Tom Brennan
Maintenance crew lead
19years with Hollis
- PA Commercial Pesticide Applicator, categories 06 and 07
- Landscape Industry Certified Technician (NALP)
- ISA Certified Arborist
Same street, same week, every spring and fall. I know which customers have a dog that hides tennis balls in the hostas.
Sam Hollis
Maintenance crew, third generation
3years on the crew
- B.S. Horticulture
- PA Commercial Pesticide Applicator, category 07
- OSHA 10 Construction
Grandpa still checks my edging when he drives past. He's usually right.