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For Kingsford man, landscaping is Second Nature

Business showcase

JASON PIETRANTONIO, OWNER of Second Nature Landscaping LLC, and Loren Hayman of Norway at a job they recently completed at the home of Jason and Jaqueline Kreider in Breitung Township. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

KINGSFORD — After working for a landscaping company in Quinnesec for eight years, Jason Pietrantonio thought it was only natural to strike out on his own in 2016 by starting Second Nature Landscaping.

“I’ve always like landscaping, and I wanted to learn more about it. I put my time in with another guy and then decided I wanted to venture off on my own and build my empire,” Pietrantonio said.

After graduating from Kingsford High School in 1995, Pietrantonio studied physical therapy at Lake Superior State University. However, the four-year wait to get into a post-graduate program sent him in another direction.

He returned home and started working for his uncle’s construction company, then eventually for his brother at TJP General Contracting.

But Pietrantonio found his passion was in landscaping. “A house is one thing, but what you can do with block, pavers, timbers, just bare rock and stone; you can take just regular rock and build a waterfall with it,” he said.

Second Nature Landscaping offers service in planting, designing patios, retaining walls, timber steps, waterfalls, outdoor fireplaces, barbecues, walkways, driveways and irrigations systems.

Pietrantonio said he enjoys the beauty that landscaping provides people. “I like the wow factor that we get with everything we do and the toughness of the job. It takes a special breed to be a landscaper,” he said.

Although the business is seasonal, Pietrantonio and his lone employee, Loren Hayman of Norway, have completed more than 30 projects in two years.

“The two of us together can do better work than four or five guy teams,” Hayman said.

In the offseason, Pietrantonio builds houses with his brother while Hayman travels to Georgia for more landscape work.

Pietrantonio and his wife of 11 years, Bonnie, live in Kingsford and have two children, 7-year-old Alayna and 6-year-old Parker.

For more information on Second Nature Landscaping, contact Pietrantonio at 906-869-9016.

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