Who’s Got the Dirt? I-5 Landscape Supply Offers Pickup or Delivery

Making a living doing dirty work is nothing new to Harold and Kristin Buren, owners of I-5 Landscape Supply.

“I’ve been landscaping for 26 years,” said Harold.

He got his start in the business in 1991 when he opened Landsculpture’s Landscaping in Chehalis. He and Kristin purchased I-5 Landscape Supply six years ago and consolidated the businesses last year. 

“The paperwork was just a nightmare. I mean, which bark went where,” explained Harold.

Kristin is no slouch herself. She enjoys expertly operating her JCB mini-cab front loader around the yard.

“Sometimes we get oldtimers in here when I’m not around and they ask her if there’s anyone around who can load them up,” noted Harold. “She’s been driving that thing for six years and she knows what she’s doing. Sometimes she can get pretty firey over it.”

The third leg of the I-5 Landscape Supply is Luna, a 5-month-old French mastiff with eyes that would melt the heart of an ice sculpture in an igloo.

“She’s my guard dog,” said Kristin of her sweet and soon-to-be hulking puppy.

Harold says the location of their supply yard can’t be beat. Tucked along I-5 and the Newaukum River off of Exit 72 along the winding Napavine and Chehalis boundary, the location gives customers convenient access and facilitates the delivery aspects of the business. 

Not only does I-5 Landscape Supply receive 18-wheeler deliveries on the regular, they also hit the road themselves in order to make deliveries of their premium material from Winlock to Packwood, from Pe Ell to Rochester, and everywhere in between. The charge is only about $2 per mile, depending on the distance.

“This business is nice because it’s the same people who come in every year and you get to know them,” said Kristin. She noted that customers often return to show off produce that they’ve grown in their I-5 Landscape Supply amended gardens, or flashing photos of their various home improvement projects.

“We’ve got one customer we make deliveries to who makes cheese, and I always make sure to buy some when we are there,” said Kristin. 

The symbiotic deliveries are one of her ways of keeping the wheels of economy well greased and turning.

The Burens enjoy helping out their customers in order to send them home with the best product for their particular project. On the whole, Harold said their biggest ticket item is soil.

“We get people that say, ‘Oh I need top soil.’ Well what are you using it for? Because we have two different types,” said Harold, who explained that one variety is best for gardens while the other typically works better for lawns.

“Having landscaped around here I know it’s usually just horrible soil. There’s just so much clay,” said Harold. “We do have the most expensive soil around, but it’s the best soil around. I stand by that.”

It seems the transfer of knowledge works both ways at I-5 Landscape Supply. 

“We learn a lot from our customers too,” said Harold, who raved about a soilless method for growing potatoes that he recently learned from a local farmer who frequents the Burens’ supply yard along I-5.

The Burens make their home in Ethel, and with their collective experience and vast supplies on hand, one might expect their home to be a shrine to decorative landscapes.

“It’s a work in progress. We’ve only lived there for eight years,” demurred Kristin with a laugh.

Harold is currently in the midst of building a fir log construction gazebo. It’s a project he’s never attempted before, which he says appeals to his nature.

“If I could I’d stay home all day long and work in the yard, but that’s not reality,” he explained.

The Burens are making plans to expand their operation soon by adding more rock products. Eventually they’d like to add decorative plants to the mix.

“We’re just a little ma and pa operation, so every little bit helps,” said Harold. “We’re just like everybody else, struggling to make a living.”