There’s a lot of talk these days about going to Mars. The first trip is tentatively planned for the late 2030s (they do keep pushing back the date), and whoever goes will likely have no choice but to stay there forever.
Josh Muzzy, owner and operator of True Blue Landscaping, believes in making the places we already have more beautiful — especially Durango. “It’s what we work for every day,” he explains.
“I could have moved to Steamboat and done the same stuff. Durango has always been pretty homegrown, down to earth, and more working class. You know — way cooler.”
Still, Durango has changed in the last ten years. Its population shifted as people moved away from the bigger cities during the pandemic.
“Everybody found us,” Josh laughs with some sincerity. “There’s not too many of us OG Durango guys left.”
“When people come here from the city, I like to help them shake the city off of them and get on Durango time.”
Muzzy is grateful to Durango, his home of twenty-five years. He’s also grateful for his 15-person team at True Blue Landscaping. “They’re a bunch of rad guys, and I’m really lucky to have them all.”
For Josh, business is about more than money. “I pay them double what everyone else pays,” he says, describing the vibe of his company. “I want them to learn and grow and take pride in what they’re doing.”
One look at truebluelandscape.com and it’s obvious Josh cares about stewardship of the Earth. His company focuses on water-wise landscaping and the proper selection of native xeric plants such as cacti, shrubs, trees, and succulents. They plant over 1,000 trees a year.
If Durango is going to change, Josh wants it to change with the community — which is why he worked with Durango Parks and Recreation to help create the town’s first skate bowls in the late ’90s and continues supporting local movements such as the Tico Time Harvest Music Festival.
For Muzzy, his business is literally built on dirt — and he loves it. Earth = Dirt. “I’m not getting rich, but I do love what I do. So I’m lucky.”
Maybe if more businesses operated like Muzzy’s, we’d be less obsessed with going to Mars. But who knows? They might need some expert xeriscaping out there come 2045.
I want them to learn and grow and take pride in what they're doing.