Bland Landscaping Company, a commercial landscaping service with an office in the greater Wilmington area, expanded into the aquatic maintenance market with a recent acquisition.

Foster Lake & Pond Management, headquartered in Garner, provides lake, pond, stormwater and fishery management services to commercial customers in the Triangle and Charlotte areas. Bland Landscaping acquired Foster Lake & Pond last month and announced the deal on Jan. 2.  

Foster Lake & Pond will remain an owned division of Bland Landscaping’s commercial landscaping platform, Bland Landscaping CEO Kurt Bland, said in an email.

Bland Landscaping is based in Apex and operates across the state, servicing hospitals, offices, universities, municipalities and homeowner associations. It has an office in Brunswick County with about 40 employees and has served the area between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach for six years.

Although Foster Lake & Pond services few accounts in the area, Bland said they plan on growing the brand’s presence in the coastal market.

This is Bland Landscaping’s fifth acquisition in the last four years. This latest deal aims to combine traditional commercial landscaping with Foster Lake & Pond’s aquatic specialization. Bland Landscaping plans to increase activity in stormwater and green infrastructure management, as well as real estate, Bland said.

“We have known and worked with the Foster Lake & Pond Management team for many years and have the utmost respect for the business Johnny (Foster) has built,” Bland said in a release.

Bland Landscaping has a team of more than 600 employees. In 2023, the company ranked 52nd on the Lawn and Landscape magazine's Top 100 list of lawn care and landscaping companies in the U.S. and Canada by total revenue. Bland Landscaping had $55.6 million in total revenue, according to the list. Brothers Kurt and Matt Bland are the second generation of company executives. 

The company is continuing to seek acquisitions of additional commercial landscape management and maintenance-related service providers in the Carolinas and Southeast, according to company officials.

“Our clients will benefit from the expanded and enhanced services that result from this combination,” said Foster Lake & Pond CEO Johnny Foster in a release. “I’m very proud of what we have built at Foster Lake & Pond Management.”