April in Berrien County arrives on the fruit trees first — whole hillsides gone white and pink while the grass is still deciding to wake up. Jenkins Lawn & Landscape starts its year right about then, raking out the winter litter, cutting back what died off, spreading fresh mulch and putting the first true cut on lawns around St. Joseph and the townships south and east of it. Through summer it is weekly mowing, trimming around posts and fence lines, and edges held honest against the driveway. Come October the work runs in reverse: leaves off, beds put down, the yard handed over to winter in good order. It is plain work, and it shows every single week.