There's an old saying, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." Well, once you meet Tommy Martiniere and see his Fairhope, Alabama based business, you quickly realize that old saying is a myth.

You see, Tommy has not only a bachelor's degree, but a master's degree as well, and taught classes in landscape design and golf course management as a full-time job, before taking on Martiniere Landscaping and bringing it to the success it is today.

Tommy built up a nice little one-man landscape company while in high school, but when the time came to go to college, he handed the company over to his good friend Fred Gates and was on his way. Tommy worked his way through school while studying agribusiness education, landscape design, and horticulture. After two degrees, he set off to teach others about the business he loved.

While teaching for five years, Tommy occupied his spare time by doing small landscape projects for friends and associates. By the time his friend Fred decided to enter a different career, Tommy couldn't pass up the opportunity to take on the landscaping business full time.

That was 1998. "When I first started, my goals were to be happy outside, doing what I love to do, and to make enough money to live," says Tommy. Before long, Fred Gates returned to the business; he too missed "getting his hands dirty" and the outdoors. Together, they have turned Martiniere Landscaping into a well known, thriving business that produces some of the most beautiful landscapes in the southeast.