Started at 12 with a rake
Yardex is what happens when a Guelph kid takes lawn care seriously for six straight years.
From a wagon to 50 lawns a week
It started during the pandemic with a company called Yard Boys — Carter Florence and a friend hauling every tool they owned around the neighbourhood in a wagon. When coordinating across neighbourhoods got too hard, Carter rebranded as Yardex and did everything the hard way: printed business cards and handed them out door to door, taught himself to build a website, and put the business on Google Maps himself.
The first contracts were neighbours. Growth came the old-fashioned way — you could tell which yards on the street were his, so the street kept calling. GuelphToday covered the story, the five-star reviews stacked up past fifty, and in 2024 Yardex won a Quality Business Award for lawn care in Guelph.
Some things about how Carter runs it haven’t changed since the wagon: he’ll stop and talk when clients are home, he’s been known to cut an elderly neighbour’s grass without being asked, and long-time clients get Christmas gift baskets — branded mug included. Customer retention, it turns out, is mostly just giving a damn.
A crew of 5, built for consistency
Yardex today is a 5-person team maintaining 50 Guelph lawns every week through the season. The crew runs commercial mowers and trimmers — the same class of equipment the franchises use — and works tight routes so your cut lands on the same day, every week.
Being a real team matters for reliability: when Carter travels, a dedicated crew member covers the recurring route and Carter still handles client messages personally each evening. The company has never missed a season, and the coverage system is why. Owner-run means exactly what it sounds like — when you text Yardex, Carter answers.
Hungrier, faster, fairer
Lower prices
No franchise fees or head-office overhead in your bill — mowing from $27.50 per cut, all-inclusive.
Faster replies
You deal with the owner, not a call queue. Quotes within 24 hours, usually same-day.
Higher stakes
Every lawn is our reputation in the neighbourhood — and the reason we obsess over edges.
Local impact
Your money stays in Guelph and backs young entrepreneurship you can watch grow.
Three commitments
No lock-in. No contracts, no cancellation fees. Clients stay because the lawn looks good.
No corner-cutting. Commercial equipment, 3-inch cuts, trimming and blowdown every visit.
No radio silence. Quotes within 24 hours, schedule updates when weather shifts, and a real person on the other end of every message.
Work with us this season
Tell us about your property and we’ll send a free, no-pressure quote.
Get Your Free QuoteNo contracts. No cancellation fees. We reply within 24 hours — usually much faster.