Friends and business acquaintances of Clyde Haase who know that he’s a lifelong avid tennis player probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn he applies a sports-themed motto to most of what he does in life: “Keep your eye on the ball.”

“What I’m really saying is to stay focused and be aware of everything you’re doing, because in the game of tennis, if you don’t keep your eye on the ball, you’re not going to win, so the bottom line is I’ve always had that approach,” Haase says.

The adage has served the 80-year-old Spokane Valley resident well in his professional career, both early on as a land developer and later when he founded and owned Haase Landscape Inc. with his late wife, Caryl.

In the process of building up that business, now located at 12202 E. Thorpe Road and owned by his youngest son, Chris, and wife Jonelle, Haase propelled himself into regional prominence as a go-to authority on landscaping and landscape architecture.

His company became known for its lavish entrance displays at home-and-garden shows, and he developed a strong broadcast and online media presence with programs and promotions under the “House to Home” moniker.

“He’s definitely an icon,” says Chris Haase, adding that people ask him often how Clyde is doing even though Clyde hasn’t been integrally involved with the business for years now. Of the lessons he learned from his father, he says, “He taught me hard work and that you’ve got to fight for everything and never burn a bridge.”

Chris Haase’s two sons, Tyler, 25, and Logan, 21, now work for Haase Landscape, and Chris says they likely will become owners of the 41-year-old company when he retires, advancing the enterprise into its third generation of the family.

“They’re in the mindset of taking over (someday),” he says.

Services offered by the company include landscape architecture and construction, installation of pavers and retaining walls, creation of outdoor living spaces, sprinklers and irrigation, commercial landscape management, and snow removal and ice management.

Expansion into the latter two areas has enabled the company to more than double its annual revenues from what they were 11 years ago, when he and his wife took over ownership of the business, he says. He notes that its snow division alone now racks up revenues of more than $1 million a year.

Clyde Haase says he is proud of the job son Chris has done in growing the company, adding he “has taken it off to a whole other level.”

A Central Valley High School graduate and former Air National Guard reservist, Haase got his start in landscaping-related services at an early age working for his uncle, Adolf Krause, then co-owner of Krause Nursery, a prominent longtime business on East Sprague Avenue.

“I got into sales. I knew plant materials really well,” he says.

He began doing landscape design work with his uncle and took community college night courses to enhance his professional knowledge. However, after being rebuffed in an initial attempt to buy the nursery, he decided to change career tracks and got into real estate sales with prominent Spokane Valley developer Ken Tupper. That evolved into broad land development, he says, and over a six- to eight-year period, he bought and sold more than 4,000 lots throughout the Spokane area.

After a financial partner he had been working closely with decided to call it quits, Haase says he decided to return to the landscaping profession, though still dabbling in buying and selling lots. He challenged and passed the state exam to become a registered landscape architect—just the 34th person in the state to achieve that status—and in about 1980 finally was able with a partner to buy Krause Nursery’s assets. Two years later, he split from the partner, relinquishing his share of the Krause assets, to launch Haase Landscape.

Haase made a strategic decision early on to focus heavily on high-income customers. His client list blossomed over the years, eventually to include such luminaries as Spokane philanthropist Myrtle Woldson, Coeur d’Alene newspaper publisher and real estate developer Duane Hagadone, and well-known actor and filmmaker Viggo Mortensen, of “Lord of the Rings” fame.

“My business just grew and grew and grew,” benefiting heavily from word-of-mouth recommendations by clients in those high-income circles, he says.

The company also garnered business through connections he made by getting involved on boards in a broad mix of professional and community organizations, Haase says. Those included the Spokane Home Builders Association, the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Spokane East Rotary Club, the Spokane Interstate Fair and the state nursery and landscape association, among others.

He further developed his public persona through his co-hosting and hosting roles on “House to Home” television segments that ran over different periods on KHQ, KXLY and KAYU, as well as programs disseminated through the Spokane Talks online media network.

As part of the on-air promotions he participated in, he says, “We gave away more than $1 million in home makeovers. I got a kick out of it. It was very gratifying to give back to the public.”

His company also was featured in a lengthy 1994 article in American Nurseryman, a national trade magazine.

His son Chris started working alongside him in 1988, became vice president on the company in 1995, and took over ownership in 2013. Of his decision to transition the business over to the next family generation, he says, “I saw myself moving on to the next chapter. You have to know when it’s time to let go.”

Haase’s wife Caryl died unexpectedly two years ago, and he speaks warmly of the 58 years they were together. Despite the devastating loss, and although he grumbles a bit about getting “old,” he remains highly active.

He serves on the Spokane County Planning Commission and on endowment boards, provides project management assistance, and offers expert witness services to attorneys pursuing legal cases that involve his areas of professional expertise.

Also, he says he is working with local company Victory Media on a redesign of the dormant “House to Home” brand, for which he owns the trademark. Oh, yes, and he says he still plays tennis five to seven days a week.

Looking back, Haase says he is grateful for his life experiences and successes.

“Sometimes I feel over-blessed,” he says. “My faith, my family and my friends have brought me to where I am today. They’ve walked with me all the way.”