Johnstown occupies a steep Appalachian valley where Stony Creek and the Little Conemaugh River converge, creating a floodplain floor ringed by sharp hillsides that climb to hilltop neighborhoods like Westmont, reached by the famous Inclined Plane. That dramatic relief means landscapes here range from soggy bottomland soils to thin, eroded ridge edges within the same property line, and the city's clay loam base holds moisture long after the last rain. With 46 inches of annual precipitation and a growing season boxed between a May 10 frost and a late September chill, plant material gets pushed hard from both ends. Customers across Somerset, Latrobe, and Hollidaysburg share this same ridge-and-valley reality, where smart mulching and quality soil amendment are not optional extras but the foundation of anything that survives more than a season.