The Level Green Culture Blog

Behind the scenes and insider information for landscaping careers and green industry jobs.

The Level Green story starts like a lot of great stories — with an intriguing idea and a conversation over lunch.

In this case, lunch was at Red Lobster. But Bill Hardy and Doug Delano could have been eating peanut butter sandwiches in a truck and still come to the same conclusion: they should start a landscaping company together.

The two friends had worked together for years at a Maryland landscaping company. Doug started out as a laborer and truck driver and worked his way up to supervisor, project manager, area manager and branch manager.

Bill started as assistant supervisor and moved on to be a supervisor, account manager and branch manager.

When Doug decided to start his own business, he immediately thought of Bill as the perfect business partner.

From the beginning, the pair had strong values and high standards.

Unhappy at work?

Too stressed out?

Need a change?

Not sure where to turn after serving in the military?

It could be a perfect mid-career change.How about landscaping?

Here’s why.

When Margaret Hoffman's kids were in elementary school, their teachers told them their mom would make a great teacher.

A teacher? Hoffman laughed it off.

She was an urban forestry expert. A native plant lover. A landscape designer.

“I thought there was no way I had the patience to be a teacher,” she says.

Those grade school teachers were pretty smart.

These days, Hoffman is assistant professor of landscape contracting at Pennsylvania State University.

And she loves it.

When Emilie Roper attended the NALP career fair two years ago, she was a horticulture student at Brigham Young University-Idaho with a lot of questions.

Not sure what the future holds for you after high school graduation?

If you love to be outside, like to work with your hands and are a good team player, landscaping might be a perfect fit.

Level Green Landscaping branch manager James Kole tells how a landscaping job straight out of high school can be the start of something big.

It's time to get a job. Are you ready to meet with a recruiter?

While you might assume getting a job in landscaping is a more casual situation than in other industries, recruiters in landscaping are looking for some of the same qualities that are valuable in any profession.

James Kole, branch manager at Level Green Landscaping, knows his way around the recruiting table. He and his colleagues visit several colleges and universities, collegiate competitions and professional conferences each year, looking for prospective new employees.

What impresses him?

He'll tell you.

When you hear about another company that pays a dollar more an hour than your current job, or offers a few more hours a week, it’s tempting to duck out the door for that “better” opportunity.

When the snow starts to fly and the temperature drops, an indoor job sounds a lot better than shoveling snow.

We understand your instincts. But you’re missing out.

Stay at the same company for a while, and there are lots of benefits that frequent job hoppers don't get.

Let’s take a look.

If someone offered you a fast track to a management position, you'd take them up on it, right?

Or maybe you'd wonder: What's the catch?

No catch here at Level Green Landscaping. We offer a landscape management training program that prepares qualified candidates for a position as an operations manager or account manager.

Get paid while you learn the ropes of the landscape management business. Then, when you’re done, you’re ready to hit the ground running.

Let's take a look.

Why spend your internship at Level Green Landscaping?

We can’t wait to tell you.

We’re a fast-growing commercial landscape company located in Washington, DC and Maryland and we offer one of the most well-rounded landscaping internships in the industry.

While we offer many of the same benefits as the larger companies, we’re a family here. You’ll get to know the owners — and experience every aspect of the business during your time here.

Why intern at Level Green Landscaping? Why not?

We’ll answer all your questions, right here.