The Level Green Culture Blog

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

Bill Hardy swims with sharks and shoots off an astonishingly large display of exploding fireworks every Fourth of July.

So when his friend and former colleague Doug Delano asked if he wanted to go into business together, honestly, it didn’t seem too scary.

Plus, they were at Red Lobster at the time. Those cheddar biscuits have a way of making everything seem just fine.

“I call it the day Doug proposed to me,” Bill recalls cheerfully. “A business partnership is a lot like a marriage. It has to be based on trust. You’re not always going to agree on everything, but you still have to figure out how to solve issues.”

He laughs.

“I accepted his proposal pretty quick.”

The Weather Channel says it feels like 101 degrees, and Miguel Herrera and his crew are pruning trees and pulling weeds at South River Landing in Edgewater, Md., one of Level Green Landscaping’s top customers. The gated, waterfront community on the Chesapeake's South River features 84 custom-built luxury homes. The lush landscaping has to be perfect.

When Don Gates came to Level Green Landscaping in 2012, he brought all sorts of experiences with him.

He’s worked in plumbing, handled quality control at a Chevrolet dealership and supervised 35 employees at a commuter airline company based at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

“I know how to deal with a lot of different situations,” Don says. “And I carried all of that with me here. Working at the airport, there were people from all different cultures, who believe in a lot of different things. You need to be respectful of that.”

When Paul Wisniewski was a teen working at London Landscape Nursery in Michigan, his bosses always thanked him for his work at the end of the day.

Two small words, but they packed a powerful punch. So much so, that Paul carries on the tradition, always thanking crew members after a hard day’s work.

“Those two words go a long way,” says Paul, a branch manager at Level Green Landscaping. “It says we appreciate what they do. It’s not an easy job. I used to feel good when I heard it at the end the day. I hope my guys do, too.”

When David Briggs needs to talk to you, he could text, email, or pick up the phone. But chances are, he’ll stop by to see you.

He’s that kind of guy.

“I like my customers,” says Dave, an account manager with Level Green for the last 12 years. “I like meeting new people, seeing new things, not being stuck in an office.”

No offense to you office types. But being outside is what drew Dave to a career in landscaping, way back in high school when he tried it out as a summer job.

“When I was young I wanted to be outside, be tan and I didn't mind the heat,” he says. He went on to start a landscaping company with his older brother, Paul. He signed on at Level Green almost from the company's beginning.

Bradley Sarno hits the ground running every morning. Let’s try to keep up.

“I have guys going in four different directions every day,” Bradley says of the four different teams he supervises as enhancement operations manager. “If there’s a new job on Monday, I head there first to get things going.”

Then he joins the second crew as they get ready to place plants. He often lays all the plants out himself. As for the rest of the day, you name it.

When Craig Fugate was a kid, he took his sister’s bike apart. He wanted to see how it worked.

“When my dad saw it, he said, ‘Put it back together,’” Craig recalls. “I didn't know how.”

Soon, he did.

“Then I took the radio apart to see how it worked,” he says. “Whatever broke, I’d see if I could fix it. I just always wanted to fix things.”

He got his wish. After high school, Craig attended Lincoln Technical Institute in Maryland and went on to work as a mechanic at a gas station, car dealerships, auto repair shops and landscaping companies.

You can plant all the flowers you want, painstakingly planning the beds and tucking them into the soil just right, but unless they get water, they’re doomed.

That’s where Robby Robinson comes in, arriving on time to customers’ properties several times a week with a 1,000-gallon tank of water and plenty of patience to let it soak in.

Robby has been at Level Green Landscaping for three years, starting out as a crew member then adding responsibilities as a driver.

During the growing season he mans a water truck, visiting a number of Level Green clients several times a week, keeping an eye on beds of colorful blooms and lush plants and making sure none go thirsty.

During the winter, you’ll find him doing snow removal. In the fall, leaf removal. And he drives truckloads of materials to job sites for enhancement projects.

Tired of having an “either/or” work life? Trust me, you know what I mean.

Either you accept a high-paying job you hate or take a lower salary for a good work/life balance. You can also either work behind a desk to hone your computer skills or spend the day outside enjoying nature.

In many positions, there’s no middle ground or compromise. And for people who want more, that just doesn’t work.

You aren’t one-dimensional, so why should your job be like that?

Michael Mayberry found a way to enjoy the best of both worlds as an operations manager for Level Green Landscaping.

Being outdoors has always been Joey Schneider’s calling. It was just a matter of finding a job that was the right fit.

Joey went to work for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, handling farm conservation. He thought the job would allow him to work outside a lot, but instead, he found himself mainly behind a desk doing paperwork.

He started looking for a job in another industry like construction but was contacted by a recruiter for a national landscape company. He was unsure at first and continued the job search.

But when the recruiter reached out to him again, he decided to give the landscape industry a chance.

And that was it. Joey he fell in love with landscaping after the first day.