Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Phillips and Matthew Gleichenhaus.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started off in finance after college and worked for a large investment management firm. I was there about 18 years. But I knew my passion was design and plants. So I took a leap of faith and opened a home and garden store in Studio City. We sold fountains, plants, bath and body and unique items for the home. That store was called Paradise Contained. Through store clients started asking me to do landscaping for them. Over time, the landscaping revenue exceeded the income for the store and in 2008 I closed the store and focused on landscaping. Go Green Gardeners was established prior to that as we were mainly doing landscaping that was environmentally focused with a special focus on drought tolerant gardens.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Having a retail store was not easy during the recession. We had to make a tough decision and close our store in 2008. We had for about 10 years. Our garden maintenance business really helped us through the difficult 5 years of the recession. We were lucky enough to be at the forefront of the drought tolerant garden boom and were working with clients to get rebates to remove grass at the time the program started. Now we are shifting gears again and working on giving folks a lawn irrigation system that saves them lot of water. This system has been used in Israel for many years and provides subsurface irrigation to the lawn which eliminates evaporation that normal spray heads have.
Go Green Gardeners – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are known for our beautiful drought tolerant gardens that don’t look like the usual drought tolerant gardens. We use many blooming plants and add design details such as berms and dry stream beds that make the gardens look attractive. We do a variety of styles which clients like as they can customize the design based on the design of their house and their own particular tastes.
As many of our clients want to keep some lawn, we are known for our subsurface watering system that can allow people to keep their lawns while helping to conserve water. We also are known for our maintenance services which employ adults with development disabilities.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We design success as happy client. We do a lot of up front work on our designs to really understand what the client is looking for. A garden is something that folk’s use and should be attractive. So it is mix of understanding how they will use the space and what type of look they want.
Pricing:
- Most of our gardens are under $10,000 and many below $5000 depending on the size
- Converting to a drought tolerant garden can save you 40% on your water bill or more
Contact Info:
- Address: 34405 Aspen St
Acton Ca 93510 - Website: gogreengardeners.com
- Phone: 88-755-4647
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Go-Green-Gardeners-109975005709974/?ref=ts
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
