Garden Of Eden Landscapes was started two days after returning from a two week honeymoon in Jamaica in October 1987. I was on my way home from my job where I sold commercial espresso machines.

I got on the Bay Bridge, and hit the traffic and concrete jungle. It wasn't the right fit for me, so I quit my job. When my new wife returned home from work I announced that I was unemployed. Give me a break — I was young and foolish.

The condominium we were living in needed a gardener so I signed up. I bought a $10 lawn mower from a yard sale, hand clippers for the lawn edge and a broom. By the end of the first week, I had 4 more properties within walking distance and the business was started. I loved everything about it, even the hard work.

"Just for one's health…it is very necessary to work in the garden." -Vincent van Gogh.

1987 was the start of a major recession and the first year of a 10-year drought. Timing is everything! Even with all those bad odds, after 5 years Garden of Eden Landscapes had three Maintenance crews and two installation crews, a warehouse, newsletter and a strong reputation in the community of Castro Valley

After two kids being born and converting a raunchy neighborhood liquor store into a thriving high school youth ministry (with over three hundred high school students showing up weekly) something had to give. Since it wasn't going to be the kids, wife or youth ministry, I divided Garden of Eden Landscapes and sold the whole shooting match to my maintenance foreman. I just kept my contractors license, company name, one truck and tractor and the first string crew of 5 well trained men.

That was over 5 years ago and we've never looked back.

Garden of Eden Landscapes is now simply about improving the gardens and lives of everyone we come in contact by:

• Keeping a well trained, trustworthy, curious and insured staff at all times
• Doing one job at a time even though this policy creates quite a back log at times. As Rosie Thomas said: "Every novice gardener made the mistake of wanting rewards at once"
• Keeping up on the latest in landscape materials, trends and styles
• Always matching the architecture of the dominant structure we are working with
• Warranting every aspect of the job we perform
• Being very maintenance minded - we serviced over 300 accounts at one time and as a result strive to make the clients maintenance as easy and affordable as possible
• Taking the clients budget, lifestyle and planned use of the space very seriously when designing any project
• Becoming the clients #1 advocate in achieving their landscape goals
• Laughing as much as we can (it makes the work and business relationships we encounter easy)
• Doing everything we say we are going to do
• Fixing our mistakes: we're human and we make mistakes from time to time. We don't hide or ignore them, we fix them
• Resting. We work 4- 10 hour days so the crew gets 3 day week ends to be with their families and take care of all that families need to take care off. This policy allows us to work the occasional Friday, catching up if we fall behind and still working a 40 hour week if we lose a day to rain or holiday. If we have to rush, we have an extra day available to complete any given project.
• Keeping most of what we do in-house so we don't put our reputation in the hands of sub contractors who might not have the best interest of our clients in mind

In short: landscaping is a team sport and Garden of Eden Landscapes is a team that plays to win. Winning to Garden Of Eden Landscapes means happy, satisfied clients and well done landscape projects that we all can be proud of.

Thanks for taking the time to cruise the site. If you have any questions, just call us at 510-889-9105 or go to the contact us page and e-mail Garden of Eden Landscapes.

Shalom.

Mark Campbell
Owner of Garden of Eden Landscapes