A Greener Tomorrow

A Landscaping Star in the Heart of Hollywood

By Sandi Schwartz

With over 25 years of combined experience, Carmen and Luis Uribe are the proud and passionate owners of the landscape and maintenance company A Greener Tomorrow, Inc. They have been offering a full range of landscaping and outdoor living services to Los Angeles County residents and businesses for more than 15 years. This landscape design duo is clear about their goal: to beautify the community as much as they can with a business grounded by a hard work ethic, extensive industry knowledge and a constant commitment to quality and professionalism.

Carmen and Luis are living their dream by designing, creating and caring for the kind of beautiful lawns and properties they have always envisioned. “We love what we do, and it’s not even a job to us,” says Carmen. Besides the clear passion they have for their work, there are several elements that set them apart.

Family History in the Field
Some might say that landscaping is in their genes. Both Carmen and Luis were born into families working in the gardening industry. They even met among greenery when Carmen accompanied her father on a supply run at a nursery that happened to belong to Luis’s brother. That special encounter sparked a connection, and they were married soon after. At the time, they were both in the gardening business; Luis was working with his dad and Carmen was an employee at Albertsons in the floral department. Eventually, when Luis’s father retired, Carmen started working with Luis. Then in 2006, they reinvented the company from the ground up, taking it to the next level. With their new company, A Greener Tomorrow Inc. in place, Luis became a professional c27 licensed landscaper and Carmen completed a professional landscape design degree.

Uribe Family: (L-R) Carmen, David, Luis Jr., Bella and Luis Sr.

Strong Family Dynamic
With their roots in family, Carmen and Luis still prioritize family in their business today. They are a family of landscape architects—their daughter just became a landscape architect, and their one son is studying in the field as well. Their other son also works for the company handling logistics.

“This is what our parents did. Now our three kids are involved. Everyone does their part. We truly are a family business.” While they do contract out for certain projects like pool installation, in general, all family members have a say in each project. “We all share our points of view. We try to cover every little detail within our small team. The best part is when a project comes to life and we see it happen,” says Carmen.

Full Range of Services
Another distinction of the company is the all-encompassing work they provide. Carmen notes, “It’s a one-stop-shop from the point the client decides they want to upgrade their landscape.”

"We design it from zero to bringing
it to life & maintain it so there’s
never any miscommunication."

They offer a full range of landscaping and lawn care services, gardening, irrigation services and more. Specific services include landscape design, landscape lighting, landscape installation, sod and lawn installation, hardscaping, irrigation system installation and maintenance, fencing and retaining walls. They even take on outdoor living projects like designing and building outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, firepits and patios. As a bonus, designs are free once the job is booked.

Over the years, their hard work has paid off in many ways. In 2020, A Greener Tomorrow was recognized as one of Culver City’s “Businesses of The Year” by local media outlet patch.com. Readers complimented the company’s friendly customer service, extensive knowledge about landscaping, strong work ethic, reasonable prices and creative designs. But with success also comes challenges. Here are the three main challenges that the company is facing today:

Climate Change
“The ever-changing weather pattern is our biggest challenge in southern California,” says Carmen. “Global warming is so real. I was born and raised here. The weather has changed. I know because I’ve been here for 45 years. There was never a summer when we would hit 85. Now we hit 92, even 98 by the beach. It’s very frustrating.” A few years ago, they were featured on CNN during a drought to talk about the impact the weather was having on their business because everyone removed their lawn to add succulents and arid landscapes. But recently, the issue has been more about rain. “Now we have so much rain. The weather always keeps us on our toes since it’s been so drastic,” adds Carmen. Over the years, they have adapted by adding services like drought-tolerant gardens to address dry periods and artificial turf installation during wet periods.

Labor Shortages
Another major problem is finding adequate labor. “Nobody wants to work,” says Carmen. “We are looking at legislation that gives work visas. We have tried for three years but it is very competitive. This is such a big issue in the landscaping industry right now.” While they have some maintenance staff that have been with the company for up to 20 years, they are having trouble recruiting more crew members. They are also interested in exploring new technologies to help automate their business, but they still rely on human power to get much of the job done. 

Working for Famous Clients
A really unique part of the company is that they work with some A-list celebrities since they serve towns in the Hollywood area, including Culver City, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades and Bel Air. Carmen explains, “Culver City is our bread and butter. We are working with a major movie studio to get a project started with them.” Although being the landscaper to the stars is exciting, it comes with some challenges. “We have lots of famous people as clients, but we don’t usually have access to them,” says Carmen. They end up having to go through the managers, which makes it very difficult to get the job done since communication is key to a successful landscaping relationship.

Get In Touch With...

A Greener Tomorrow
Located in Culver City, California
Phone: (310) 915–0722
Email: agreenertomorrowinc@gmail.com
www.agreenertomorrowinc.com

About Sandi Schwartz

Sandi Schwartz is an award-winning environmental author and freelance journalist specializing in home and garden, sustainability, green living, nature and wellness and a member of GardenComm: Garden Communicators International.

Email: sandi@sandischwartz.com
www.sandischwartz.com