crew member

equipment operator

snow plow operator

laborer

landscaping crew leader

Garden Grove

I’ve been in the industry for several years and have worked for a few different landscaping companies that primarily focus on commercial/condo maintenance. Garden Grove has been the best landscaper I’ve worked for. 

Work/life balance is something that is very important to me, and GGL understands that and is very flexible with hours. As long as your work is getting done, you can go home around 345-430 most days. Or you can work later if you want the hours.

Management is great. My Production Manager and Branch Manager are great guys that I feel comfortable approaching about basically anything. They get problems solved quickly and do not micro manage. The HR lady is also very kind and helpful when needed.

They are a growing company and there is definitely room for advancement. Most of the managers have been promoted from within.

The majority of my coworkers are really good people who are easy to get a long with and share a passion for landscaping/horticulture. The bad ones seem to get weaned out quickly.

They are very fair with hourly wages and in general try to treat the employees well. They will invest in you if you show them you intend to stay.

The bad: They pass administrative costs onto the employees (drivers abstract, background check). They charge a lot of money for their uniforms which are mandatory. They don’t pay stat holidays which is an unethical loophole in my opinion.

Overall, a great place to work for anyone looking for a career in this industry.

I worked incredibly hard for this company,saving them money with proactive suggestions and ways to improve efficiency. I worked both in summer hours as well as winter operations and there was always plenty of work to do.  
Extremely disappointed with the company after being with them for years and working my hands to the bone, they laid me off when I refused to pull loads that were above the weight limit on vehicles.  They laid me off the day after I  advised them that I would have to take two loads instead of one because the load was over weight according to the MTO rules and regulations.  I tried to discuss this calmly with them only to have the CEO raise his voice to the point of yelling at me to get in the vehicle.  They argued with me that day and I advised them that I value my licence and did not want to be responsible for the safety issues that this entails. I completed the job in two loads even going over the scales to show them that if I had taken the full load I would have been overweight.  

They laid me off the very next day.  It was good experience for many different jobs and duties, however, if you plan on applying, make sure you have a safety net behind you.

i am a medical cannabis user licensed by the government of Canada and i constantly felt singled out and belittled by management when i could do better work than most of the existing employees, according to the multiple people i worked with i was easily capable of managing a crew (i have a degree in horticulture so its really not hard to manage a landscape crew). and with all my experience i was paid less than the other employees who had less knowledge and experience than me. it was a complete joke to work there its a wonder they became the biggest contractor in the area oh well it is what it is.  , at the end of the day i was fired for a "drop in productivity" but that is simply not true and the heavily Christian oriented managers simply didn't agree with the fact that i chose medical cannabis to help with my constant pain. aif you fit the way management wants you to be im sure its a fine place to work but if you are not exactly to their liking they will try their best to push you out in my opinion. While i did enjoy the work day management was a joke.

decent company overall but owners are flawed. the reason I say this is because in my experience I found the winter operations were run by great management but owners were detached - no presence made. I worked 21 hour snow shifts ( other workers also, longer than that at times ) while other workers ducked out early. no thank you was ever given to me and other staff that stayed until the job was complete clearing snow from the owners. 

I had given three weeks notice to this company when it was time to move on and owners ignored me like children, I left without a handshake or acknowledgement of remaining through 20 hour snow shifts sometimes alone at large residential work sites. at times customers complained to me regarding lousy snow work because I was alone waiting for extra help trying to clear heavy snow from housing sites. winter was understaffed and this became a burden for the reliable core workers who did their jobs properly

I did work with great people though

I have worked in the landscaping industry for a long time and was really disappointed with garden grove.  They expect a lot from the employees - but will do the very minimum for them. 
For example, I noticed a discrepancy with my pay.  I had not recieved the correct pay for my hours worked. (I record my hours).  I approached my supervisor about the issue more than once.
I approched HR and payroll/reception more than once. After weeks of being ignored I was accused of "time theft" (without any evidence or rational - I should add)
I was laid off/fired at the end of that season.  

And - I should add this part! They asked me to purchase their winter attire at the end of the season. Was over $100 worth. Assuming I would be returning next season or plow\salting, I bought the gear.  Joke was on me. They laid me off/fired me at the end of the week with no prior warning.

From my time, the managers were knowledgeable, field staff were pleasant, hard working, fun, and the company invested in their staff and equipment.  Frequent BBQs for staff, and engaging atmosphere.
Solid understanding of culture, and that in a service industry, people are its strength.  Good vision for the company and its long term goals.  
Hardest part of the job was adapting to the new IT, software, which make a company more advanced, and easier to operate, but t it was change.  Good communication, like if it was a rain day, or special work needed to be done at a clients, like that health and safety was important, and they improved the company every chance they could.

At first it was pleasant. Great atmosphere and great co-workers. That soon changed as the season went on. I realized more and more that employees left in droves. I could not understand it at first, why would a company go from treating you like gold and then turn around after 3 months and throw you under the bus? People were treated without respect. Soon it translated into disrupting personal time with emails and constant texts from the owner even on vacation time. There was no respect for off time. I can say it was one of the worst experiences I had working for someone. In my opinion, look for a company where employees do not want to leave. That will tell you a lot about the company.

I am a former employee of Garden Grove, I am not one who normally leaves reviews but in this case it's only fair to warn people about what they are getting into...If you enjoy being a slave then this is the company for you...If you enjoy being underpaid and grossly overworked look no further, Garden Grove is for you. If you like someone preaching their ridiculous religious views on you then this is the place for you. I could go on all day but I think you get the idea....lastly, if you ever get sick and need a day off be prepared to be pushed out or fired. Owners come across as nice people in the beginning but you quickly figure out this is just an act.

Overall fair company being apart of their snow removal team. Got lots of opportunities to use loaders/skid steers/ plow trucks and salters. Put in lots of hours with some very long days (usually plowing bigger sites alone) with little notice or appreciation from management. Also quite  frustrating when people who live at the residential sites get upset about the snow removal process taking long when Im the only person there with one machine. Some very hard working genuine people there although I commonly had to cover other routes when people called in (this was on-call work, not show up when you want) Otherwise good pay with a season bonus. 

This industry is challenging.  it's challenging physically, all summer with heat  - fall with leaves and clean ups and then winter being winter with cold and long days and nights being a snow fighter!  But if you work hard, show initiative, have passion and pride in the work you do and in who you are, you can do extremely well! 

Garden Grove is no different and presents plenty of opportunity for someone to do all of the above and grow with the company!

GGL is a mid size company with an impressive roster of clients, the right equipment for the job, a great location and a solid team in place with lots of exciting change happening!

Come Join!

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Crew member 3 salaries reported	$22.67 per hour
Equipment operator 2 salaries reported	$30.00 per hour
Snow plow operator 1 salary reported	$30.00 per hour
Laborer 6 salaries reported	$25.00 per hour
Landscaping crew leader 1 salary reported	$26.00 per hour

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