California's Own - Greg Rubin

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About Our Staff

Our Philosophy

At California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc. we believe in caring for our staff as much as we care for the environment. That’s why we provide medical and dental insurance to our employees, additional disability insurance, and paid holidays. We have regular staff meetings which emphasize safety and continuing education. We try to keep our in-house atmosphere light yet dedicated. Our employees are very well trained, experienced and professional. We have very little turnover and many of our workers have been with us upwards of ten years. One thing that our clients really appreciate is that we always clean up at the end of each day, whether the job is still in process or not. We respect our customers and try our utmost to make every installation as fun and pain-free as possible. And we love what we do!

Greg

Greg Rubin, President and Founder of California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc. is a licensed landscape contractor (C-27 No. 717147) who has been working with California native plants since 1985. By 1993, Greg was able to transition out of his career as an aerospace engineer to devote all of his time to his successful and unusual landscaping business. His company has designed over 700 native landscapes in Southern California. Specialties include residential, commercial, and institutional landscapes that cover an array of garden styles while providing year round appeal, low maintenance, water efficiency, rich habitat, and fire-resistance. Greg has been featured in a number of periodicals including the Wall Street Journal, San Diego Union Tribune and Los Angeles Times, and magazines such as Sunset, San Diego Home and Garden, California Gardener and Kiplinger's. Media coverage includes repeat appearances on NPR. Greg regularly gives presentations and workshops on native plants to conferences, garden clubs and other organizations throughout Southern California.

Greg has been in high demand as a public speaker and instructor. He is co-author of a new book with Lucy Warren, "The California Native Landscape: the Homeowners’ Design Guide to Restoring its Beauty and Balance," published by Timber Press. This popular native horticultural literary work covers all aspects of native landscape design. Greg has also served on the boards of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, California Native Plant Society, the Lux Art Institute, and the Garden Native foundation. See more about projects, workshops, and publications.

Maggie

Our office manager, Maggie Olsen, has been an integral part of our success and survival in this tough economy. She is well organized, is great with people, and her follow up skills are legendary. Maggie is the primary contact with most of our clients. She oversees our maintenance division, orders materials, and does all of our scheduling (Greg knows better than to try to schedule himself!).

Leo

Leo Hernandez is one of the very key employees at Cal Own and his efforts are largely responsible for the success of the organization. He is now the operations manager, in charge of all field employees, and responsible for all installation work, equipment, and special projects. As an 18 year old in 1995, he was one of our very first hires. He has literally grown with the company. He is an extraordinary creative talent and problem solver, and he often provides design input on projects.