History

The beginning: 1962

McFarland Landscape Services, Inc. was founded in 1962 by Paul McFarland, soon after he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from Delaware Valley College. It marked the formal start of a business that had slowly developed in and around the Philadelphia area over the preceding six or seven years. Paul had initially started working in high school mowing lawns during summers. His passion for trees encouraged him along with his brother, Jerry, and long-time friend, Joe Cella, to form McFarland Tree Service Inc. The original company set out to provide total estate maintenance and consisted of a greenhouse operation, a nursery, irrigation system maintenance, landscape maintenance and installation, lawn care, and comprehensive tree care.

McFarland Today

Today, McFarland Landscape Services has specialized and focuses primarily on comprehensive tree care, landscape maintenance and installation and lawn care.

McFarland is managed by Jeanne Houser who has been with the company since 1976. A former legal secretary, she is one of the few females operating as general manager in an industry dominated by men, and in a position dominated by owners. Paul continues to be active with the company as a sales representative. Most notably, Paul served as President of the National Arborist Association in 1992 and has contributed to the development of several industry adopted standards. As of March of 2001, Paul’s son Peter has taken over as President of McFarland Landscape Services, Inc. The company currently employs approximately 50 people.

The company has been the recipient of several National Arborist Association awards and boasts a progressive safety program, which includes weekly safety meetings and a designated biannual, “Safety Days”.

McFarland Landscape Services has primarily focused its business within a 20-mile radius from its headquarters in the historic Germantown section of Philadelphia. Its number one priority is customer satisfaction through top quality work but refuses to sacrifice good return on investment. A major portion of its success, according to Paul, is due to good company image that has been developed through uniforms, clean equipment and strict adherence to standards of practice.