Discover the work of our exceptional team of arborists and horticulturists
Irvine Company’s exceptional outdoor environments are about more than just appearances — they’re about caring for the holistic well-being of our customers today and leaving a legacy for future generations.
Extraordinary effort goes into our green spaces, which feature roughly five times the number of plants as the average office property — including more than 55,000 total trees across our workplaces. Our landscaping team includes 10 specialized experts, including soil scientists and urban forestry specialists who oversee thousands of gardeners. These arborists and horticulturists cultivate landscapes that are in harmony with the local culture, geography and climate while fulfilling our customers’ needs.
Landscaping also plays a key role in achieving our water and energy conservation goals. Outdoor water efficiency starts with the landscape itself. The plant species, foliage placement, soil and slopes can make the difference between a water-smart landscape and irrigation inefficiency. The same goes for energy conservation. Smart landscaping choices provide natural shade and wind reduction, in addition to enhancing air quality, managing stormwater, reducing erosion and providing a critical habitat for wildlife.
In addition to important environmental benefits, green spaces reduce stress and enhance mood, supporting the innovative thinking that drives business success. That’s why our workplaces prioritize outdoor space for teams to connect and collaborate. Through our care, Irvine Company’s urban forests and landscapes evolve into living artworks, offering sustainable, welcoming vistas that enhance community well-being.
Partnering With Local Growers For Next-Generation Trees
Irvine Company’s landscaping team stays on the cutting edge of innovation for our customers and community.
As long-term owners, we manage our landscapes to thrive for generations. That’s why, coming out of a historic drought in 2023, we knew it was essential to prepare for a shift in the local climate including hotter temperatures and intermittent periods of drought and intense rain.
We partnered with a local plant nursery to identify trees that would thrive over the coming decades. As a large, heritage tree with a long history thriving in the broader region, oak trees were ideal candidates.
The nursery gathered acorns from areas close to California with more extreme climates including Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona, finally settling on a dozen species of oak trees to test at our workplaces for their hardiness under different conditions as well as their aesthetic qualities.
After two years, the trees are 10 to 15 feet high and thriving under the observation of an arborist. Over the coming years we will challenge them with measures like cutting off irrigation and withholding pest control to see which ones remain beautiful and healthy. The most successful species will be planted throughout our 35 million square feet of landscape.
Through knowledge and data sharing with the plant nursery and at our annual landscaping symposium, this research will help keep California green and beautiful as climate conditions evolve.