Landscapers Turned Layoffs into a Worker Co-op

by The Staff of Parula Gardens Cooperative

June 12, 2025

By the Staff of Parula Gardens Cooperative

Last fall, we worker-owners at Parula Gardens Cooperative were independent contractors for a small landscaping company that was closing its doors. Instead of parting ways, our tight-knit crew rallied to keep doing the work we love — as owners! As we wrap up a few months of operations, we wanted to share some of our early experiences of transitioning to collective ownership.

None of us had much business experience — our expertise was in gardening. We had tools (some borrowed, some repurposed), a Toyota RAV4 and a shared commitment to prioritizing ecology. That first month, we focused on the basics: getting insurance, setting up bookkeeping and creating a shared email account.

The typical work day was full. After coming home from hours spent in the dirt, covered in poison ivy, bee stings, scrapes and sunburn, we had to shift gears to do the necessary computer work: drawing up proposals, sourcing the right plants and balancing our schedules with those of our clients. It was tiring! Still, in those early days, the feeling of ownership brought a newfound sense of agency and purpose. Also, the shift was immediately tangible: Everyone was earning about $7 more per hour, with the potential to earn more through profit sharing. All the while, we were building new gardening, business and leadership skills.

As the fall season came to a close, a few of us gathered to ask bigger questions; among them, whether this could work long term. Landscapers and gardeners often work long hours in the field without always receiving a living wage. Could we build a structure that was more equitable than the industry norms?

Co-op Ambitions Begin to Take Root

Over the winter, we decided to formally organize as a cooperative corporation. We weren’t starting a consumer co-op, like Weavers Way, where the shoppers are the members. This would be a worker co-op, in which we, the gardeners, would be the owners. 

At first, it felt like a long shot. Who would want to put their eggs in this basket? But one by one, through long chats on front porches, we talked through what it would entail. To our collective surprise, people started buying in. In hindsight, access to an existing network of gardeners and clients created the key conditions that allowed us to get off the ground. It’s gotten us thinking about which structural supports made our start possible, and who might be ready to start their own cooperative.

Multiple times a week, someone from the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance was on Zoom with us, helping us learn the business skills we needed. PACA helped us navigate incorporation, shared governance and financial planning. With their help, we got a small business grant from the City and a non-extractive loan — in which the investor only gets paid if we make a profit — from Seed Commons.

We named our cooperative Parula Gardens, after a small migratory bird that makes its home in native trees during Mid-Atlantic spring and summer. Fittingly, native plants have become more central to our mission. We aim to help clients replace invasive, non-native species with ecologically beneficial ones that are both beautiful and support diverse habitats.

The work is physically demanding and managing logistics in seasonal landscaping is never simple. Doing it cooperatively adds new challenges. Decisions take time, and we all have to be on the same page. We have to determine how to share responsibilities and value them fairly. And now, when a job goes well, the rewards are shared.

The year 2025 is the International Year of the Cooperatives. These days, more people are asking what it would look like to run businesses differently. We’re one small example of such a difference and are still early on in our journey. We know we didn’t get here alone and are eager to support others in taking similar leaps. 

If you want to chat about gardening or cooperatives, get in touch at ParulaGardens@gmail.com or on Instagram @parulagardenscooperative.