Aspen High School graduates have committed to making the valley a better place

For the co-founders of Aspen-based sustainable landscape design and construction firm 4EVERGREEN Landscapes, it all started on the Aspen High School soccer team.

That’s where Broderick Taylor, director of operations, and Emilio Adams, head of construction and design, met. After becoming fast friends, the two went their separate ways for college — Taylor is a senior at Penn State and Adams is a senior at Boulder — but stayed connected and began discussing the possibility of starting a company and impacting their beloved Aspen community. While Adams recognized he had a love for design and outdoor landscaping, Taylor found a huge passion for the business side of things.

“Together we really just started this idea to provide something to the valley that we felt wasn’t there already, which was landscapers that really cared,” Taylor said. “We were able to grow our relationship and start this company where we both feel very fulfilled in terms of our purpose.”

The two unofficially started their company roughly two years ago, going around the community to talk to people and figure out where and how they could help — which ultimately ended up being in sustainable landscaping. They officially launched in Aspen a year and a half ago and now provide services across the Western Slope, from Denver to Telluride or Delta. Just this past year, they worked on an employee housing complex in Telluride to provide them with an outdoor courtyard area.

Despite their company’s reach, 85-90% of their work remains in Aspen valley. This year, 4EVERGREEN’s “flagship” project was up Independence Pass, with another in Snowmass leaning on “adaptive reuse” – using a reclaimed shipping container and reclaiming it into the earth. 

“We focus on fire safe properties and native plantings without so much supplemental irrigation,” Adams said. “All these small ways to ever so slightly change our environment for the better.”

4EVERGREEN uses a native seed mix on Aspen properties that includes 16 species of high alpine wildflowers, which after the first year never need to be watered again. The aim is to replace non-native species that require a lot of maintenance and a lot of water, which ultimately cuts cost for property owners in the long run in addition to promoting healthy landscapes.

“In today’s day and age, lawns have become so stripped of actual biodiversity,” Adams said. “Rehabilitating these spaces brings us a lot of happiness.”

While Taylor and Adams cater to everyone’s needs and properties, they use over 90% of native plants and most of the properties they’ve worked on now qualify as wildlife sanctuaries under the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program.

And it’s not just about giving back to the environment they love. It’s about giving back to the community they appreciate.

Most recently, Taylor and Adams hosted a food and clothing drive through their company, donating to local food security nonprofit LIFT-UP and Defiance Thrift Store in Glenwood Springs.

“The food and clothing drive was a huge success,” Taylor said. “The outpour was absolutely heartwarming. It greatly surpassed our expectation and we couldn’t be more thankful to all the people who came out and supported.”

Adams added, “We’re so incredibly grateful to finally have a platform and a way to give back.”

For more information on 4EVERGREEN and available services, visit https://www.4evergreenlandscapes.com.