construction component , Crus says . In April 2021 , Crus closed escrow on the Tahoe Tree Company and purchased it outright from the original owner ’ s family .
“ When we started ( in 2005 ), we were going to purchase property at that time to store all of our equipment and house the business , but we were able to utilize a component of the 10-acre nursery space that the Tahoe Tree Company has in Tahoe City ,” says Crus .
Located on West Lake Boulevard about a half mile south of the main traffic light in Placer County ’ s Tahoe City , Crus calls the nursery “ an iconic property .” The nursery features several greenhouses and shade structures , with open overhead irrigated agricultural fields . It ’ s the largest nursery in the Tahoe-Truckee region , Crus says , and it produced 200,000 plants for sale the past year , grown to withstand the rough high-elevation climate of the area . Those plants also supply other construction projects and nurseries throughout the Northern Nevada-Truckee Meadows region . Crus maintains another nonretail nursery in Loomis .
“ It is literally 10 acres of green space that has a zoned agricultural designation ,” Crus says of the Tahoe City nursery . “ It ’ s pretty uncommon to find that in our area outside of ( U . S .) Forest Service land .” He says that some of the plants can stay at the location year-round because they are endemic to Tahoe and can overwinter well under snow , while “ A lot of our native plants — our locally adapted plants and flowering perennials and annuals — we develop almost exclusively in Loomis .”
The two companies have around 80 full-time and seasonal employees , with the greater Truckee-North Tahoe area as their main service area , Crus says .
Green Envy specializes in custom landscape development and restorations , Crus says , mainly for homes or commercial development . A recent example of a longtime project is a lakefront residence on the West Shore , almost completely landscaped by Green Envy , that held a wedding for 300 people in late July . “ It ’ s a beautiful property ,” Crus says . “ Our team ’ s put in a lot of effort there over the years .”
Along with most residential and some commercial properties , Crus says they ’ ve also landscaped several golf courses in the Truckee community , including Gray ’ s Crossing and Martis Camp .
Crus studied restoration ecology and wildlife biology at San Jose State then moved to the Tahoe area , working seasonally at several locations including Yosemite National Park , the Inyo National Forest and with the California Department of Fish and Game ( now Fish and Wildlife ) in Bishop before starting Green Envy .
“ It started out a small business ; myself and a couple of guys ,” says Crus , a longtime surfer , skier and trail runner . “ It was a seasonal thing to keep pace with skiing a lot in the winter and getting time at the ocean . The business continued to build word of mouth . We ’ ve never really advertised .”
Green Envy participates in a wide range of philanthropic endeavors with the Tahoe City Downtown Association , also donating plants to North Tahoe High School for its graduation ceremony , hanging flower baskets on light standards in Tahoe City , and providing volunteer work for several local schools to help clean up grounds .
“ Giving back to the community ,” he says , “ is a pretty important part of both businesses .”
Steve Martarano was a reporter at the Sacramento Union for 10 years before working in public affairs for both state and federal agencies in Sacramento . On Twitter @ MartArchives .
“ There ’ s lots of high profile people here ; it ’ s a demographic of high value real estate . People aren ’ t spending $ 30 million on a home every day , but multimillion dollar homes in the Truckee and Tahoe area are endless .”
John Crus , owner , Tahoe Tree Company and Tahoe City ’ s Green Envy
Part of the Tahoe Tree Company ' s 10-acre nursery in Tahoe City , which produced 200,000 plants for sale last year .
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