Up Close with Jesse Ware: What Would Grandpa Do?

Jesse Ware started mowing grass when he was 5, pushing the mower around his grandfather’s Delaware farm on a summer day. 

 “When my mom came to pick me up she was mad that I was mowing at that young age,” he recalls. 

Don’t blame Grandpa.

“I think I asked to do it,” Jesse says, laughing. 

A few years later, third grader Jesse looked out his classroom window, watching the guy who mowed the school lawn. 

“I thought, ‘Man, that’s a fun job. That’s what I want to do.’
“I got into landscaping to be out in the field,” he says. “Then I realized there’s a lot more to it.”

The account manager at Level Green Landscaping still loves a challenge. 

“More Than Just the Guy Who Cuts the Grass”

There’s a lot Jesse loves about his job, but his client relationships top the list. 

“I really like getting to know customers beyond work, becoming more than just the guy who cuts the grass,” he says. “I love calling them up and talking to them, or just stopping by to say hi.”

What’s a good day on the job look like? There’s probably a walk around a property with a customer, checking on flowers, surveying signage, taking plenty of notes. 

“I really like doing customer walks,” Jesse says. “I get to see things through their eyes, see what they see.

“We’ll walk the property for an hour, but we usually keep talking for another 30 minutes, about random other things — activities their kids are doing, projects at home, their own landscaping.”

When he takes on a new customer, he asks a lot of questions, zeroing in on their preferences, their problems, their pet peeves. 

His pet peeves?

“I don’t like plants growing in other plants,” Jesse says. “Keep the liriope out of the boxwood.”

He’s a stickler for clean curb lines and clean pavement cracks.

“I like to get in front of problems,” he says. “I want to notice a shrub that needs pruning before a customer does.”

When there’s a problem, he’s on it. 

“What’s the best thing we can do right now?” Jesse says. “I like solving problems right away.”

That’s a Lot of Pots

“My grandfather was the start of this love of landscaping,” Jesse says. 

Jesse grew up spending after school and summers on his grandpa’s 2.5-acre farm, helping tend the blueberry patch and planting tomatoes and potatoes.

“His garden was his baby,” he says. “He grew his own food until his mid-80s.”

Jesse grew up intrigued by the idea of being that self-sufficient.

“My goal is to grow all my family’s food, except for the meat,” he says. No room at his house for traditional garden space, though. No problem. 

His driveway is lined with 25-gallon pots brimming with tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and more, about 40 pots in all. 

Those early influences run deep. 

“I still have the John Deere 318 tractor I learned to mow on,” he says. He can’t wait to get his young son out on it this summer. 

Jesse earned a Bachelor of Science degree in ornamental horticulture in 2014 at Delaware Valley University, his top pick because it was the only school that let him both play football and compete in track.  

He worked as a wildlife technician for the Department of Natural Resources for a while, then at a large landscaping company as an area manager before joining Level Green as an account manager in 2020.

Paw Patrol

Jesse and his wife, Teagan, have a 21-month-old son, Marek. Marek Owen Ware. Jesse gets a kick out of pointing out his initials spell MOW. 

You’d think parenting a toddler and tending to 40 pots of vegetables in the driveway would keep a guy plenty busy. 

Add five pets. 

Jesse and Teagan foster rescue dogs, mostly German Shepherds rescued from the streets of Texas.

Three family dogs are permanent pets: Bear, Jo and Bunny. Their current foster pooch is a little mixed breed named Cookie.

Two cats round out the bustling family — Bubba and Mae.  

The couple has fostered more than 30 dogs over the past few years, caring for them until they find adoptive homes. 

“Our son isn’t afraid of anything,” Jesse says. “He’s always getting knocked down by dogs.”

Fostering feels good, he says. 

“We see pictures of these poor dogs out on the streets, all weak, then by the time they get adopted they’re healthy and happy,” he says. “We get photos of them six months later and we love seeing how well they’re doing.”

Hot Wheels, Hot Stocks

Jesse collects Hot Wheels cars, allowing himself five new ones each Christmas.

The rest of the year he has to grit his teeth and keep walking past the tantalizing bin of mini cars at the grocery store. 

“It’s hard to walk by,” he says. “I think, ‘I want that one and that one and that one…”

Jesse’s a stock market buff, avidly following companies and soaking in knowledge. 

“I’m not getting rich or anything,  but I like listening to investment podcasts and earnings reports,” he says. “My wife thinks it’s hilarious that I can listen to that for two hours and not get bored.

“Other than all that, I’m normal,” he says, laughing.

Doing the Right Thing

What drew Jesse to Level Green are four words embedded in the company philosophy and culture: Do the Right Thing. 

“Other companies might say it, but not many strive to do it whenever possible like Level Green does,” he says. 

“Doing the right thing is almost never the easy thing,” Jesse says. “But it’s important to do it.”

Want to Join the Team?

Jesse is just one of the dedicated team members we have here at Level Green Landscaping. And we’re always looking for hard-working, talented people to join our team.

Are you ready to work for a strong, supportive company that encourages you to grow?