History of Heritage Landscape Services

The founders of Heritage Landscape Services, Robert and Debbie McLeod, had a great deal of interaction with the outdoors since childhood. Robert McLeod remembers visiting his grandfather’s nursery in Clinton, S.C., to help grow and ship creeping phlox plants. His wife Debbie also has fond memories of playing in her granny’s yard in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where roses, red poppies, pansies, and vegetables flourished.

In 1986, a devastating drought on the family farm in McBee, S.C., led Robert and Debbie to move to Lexington and begin Heritage Landscape Services. Building on their knowledge of farming and gardening, Robert and Debbie decided to become “urban farmers”, a.k.a. landscapers.

Initially, the company was based from their home with the help of one additional employee. In the early years, Heritage served a variety of residential and commercial customers. “We would do whatever we could to get established, even if it was pulling weeds for an elderly lady,” Debbie reflected. As the business became more established, it became clear the type of work they excelled at was commercial landscaping.

Even when a recession hit in the early 1990s, opportunities began to open up to start maintaining the landscape of shopping centers and office complexes, with an emphasis on renovating older properties. Heritage stepped in and grew at a steady pace over the years, focusing on providing quality service at a reasonable price.

In 1996, the company relocated to Gilbert, S.C. to be closer to its employee base and have more property to grow the business. This allowed the company to expand operations and services to better meet the needs of its customers.

Today, the company is run by the family’s second generation, Ashley McLeod and his brother-in-law, Kleck Harman. As Heritage continues to grow, our company will continue to focus on the core values of offering quality service with a personal touch.