Inside AAA Landscape

The Underwood Story

Started with a borrowed pickup

Brothers Robert and Richard Underwood grew up learning to care for the land from their father, a county extension agent. They carried that practical respect for plants, people, and hard work into AAA Landscape.

The company began in Tucson in 1975. The equipment and the scale have changed, but the standard remains simple: take care of the work, take care of the relationship, and stay for the long term.

From the company archive

How it started.

The story below keeps to AAA’s published history, and the photographs are the company’s own.

01Before the company
Raised to care for the land.
Robert and Richard Underwood grew up learning land care from their father, a county extension agent. That practical respect for plants, people, and hard work started at home.
02The founding
A borrowed pickup and $1,000.
AAA’s published history says Robert Underwood borrowed a pickup truck from his uncle and $1,000 from his mother to start the company. The company began in Tucson in 1975.
Early company pickup · AAA archive
03About six months in
Richard joined with another pickup.
Richard arrived about six months later, bringing a pickup of his own. The company has been a family story ever since.
Bob and Richard Underwood beside an early company sign · AAA archive
04Learning the landscape
The company grew by adding skills.
Nursery experience, plant production, municipal work, construction, and landscape management each entered the company as it grew.
AAA Landscape’s first office · AAA archive
05The through-line
We Beautify the World.
The company’s plain statement of purpose has not changed. The work has expanded, and the family history still anchors it.
Dove Mountain entry · AAA archive