About Us - New Earth Groundcovers - Sunol, CA

New Earth Groundcovers, Inc. began
operations in February 1996 as the groundcover and “color” arm of Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales of Sunol, California. The brainchild of David & Lisa Arnold and Michael “Whitey” Whitener, New Earth's charter was to supply quality groundcover

and color from all over the West Coast to contractors and nurseries in the Bay Area. Formally incorporated in December 1996 with Whitey as president, New Earth performed well in the marketplace alongside Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales as the latter continued to grow with their reputation for quality plant material and outstanding service. In July 1999 David & Lisa decided to convert their company into a private wholesale nursery in order to better serve their “top 50” customers. The Arnolds then gave their shares of New Earth to Whitey along with the rest of their customer-base and New Earth Nursery was born.

Specializing in filling the customer’s entire plant order from groundcover to specimen trees, New Earth has become the supplier of choice for many landscapers, designers and architects in the greater Bay Area and Central Valley. This is due in part to Whitey’s 30 years of experience in the nursery industry and the tutelage of his mentor and good friend, David Arnold. New Earth prides itself on its ability to locate the hard-to-find plants many landscape architects and designers integrate into their unique and contemporary projects. If a particular plant is unavailable, the New Earth team works directly with the designer to identify a suitable substitute so the landscaper has “a plant for every hole” – to finish the job and get paid!

Our customers know they can provide their entire project’s plant list and be confident we’ll fill the order with top-quality plant material at competitive prices, saving them countless hours of frustration trying to obtain all their items between several different nurseries. We in essence become your company’s purchasing agent for all the green-goods on your project. New Earth also works with other wholesale brokers all over the West Coast to fill our customer’s diverse orders as well as their customer’s orders.

As we approach our 11th anniversary on the Andrade Road property this October (’10) we take great pride in how our nursery has grown. Our nursery is “clean” and we spare no expense ensuring it stays that way. Customers preferring to select their plants directly from our beds find the visit very enjoyable with no mud-holes, weeds or impassible roads to encounter. We strive to continue to make our nursery a beautiful and blossoming place to do business.

Michael “Whitey” Whitener
“President for Life”

Whitey has amassed over 30 years of experience in the landscape and nursery industries. From 1990 – 1999 he was general manager of Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales of Sunol where he helped David & Lisa Arnold build one of the finest wholesale plant brokerages in Northern California. Whitey founded New Earth Groundcovers, Inc. in partnership with David & Lisa in 1996 and became sole shareholder of New Earth in February 2005. Whitey’s most fervent passion is his music and he still intends to become a rock & roll star.
Education: Associate of Science degree in Landscape Horticulture, Merced College, Jan. 1989. GPA: 3.95 and “Horticultural Student of the Year” in both 1987 & 1988.

Alan Oberg
Operations Manager
Alan owned a trucking company in the 90’s and also worked as an aircraft engine mechanic before joining New Earth in May 2000. Alan is truly the backbone of the nursery ensuring customer orders are “pulled”, loaded & delivered on time – and with a smile! You will find Alan our #1 ambassador at your jobsite in making sure you are completely satisfied.

Alan can fix or build anything and has literally built all of New Earth’s shadehouses, greenhouses, beds & staging area (with help from his team). He’s also chief mechanic for our fleet of trucks, forklifts & nursery vehicles. (Alan will no doubt want another raise after reading this… Oh well, OK!)

David Whitener
Yard Manager
David has been with New Earth since August 2007. He maintains the Nursery and day to day operations. David has an Associates of Science degree in Computer Information Technology. He also makes deliveries and works in the office when needed.