LOS ALAMITOS : Landscaper Puts Show on the Road

Ben Astenius began mowing lawns for money when he was 14 years old. Sometimes he would do it for an elderly neighbor for free. Often he would offer to water the plants of vacationing neighbors. He figured it was a smart way to build a business.

Now, at 33, Astenius has his own landscaping business. But he hasn’t forgotten his help-a-neighbor philosophy--he’s just doing it on a larger scale.

This week Astenius and three of his employees were at an island of land bounded by the on- and off-ramps of the San Gabriel River Freeway at Katella Avenue, planting eucalyptus trees as volunteers under the state Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program.

“I really feel good doing this,” Astenius said. “The community sees me, they appreciate what I’m doing, and this is a great advertising for my business.”

Individuals, organizations or businesses can volunteer for the program, which seeks to clean up or beautify highways, said Janet Sager of Caltrans’ landscape architecture branch.

Volunteers can remove litter or graffiti, plant trees or wildflowers, or sponsor litter sweepers or cleanup crews, Sager said.

Astenius, owner of Los Alamitos-based Man of the Soil Landscaping, plans to plant 26 eucalyptus trees over a six-acre area of the freeway loop before the end of the month. He and his crew will also clean up overgrown weeds, water the plants and trees and generally take care of the landscaping of the area.

His volunteer work will last two years, which may be renewed. Over that period, Astenius said he expects to spend more than $20,000 in labor, trees and other expenses. He said it’s worth it.

“My business benefits from this,” said Astenius, who has also volunteered for nearly two years to clean up graffiti on a sound wall at Wardlow and Spring streets along the San Gabriel River Freeway in Long Beach.

In return for his volunteer work, Caltrans has allowed Astenius to put up signs that say his company has adopted that stretch of the freeway.

“He’s the perfect client,” said Sager. “He has the expertise for this kind of volunteer work.”

Sager said the program has been in operation for more than two years now, but Astenius is the first to volunteer to plant trees. Other participants of the program are involved mostly in removing litter or graffiti.

Astenius, father of a 6-year-old girl, said everything he knows about trees and landscaping is self-taught. He did not finish high school, he said, and started the business on his own.

“I’ve done all the mess. There’s no one else to blame,” he joked.

Astenius said he donated more than 1,000 tree seedlings to the Los Alamitos Unified School District during the last Arbor Day. He has continued to help elderly people with reduced landscaping prices.