Country Landscapes & Design

The story of Country Gardens begins in England. It was here that, as a young Canadian, I started work at one of East Yorkshire's most notable landscaping firms and soon found a love for working with the land. The work involved mainly contracting to carry out the designs of several architects - mostly residential settings, including the homes of prominent CEO's and famous football stars.

blank canvas of dreams - there's potential here...

Later, Country Gardens came into being when I was awarded the contract to design and construct a walled garden for a large Roman Catholic church opposite the world-renowned Minster Cathedral in the city of York. This first taste of self-employment was seductive enough to accept several other contracts in the south of England, the crown jewel being a garden design and complete makeover for a large B&B/restaurant in the celebrated Cotswold village of Bibury.

The country may have changed, but here at Country Gardens I remain committed to the twin ideals of quality and value that helped me make friends in new gardens overseas.

Strange but true:

In England they have gardening celebrities who are household names. You can count the television channels in the UK on one hand, yet three or four programs on the TV each night deal with gardening.

It was while living in England and working in construction that I discovered the unique appeal of landscaping and design. Although the homes we had spent six long months building were complete, the building site was a mess and I was left alone to tidy it up. At lunchtime one day the boss came by with a load of plants.

"You can take that pile of dirt and stone and create some borders. I'll be back later with some supplies."

After that he left me to it. Over the next short while, I mounded soil, shaped stone walls, laid green turf and patio stone. I had free rein to do as I pleased and took full advantage of the opportunity. Surprised at the pleasure I felt, I also noticed something: the homes that had taken so long to build now looked finished. Transformed. Desirable even. The effect of relatively little effort by one man in the garden was equal to the work of months and months of building by a large crew. How close to instant gratification do you want? I was hooked...