What range of services does your business offer?
Garden Design and Construction and maintenance.
How many employees do you have?
Two casual (one horticulturist and one for drafting). I work closely with a landscaper who does all the hard landscaping construction works on my garden designs.
How did you become involved in landscape design?
After purchasing my first house I discovered I had an interest in gardening and then at the age of 26, I quit my job as a sales rep and took up full time study for two years to complete a Diploma in Landscape Design and a Diploma in Horticulture landscape at NMIT Greensborough campus. I have been in the industry for almost 20 years.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Visiting Open Gardens I find is a great way to get new ideas. And I got a big dose of inspiration at the Chelsea Flower and Garden Show this year!
What are the greatest challenges in your work?
Occasionally educating the client can be a challenge, but I’m pretty lucky I seem to attract clients who have a similar philosophy on gardens as myself.
Sourcing plants can sometimes be tricky when your regular grower has sold out.
In what ways do you work sustainably?
I like to use natural quarried products such as stone for wall construction rather than manufactured cladding. I use crushed stone compacted for pathways to reduce hard surface water runoff and heat, and timber or Corten Steel for edging garden beds and pathways.
I use drought-tolerant plants and no lawn or small lawn areas to reduce the quantity of water required to grow a nice garden. I always mulch garden beds.
What practices in the landscape industry concern you?
The use of pesticide and herbicide chemicals.
Who has been your favourite Green Gardening Professional speaker?
It was a few years ago called “The value of trees in the Landscape”.
What are the benefits of being a Green Gardening Professional?
I enjoy learning new things from the interesting and informative monthly speakers.