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I arrived in Australia at the age of
17 to seek my 'fame and fortune' (I'm still looking!). I
came from a farming background in England. Initially I
worked as a jackaroo in north-west NSW. Many adventures
followed, and in the late 1960s I moved to Canberra with
my wife Gerdina and two baby girls.
In the late 1970s I grew fuchsias as a
hobby. This expanded beyond our backyard, so I opened a
nursery and herb gardens at Yass, 45 km from Canberra in
1979. In 1987 I received the NSW Nursery Industry
Association's Outstanding Achievement Award for a member
nursery.
In 1988 I travelled to the UK to study
garden design with John Brookes, still considered one of
Britain's most influential garden designers. My stay
included a study of garden design in Britain and France.
In 1991 I established my present
Garden Design and Horticultural Consultancy in Watson,
Canberra, with a demonstration and display garden.
Since that time I have designed over
500 gardens, from the smallest townhouse to large -
several acres - country gardens. While my emphasis is
largely on residential gardens, my commissions have also
included the following:
- Redevelopment of the main street of Yass following the
building of the Hume Highway by-pass
- Design of the gardens for the National Film and Sound
Archive in Canberra
- Restoration of gardens for historic buildings at the
Royal Military College, Duntroon
- Design of the gardens for 'Cavan', the rural farm
of Mr Rupert Murdoch at Yass
- Design of the gardens formerly owned by Mr and Mrs
Shand-Kydd at Yass
- Design of a new garden centre for clients at Bathurst
NSW.
I have undertaken numerous other commissions at
historic homes in Sydney and the Blue Mountains and
gardens in many parts of NSW including Cooma and the
South Coast.
I am constantly on the lookout for the
latest ideas in landscape design for the benefit of my
clients. This includes regular visits to the UK and
Holland, conferring with fellow members of the industry.
In England other family members operate large nurseries
near London.
In summary I am a trained
horticulturist and garden designer with over 30 years
experience in the industry. This includes retail nursery
management, teaching at the Canberra School of
Horticulture and writing the weekly Gardening feature
for the Canberra Times. My main emphasis is on providing
the very best in garden design for my clients, and my
commitment is for my clients to enjoy the ongoing
success and delight of their gardens.
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