My early training as a gardener came in the late 1960's when I found part time work for large estate owners in the hills around Santa Barbara, California. After a brief introduction to the joys of gardening, I "forgot" to attend my Political Science classes at the University of California. I was fortunate to find more reality in the soil than in the politics of the times - and extremely fortunate to find a satisfying and ever challenging career.

The writings of J.I. Rodale and other organic gardeners impressed me greatly, and I found that their techniques were very effective as well as being healthy for the planet...I learned from trial and error the great truth that healthy soil grows healthy plants with resistance to insect, disease and environmental stress.

This early learning has guided me through several "green" trades - freelance gardening, orchard work, golf course management, landscape installation, landscape maintenance and landscape design. During the years in golf course management, I was one of the first to develop and implement a successful, non-chemical treatment of fungus disease on bentgrass putting greens.

My design sense has been formed by this diverse, in the field, work experience, as well as by informal, ongoing study of the art of landscape design. I have been influenced by the work of landscape designers Frederick Law Olmstead, John Brookes and James Van Sweden, among others.

All of my work is based on the premise that natural organic gardening and landscaping methods are superior to chemical methods. Growing evidence of the harmful effects of numerous synthetic products should urge us all to improve our environment for the sake of our children and future generations.

My design mission is to help homeowners grow a successful landscape with little negative effect on our environment. By designing in the interests of soil health, sustainability and environmental responsibility, we are most likely to produce successful gardens which meet the personal criteria of the owner...tranquility, privacy, color, etc. And these gardens will be as low maintenance as possible, requiring few, if any, synthetic inputs and only natural, soil-building cultural inputs.

My designs have resulted in successful landscapes throughout North America, dating back to 1999. My present work continues with online landscape design as well as taking on an increasing number of local projects in our rapidly growing area.