The team
Give your ‘patch of green‘ the ‘bushy‘ touch
Chris Stone – Managing Director
Drinks: Tea, white, or Coffee, if it’s a bit hectic!
Biscuits: Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookie
Chris started his working life in London in money broking before he quickly realised that wasn’t the life for him. He started working on a local trade nursery and enrolled himself at Merrist Wood College, starting up a maintenance round from his trusty Mini van in 1996. From there his maintenance round expanded and the business has continued to develop over the years working with high profile clients and designers and including building award winning RHS gardens at Chelsea and Hampton Court. His passion and drive to continue to develop and grow the business is unending, as he strives to build a business that is recognised at the forefront of the landscape industry.
David Stone – Lead Designer/Operations Manager
Qualifications: Adv. Dip. Garden Design, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Earl Grey with a dash of milk please
Biscuits: You can’t beat a Chocolate Digestive!
David knew he wanted to design gardens when he was 17, greenkeeping for work experience whilst at school led to a couple of jobs at local nurseries before a 4-year stint at 2 major garden centres Merrist Wood and Brinsbury Colleges, and a brother starting up a garden and landscape business it was all coming together. Building, maintaining and designing gardens over the last 18 years has allowed David to realise what works not only aesthetically, but in real life and his gardens are designed to last. A huge dollop of passion coupled with a hard-working ethic and a perfectionist’s streak means he knows how to get the job done and give the client the garden they’ve been dreaming of.
David is also a committee member of the Surrey Garden Design Group.
Jo Stone – Office Manager
Qualifications: Mental Health First Aider, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Black Tea please
Biscuits: Chocolate Hobnob
After putting up with Chris for longer than either of them care to remember, long suffering Jo has a vast experience of the day to day workings having worked in many different office roles. Having grown up with parents who owned a specialist Clematis nursery, Jo has spent her whole life around plants. Before the kids came along Jo worked for 5 years with her parents, looking after the office and payroll and helping out with any potting and canning up. In her role in the office now she runs the day to day admin and payroll amongst others things, oh, and trying to keep Chris in check.
In her spare time: With three boys in the house, yup I’m including Chris in that, Jo will be kept busy keeping them in check. Away from the daily bustle of life she will be with Chris on long walks with the dog, ending at a welcoming pub.
Natalie Frawley – Head of Customer Delight!
Qualifications: GNVQ Level 3 Business Studies, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Tea, white or Coffee with a sweetener if you’ve got one!
Biscuits: Fruit Shortcake
With her big smile, Natalie joined us at the end of 2016 and has already made a big impact helping Jo whip Chris and David in to shape! With her wealth of experience previously working for Audi and Deutsche Bank and a keen outdoor girl with farming roots, she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty and help the company deliver fantastic service to our clients and charm our suppliers. She will often be the one answering your calls, confirming your appointments and making sure the boys have got back to you, but she also helps put our marketing together and if you have received one our letters you will appreciate the time and care she puts in to each and every one of them.
Katie Maxey – HR & Risk Advisor
Qualifications: Level 4 NVQ in Occupational Health & Safety Practice, NEBOSH General Certificate in Health & Safety, Mental Health First Aider
Drinks: White Coffee no sugar
Biscuits: Anything with Chocolate on!😊
Sarah White – Office Assistant
Drinks: Milky Tea
Biscuits: Dark Chocolate Digestive
Graham Nunns – Head of Garden Maintenance and Aftercare
Qualifications: ND Horticulture, PA1, RHS Pruning courses, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Coffee am Tea pm – both white with one sugar thanks
Biscuits: Ooh, Chocolate Hobnob Thanks!
Graham celebrated his 10th year with us in 2021. Back in 2011 we nabbed him from Notcutts Garden Centre and in the intervening years he has worked hard to help us build up the maintenance and aftercare client base, providing hard work and attention to detail in every garden he has worked in or oversees. His personable manner, tenacity and passion for all things horticultural has meant he has worked his way up through the ranks in those years to become our Maintenance and Aftercare Manager. Graham’s day to day tasks mean he finds himself working less in clients gardens but is always on hand to get stuck in and relishes the opportunity to whip his secateurs out and get pruning.
Grahams background is well rooted in horticulture. Having keen gardening parents, he went on to Merrist Wood College to study Amenity Horticulture and Landscaping. Whilst there and for four years thereafter he worked at Notcutts Garden Centre in Cranleigh working up to Planteria Supervisor before joining us and becoming a valued member of the team.
In his spare time: Moving house has taken up any of Grahams spare time over the last few months, now it’s painting and putting up shelves. He’s desperate to get out in to the garden but his wife won’t allow that until the house is ship shape!
Cameron Rodgers – Garden Maintenance and Aftercare Team Leader
Qualifications: NVQ Level 2 Horticulture, PA1/ PA6, NPORS A/W, RHS Pruning courses, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Tea, white or black Coffee, is great
Biscuits: BN-BN – sorry a bit niche!
Cameron was working at M&S when he came to us and expressed his desire to change career and tell us he wanted to go to college and learn horticulture alongside working. We weren’t going to stop him, so we helped to get him signed up and got him working in the maintenance team where he has shown very impressive development and a great understanding of how to get the task at hand completed. Cameron has shown massive development since leaving college and has become such an invaluable member of the team that we have promoted him to a Maintenance Team Leader. His knowledge and skills have shown no abating, so we are awaiting him snapping on Grahams heels soon!
Cameron likes nothing better than getting his array of Niwaki tools out and fine pruning our clients specimen plants or carefully deadheading a herbaceous border to get the most of our clients gardens. Whether it’s caring for a newly planted scheme or changing an existing overgrown jungle back into an oasis, Cam likes nothing better than getting stuck in and making a difference.
In his spare time: If Cam isn’t planning something for is wedding you will probably find him at is allotment, failing that he’ll be in a comfy chair with a nice glass of whisky.
Jack Barney – Garden Maintenance
Qualifications: NVQ Level 2 Horticulture, ROLO Health & Safety, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Tea, one sugar please.
Biscuits: Ooh… Chocolate Digestive!
Jack joined us in 2018 and I don’t think he has ever stopped smiling! But don’t let his easy-going manner fool you, Jack is passionate and knowledgeable about plants and caring for our clients gardens. He likes nothing better than improving the gardens he works in, not just content with keeping them looking amazing he wants to better them and always has Graham’s ear about what could be done. Not only that, he likes to lilghten everyone else’s day and help them love what they do as much as he does.
In his spare time: You’ll find Jack hurtling down a trail on his bike, although he has started cheating recently and using an e-bike!
Thomas Pady – Garden Maintenance
Qualifications: Level 2 Diploma Horticulture, ROLO Health, Safety & Awareness, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Black coffee, oat milk if you have it
Biscuits: Malted Milks
Within a short period of time it was clear that Thomas is a dedicated horticultural professional, passionate about the industry and always absorbing information, reading up and asking questions of his workmates. He soon progressed to become a team leader and is always keen to understand how he can look after our clients better, never resting on his laurels.
In his spare time: Tom loves to spend time in the great outdoors enjoying our beautiful countryside or you’ll find him pounding the pavement for his next half/full marathon.
Tommy Elliott – Garden Maintenance
Qualifications: FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Tea one sugar
Biscuits: Custard Creams
Tommy was working at Sainsburys when he came to us looking for a career in horticulture. A year on and he’s an incredibly capable team member already with an appetite to learn and enjoying the outdoor work, whatever the weather. Tommy is a popular member of the team with a great character, so you’ll be sure to see his cheeky grin and a pair of secateurs in hand.
In his spare time: When Tommy isn’t cruising on his ‘ped’, you’ll find him socialising with his friends and playing the joker.
Christian Brown – Garden Maintenance
Qualifications: City & Guilds Level 2 Principles of Safe Handling & application of Pesticides, B&E Car & Trailer Competence
Drinks: Tea
Biscuits:
In his spare time:
Andy Kirkwood – Soft Landscaping
Qualifications:
Drinks: Coffee with milk & one sugar
Biscuits: A fancy cookie or a Chocolate Hobnob
Andy joined us after 6 years at Architectural Plants where he was their Creative Maintenance team leader, aka Captain Leg-up. Andy has an innate desire to see what can be achieved with plants, often noticed when rummaging through the undergrowth and coming out with a wide smile and getting a little giddy! With a keen eye for detail, symmetry and sharp clean lines, Andy loves nothing better than grabbing his shears or seccys and fine tuning the planting in our clients gardens. He also has a wealth of experience in planting big specimen trees and shrubs and can be found involved in new planting schemes and helping to impart his knowledge to others.
In his spare time: Given half the chance you’ll find Andy kayaking out in the middle of a lake and casting his fly out into the water, hoping to catch the big one!
Will Offer – Soft Landscaping
Qualifications: NPTC Unit 30 Chainsaw Use & Maintenance, City & Guilds Level 2 Principles of Safe Handling, Application & Use of Pesticides
Drinks: Choices, choices!
Biscuits: I’m not fussy
Will has spent the last few years working on commercial grounds care perfecting his lawn care knowledge, but it is his love of gardens that has brought him back to private gardens and to us. Will previously ran a maintenance team for a local company, looking after a team of gardeners and ensuring their clients got the care and attention they needed. Passionate about plants and hugely knowledgeable, Will is a great addition to the team, helping to support and improve all that work with him.
James Cox – Soft Landscaping Team Leader
Qualifications: ND Horticulture, PA1/PA6, Level 3 Team Leadership
Drinks: Proper builders brew
Biscuits: I’m like the cookie monster, any biscuit will do!
James came to us after living and working in New Zealand for the last 3 years. Having set up home there he was working on prestigious domestic and commercial landscape projects leading teams to deliver high quality finished schemes with an attention to detail. Before crossing continents James leant a wide range of skills on a local nursery before moving to work as an estate gardener adding another side to his abilities. With his plant knowledge and all-round skillset, he is an invaluable member of the team.
In his spare time: Walking his Welsh Springer, socialising and probably getting lead on some physical challenge wrapped up as a ‘holiday’ by his partner!
Rebecca Crawley – Soft Landscaping
Qualifications: RHS Level 2 and 3 Horticulture, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Tea with milk
Biscuits: Only one choice, Chocolate Hobnob
Becca joined us in 2018 straight from studying her A-levels and in that time she has grown and developed a wide horticultural skillset from nothing more than an interest in gardens. Initially undertaking her RHS level 2 we then set her on her level 3. After starting off learning the ropes in our maintenance and aftercare team she then moved onto soft landscaping projects and turning barren plots in to planted paradises. Becca is keen to have an all-round knowledge so I’m sure it won’t be too long before she starts to see how a hard landscape project runs and picking up a trowel to lay her first paviour.
Roger Young – Head of Hard Landscaping
Qualifications: NC Hort, NPORS E/D, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Black Tea with one or two, depends how I’m feeling.
Biscuits: A nice Rich Tea please
Roger joined us from Clifton Nurseries where he was working as ‘Chief snagger and finger pointer’. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience to head up our hard-landscaping teams, having worked on high end projects for Clifton Nurseries, Scotscape as well as in Australia. After a while away from the industry he realised that his passion lay in the great outdoors getting his hands dirty. If he’s not liaising with Craig or with one of our clients or designers, he will be in the office crunching numbers on his supercomputer, he loves a spreadsheet!
In his spare time: If he isn’t sweating over a home DIY project or ferrying his kids to a club, you’ll find Rog in the Surrey Hills grinning innately riding over a trail. Just don’t talk to him about e-bikes!
Craig Deeley – Landscape Project Manager
Qualifications: Emergency 1st Aid at Work RQF, Site Safety Plus, 360° Excavator Competence, Electrical Equipment Testing
Drinks: Coffee with milk & two sweeteners, no more than 4 a day
Biscuits: Chocolate Hobnob. Just don’t let me near them, I’ll put on a stone just by smelling a packet!
We have known Craig for a long time through the APL and worked with him on some RHS Hampton Court show gardens. When he spoke to us about his desire to broaden his knowledge to include the soft stuff, we knew it was a chat we needed to have. Craig is now settling in and helping to oversee our landscape teams from set out to completion. Craig can be found helping the team leaders to keep their sites running smoothly and helping to bring on all our landscape teams with on-site training and tuition, imparting his vast construction knowledge. Whilst doing this he is using project management skills to oversee our soft landscape schemes, whether it be big tree planting, second fix irrigation or final border mulching, Craig is ensuring our ‘fine finish’ is there at every stage.
In his spare time: You’ll find Craig on the bank of a lake somewhere, pitched for the day, quietly waiting for a fish to bite and enjoying the peace and quiet.
Nick Trice – Team Leader Hard Landscaping
Qualifications: NPORS Cable Avoidance Tools, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: Coffee, with a dash
Biscuits: Lotus biccy (too much time at the hairdressers!)
Having previously worked for a couple of well-known landscape companies in his native Kent, Nick was running his own company but wanted a change and moved across borders and to us, to join the team and run our large landscape projects. Nick’s wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for hard landscaping is clear, he loves what he does and enjoys nothing more than getting stuck into some paving or walling, anything to be fair that involves using his hands and his mind to help create a beautiful outdoor space with his team.
In his spare time: You will probably find Nick working, he absolutely loves landscaping unless it’s a Sunday and he will be at Church.
Mike Lydford – Hard Landscaping
Qualifications: Level 2 Horticulture, FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF)
Drinks: I’m not fussy, maybe a herbal tea?
Biscuits: Oooh got to be a Hobnob!
Mike joined us as a fresh faced 19-year-old, a few years on now and Mike has gone from a landscape labourer to Team Leader, cutting his teeth on a variety of landscape projects whether building a retaining wall or laying in a new lawn, Mike loves nothing more than changing an outdoor area into a new space that transforms our clients living and interaction with their garden. Mike is still only young but firmly has a long career in landscaping ahead of him, mixing the brick trowel with a landscape rake to get the best finish no matter what the task ahead.
In his spare time: There just isn’t enough Mai-Tai, running, boxing… he’ll give anything a go, but Mike’s happiest place if climbing a craggy old rock or climbing wall somewhere.
Luke Perrin – Hard Landscaping
Qualifications: NPORS Forward Tipping Dumper, 360° Excavator Competence,
Drinks: Strong, milky coffee with two.
Biscuits: Chocolate Hobnob. Elite level biscuits!
Luke has a background of working at a well-known timber supplier so is well versed with his 2×1 and his 6×2 and not to mention his PAR or cedar batten, he can even give you the product numbers if you so wish. Despite a change in career, it has held him in good stead with some of our timber project work and Luke has shown what he lacks in knowledge he more than makes up in enthusiasm to get stuck in. A good team mate on site, Luke has quickly learnt new techniques and built up his skill set.
In his spare time: Music is Luke’s passion, obviously apart from his partner and kids, but if he’s not singing along on site he’s at home strumming on his guitar.
Gabriel Ellis – Hard Landscaping
Qualifications: FAA Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF), NPORS Forward Tipping Dumper, 360° Excavator Competence,
Drinks: Big black coffee
Biscuits: Chocolate Hobnob, naturally
Often found getting stuck into whatever he has been tasked with, Gabe is a multi-skilled landscaper, as adept at any given task and what he doesn’t know he soon learns and adds it to his armoury. A solid pair of hands, a level head and bags of skill, Gabe is running some of our smaller projects and producing fantastic results. You can’t miss him with his big smile and flowing locks.
In his spare time: Gabe can be found eating healthy, undertaking an exercise regime and chilling with his partner, damn youth!
Joe Butcher – Hard Landscaping
Qualifications:
Drinks: Coffee, Milk no sugar
Biscuits: Can’t beat a Chocolate Hobnob!
Joe had been working with another high-end landscaper but felt that after some internal changes he he needed to move on, he wanted to make the right move and we are glad he joined us. Joe has bags of enthusiasm and a love of learning. His previous employer and his own personal traits have set him to be a fantastic landscaper that we plan to nurture further with plenty more help and guidance from him and the team around him.
In his spare time: Pumping iron, socialising, long walks and travelling… oh to be in your mid-twenties again!
Ben Butcher – Soft Landscaping
Qualifications:
Drinks: Coffee with milk
Biscuits: Chocolate Digestives, doesn’t have to be McVities, I’m not fussy!
Starting out doing garden maintenance with a local landscaper, Ben soon found he wanted to use his hands to construct things. He then started with a metalwork company and soon found himself helping to build staircases and some outdoor kitchens. He wasn’t only using metal and so next moved to working for a carpentry firm making furniture. Having gained a good grounding in wood and metal work and understanding how the two work together, along with using an array of power equipment, Ben decided he wanted to go back to where it all began and work outdoors in landscaping. Already Ben is showing the ability and understanding to make a cracking landscaper.
In his spare time: Ben likes socialising and meeting new people, cars, music, being outside either walking, gardening or hanging about with friends.
Liam Bartlett – Hard Landscape Apprentice
Qualifications:
Drinks: Tea with one sugar
Biscuits: Bourbons
Liam was on an apprenticeship scheme with Dorking Wanderers, so when this wasn’t going to go any further he turned his attention to staying outdoors and getting dirty, to become a landscaper. Signing himself up at Merrist Wood College on an apprenticeship and working around his studies, Liam has quickly learnt some of the basics with our garden care teams and getting very familiar with some soft landscaping. Since then, he has been kept busy with one of the landscape teams learning how to become a skilled labourer, before getting to grips with the skills of becoming a fully-fledged skilled landscaper. He is in good hands with the team around him helping and supporting his learning.
In his spare time: As any 18-year-old Luke is enjoying youth and socialising with his friends, that and following the Brighton and Hove Seagulls travails at the Amex stadium.
Holly & Charlie – Guard Dogs!!
Qualifications; expert at sleeping.
Drinks; Water, chilled.
Biscuits; Anything & Everything.
Holly is Chris and Jo’s beloved pooch who can be found day to day sleeping in the office or in the sun when we have some. She will never turn down a biscuit if offered. She has been the resident office dog for 12 years now and loves any affection that comes her way.
Charlie is a new addition who has settled into the relaxed working life sleeping and loving her big sister Holly.
Frank – Part time office dog
Qualifications; Sniffing out mice and anything else he can catch scent of.
Drinks; Water
Biscuits; Anything left lying around or you’ve left unattended in your bag!
