Serving Nanaimo & Area
250.210.0895
Though it seems inconceivable now that I would do anything else, I found Horticulture almost by accident.
In the autumn of 2011, my then-girlfriend (now wife) Christine and I had just returned from a cycling trip across Canada. We had moved back to our respective parent’s houses in Chemainus and were both planning on returning to school.
I intended on finishing my Geography degree, but a roadblock forced a re-think. Christine was considering the Horticulture Technician Foundation Program at Vancouver Island University, and though I had no idea what horticulture was, was intrigued by the lightly crumpled program brochure.
Horticulture seemed to offer so much of what I loved about Geography: working outside in nature, analyzing ecosystems and the complex relationships between living organisms, and above all, plants.
We spent a year saving our money, and in January of 2013 we moved 35 minutes north to Nanaimo to start on our new path. A couple months into the program we found ourselves loading our modest collection of hand tools into the back of a Kia Rio to pull weeds on the evenings and weekends.
It didn’t stop there!
It’s a wonderful life to live outside, and I am grateful to all the friends, family, teammates, clients, suppliers, teachers, and mentors who have helped make this possible.
After ten years, a horticulture diploma, many industry certifications, a couple of trucks, and several name-changes, North Arrow Landscapes is thriving.
Today, North Arrow specializes in the design and installation of naturalistic landscapes, creating highly diverse, complex, drop-dead gorgeous planting plans designed to work with nature and to enrich our local ecosystems. We have hit our stride, and found our passion.
Not every day is a paradise, of course.
A lot of the time we're simply lifting, pushing, dragging, or burying heavy things. We're digging through Nanaimo’s abundant and shallow hard pan “soil” with a pick and shovel.
We work while super hot, freezing cold, soaking wet, caked with mud, and whipped by the wind.
But I love it.
For each day we endure Vancouver Island's challenges, we know we can look forward to glorious planting days; weeks of tree pruning on clear, cold, winter days; and those moments where we plug in the pump for the first time on a new water feature.
We build habitat and create new, healthy ecosystems.
We bring nature and joy into people’s lives and landscapes.
We help people grow food.
We teach and learn something new every single day.
We have fun!