A LOVE OF HORTICULTURE, trees, and the natural world come honestly to Mr. Smith, as he is the product of 6 generations of southern nurserymen.  The living material grown by his family went to many of the early 20th century Golden Age’s most significant homes on the East Coast.  His early childhood experiences and foundational horticultural grounding were later wed to English garden and landscape design during his graduate studies in Cheshire.  

While formal instruction provided technical mastery of landscape configurations, Mr. Smith credits his design ethos to his time walking the land as a student.  During his studies in England, Mr. Smith befriended a number of the surviving families of many of the most significant northern estates.  He engaged the descendants and their management to acquire the practical basis and deep understanding of the intent, theory, design, construction and supervision of English country homes.  That understanding is the basis for his practice today–approaching improvements of the land with a deep respect for a site’s inherent assets, context, integrating classical compositions, and blueprinting for long-term, efficient management. 

Before his return, Mr. Smith traced and studied-200 years to the day-the English country tour made by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams prior to their reception at the court of George III.   Like Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Smith landed stateside with inspirational design and practical insights that have benefited his work.