Designing Landscapes in Mission Hills by Randy Laurie
Thursday, March 27, 6-8pm, at Mission Hills United Church of Christ, Church Hall
Randy Laurie is a third generation landscaper. When Randy was 8 years old, his grandfather’s 78-acre farm in Ohio, the one he grew up on, was designated a historic landmark by the National Park Service and is known today as the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve. By the age of ten, Laurie was volunteering at the family’s garden center watering plants, creating mixed potted plants and selling Christmas trees. Soon he was working on job sites helping with landscaping and maintenance and assisting with family’s display at the annual county fair.
Laurie’s interest in plants continued through college, but he also studied architecture, business and computer science. After a successful career as a software engineer in San Diego, he opened Laurie’s Landscaping, a full service landscape design and contracting business in 2001.
( Taken from Profile by Kathleen Stoughton, Mission Hills Garden Club, 2011)
Randy has had his gardens included in the Mission Hills Garden Walk 9 times. His most recent projects in Mission Hills include the Swan House on Alameda Drive and the Guymon Mansion on Sunset Boulevard. He has worked on several Gill homes and several Kate Sessions gardens, and he designed and planted and maintains the Kate Sessions statue garden in Balboa Park.
Randy believes that the most successful garden always start with the wishes of the client: “My designs are based on individual likes and dislikes, the unique qualities of the architecture, and the functions we want the landscaping to creatively serve. My goal is to create a custom garden that will exceed the client’s expectations and at the same time be sustainable, low water and low maintenance.”
