New York City is where I discovered my love of horticulture and garden design. In 2014 I was hired at age 26 to work at a small, yet sought after, high-end gardening company, Groundworks Inc. The owners, Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg, worked side-by-side with our team of four, teaching us everything they knew about the artistic world of plant design and encouraging us to continue our education in the field outside of the work environment. They financially supported my ongoing training at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and took our team on yearly field trips to some of NYC’s most esteemed gardens - such as Wave Hill in the Bronx and Robert Dash’s Madoo Conservancy in the Hamptons. My experience working for this company inspired me to eventually create my own business, built on the same ethos, but specific to my particular vision and new environment.

East River Gardens takes those same high-end quality services and levels of expertise provided to the penthouses of Manhattan, and applies them to our work in the gardens of East Vancouver and North Van at more affordable and attainable rates.

 

 

 

 

Our team is made up of plant enthusiasts, innovative artists, professional gardeners, and certified horticulturists. As gardeners, we are constantly growing and expanding our horticultural knowledge, whether it be in attendance of classes/seminars at VanDusen Botanical Garden, or through our involvement in Vancouver’s immense gardening community outside of work... In a nutshell, we love plants!

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As a landscaping business owner, I am committed to creating positive changes in our local environment. One of the ways my company is doing this is by reintegrating native plants into our landscape designs. By using native plants, we are supporting the local ecosystem and promoting biodiversity. These plants have evolved to thrive in their specific geographic location and are better adapted to local soil and climate conditions, requiring less maintenance and reducing the need for water, pesticides, and fertilizers. We hope to bring more ethical and sustainable practices to the landscaping industry by engaging people in these conversations and normalizing the use of native plants in fun and original garden designs.

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- Founder, Robin Simurda

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Learn more about the benefits of incorporating native plants into our city's green spaces here: