Down to Earth’s winning ways

A Wolfville landscaping firm, Down to Earth Gardening and Landscaping, picked up a handful of awards recently when the Landscape Nova Scotia Horticultural Trades Association (LNSHTA) held a gala in Halifax.

Owner Kari Hjelkrem won awards in two categories for residential maintenance, one in the commercial design/ build category and a fourth in residential installation. The firm also captured the Nova Scotia Power Right Tree, Right Place Award.

In business locally since 1984, Hjelkrem says the properties that garnered the awards range from rural settings, like Lumsden Pond, to tiny backyards to the Cornwallis Motors lot in New Minas. She gave credit to her residential supervisor, Marianne Elliott, for two awards.

The Cornwallis Motors landscaping was carried out in a harsh growing environment.

"Car dealers often get a hard time," Hjelkrem says, "but some of them care about the environment. It's not a huge maintenance project, but I think it has a positive impact on a strip like New Minas."

Hjelkrem is known for using native and cultivated species in her designs. Down to Earth rejected pesticide sprays decades ago and, recently, she served on the Wolfville pesticide task force.

“More and more, we are seeing a renewed emphasis being placed on the creation of outdoor living spaces and the public is looking for sustainable and quality workmanship,” says LNSHTA chairwoman Carol Goodwin. “Our members are designing and building solid and unique projects that help their clients enjoy the beauty and serenity provided by gardens, landscapes and greenspace areas.”

Goodwin notes the projects profiled in this year’s competition ranged from small projects to a high-end commercial and residential installs.

“The quality of the projects entered into the 2007 competition was superb,” says Goodwin. “We saw submissions that integrated the built landscape and natural surroundings; all key to creating landscapes that have long-term functionality.”