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LUKE MILLS Luke Mills, director of The Landscape Service (and one of our 30 Under 30 from 2016), tells Pro Landscaper about how his role in the industry has evolved
What first encouraged you to pursue a career in horticulture? Being outside. It was where I always wanted to be as a kid – getting muddy, messing around – and I wanted to be outside in my professional life as well. Although I’m now more office-based, I’ve made an effort to go outside more; I don’t see the point of designing gardens if you don’t go out and see them.
their footsteps. There are negatives and positives to running your own company, and I was made fully aware of the commitment you have to make, but I was quite prepared for that. I spent the first few months just trying to get our infrastructure sorted: everything from templates to software, branding and terms and conditions, because I knew how difficult it would be to do all of that when work was coming in. Now it’s time to focus on marketing and project work, and luckily it’s all turned out well.
THE DEPTH OF THE INDUSTRY IS SO HUGE, AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SHOWN MORE
What has been your route into the industry since then? I did an apprenticeship in landscape gardening at Sparsholt College, spending one day a week there while I worked at a landscape maintenance company. Looking at where I am now, all of that is invaluable. It gives you the bigger picture of a garden’s design, and allows me to look at the maintenance of the garden as well. I then went and worked as a gardener for a hotel in the New Forest for about four years, and then I decided to retrain, focusing more on design. I studied at Oxford College of Garden Design on its distance learning option – basically a full-time course, but you do it in your own time. I did that while working full-time; it took about a year and a half, and it was quite intense. I worked for a couple of design practices in the South, then decided to do my own thing. Can you tell us about how the Landscape Service began? I always wanted to work for myself – my parents always have done, so I was inspired to follow in www.prolandscapermagazine.com
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Can you tell us about some of the projects the company has been involved in, and any in the pipeline that you’re particularly looking forward to? We’ve already completed our first design and build scheme, which was a residential project in Southampton. Obviously I want to focus on the design aspect, but because I was a landscaper for the first part of my career I took on the build side, too, particularly as I had the resources and
the time. I’ve done another residential scheme, which was garden design with a detailing package as well, and there was a planting scheme, too, all within the first two months. Going forward, the idea is to have a 50/50 split between commercial and residential, and I would also like to offer our design services for
free to support mental health charities. I’ve been in contact with a lot of charities, and the response has been really good – it is something that I feel passionately about. We know that gardens and green spaces are proven to reduce stress and help people rehabilitate mentally, so that’s something that I want to get involved with. Would you encourage young people to pursue a career within the industry? I would – the depth of the industry is so huge, and that’s something that can be shown more. You can do anything; it’s so varied. You feel you’ve been useful, and get a rewarding feeling from the work you do. That links back to the mental health side of it – you’re making a difference to somebody who’s going to use the space. What about your future career ambitions? I’m really keen to focus on the charitable side. I also have a sustainable approach and really want my business to be invested in sustainable issues surrounding our environment. We want to work closely with clients, rather than having a high turnover of projects, and we want to have a small team of two or three that can do everything and focuses on a small number of projects. I also want to support other people coming into the industry. When I first started thinking about getting an apprenticeship, I wrote to 50 different companies asking for advice, to give me an idea of what the industry is like, and I only got about three or four responses. More companies need to be active in encouraging and helping people. www.thelandscapeservice.com Pro Landscaper / February 2018 95
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