communityspotlight Gardens C &H K


s a young man, Kent Horner, owner of C & H Gardens, had a preference for working outdoors. Inclined to physical work that required exertion, he chose jeans and a T-shirt over a shirt and tie and earned his college tuition by climbing and learning how to trim super-sized trees, while his friends waited tables in restaurants. “In the 1980s, I was earning $300 a day,” says Horner, “enjoying not only the exhilaration of the altitude, but also the gratification of being able to exercise my artistic talents.”


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After working in tree trimming for eight years, Horner joined a team that planned and maintained the lavish landscaping at the Mirage Hotel, in Las Vegas. “There were 600 trees on the property, and in the period of one year, I trimmed every one of them,” he quips. While working with the trees and other plants that pro-


liferated on the hotel grounds, Horner acquired a wealth of on-the-job knowledge that seamlessly segued into his present landscaping business. “Whether it’s a landscape for arid conditions or an Asian, French Provincial or English garden, I’ve planned and planted it,” advises Horner, who welcomes learning from the mistakes of others. “In 30 years, as a result of being paid to rip out the mistakes that people make in their yards, I have a vast un- derstanding of what works and what doesn’t,” he comments. Referring to a homeowner who bought an innocent-looking


16 San Diego Edition


Kent Horner Creates Little Slices of Heaven


by Linda Sechrist


Cape Horn honeysuckle in a one-gallon container, Horner explains that 10 years later, the plant had turned into a mon- ster that completely blocked the bedroom windows. “You don’t learn from a book about pretty little plants that grow out of control,” he chuckles. A sensitive individual who is well equipped for his work


with the natural world, Horner is as much at home behind a piano and singing as he is planning, planting and trimming. “I play the piano, sing and write songs as a hobby, which may account for the artistic way that I approach my work and my life,” says Horner, who also likes to exercise his, “ear for listening,” on the job. “Sometimes, it’s like being a priest,” he laughs, “because I have to listen closely to people so I can hear what their emotional and practical needs are for the space they want me to design.” With a penchant for giving his clients something that is as emotionally satisfying as it is aesthetically beautiful, Horner digs deeply within to create spaces that connect people to the natural world he loves so much. “I want clients to be touched by beauty and to feel a sense of peace in the little slices of Heaven that I create,” he advises. “But most of all, I want people to feel at home in them.”


Contact Kent Horner at C & H Gardens, 1244 Berryman Canyon, Encinitas 92024. Email kent@plantch.com, phone 858-481-4500 or visit PlantCH.com. See ad on next page.


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