Living
Keith Lemkey style
By Elva Russel Keith is a busy man who loves outdoor living but needs it to be low maintenance, so he has designed his garden to afford him liesure as well as pleasure time. K
eith Lemkey’s garden is like Keith himself: ordered, meticulous and with a strong emphasis on family. Keith is the owner of Lemkey Landscape Design, one of Manitoba’s premier garden land- scaping companies. He comes to his career via a circuitous
route; he first worked for ten years as a fed- eral bureaucrat for the tax department, an uncomfortable fit for this creative, warm- hearted man, who spends his world see- ing the big picture through the lens of an unerring mind’s eye. “He hated that job,” says someone who used to work with him. (“I was like a square peg in a round hole there,” Keith admits.)
It was a trip to Hawaii that inspired him. He was so struck with the beauty and seren- ity of the place that, suddenly, he wanted a yard with a water feature to recapture that feeling. He went to the University of Guelph to learn his new trade and the rest is history. Today, many of his designs include water. He also has a love of technology and likes to introduce new features to the gar- dens he designs. He’s the kind of guy who stays ahead of the curve. Keith also has an innate creative gift that from some designers. His
sets him apart
Keith and his Maggie, who love playing with the golf balls on the putting green.
6 • Beautiful Gardens 2012
mentor, David Wagner, from the Univer- sity of Winnipeg, remarked on that ability by saying that it’s like studying music; some people will always sound as if they are tak-
ing lessons, but others will have a mind’s eye for creation. Keith, he said, has that eye. Keith’s personal garden has changed over the years. “People need to think about their outdoor environment more like they do about their indoor one,” he says. “It needs refreshing every so many years. Shrubs get overgrown. Trees get big and create more shade. People’s lives and needs change.” In Keith’s case, his girls are pretty much
grown up now and the family’s lifestyle is shifting. Keith’s business has exploded and he has little time to fuss in his own gar- den. As a consequence, his backyard now features a putting green – not that he has time for golf either, but it cuts down on the mowing time. He also has a small outdoor kitchen for entertaining and a comfortable canvas gazebo for relaxing in the shade. The large pool is still there and so is the
waterfall outside his office window. The fire pit remains in place but that may also change as he adapts his garden to his new realities. Low maintenance is a key element of his personal needs as it is for so many in today’s world. What we are learning, though, is that you don’t have to sacrifice the renewal, peace and harmony that comes with spending time outdoors, even if you have a frantic lifestyle. In fact, having a gar- den is even more important. Having a gar- den Keith Lemkey style makes it a reason- able alternative.
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