Featured in Cotswold Life 'Family Business' Article

We're pleased to have been included in this year's Cotswold Life Magazine "Families in Business" feature.

Every year the Cotswold life run the "Families in Business" awards but unfortunately, due to lockdown, that event was cancelled and transferred to a "Families in Business" magazine feature instead. Envisage were invited to take part in the feature, and it was great to see so many other multi-generation businesses included in the line-up.

Two quotes from the main article that really resonated with us are; "two thirds of all businesses are family owned," and, "strong values also run through the family firms and family values are passed on through the generations"

Five members of our family work together in the two companies based at Grafton Nursery; Envisage Gardens and Hardy Eucalyptus - a tree nursery.

The interview for this feature reminded us that even though we have 'true' family working here, we also have all of the staff, many of whom we've known for years and consider to be our extended family. We'd be lost without them!

Envisage Gardens is owned by Steve Collins and jointly run with Hilary Collins and their daughter Charlie Hartigan. Steve is a 3rd generation nurseryman and met Hilary whilst they were both studying for degrees in Horticulture at the University of Bath in the early 1980's. They then ran their own plant nursery and landscaping company for 30 years before Charlie joined them in 2017.

Charlie originally tried to escape the family business and was preparing to study Medicine, having shown an interest in science and maths at college. She moved sideways into Biology but felt it was too microscopic and lacked the 'macro' interaction with humans, wildlife and the environment. Hilary suggested that she take a look at Landscape Architecture and the rest, as they say, is history.

Envisage have extensive experience of designing and building beautiful legacy landscapes for heritage properties, including kitchen- and cutting gardens. We can even source and plant your fruits, vegetables and flowers for you, to ensure you have a the perfect selection of produce.

Hilary and Stephen have both held positions in the past as Junior Scientific Officers, including research programs at Long Ashton Research Station, and the National Fruit Trials, Brogdale. They are happy to advise you on the correct cultivation of your crops to maximize yield and prevent disease.

Charlie is an experienced landscape architect and has worked on a variety of sites from under an acre to 20+ acres in size including Private Estates, Arboretums, Wildlife Parks, and Natural Burial Grounds.

A combination of our in-house experience means that we are able to tackle the unique situations that can arise when designing, constructing or restoring larger properties. Contact us if you would like to discuss your project.