David Myers of Backyard Orchards and David of Jami’ Mosque pose in front of a newly planted pear tree in Buffalo’s East Side.
Just in time for the growing season, a start-up landscaping business is sprouting in Buffalo with a new focus – sustainable garden design rooted in ecology. Backyard Orchards Landscape Design, owned and operated by David Myers, strives to design and create gardens that “not only sustainably support our lives, but also play an integral role in our region’s ecosystem.”
As an artist and holder of a fine arts degree, Myers certainly has an appreciation for the role of landscape design as a tool for aesthetic improvement. However, his goal is to create landscapes and gardens that not only look beautiful, but also contribute to the well-being of the environment and the owner. “All we have to do is tweak the old model of home landscaping a little bit and create resource-making landscapes instead of resource-wasting landscapes,” Myers said.
Myers studied fine art at Rochester Institute of Technology and would spend his summers in college doing landscaping work to make ends meet. “I gradually started looking at landscape as an artist’s medium,” he said, “so then I decided to study landscape architecture in grad school.” He took a summer program at Harvard’s graduate school of design and pursued his masters in landscape architecture at SUNY College of Environmental Science Forestry.
“Obviously in grad school I learned a lot about humans’ interaction to the built environment and the landscape and how much of an effect we have on the environment, but also how much of an effect the environment has on us – both good and bad,” Myers said. “The last step was working on big fancy landscape architecture projects and realizing that there’s too much bureaucracy and politics involved. It’s nice to work on big fancy projects, but at the end of the day everybody has a front or backyard and there’s thousands and thousands of homes in Western New York that have all this space that could be used to help the health of the environment and our own health.”
Backyard Orchards’ services range from simple seasonal yard clean-ups to full scale landscape design work. Their focus remains on each individual client and what will suit their needs and that of their landscape. “Some people just want low maintenance gardens they don’t have to worry about,” Myers said. “Others maybe want to create a fruit or vegetable garden for their church or community. Each one fits that property owner’s lifestyle and that’s what efficient gardening is all about.”
Through his work with Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Myers has also become experienced in habitat restoration. “That really made me value picking the right plants and the right elements for a landscape to get the greatest benefit for humans and for animals on a restricted budget,” he said. Now he hopes to educate homeowners on proper plant selection and how to attract pollinators to their gardens. “A lot of plants that run-of-the-mill landscapers pick are not native to this area. Beautiful birds and butterflies don’t recognize them as food or shelter sources, and even though it’s green, you’re actually creating a barren landscape without life,” he said. “Some simple things you can do is choose different plants that attract birds and butterflies – not in a messy way, but in a way that’s entertaining to you and your family and is beneficial to the neighborhood.”
Myers’ work in the co
mmunity has him looking forward to doing more projects that will help improve the look and quality of life in Buffalo’s neighborhoods. He has previously worked with Groundwork Buffalo on designing a community garden for a summer day camp at the African American Cultural Center. Myers also organized a tree donation drive at the Universal School on Genesee Street, where families donated fruit trees and he worked with a group of 7th and 8th graders on planting cherries, peaches and apples. “Almost immediately on this formerly rough landscape, all of a sudden more kids came and played basketball and more birds came and landed on the trees,” Myers said. “A little really went a long way.”
Backyard Orchards has already begun working with clients on spring cleanups and garden design. The company is also collaborating with Michigan-Riley Farm and Artfarms on a landscape plan for the corner of Michigan Avenue and Laurel Street. Myers also hopes to offer zero-emissions lawnmowing as a service in the future and will be spending 10 days at the Whole Systems Design Research Farm in Vermont this summer to study permaculture. To contact the company about consultations or services, call Myers at (716) 984-4164 or email byorchards@gmail.com. To learn more about their mission and services, visit the website at backyard-orchards.com or Facebook page.
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