Despite being a fully trained landscaper when he migrated to New Zealand,
Robert Luijten was prepared to leave that world behind him. Thirty-three years later,
he’s a Legacy Award winner
Robert never imagined he’d become a New Zealand landscaping legend when he arrived in Auckland from the Netherlands in 1990.
“I didn’t want to go into landscaping because I thought a different profession would be a nice change and I could earn more doing something else, but it’s in my blood and, after only a few days, I got a job at Palmers Garden Centre. When I saw the pricing compared to the Netherlands, I thought maybe I could make some money after all,” he laughs.
At the time of his arrival, Robert and his wife Ellis had just graduated from a tech institute teaching landscape construction, horticulture and maintenance armed with plenty of knowledge that proved less practical than he hoped!
“To graduate, we needed to know around 1,400 plants and trees but, when we arrived in New Zealand, I could only identify around 30% of the local plants and all construction materials were different. But I love landscaping and, when you’re interested in a subject, it’s easy to learn.”
With an expanded knowledge suited to his new home, Robert and Ellis established Luijten Landscaping in 2000.
“The first thing I did was go hunting for work, so I picked up the Yellow Pages and phoned all the building companies I could find to get on their radar, in case they needed a landscaping contractor. We were pretty successful in finding jobs that way. Nowadays you’d search online!”
Giving Back To The Industry
Though Robert and Ellis sold the business earlier this year, he leaves behind a legacy of unity and industry development.
“I came from a landscaping school in the Netherlands, which doesn’t exist in New Zealand. So the only way to grow the industry here was to do it ourselves. We took on a lot of apprentices and most of the credit for the push to train our young team with Primary ITO needs to go to Ellis.”
Throughout his time in business, Robert was renowned for his collaborative approach towards fellow Auckland landscapers.
“I never saw anyone as competition because, even if we were offered double the work, we didn’t have capacity for it! That meant I was never afraid to discuss my business or talk about what was working and what wasn’t with any other landscapers.”
An RML member for well over a decade, Robert also served on the board and had a stint as Chair. He’s seen a lot of change in that time.
“The biggest change is that 24 years ago, all our drawings were done on paper with pencil and ink. You could make small changes by scratching things out with a razor blade but anything seriously wrong and you had to start all over again!”
“It has been a great journey thanks to the incredible people I’ve met along the way. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being part of the industry but it’s time to hand over to the next generation!”