Chris Goom’s landscaping legacy can be traced back to his grandfather, who gave him
three pieces of advice that shaped him to this day – and, in turn, helped shape the
Canterbury landscaping scene
“First, the only thing your client should complain about is the price,” says Chris. “Second, surround yourself with experts; and third, make sure you priced your work right. I’ve lived my life by those three things and they’re all very true.”
After completing two semesters of a Diploma in Horticulture at Lincoln University, Chris’ formative years were spent working in garden centres, which gave him the depth of knowledge needed to start his own business.
“It gave me terrific plant knowledge. I worked for three different nurseries and eventually started doing outwork at the weekends for clients, who wanted plant installation and maintenance. After a while, I had so many work requests that I started my own business!”
Birth of an empire
Canterbury Landscapes was born in 1981 with Chris on the tools and his wife Jill running the office. Chris stuck true to his grandfather’s second piece of advice and hired experts in areas he wasn’t.
“I brought a partner on board, who was great at the things I wasn’t, like marketing and business systems. I also hired carpenters and site foreman to look after hard landscaping, because my strengths lie in horticulture.”
As a full-service landscaping business, Chris also hired a number of designers – plenty of whom have gone on to start their own businesses, such as Registered Master Landscapers (RML) board member Hayden Stark and RML member Luke Robertson.
“A number of leading and high-profile residential garden designers and landscape architects in Christchurch were mentored by Chris over the many years that he was in business, who have each gone on to have successful businesses themselves,” says Hayden.
In 2008, Chris’ son Tim bought the business and renamed it Goom Landscapes. Today, four of the family are involved – a fact Chris is very proud of.
“Alongside my son Tim, there’s my daughter Sarah, daughter-in-law Rachel and grandson Caleb, who won the 2023 Young Landscaper of the Year!”
A true mentor
Chris’ legacy of training and mentorship isn’t isolated to the design element of the industry. He was, and still is, a big believer in the apprenticeship scheme and the company has invested in many apprentices over the years.
His hard work doesn’t stop there. To help boost the profile of landscaping in the eye of the public and elevate industry standards, Chris was a founding member of the Canterbury region RML group alongside Roger Pollard and Allan Morgan from Morgan + Pollard.
When asked what’s changed since 1981, Chris says that computer-aided design (CAD) has stifled creativity in some ways.
“I think there was more variety and creativity before CAD. Design should always start with paper and a pencil.”
Chris’s appetite for mentorship and his unrelenting advocacy of the industry helped forge careers and professionalise a sector and, for that, he is a very deserving recipient of an RML Legacy Award.