David Sole is the latest person to be handed a RML Legacy Award. From building
a business to helping run industry organisations, David has been involved with it all!
It could be argued that the New Zealand landscape scene would look a lot different had David Sole completed his geography undergraduate degree.
“I went to university for a couple of years, before they suggested that I stopped coming,” he laughs. “I decided I wanted to work outside, so I completed a Diploma in Horticulture instead.”
David’s decision set in motion a career that would take him from a landscape novice to a business builder, industry organiser, standard setter and garden manager.
Following his diploma, David worked for Wellington City Council (WCC) for seven years, taking care of amenity planting and street tree planting and maintenance, before starting Sole Gardening & Landscaping in 1986.
Just 12 months later, New Zealand was hit by the 1987 stock market crash.
“The crash killed off a lot of businesses,” says David. “But, at the same time, it created opportunities. There were lots of buildings that needed to be finished and landscaping was part of that. In 1988 and 1989, we got a lot of work planting on the front of buildings, as green walls were a WCC requirement.”
During his 17 years running Sole Gardens & Landscaping, David was an examiner for the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (RNZIH). He was also an early member of the NZ Landscape Guild, which would eventually become Registered Master Landscapers via a spell as Landscaping Industry Association New Zealand (LIANZ).
In 1996, he was made a fellow of RNZIH and, in the late 1990s, served as LIANZ Vice President, helping to establish the awards programme that we know today as Landscapes of Distinction.
“In terms of the Guild, we wanted to create an organisation that could increase the professionalism of the industry, while playing an advocacy role as well. I’ve been removed from it for 20 years but I keep my weathered eye on how things are going and I can see that RML is making its presence felt!”
In 2003, David closed the business that carried his name and took up the role of Manager of Wellington Botanic Gardens.
“I’ve been involved in some great projects – such as the development of a children’s garden, which is a fantastic teaching resource, and Otari Wilton’s Bush visitor centre Tānē Whakapiriri, which is a special place.”
David’s Botanic Gardens legacy involves encouraging kids to enjoy being outside – something he passed on to his son Jono, who runs his own business, Sole Landscapes and sits on the RML board.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, David also served as President of the NZIH from 2006-2013.
“A big project we embarked on during my time was to identify plant species gaps in the NZ Biosecurity Register, as there are currently lots of species that aren’t captured, which causes issues for gardens and nurseries around the country,” he says.
That project is still in progress and, once it’s completed, will be of vital significance to the country.
David’s legacy is guaranteed to extend beyond the landscaping industry.