Neil Hensley

About me

I have always loved flowers.

One of my first childhood memories was shopping for Easter flowers with my Aunt Amanda. She tasked me with choosing the pansies for her garden urn and encouraged me to select those with the prettiest “faces”. To this day, I still look forward each March to starting the planting season with these cheery harbingers of Spring. My parents, who were avid gardeners, also encouraged my horticultural passion. While they spent most of their time tending an enormous vegetable garden, my father carved out a small patch for me to plant flowers and thus began a lifelong passion.

My passion continued into adulthood.

I was blessed to have a 40 year career in international economic development, during which I led more than 100 overseas business missions. These trips provided me with opportunities to spend evenings and weekends visiting the great gardens of England, France, Italy, Japan and China. Those experiences shaped me as a gardener and their cultural influences are still evident in the gardens I design today. One of my favorite spots in our garden is a small moss garden, inspired by a visit to Kokedera, the awe-inspiring moss temple in Kyoto which has been tended by the same order of monks for nearly 1,000 years.

Gaining and sharing experise

While I was learning about horticulture and garden design by visiting the great gardens, I decided to expand my understanding of the gardening world with more formal horticultural training. My first step was to pursue a Master Gardener certificate from the State of Kentucky Horticultural Extension service. My appetite whetted, I then completed several horticulture and landscape design courses at my alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. Armed with a strong horticulture and garden design foundation, I began to think about ways to use that knowledge to improve people’s lives. Gardening has always provided me with solace and inspiration, in good times and bad, and I wanted to share that with others. That’s when I discovered horticultural therapy and began pursuing a certificate in the field. I spent several years traveling to Colorado to complete the certification program created jointly by the Horticultural Therapy Institute in Denver and Colorado State University in Ft. Collins.

Beautifying urban communities, one small garden at a time

I’m now pursuing my gardening passion full-time, designing gardens and containers, primarily in the urban neighborhoods surrounding my home in the East Row Historic District of Newport, Kentucky. Many of these neighborhoods feel like urban jungles, with lots of concrete and asphalt, which increase the heat in our already changing climate. My goal is to help bring beauty and wildlife back to these spaces. Whenever possible, I try to design gardens which will provide four seasons of interest, while attracting the pollinators whose populations have been so drastically declining.

Giving back to the community

I donate a portion of my design fees to plant and maintain two public gardens in Newport. One is located at the Holy Spirit Parish Center on Washington Avenue and on the other is next to the I-471 exit ramp near the intersection of Third and Park Streets. I’ve designed the parish center garden, which is adjacent to a pre-school, to be a pollinator attractor garden. My hope is to acquaint the children attending the school and living in the surrounding neighborhood, with the life cycle of butterflies, bees, and birds. The garden was recently designated as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. I grew up surrounded by forests and fields and understand the benefits of connecting to the natural world, so I hope this garden creates in some measure a life affirming connection for the residents of this dense urban site.

If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you with my garden coaching, design, or consulting services, click on the “Services” option in the main menu above.