Canvas sprouts a life of its own

Kneeling in the fresh powdery soil with both hands gripping a sapling, Bob Heath is bringing color and life to his version of a blank canvas: an empty garden.

Thirty years ago, he sketched out a ring of bushes surrounding an oak tree in front of a white Colonial-style Winter Park home. Now standing atop a wide expanse of thick St. Augustine grass, he looks up at a vast canopy exploding into the sky 30 feet above him.

Heath has an eye for design. But the at-once muted and vibrant earth tones of this suburban Eden belie the complexity of their purpose. When Heath designs something, he has to think fourth-dimensionally. Time can be his friend or his enemy. His defense against disaster lies in the design.

His canvas is only blank for a moment. Beyond that, it evolves forever, as time turns saplings to treetops spiraling overhead, and tiny buds send tendrils of ivy crawling upward over the course of decades, turning a house's south wing into a mass of green.

These roots are Heath's foundation, sunk into the soil of a city he's called home for a working lifetime growing Winter Park's landscape.

Driving down the cobble-stoned paved roads, past the antique charm of country-cottage homes and Spanish-style chalets, it's not a gamble to say that at one time or another, Heath had his hand in the landscape aesthetic of a few homes on most every street.

Given his great reputation, Rosemary Gillet, Winter Park resident, former client and longtime friend, said he isn't the type of man to put out a sign to promote his business or "toot his own horn."

She called him "a rare bird in this day and time" because of his quiet and reserved demeanor and way of doing business. "Some people are born with a sense of creating beauty — lasting beauty — and Bob Heath is one of them. He has that artistic eye that can't be learned."

That artistic eye and innate love of design stems back to Heath's youth, where he would help his grandmother tend to her garden. He said she was the one who encouraged and nurtured his love of horticulture.

Remembering times of mowing her lawn and watching her as she delicately pruned and purposely placed her flowers, Heath said when it came time to decide what he wanted to do, he never looked further than his own yard.

Heath studied landscape architecture at the University of Florida and graduated in 1971, which combined his passion for architectural design and respect for living things.

"I graduated on Saturday and went to work on a Monday," he said.

He went to work with Burt Foster, whom Heath said was considered to be the first landscape architect in the area. Heath worked on mostly residential projects in the area with Foster's company called Foster Conant and Associates, until Foster's health declined and he retired.

Since then, Heath has been working for himself. He started his own business in the early 90s, Garden Arts Design, where he continues his passion of transforming the landscape of residential homes in Winter Park.

Barbaranelle McClanahan, client and friend of Heath for over 30 years, said Heath is very important to her and necessary in her life.

"Are you kidding me?" she said. "I can't make a decision without him. He has marvelous ideas, and the fact that I couldn't do anything without him for 30 years should speak for itself."

Making each home unique, but at the same time fit right in with its next door neighbor, Heath has worked for the past 39 years to maintain what Winter Park is: quaint, refined and traditional — just like him.

Taking into account their wishes and the landscape as it is, he adds his own sense of practicality to the mix.

"The fact is that you're taking basically nothing and creating a setting that is beautiful, functional and useful to the owner," he said.

"I mean it all goes back to basic design principle. It's sort of like making a cake. You start out with the main ingredients. Flour is not that pretty to look at, but when you add the frosting, it turns into a beautiful creation."

In the McClanahan's case, Heath has been involved with several home renovations, designing not only the logistics of the plant material, but the patio and lighting, as well as multiple home expansion projects over the years.

"I often get involved with more than just the landscape," he said. "I'll do what I can to make a workable space in order to satisfy the client's wishes and needs. It's about keeping it functional to maintain and putting it all together to look at the final product as a whole."

Hesitant to work with exotic and tropical plants though, Heath said he prefers working with hardy plants that can withstand the elements and changing seasons.

"The palette of plant material that I use is classical in nature and well-proven to stand the test of time," he said. "It's the way I combine them that matches the traditional classicism of Winter Park."

Standing next to that tree he first planted more than 30 years ago in the McClanahan's yard, Heath is small in comparison. But the impact of his work stands tall.

Bob Heath can be reached at 407-645-4644.