David Pyron

David is an avid outdoorsman and reader. When he’s not designing breathtaking gardens, he’s spending time with his family; daughters Cayce, Vaughan & Raleigh Ann; wife Stephanie; and his two big dogs, L.B. and Sweet Pea.

Favorite Plant: Japanese Maples. They come in an amazing number of sizes, colors and growth habits. The are tough as nails and the fact that the Japanese Samurai cultivated them when they weren’t trying to kill one another is fascinating!

Favorite Season: Fall/Indian Summer. Hiking, outdoor fireplace and football!

Best Garden Ever Visited: I have yet to have the opportunity to visit many international gardens, but I think the Atlanta Botanical Gardens is inspiring and relaxing. We as Atlantans are lucky to have it in our backyard.

Biggest Gardening Mistake: I planted a Queen Ann Palm Tree in a pot on my back deck to provide shade.  It grew over 20 feet tall, but froze and died the following winter. It then toppled over and broke the pot!

Most Promising Garden Herb: Rosemary – it remains year round and is excellent on steak and chicken.

Most Valued Gardening Tool: My Felco hand pruners.  They’re made of Swiss surgical steel. Using them properly is a skill, but they can do wonders in the right hands.

Best Treasure Ever Found in a Backyard: Unfortunately, I never found treasure but I did have a scary moment when my crew was removing an old grading for a new parking area.  The crew called in a panic saying that they had dug up a skeleton. I rushed over to the property and sure enough, there was a skeleton wrapped in a rain coat.We called the police, and thankfully is was a dog skeleton. Whew!

Best Reason to Be in the Backyard: Sunshine and sore muscles from working in the garden. A cold beer as a reward at the end of the day!

What I Love Most About Living in Atlanta: Never ending events and activities. My family and I love to hike and ride our bikes around town. We are users and advocates of the Beltline path systems.

What I Love Most About Working at Contemporary Gardens: We have personal relationships with our clients, which is very nice. I love the satisfaction of taking an idea on a piece of paper and turning that into an amazing landscape. Also, the “Esprit de Corps” is very high at Contemporary Gardens. We laugh a lot and working hard feels easy most days.

Alma Mater: University of Georgia – Go Dawgs!