homephilosophyservicesprocessportfoliocontact
Philosophy
‘Il faut cultiver notre jardin.’—We must cultivate our garden. Voltaire

Voltaire’s Gardener Mission
Design creative, beautiful and sustainable gardens.
Build projects that meet the desires of clients and demands of the Chicago region.
Maintain long-term relationships with clients and their evolving landscape.
Educate clients about the care and appreciation of their garden.
Craft projects rooted in sound design, installation and horticultural practice.

In The Inward Garden, Julie Moir Messervy writes, that the best gardenmaking is a form of art—a creative act that comes from the marriage of the designer’s hands, heart, and mind. You use your entire body when you haul, dig, move earth, or even plant, weed, or prune. You challenge your intellect when you design layouts or planting plans or figure out construction details…But most important, you use your heart—your intuition, aesthetic sensibility, and feelings—to guide the process from start to finish.

I bring this passion for landscape design to every project. Let my imagination and experience create a space for natural beauty in your life.

Brian C. Shea is a board member of the Landscape Design Association and serves as president in 2010. He also belongs to the Midwest Ecological Landscape Association and the Chicago Botanic Garden. He lectures regularly in the Chicago area on various topics of design and horticulture. Before starting Voltaire’s Gardener, he worked at the City of Chicago Department of Environment in their community gardening program, Greencorps Chicago, as a project coordinator and horticulturalist.