The renowned Scottish landscape architect and urban planner Ian McHarg wrote of the need for landscape architects "who are conservationists by instinct, but who care not only to preserve but to create and manage," he might have been describing Stephen Young's career path.

Yet, while those words from the most influential landscape architect since Frederick Olmsted aptly characterize the man Young has become, they don't go nearly far enough.

Young is an artist as well, one whose materials just happen to have a life of their own. His work requires a seamless synthesis of right and left brain skills: color, scale and composition balanced with knowledge of construction, subcontractors and plain old dirt.

These seemingly contradictory talents have made the Collingwood-based Young one of the most sought after landscape designer in the region. To those who have watched him work during the last 23 years this should come as no surprise; the man just fizzes with creative energy.

Though Young's landscapes have a distinctive style, no two jobs are alike. He tailors each design to fit the client and the site.