The Quick Six with Bernice Fielding

Bernice Fielding is a horticulturist, arborist, teacher, garden writer and landscape designer. Born in Singapore and based in Honolulu, Bernice has spent the majority of her life abroad – developing a unique understanding of the role plants play in cultural sensitivity and environmental resiliency. With a focus on protecting and improving our planet, Bernice believes that the answers to many of our design questions exist already – and you can probably guess where she suggests we find them…

What was the first design project you ever worked on?

I worked on many small projects at the beginning of my career, but my first introduction to a large project was at a private estate in Toronto, Canada. Our clients bought the surrounding houses in the exclusive Rosedale neighbourhood of downtown Toronto and built an expanded estate to include underground tunnels, multilevel parking, private gyms and spa, exotic gardens and a show greenhouse.

This was my first exposure to an extensive construction and landscape project and all the integral details that needed to be organized for it to stay on budget, schedule and to have the best outcome possible… I was hooked on landscape design and project management from that point on.

What is the biggest career risk you’ve ever taken, and did it pay off?

My biggest career risk was moving from Toronto to Vancouver. I had an amazing job in Toronto as a ground’s manager at an exclusive estate and I left this position and uprooted my life to move to Vancouver without any job opportunities. Although it took a lot of hard work, it was completely worth it in the long run. I eventually became the Director of Horticulture for a landscape architecture firm, which has become the platform to continue to build my career in the design industry.

A large part of your role in design is to shape urban and leisure destinations. What is your favourite place to visit?

That’s a really difficult question for me to answer. I love new experiences, learning about different cultures, seeing new sites and eating different foods! I guess the best answer is: “my favourite place to visit is any new place that I haven’t been to before.”

What three things do you always take on a business trip?

It’s all about comfort for me while I fly. I always bring my silk-cashmere wrap sweater that dresses up a casual flying outfit but doubles as a blanket on the colder flights, and my silk heated eye mask that plugs into a USB port – they are both warm and cosy and help me sleep through a long flight. For the times I’m not sleeping, I always have my iPad fully loaded with magazines, books, movies and games to keep me busy.

If you had to pick one design trend to make a comeback, or could predict a future trend, what would it be?

Since my interests are landscape design, horticulture and sustainability, our previous trends were not the healthiest for our environment, and so I am more focused on our future trends. I predict that the future trend will be that landscape architecture and architecture will work in unison and will be based on nature providing the answers to our design questions. You can’t build anything on the land if you don’t understand how that land works first. The focus on utilizing nature through design will continue to grow and learning more about using the “right plant for the right place” to minimize our footprint as we build.

One piece of advice to aspiring designers?

I have two:

1. You are always a better designer when you work with others. The outcome is always so much better.

2. Allow your career in design to be fluid, be afraid of your next career move, accept challenges and learn as much as you can as you go.