Plants, Ponds & Our Story
At Into the Garden Inc., the work we value most is caring for homes, gardens, and ponds in ways that help them look better, feel healthier, and hold their beauty over time. That is what drew us to this business, and it continues to shape the kind of work we do every day.
After leaving Vancouver for the Cowichan Valley, we built Into the Garden around the kinds of properties we most enjoy caring for: established homes with gardens, ponds, and water features that benefit from knowledge, patience, and close attention. We wanted to create a business centered on a higher standard of care, where the work is owner-operated, hands-on, and guided by a real understanding of how gardens, ponds, and water features function over time.
What sets our approach apart is the way we look at the property as a whole. In the garden, that means plant health, pruning, structure, and seasonal timing. In the pond, it means water quality, fish health, aquatic plants, biological balance, and the overall condition of the pond over time. In both, it means careful decisions, sound practices, and respect for the living landscape.
For us, this work is about more than keeping things tidy. It is about helping homeowners care for the spaces they live with every day so their property feels healthier, more settled, and more beautifully kept from season to season.
Meet Michael
Michael’s connection to plants began early, from vegetable gardening in suburban Montreal to 17 seasons in silviculture, where he planted more than a million trees across Canada. That experience shaped his respect for plants, the outdoors, and the kind of work that rewards patience, judgment, and close attention.
In 2009, he moved into landscaping, working his way from gardener to field supervisor before completing the four-year Canadian Red Seal Landscape Horticulturist apprenticeship and earning his certification in 2016.
After nearly a decade in Vancouver, Michael and Lynn moved to Ladysmith and founded Into the Garden in 2019. Today, he brings that experience to the gardens and properties the business cares for across the Cowichan Valley, helping clients Really Love Their Yard.
Lynn has always been drawn to water, plants, and fish. Growing up in Hawaii and California, she was surrounded by the kind of natural beauty that made a lasting impression and helped shape her interest in ponds and gardens from an early age.
Today, through The Pond Pixie at Into the Garden, she brings that long-standing interest to the care of ponds in the Cowichan Valley, with attention to balance, condition, and long-term pond health
Meet Lynn
Our work is guided by knowledge, seasonal timing, and a long-term view of what helps a property truly thrive.
Our CFO
(Chief of Feline Operations)
Our Mission
We are passionate about plants and ponds and are immersed in maintaining and creating beautiful, healthy gardens and ponds throughout the Cowichan Valley.
Our services are provided using up-to-date, sustainable horticultural and pond care principles.
We create and maintain a close connection to nature through color, texture, and form and strive to help our customers really love their yards, gardens, and ponds.
Our relationships with clients, employees, and community partners are founded on integrity, excellence, and trust.
Cowichan takes its name from “Quw’utsun,” the name given to the valley by its original inhabitants, the Quw’utsun people. It is rooted in the Hul’q’umi’num word “shquw’utsun” which directly translated means “to warm one’s back in the sun,” and is why our valley is, and always has been known as The Warm Land."- Tourism Cowichan
