June 7, 2024
Will Joyce, owner, Cudmore's Landscape & Design.
Second generation takes the helm at Cudmore's
By Julia Harmsworth
No one word encapsulates Cudmore’s Landscape & Design like guts — guts to push through bad weather, guts to show up for your teammates when they need help and guts to reinvent an established way of working.
Cudmore’s, a family-owned landscaping and design company in Oakville, Ont., is now in its second generation. It started in 1986 as a retail garden centre in the heart of Bronte, Ont., owned by John Cudmore and Kevin Joyce. Kevin’s brother, Peter, joined a year later to head the landscape construction and design division.
Each of the three owners had three kids who grew up in the business, working in the garden centre and on job sites during summer breaks. When the original three retired, they sold the land and passed Cudmore’s on to Peter’s son, Will Joyce, who is now in his sixth year as owner.
“To me, that gave us permission to make this new generation our own, instead of having to be the same thing,” Joyce said. “I wanted to reshape where I wanted the company to go.”
Much of this reshaping has to do with culture. Joyce was keen to strip away the ego, or the old-school “macho” (his words) mentality that you always know the answer. He’s intentional about fostering a collaborative, open-minded environment where everyone shares their ideas and learns together.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, a designer of 25 years or an owner — the best idea wins. If we have a new staff member who comes from a different background and has a new idea that’s better than our idea, we’re not set in our ways. We don’t live by the phrase ‘This is the way we’ve always done it,’” he said.
For Joyce, stripping away his own ego was crucial to learning and growing as a new owner. He grew up in the business, but owning wasn’t always his plan; he went to school for something else and worked in advertising for a few years in his 20s before being diagnosed with testicular cancer.
“That diagnosis comes, and it pauses your life,” he said. “When you get news like that, everything snaps into focus really quickly, and for me it was all family, and in a simpler sense, hands in the soil, gardening and a connection with space and gardens and plants. Through that, I decided to make a change and come back into the family business. So the rest is history.”
Investing in team members’ learning is Joyce’s main strategy to retain an engaged staff. He hires motivated people who want to be there — not those whose resumes meet certain criteria — and then teaches them the trades.
“Learning is so tightly bound to our business model,” Joyce said. “If you’re not growing, you’re not doing anything. That forward motion is so critical to our energy and our culture. For us, staying inspired and engaged with what’s out there keeps our energy and our passion up, and that directly translates to our sites.”
Cudmore’s offers their staff annual learning reimbursements and memberships to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton and Burlington, Ont. The team attends LO Congress together each year, which Joyce said is key to understanding what’s out there, staying on top of what’s new, expanding skill sets and staying inspired.
In 2024, the second generation won its first Landscape Ontario Award of Excellence in the landscape construction program. Joyce said it was really special to be recognized by his peers and sit at a full table of Cudmore’s staff. For him, the award is a symbol of his team’s trajectory.
When asked what sets Cudmore’s apart, Joyce said, “we treat people well.” Half the staff are women; Joyce believes great women apply because they see great women working there. He credited Erica Gordon, long-time senior designer, and Jenn Macpherson, operations lead, for inspiring women to see themselves in a Cudmore’s t-shirt.
“When I set out on this venture, I just wanted to build a community of great people. I think it’s really enjoyable to come to work and to be around this group of people that we’re building,” Joyce said.
He anticipates the landscape trades will become increasingly important in the fight against climate change in coming years. Clients are already asking for more native plants, pollinator plants, support on stormwater management, matrix-style planting and vertically-planned gardens.
No matter the trends or what lies ahead, Joyce looks forward to continuing to work with plants — his favourite part of the job besides the people. He loves sharing his passion with his staff, clients and two young kids, Jack and Sophie. There’s no pressure for either of them to take over the family business just yet… but again, never say never.
“[Jack] is completely distraught if I do any sort of outside project without him,” Joyce said. “He has his own little wheelbarrow and tool set, and every planting, water feature, anything I’ve done in my backyard, he’s been involved in.
“All you can do is share the passion.”
No one word encapsulates Cudmore’s Landscape & Design like guts — guts to push through bad weather, guts to show up for your teammates when they need help and guts to reinvent an established way of working.
Cudmore’s, a family-owned landscaping and design company in Oakville, Ont., is now in its second generation. It started in 1986 as a retail garden centre in the heart of Bronte, Ont., owned by John Cudmore and Kevin Joyce. Kevin’s brother, Peter, joined a year later to head the landscape construction and design division.
Each of the three owners had three kids who grew up in the business, working in the garden centre and on job sites during summer breaks. When the original three retired, they sold the land and passed Cudmore’s on to Peter’s son, Will Joyce, who is now in his sixth year as owner.
Humility
Joyce started with what he calls “a little bit of a reset.” He cut down to a small number of core staff and focused on garden work, softscaping and planting. The new Cudmore’s grew from there, re-expanding into a full-service landscape and design business, including hardscaping. It also moved locations further east into Oakville.“To me, that gave us permission to make this new generation our own, instead of having to be the same thing,” Joyce said. “I wanted to reshape where I wanted the company to go.”
Much of this reshaping has to do with culture. Joyce was keen to strip away the ego, or the old-school “macho” (his words) mentality that you always know the answer. He’s intentional about fostering a collaborative, open-minded environment where everyone shares their ideas and learns together.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, a designer of 25 years or an owner — the best idea wins. If we have a new staff member who comes from a different background and has a new idea that’s better than our idea, we’re not set in our ways. We don’t live by the phrase ‘This is the way we’ve always done it,’” he said.
For Joyce, stripping away his own ego was crucial to learning and growing as a new owner. He grew up in the business, but owning wasn’t always his plan; he went to school for something else and worked in advertising for a few years in his 20s before being diagnosed with testicular cancer.
“That diagnosis comes, and it pauses your life,” he said. “When you get news like that, everything snaps into focus really quickly, and for me it was all family, and in a simpler sense, hands in the soil, gardening and a connection with space and gardens and plants. Through that, I decided to make a change and come back into the family business. So the rest is history.”
Learning
When he stepped into the ownership role, Joyce embraced learning opportunities. He joined the Landscape Ontario Peer to Peer Network and became a certified GROW Employer of Choice. He also encourages his staff to address gaps in their knowledge through LO programs. Two staff members are enrolled in the Apprenticeship program and three have completed the Supervisory Training Program.Investing in team members’ learning is Joyce’s main strategy to retain an engaged staff. He hires motivated people who want to be there — not those whose resumes meet certain criteria — and then teaches them the trades.
“Learning is so tightly bound to our business model,” Joyce said. “If you’re not growing, you’re not doing anything. That forward motion is so critical to our energy and our culture. For us, staying inspired and engaged with what’s out there keeps our energy and our passion up, and that directly translates to our sites.”
Cudmore’s offers their staff annual learning reimbursements and memberships to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton and Burlington, Ont. The team attends LO Congress together each year, which Joyce said is key to understanding what’s out there, staying on top of what’s new, expanding skill sets and staying inspired.
In 2024, the second generation won its first Landscape Ontario Award of Excellence in the landscape construction program. Joyce said it was really special to be recognized by his peers and sit at a full table of Cudmore’s staff. For him, the award is a symbol of his team’s trajectory.
When asked what sets Cudmore’s apart, Joyce said, “we treat people well.” Half the staff are women; Joyce believes great women apply because they see great women working there. He credited Erica Gordon, long-time senior designer, and Jenn Macpherson, operations lead, for inspiring women to see themselves in a Cudmore’s t-shirt.
“When I set out on this venture, I just wanted to build a community of great people. I think it’s really enjoyable to come to work and to be around this group of people that we’re building,” Joyce said.
Guts
Looking forward, Cudmore’s will continue to grow intentionally. Lots of people ask Joyce if he’ll ever re-open the garden centre; he’s focused on garden maintenance and property care right now, but he never says never. He has the guts to keep an open mind and a nimble strategy, and is enjoying finding new opportunities for his staff.He anticipates the landscape trades will become increasingly important in the fight against climate change in coming years. Clients are already asking for more native plants, pollinator plants, support on stormwater management, matrix-style planting and vertically-planned gardens.
No matter the trends or what lies ahead, Joyce looks forward to continuing to work with plants — his favourite part of the job besides the people. He loves sharing his passion with his staff, clients and two young kids, Jack and Sophie. There’s no pressure for either of them to take over the family business just yet… but again, never say never.
“[Jack] is completely distraught if I do any sort of outside project without him,” Joyce said. “He has his own little wheelbarrow and tool set, and every planting, water feature, anything I’ve done in my backyard, he’s been involved in.
“All you can do is share the passion.”