Reviewer Allan Becker: Allan has been designing and planting flower gardens, since he was a teenager in the 1960’s. Now retired from the soft goods industry, where he held several positions in design, product development, and marketing, he has turned his passion for gardening into a second career, as a garden designer for private clients in Montreal, Canada.

In spring and summer, he supervises his assistants, mostly college students, who transform his designs into flower gardens. In winter, he reviews books on garden-related topics for Bookpleasures.com and writes a gardening blog allanbecker-gardenguru.squarespace.com.

Allan earned a B.A. from McGill University, followed by two years of studies in design at Sir George Williams University [now Concordia]. He lives in the Montreal suburb of Cote St Luc, Quebec with his wife and travels regularly to Toronto and Boston to visit his children and grandchildren.