A new book gives renowned landscape architect Fernando Wong’s masterful green spaces their due.
Written by: Sebastian Phillips
Landscape architect Fernando Wong is one of those fortunate professionals who can cherry-pick the projects he wants to work on. As such, he takes on only a few endeavors per year, dedicating himself fully to each one.
“I am the luckiest person in the world, and I pinch myself every day because I cannot believe how blessed I am,” says the Miami resident without a trace of irony. “I get up every morning and meet the most successful, creative, and interesting people in the world, and then I get to create magnificent gardens to make their landscape dreams come true.”
Magnificent is right. Since opening his firm in 2005, the taste-maker has cultivated a well-heeled clientele of private and commercial clients in South Florida and the Bahamas, delivering outdoor spaces that have prompted national shelter magazines to describe him as “one of the most influential landscape designers in America,” a “genius with the soul of a poet,” and a “landscape legend.” These titles he appreciates but doesn’t take too seriously: “I am obviously honored, but at the end of the day, my primary motivation is creating beauty and making my clients happy.”
All those accolades, modest charm, and luxuriant greenery come together in The Young Man and the Tree, a new title by Vendome to be released this fall. The book brings together Wong’s tropical landscapes through 300 color images (primarily by Carmel Brantley) and the words of Tim Johnson, Wong’s longtime business and life partner. The hardcover represents a celebration of sorts for Wong, as it covers two decades of work in anticipation of the firm’s 20th anniversary in 2025. “The book represents many years of hard work and all the highs and lows that come with trying to create beauty and excellence,” says Wong. “The main aim of the title is to show our civilized jungle approach to landscape using classical architectural principles.”
Through nearly 400 pages, The Young Man and the Tree offers a glimpse of what Wong does best: composing alfresco spaces with botanic symmetry from a plantation-like garden populated with palms and banana trees in Lyford Cay to a classical estate with cherub fountains, lily-filled water ponds, and oman sculptures in —alm Beach. Each image is a testament to Wong’s ability to create breathtaking landscapes that leave a lasting impression.
Besides serving as a coffee-table compendium of 20 years of work, the volume was a chance for Wong to relive various memorable moments on the job, including the time his team transported a 0-foot apok tree to the Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Surfside. “It did not look so great when we planted it, and people accused us of tree abuse,” says Wong. “What they didn’t know was that if we hadn’t moved the tree, it would have been cut down and discarded. Today, that tree is thriving. We have saved dozens of huge trees from being destroyed by moving them and using them in projects that way. I am very proud of that.”
At its core, the book tells a story of a man’s determination and foresight. “When I started this company, my goal was to create the most beautiful gardens in the world,” says Wong. “That vision is still the same.” fernandowongold.com
