Reed Dillon & Associates

When people think of landscape architects, they often conjure ideas of someone who spends all day at the nurseries or digging in the dirt. However, there is a lot more to landscape architecture than the placement of pretty plants to wrap around the exterior of a home. As Reed Dillon sits down to tackle any upscale residential or commercial endeavor, he knows his job goes well beyond sowing plants and the laying of rock work. He acts as a general contractor for most of his projects, hiring subs and managing often enormous ventures where pools are constructed, fireplaces erected, foundations transformed: this is not just about digging in the dirt. The work requires a meticulous eye for detail, a knack for the unusual, knowing what flora thrives, having an extensive list of creative masons, sculptors, tile layers, concrete specialists, and the ability to bring it all together to shape magnificence. Reed Dillon grew up in Hutchinson where the seed of plant admiration began. His grandfather was a horticulture hobbyist, but he took gardening quite seriously and was a perfectionist with his outdoor schemes, Dillon recalls: “Growing up, my grandfather owned an orchard and we’d go pick peaches and apples. One day, I was around ten years old, I remember picking onions all day. Ugh, that was some hard work. But, he was my first inspiration and role model for understanding the appreciating plants.” Dillon attended the University of Kansas for his undergraduate work, which is where he met his wife, Stacey. It was during that time that his maternal grandfather first gave Reed a copy of a landscape architecture magazine. Living in Kansas, landscape architecture was not prevalent and this became his first real introduction to the idea. He worked one summer during his studies at KU at the Bartlett Arboretum outside of Wichita pruning, weeding, trimming and absorbing the life of plants. After earning a liberal arts degree, Dillon packed his bags and moved to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he received a master’s degree in landscape architecture.