Bernard Trainor

Bernard arrived in Northern California in 1995 and soon after fell in love with this land. He is the founding principal and design director of Ground Studio, formerly Bernard Trainor + Associates. Drawing on thirty-five years of passionate commitment to the study and practice of landscape design, he is involved with his collaborative studio team on every landscape project from conception to completion. Throughout the years, he has completed four academic programs, practiced professionally in three countries, and continues to lecture extensively on the subject of Landscape Design throughout the world.

His award-winning projects range from small gardens to extensive rural properties, and have been featured in a wide range of books and publications throughout the world including the New York Times, Vogue Living, Garden Design, and the monograph Landprints solely devoted to the studio’s work published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Bernard was raised on the Mornington Peninsula along Australia’s rugged South Eastern Coast, not far from the city of Melbourne. It was here that he developed a lasting awareness and appreciation of the native landscape that led to horticultural and design studies. Following an apprenticeship, he was awarded a scholarship that allowed him to move to England and study under the famed plantswoman and garden designer Beth Chatto. Her regionally appropriate planting designs further developed Bernard’s design philosophy and subsequently the direction of his landscape designs that followed. Her influence was significant. In the years that followed Bernard then completed a Diploma of Landscape Design while studying at the Chelsea Physic Garden.

In practice, the geographical diversity of his educational and work experiences cultivated a deep appreciation for California’s unique regional qualities and culture. “Whilst traveling I soon discovered my favorite art, architecture and landscapes are deeply connected to the place from which they have ‘grown’ ”. This simple observation and a keen awareness of the regional context inform every design project.