COURTLAND—A Courtland man has come out of retirement to start a landscape design business.

Randy Moore, owner of Avant Landscape Design, so far has done a few local projects as well as jobs in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

After retiring from highway construction, Moore got involved with the Western Tidewater Master Gardeners.

“I really got into it and liked the landscape aspect of it,” he said.

Moore enrolled at Tidewater Community College in Chesapeake, where in December he received an associate degree in landscape design.

“I really enjoyed the drawing aspect of it,” Moore said. “With design, you’re actually researching all the plants that go into it.”

He designs landscapes for new construction and anyone who wants a change.

“People who want to rip out old designs and start anew,” Moore said. “If they planted a bush here and another bush here and realized they messed up.”

Designs may include things like water features, patios, decks, shade structures, pavilions, bridges, garden sheds, rain barrels and more.

“I’m big on rain barrels,” he said. “I think everyone should own a rain barrel.”

His own property on Story Station Road features 26 campsites, paths, an arbor built for a wedding, two gardens, gourd houses that run alongside the garden, outdoor solar shower made from cordwood and plastic bottles, and a party barn with an outdoor kitchen and a façade made from an old barn.

Moore belongs to the Virginia Nurseryman and Landscape Association, a horticulture group that oversees nurseries and certifies horticulturists.

For more information, visit www.avantlandscapedesign.com, send an e-mail to avantdesign11@yahoo.com, or call 653-6375.