Set in Stone: A Letter of Gratitude, Farewell, and Exciting New Worlds

By Walter Reins
ISA Certified Arborist® OH-5113A
August 21, 2025

 

It’s not everyday that life-changing experiences come along that alter the trajectory of your career. It’s also not everyday that you find a supportive and inspiring employer like Joe Russell and Russell Tree Experts, that encourages you to pursue what drives you. I’ve had the good fortune of both.

I met Joe Russell in 2004 when we worked together briefly at another tree care company. The very next year, Russell Tree Experts opened for business. I began working there in 2011, took a small break from the profession after going back to school and pursuing a different field of work, and ultimately made my way back in 2019. Fast forward to 2022, and as the world is finding its way back to some level of normalcy after the pandemic, a series of events and chance encounters led to an opportunity to work abroad as a gardener and arborist in Japan. I remember how much thought I gave to this, the weight of that decision, not sure what the right decision even was. When I finally brought it up to Joe, I think he was almost more excited and sure of it than I was. Never one to miss an opportunity to lift up others around him, he said, “You gotta do it!”

 

The time I spent living and working as a gardener in Japan, to put it simply, had a more profound impact on my life than perhaps anything else ever has. In my work, I was able to approach new methods of pruning and garden care with a beginner’s mind while simultaneously applying over two decades of work experience. And being fully submersed in a different culture on the other side of the world was in itself an amazing experience. Having that opportunity arise in mid-life, with a few more years of life’s wisdom under my belt, made for a different experience than it would have been in my 20s, an age when people typically have the chance to pursue a travel-abroad adventure just after college. While others would probably fill their free time in Japan with Tokyo’s night-life and taking in all of the amazing food the culture has to offer, I spent mine visiting gardens. Dozens and dozens of gardens. In the last 3 months of my time there, I moved to Kyoto, the once-capital of and historic epicenter of the country, and pursued a self-study intensive of over 100 gardens throughout the city and surrounding countryside. I knew before leaving that I wanted to share what I learned and saw with others when I returned to Ohio. And, as if having the support of Joe Russell to leave and pursue a dream in the first place wasn’t amazing enough, I had a job waiting for me at Russell Tree Experts when I returned. However, as I settled back into everyday life in Ohio, a flame that had been lit inside me from my time abroad refused to go out. In fact, it grew with each passing day.

Iwakura Japanese Gardens began as a side-venture landscape business, born from that flame. I found a sense of peace and stillness in my soul while working in and visiting so many sacred spaces in Japan, and that felt like something worth sharing. The pursuit of an offering so niche as designing and building Japanese gardens, in Central Ohio of all places, may sound like a fruitless undertaking. But a “build it and they will come” approach has so far been met with a positive reception. From business locations to private residences, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of individuals that express a real interest in having the Japanese garden aesthetic, or parts of it, in their landscapes. Enough so that it now makes sense to pursue it full-time.

Iwakura (e-wa-ku-ra) Japanese Gardens specializes in the design and build of Japanese-style gardens and landscape features. With a focus on minimalism, elements like stone, wood, water, and select plants are used to create spaces that mimic scenes and experiences of the natural world. Empty spaces in the garden are just as important as the physical elements themselves, allowing the eyes to “rest” between elements as the garden is viewed. Like the feeling we get when we declutter a living space, a Japanese garden has strong elements, but fewer of them and only what’s essential, creating a space around you that calms and quiets the mind. For those that do not explicitly want a Japanese-style garden, many of the design elements can still be incorporated into a more traditional midwest landscape to create outdoor spaces that work with the home’s architecture and use-requirements for the space. Larger stones can be incorporated into bed spaces as a strong, anchoring element. Groundcovers and stone borders can take the place of, or reduce, the need for typical edging and mulching practices. A small water feature placed next to a patio or screened porch in the backyard can bring the peaceful sound of water and a touch of the Japanese aesthetic to the landscape. Japanese gardens work wonderfully in the biggest and smallest of spaces alike.

I’ve had the pleasure of working directly with many of you who are reading this article. A few of you even expressed words of encouragement when I informed you that I was leaving and going to Japan. For that, I thank you. My role at Russell Tree Experts may be coming to an end, but I look forward to working with them in a different capacity, and I’m grateful to be able to refer my friends, family, and landscape clients to such a trusted and respected tree care company when the need arises. Ironically, my bittersweet departure from Russell Tree Experts reminds me that nothing is set in stone, even as the gardens and landscapes that I now create are quite literally set in and designed with stone as a primary aesthetic.

I hope you will continue to place your trust in Russell Tree Experts, benefit from the educational articles they write, and support the health and preservation of trees and beautiful outdoor spaces!

 

ADDITIONAL ARBOR ED™ ARTICLES!

Walter Reins I Regional Manager, Russell Tree Experts

Walter became an ISA Certified Arborist® in 2003 and has a degree in landscape horticulture. He has 25 years of experience in the tree and landscape industries and originally began working at Russell Tree Experts in 2011. Walter is also the owner/operator of Iwakura Japanese Gardens, a small design/build/maintenance firm specializing in Japanese-style gardens, and also offers responsible tree planting for all landscapes.