D
aryl Toby's idea of dressing
up means grabbing a clean
T-shirt from his truck and
tucking it into his khaki
hiking shorts. An environmentalist and
landscape designer, with the soul of an
adventurer, Toby, 31, is as comfortable in
a Brazilian rain forest as he is in a formal
Japanese garden.
It was his passion for travel that led
Toby to integrate a degree in resource
development/environmental manage-
ment from Michigan State with his
newest venture, AguaFina Fine Water
Gardens in Sylvan Lake. "My life on the
road began with an overseas study pro-
gram in Brazil," says Toby. He was so
smitten with the culture, he kept return-
ing, mastering the Spanish and
Portuguese languages, and developing
the skills needed to explore new hori-
zons — from Belize to Guatemala,
Europe, and eventually Vietnam and the
Far East. In the meantime, the entrepre-
neurial streak in Toby led him to start
his own company, AFM Landscape Inc.
"I worked all spring, summer and fall,
and traveled during the winter, often
buying garden sculptures for private
clients. I studied Asian rock styles and
Balinese landscape art."
Finally, while in Thailand and
Indonesia, driving around on a motor-
bike, Toby saw so much "cool stuff" that
he started importing containers of huge
stones and sculptures for the garden.
Most of the Asian gardens contained
water features, thus AguaFina was born.
"Eastern gardens are very sensual," says
Toby. "They combine textures, sound,
scent. And they're more natural, less
forced, than European gardens. They're
structured, but look free-form."
Toby continues to travel, gathering
such artifacts as a Chinese peasant's
chair, antique rice buckets, Balinese
water urns, Javanese statues and ancient
stone fountains. His warehouse is filled
with exotica from his adventures. And
4 41111 his boutique firm is turning ordinary
Midwest back yards into tranquil mini-
ecosystems with Asian-inspired streams,
tropical water lilies and Japanese stone
lanterns.
This summer he's conducting an
"East Meets West" garden tour to Bali,
where he and his guests are invited to
stay in one of the island's posh hotels.
It'll be a far cry from Toby's usual travel
style. "All I need is a backpack, a ham-
mock and a laptop, and I'm off," he says.
And an uncanny knack for remaining
open to every possibility. You never
know who might lead you to a hand-
carved Balinese garden statue.
Ancient fountains, Chinese water
urns, Balinese stone water jugs and
Javanese statuary await permanent
homes in Asian-style gardens. They
are among the artifacts displayed at
AguaFina in Sylvan Lake.
— Linda Bachrack
STYLE AT THE JN • JULY 2000 • 9