| Posted: April 4, 2023, 10:51 a.m. | Updated: April 4, 2023, 7:58 p.m. | 13 Min Read
Kochanoff was recently awarded Landscape Nova Scotia’s Honorary Lifetime Membership Award — a recognition that very few have received in the organization’s history. Landscape Nova Scotia president Steve Smith, left, presented Stan Kochanoff with the association’s Honorary Lifetime Membership Award on Friday, March 24, for his dedication of more than 50 years to the horticulture industry. - Contributed
Upon graduating high school, Kochanoff enrolled at Niagara Parks School of Horticulture for the 36-month consecutive program. During the summer of 1972, Stan Kochanoff, left, and his son, Tommy, helped inspect the first signs of grass at the new Avon Valley Golf and Country Club with Conrad Taylor, the club’s president. It was noted within five days of seeding the first 12 greens of the property with Penncross creeping bent grass, which was a first in Hants County, they saw signs of gemination and good growth. - FileIn 1966 and 1967, the couple travelled Europe, exploring as many places as possible.
Marriott had helped establish Avon Valley Greenhouses with two partners more than 40 years before, becoming known as the “first man to successfully grow chrysanthemums every day of the year.” “I was one of the first, I guess, with professional training in the Valley. And of course, there weren’t that many of us at that time, but now there’s scads.”
“We did snow removal. It was a complete operation because I had to keep people year-round. So that was fine until the bubble broke in the late ‘80s,” said Kochanoff, noting he downsized operations to cover a smaller area in Burnside and then Bedford. With the use of a tree spade, Stan Kochanoff has helped plant countless trees throughout Nova Scotia. - Contributed