He Who Plants A Tree

MEET ROBBIE BREDIMUS, BAY CREEK HORTICULTURALIST

“What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants cool shade and tender rain, And seed and bud of days to be...”

From The Heart of the Tree, Henry Cuyler Bunner

Sowing A Seed

Back in 2001, when Robbie Bredimus replied to an ad for a Horticulturalist at a place called Bay Creek, he couldn’t have known that 22 years later, he would have had a hand in landscaping, designing, and maintaining nearly every acre of this iconic waterfront community on the Chesapeake Bay.

Robbie, an Eastern Shore resident since the age of five, was only recently out of college (studying horticulture at Virginia Tech while working at a nursery). But he had already amassed five intense years of training and expertise in his field. “Returning to the Eastern Shore after college was always part of my plan. I was working at a local nursery when my parents saw the ad and said, ‘hey, they’re looking for a horticulturalist at Bay Creek.’”

Robbie got the job. “When I first started, it was May of 2001, and it was me and three other guys…just mowing,” Robbie laughs. In its formative stages, the Bay Creek property was criss-crossed with dirt roads, and neighborhood streets and homes were only just starting to take shape.

As time went on, the Colony and Marina were added to the Bay Creek development and Robbie quickly had more and more responsibilities in his role as horticulturalist. The then-developer realized that Robbie had the drive and knowledge to handle all the community’s landscaping endeavors. “From there, I started planning—and planting— everything,” Robbie laughs. “I sort of lucked into it and I’ve loved it.”

Growing Season

As new neighborhoods emerged, Robbie was on the ground, doing the work that would shape the future. “We built the waterfall at Heron Pointe back in 2005. We did all the original plantings at Plantation Pointe. There was a lot to be done.”

Unlike the regimented, predictable work of his days at the nursery, Bay Creek was always an adventure. “There was something new—and challenging to do every day. It was like, ‘tomorrow we’re going to sod five acres of land’…and I’d say OK, let’s do it!” Robbie recalls smiling.

These were the early days of Bay Creek. The neighborhoods were beginning to come to life. New streets and homesites were being planted with what would become the mature, lush landscaping that residents and visitors enjoy today. Robbie’s expertise and passion for horticulture guided all the landscape designs and plant selections.

“Some of these decisions came naturally,” says Robbie. The Hollies neighborhood, for example… it was named The Hollies because that entire piece of land is solid hollies—they thrive here,” he explains. At one point, on the property, there were six miles of wax myrtles, too…most of them are still here. They’re a native plant that’s wildlife friendly and it works well with the naturally occurring plants. So that was a natural choice for screening construction areas.”

“Each area had a different feel to it,” Robbie recalls of newly developing sections of Bay Creek.

“The Signature entrance across from The Fairways didn’t have irrigation at the time so I selected plants that were all drought tolerant.” Eventually taking on the role of Landscape Superintendent, Robbie continued as a steward of the land and the community. His plant selections from years ago are still paying off. “We put thousands of

Knockout roses in Bay Creek. They were beautiful, but one year, they were struck with witch’s broom virus. So we phased those out, recycled some of them into turf and replaced them with Encore azaleas. These azaleas are incredibly hardy and very long lived. Many that you see on the property now are ones I planted in 2002.”

Deep Roots

Robbie’s love of his Eastern Shore home inspires his work as a horticulturalist. His ability to select plants that stay largely pest and disease free, don’t require a lot of water and are easy to maintain is one of his greatest strengths. Now an independent contractor, he consults with the Bay Creek Home Owners Association board when they want to make changes in an area. Recently, he advised on plants to be installed around the waterline of a pond. “We needed native plants that were attractive—but that was only part of it,” he says. “We want these plants to be here for the long haul. They need to work for the residents and make a good habitat for the Eastern Shore animal species that call Bay Creek home, too.”

Recently, Robbie and his team have worked on Bay Creek’s newest neighborhood, Muirfield, installing 18 trees in 2022. This year they planted the entrance to Bayside Village and the new entrance to Muirfield with several hundred azaleas and swaths of eye-catching annuals.

In his time at Bay Creek, Robbie has had a hand in tens of thousands of plantings, thousands of miles of mowing, hundreds of acres of sod and countless other worthy horticultural endeavors from the neighborhoods to the beaches, the Nature Preserve and beyond. The successes he has produced at Bay Creek are a result of his experience and passion for the job. It’s also down to observing the land, working diligently, and choosing beauty and sustainability in equal measure.

Thank you, Robbie Bredimus, for helping create the flourishing landscape that makes Bay Creek such a special place to be.