Downing tools after 22 years

Our Senior Soft Landscape Manager Mick Mellard is laying down his spade and retiring after 22 years on the tools. He joined forces with Justin Paxman back in 2003 from a background in farming and mining.

As J Paxman Landscapes have been creating commercial and domestic landscapes across the UK from their West Yorkshire base since 1999, Mick’s contribution has been considerable since the earliest foundations of the business were laid.

Working the land

Mick worked on the land and at Caphouse Colliery in Wakefield (now the National Coal Mining Museum) prior to taking up his landscaping career. He had soft landscaping, labouring and land drainage stints at a couple of local landscapers before meeting Justin and joining the team.

Hard work and early starts

His own garden has a more natural, free-growing feel, as is true of many landscapers. There is little to no energy left after a hard and full working week, often with very early starts, for a landscaper to come home and start again on his own outdoor space. 22 years on the tools has a major impact on the back, knees and joints too – and Mick won’t miss the early starts either!

Hard work and early starts aside, Mick prides himself on his planting and soft landscaping expertise and commitment, both for the company and his customers’ projects. Singling out some of his favourite projects at a Hull residential care home with courtyards and surrounding planting, a crematorium at Kidderminster and more recently a Costco and a Kia/Volvo showroom in Leicestershire, Mick is a firm believer in rolling up his sleeves and “just getting on with it” – a sentiment that is often true of his generation.

A true landscaping beacon

Speaking of his time at J Paxman Landscapes and his retirement plans, Mick says:

“I’ve just got up in the morning and done the best I could. I’m going to chill out for a bit now, adjust to a more relaxed day and see what comes.”

Justin Paxman, Director of J Paxman Landscapes, is full of praise and thanks for Mick’s labours over the years. Whilst they may not have always seen eye-to-eye, Justin has appreciated his loyalty, commitment and relentless effort. He has always shown professionalism and has been a “a true landscaping beacon”, says Justin. He has been a strong role model for apprentices and younger landscape starters over the years and Justin concedes that “his work ethic and character will be a hard one to replicate.”

“his work ethic and character will be a hard one to replicate.”

Mick’s landscape legacy

As his swansong, Justin included Mick in the team building the Best in Show Premier Gold winner at Harrogate Spring Show in April 2025. Whilst he is very proud to have been a part of the garden build, his heart still lies in larger scale planting schemes. In his own words, Mick says it best:

“I like to turn the building site into something nice. That’s what I like to do. You turn up and it’s a building site, and when you walk away, it’s a beautifully planted, natural and good-looking place.”

And we think that is a fitting legacy to leave at the projects Mick has been a part of, up and down the UK, across West Yorkshire and the North.

Left – Mick Mellard, with the J Paxman Landscapes team during the build at Harrogate Spring Show 2025 – Winners of Best in Show and Premier Gold