‘This Old House’ expert landscaper Roger Cook dies

The long-time expert landscaper for the PBS show “This Old House” has died.

Roger Cook was 70.

The show paid tribute to Cook on its website.

The show’s executive producer Chris Wolfe said, “I remember every lesson from Roger. More importantly, there are millions of people whose lives have been enriched by everything Roger taught them.”

Cook was born in 1954 and grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. He thought about going into forestry and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in wildlife management and conservation law from the University of Maine, the official “This Old House” website said.

He founded K&R Landscaping with his wife in 1982 with a single Jeep hauling a trailer of lawn equipment. That business expanded to a full-service landscape construction firm which is still in business.

The same year he started the landscaping business, he made his first appearance on “This Old House.” He worked on Season 2′s Bigelow Project and Season 3′s Woburn House.

He was named landscape contractor for the series in 1988.

Cook was also part of “Ask This Old House” when it launched in 2002, helping homeowners directly.

His renovation show celebrity expanded to ”his dozens of TOH project houses, hundreds of Ask This Old House house calls, and numerous “This Old House” magazine articles,” the show said.

Cook had several sayings to help home growers make sure their projects were successful:

Tree planting: “Plant it high, it won’t die; plant it low, it won’t grow.”

Clematis on a trellis: “The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.”

Laying brick pathways: “A walk is only as good as the base.”

Cook was remembered by his fellow castmates with master carpenter Norm Abram saying, “Roger was very kind, built up a good company, and knew so much about everything in the yard from lawns to stone walls. It was clear how knowledgeable he was and that he was a true arborist.”

While general contractor Tom Silva said, “Roger was a great guy, always the first to get down and dirty in the mud. Whatever had to get done, he got it done. There was never a problem and he always had a positive outlook. He will be missed dearly.”

Landscape contractor called Cook “America’s landscape legend,” while host Kevin O’Connor, said, “We lost a brother today.”

Cook left behind his brother, children, a daughter-in-law and three grandsons. Cook’s wife Kathleen, died in 2010, “This Old House” said.

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