Our Team

Minnehaha Falls Landscaping has accomplished so much because of the amazing power, passion, and positive energy of our crew. Russ Henry, the company president runs the day-to-day operations and manages equipment and crew while Tom Kerby, our visionary landscape architect walks clients through our design process.

Chesney Engquist our general manager manages accounts with organizational prowess unmatched in modern history while simultaneously heading up our garden maintenance operations with a surgical precision as she trains and manages the gardening crews through each season.

Angel Deloya our construction foreman works with Tom to precisely form vision into reality in our client’s landscapes. Angel’s work is sure and long lasting, he’s a leader that our crew admires and respects. Angel’s work is featured in many of the pictures on this website.

Jordan Scott, and Arco Bordayo head up our lawn maintenance operations. These are two of the best gentlemen you’ll ever meet. They’re dedicated, high-quality craftsmen who care for our client’s landscapes as though they were working at their own grandma’s homes.

Russ, Chesney, Angel, Jordan, and Arco head up the snow crews each winter and deliver timely safe passage the dedication to client well being shown in the snow season is among our crew’s most impressive attributes. It takes a lot of love to work through a blizzard.

Together these leaders manage over 20 crew members and managers throughout the year. At Minnehaha Falls Landscaping our crew’s motto is “let’s make things good by making good things”.

Russ Henry, Owner/President

Minnehaha Falls Landscaping/Giving Tree Gardens

Russ Henry is a landscaper, naturalist, gardener, soil health specialist, and educator. As a Certified Soil Life Consultant, he scientifically explores and supports soil health, the foundation for beauty and productivity in all landscapes. Russ has a passionate commitment to protecting and growing ecosystems across Minnesota.

As the owner of Minnehaha Falls Landscaping & Giving Tree Gardens, Russ leads a team of landscaping experts who install, manage, and restore yards, school grounds, and gardens throughout the Twin Cities, without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. He also advises individuals and organizations who want to grow healthy ecosystems.

As a community organizer, and justice advocate, Russ is devoted to pollinator
protection, urban farming, local food system development, and restorative justice. He is also the founder of Bee Safe Minneapolis, a community initiative, rooted in Minnehaha Falls Landscaping and Giving Tree Gardens that creates safe places for pollinators.

Recently, Russ was named as the Chair of the Pesticide Advisory Committee for the Minneapolis Park Board. In this role, he continues to advocate for public and environmental health through pesticide elimination and ecosystem regeneration.

Russ Henry created Giving Tree Gardens in the fall of 2004, a company that now serves over 1000 clients throughout the Twin Cities with organic lawn care, natural garden installation and maintenance, and patio installation. In 2017, Russ Henry and Chesney Engquist purchased Minnehaha Falls Landscaping, a company that has served Minneapolis residents for six decades, with a tradition of service, quality and community.

Russ Henry is taking a lead in empowering the entire city of Minneapolis to eat organic, healthy, home grown food, while providing habitat to the natural world of wonders that should be surrounding us at all times.

Ask Russ about his patent for the creation of a compost tea brewer.

Chesney Engquist, General Manager

Minnehaha Falls Landscaping/Giving Tree Gardens

Chesney Engquist spent summers in the St. Croix Valley wilderness, where she retreated from battling asthma in the city. Those outdoor experiences continue to inspire her every day in her role as General manager for Minnehaha Falls Landscaping and its supporting branch, Giving Tree Gardens.

Chesney runs daily operations and manages projects and crews, but her favorite part of her job is talking to clients about the health and vitality of their home, business, and school landscapes. She loves learning about how adults, kids and pets engage with their outdoor spaces, and what wildlife they have observed there. Then, she determines what can be done to enhance those experiences, now and in the future, with minimal disruption to the environment.

A Bachelor of Science Degree in mechanical engineering and playing the sousaphone in the University of Minnesota Marching Band helped prepare Chesney for her general manager role. She says, “Mechanical and environmental systems are very much the same. The goal is to maximize output, while minimizing risk. And, playing in a Big 10 marching band taught me the value of community, giving my best performance, and taking pride in it.”

Chesney Engquist continues to give her best performance every day, helping clients plan beautiful and healthy spaces for relaxation, health, wellness and enjoyment. She says, “People come to Minnehaha Falls Landscaping for solutions and we help them find them. We love facilitating connections with nature and the earth. The basic principle of landscaping is simple: you + nature = easy!” Ask Chesney how she met Russ, and how he offered her a can of worms.

Tom Kerby, PLA, Landscape Designer

Minnehaha Falls Landscaping/Giving Tree Gardens

Tom Kerby is a licensed landscape architect with over 25 years of experience, ranging from design/project management of large retail/commercial sites to designing, and construction of high-end residential landscapes.

With a well-rounded understanding of all scales of site/landscape planning and development, Tom leads Minnehaha Falls Landscaping clients through their projects with a collaborative approach. The goal is to design and create a well-rounded sustainable landscape that reflects each client's individuality.

Tom has a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with honors. He also received a Certificate of Merit award from ASLA for excellence in the study of landscape architecture.

Minnehaha Falls Landscaping clients benefit from Tom’s knowledge, expertise and creativity.

Ask Tom about his Irish Setters

Mary Pascoe, Office Manager

Minnehaha Falls Landscaping/Giving Tree Gardens

Mary Pascoe says she walks through the door at Minnehaha Falls Landscaping every day, with a goal of “Exceeding Expectations with Everyone I Encounter” – She calls it her “4 E’s of Customer Service.” Mary wants you to know that she is at her desk, waiting to talk to you and that she will be friendly, understanding, and you will be heard.

With over twenty years as a geriatric caregiver and trainer of more than 1,000 certified nursing assistants, Mary decided to transition from health care to earth care. She says, “It’s just another way of caring for people.” She also feels compelled to educate customers and the community on the danger of pesticides, after watching a close family member deteriorate from their impact for over three decades. Mary is passionate about removing pesticides from community parks, municipalities, and schools.

Do you know why Mary loves her job? “I’m a Libra, so I’m all about esthetics That’s my jam. I love beautiful things,” she says. “I wouldn’t say I have a green thumb, but that’s why I hire a landscaping company. I’m good at keeping humans alive, not plants. I love it when people take pride in the land they own and how it presents itself to the world.”

In addition to her Minnehaha Falls Landscaping family, Mary has been married to her high school sweetheart for over 30-years and they have two sons.

Ask Mary what she does to “get the silly’s out” of her two boys.