About Me

Born in Yorkshire, England, Andrew Pighills is an accomplished gardener, horticulturist and stone artisan.  He received his formal horticulture training with The Royal Horticultural Society and has spent 31 years studying and creating gardens and stone structures in his native England. He is a member of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, holds advanced certification in stone construction and teaching certification.

Andrew and his wife, Michelle Becker, own English Gardens and Landscaping, based in Connecticut, and they distinguish themselves in creating gardens and residential landscapes that evoke the graceful outdoor settings and luxuriant gardens characterized by the English country house.

 Passionate about the preservation of England’s garden heritage and traditional stone building crafts, he has studied the history of English garden design from Elizabethan times through the English Arts and Craft movement and has completed stone building apprenticeships with masters of the crafts of stone building and dry stone walling in the Yorkshire Dales.

His particular technique of building walls follows the ancient methods of generations of dry stone wallers in Great Britain. His commitment to preserving and promoting the endurance of this traditional building art has earned him a devoted list of private and public clients both here and abroad. His stone work has been featured in a programming series on traditional English building methods on BBC television. He has worked on many large country estates including those of the Duke of Devonshire and the Earl of Hartington and counts amongst his public clients, the English National Trust and the English National Parks.

His work has been featured in the NY Times,    Yankee Magazine (3rd profile),    Southern New England Home Page 142,    New Haven Register