Virginia Burt
Landscape Architect, Visionscapes

Virginia Burt specializes in creating gardens of meaning. Her work encompasses private residential projects, institutional and health care facilities.
University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio engaged Visionscapes to design the Schneider Healing Garden for the Seidman Cancer Center as part of a multi-disciplinary team including AECOM/EDAW and Cawrse & Associates Landscape Architects. The Schneider Healing Garden opened in October 2011 as part of the Case Medical Campus Vision 2010 renovations. This project included an 11 circuit Chartres pattern labyrinth cut out of granite, multi-season plantings, sculptures, accessible water feature and computer controlled lighting moving through the colours of the seven chakras.

In Norma’s Garden at The Gathering Place, Virginia Burt created the garden’s master plan, and as lead designer, collaborated with MSI Landscape Architects to prepare detailed design and contract documents for submission to local authorities. Upon approval, Burt led on-site review, design coordination and construction administration through the garden’s completion. Growing up on an apple farm in Brooklin, Ontario, Burt grew to love nature at an early age. She brings her passion for nature along with 25 years of experience as a landscape architect to her current role.

Burt founded Visionscapes, a landscape architecture firm located in Burlington, Ontario, in 1996 and began creating healing gardens and sacred spaces for not-for-profit, public and residential clients. Since the company’s inception, Burt has worked on more than 200 healing gardens, including The John Gordon Home Healing Garden for the London Regional AIDS Hospice; an award-winning master plan for Common Ground, a spiritual retreat in Oberlin, Ohio; The Healing Garden at Ireland Cancer Center in Elyria, Ohio; the first outdoor labyrinth at a psychiatric hospital in Canada at Homewood Health Center; the Gussie Sobel Garden and the Courtyard Garden at Shalom Village Long Term Care Facility; the Magic Toddlers’ Garden at Parkview Children’s Center; and the multi-generational healing gardens at Post Inn Village and Creek Way Long Term Care Facilities. She also has created labyrinths and gardens for private clients and prepared master plans and gardens for public clients throughout North America.

Prior to founding Visionscapes, Burt served as a project manager and associate at JSW and Associates, a landscape architecture firm in Toronto, Ontario, where she managed various projects in waterfront resort master planning, park planning and development, landscape analysis, environmental analysis and urban design in both the private and public sector. She also spent two years at Design Workshop, Inc., a ski area planning and landscape architecture firm in Aspen, Colo., where she worked on a wide range of projects, including mountain and resort planning, residential design and new community planning.

Burt is a member of many industry-related associations and has given more than 300 presentations on healing gardens to universities, professional associations and other organizations. Burt graduated from the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, with a degree in landscape architecture.
She resides in Burlington, Ontario.

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