Decatur garden designer Ryan Gainey dies in fire

The horticultural hero passed away trying to save his two Jack Russell terriers

By Beca Grimm Sunday July 31, 2016 10:47 AM EDT

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Fri., July 29, horticultural hero Ryan Gainey died in a fire in his second home in Lexington, Georgia. A witness told an Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office deputy Gainey went inside the house with a garden hose but didn’t emerge after. Fellow gardener and longtime friend Brooks Garcia says Gainey rushed the home to rescue his Jack Russell terriers.

ainey was well-known in the horticulture community and featured in many local, national, and international publications dedicated to the trade, including a photo series from HGTV. He also maintained a 2-acre garden in Decatur, which remained a featured stop the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Gardens for Connoisseurs tour for 20 years. “The tour will forever remain as a legacy to his talent,” President and CEO of the Atlanta Botanical Garden Mary Pat Matheson says.

??He was renowned world-wide for his talents and garden designs and was a valued resident of Decatur who generously shared his garden with our community and with the community at large,” Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett told Decaturish. “I visited his garden on a number of occasions and always came away inspired and restored.”