BENNETT HOLMES
As a local business owner for over twenty years and a life-long resident of Rye, New Hampshire, Bennett Holmes has always been committed to preserving the environment and the rich history in his seacoast community. Ben’s interest in landscaping started when he began mowing lawns in his neighborhood at 14 years old. When he graduated Berwick Academy in 1992, his fledgling lawn care business was producing more income for him than his peers were earning.
With the desire to know more about the landscaping industry, Bennett enrolled in the University of Vermont. After graduating the University of Vermont with a bachelor of science in urban forestry and landscape horticulture – with a minor in soil science – he returned to his landscape business in Rye Beach to apply his knowledge and grow his business.
In 2003, Rye Beach Landscaping shifted from maintenance services to focus on landscape design build work exclusively. In 2009, Bennett added an excavation division to his company as the company doubled in growth. Today, Rye Beach Landscaping is right where he wants it to be – producing all of its work in-house; providing high quality landscape construction and hardscape services to its clients; protecting and preserving the environment, even as far as using bio-diesel produced in his own shop from the vegetable oil from Petey’s seafood restaurant.
When he’s not working on his business, Ben can be found working on his growing collection of antique vehicles or in his 1750 colonial home in Rye. He enjoys spending his free time cruising the Sagamore River in his Sea Ray, hanging out with his wife Sarah, their kids and the family pup. Every Sunday, you can find Ben playing drums in his church worship team band, as he has for the past several years.