Our History
(page 3/8)

McRae, unconvinced, decided to start his own interiorscaping business (McCaren Designs) on the side, working evenings providing plantscaping for residential interior designers. McRae found that working with plants satisfied the displaced farmer in the city and doing the design work satisfied his artistic tendencies. Within a year the business had grown to the point he could venture out on his own. Unfortunately the timing of his departure came at a bad time for the garden center so he volunteered to stay on part-time during the busy season, but the owner said “either you work here full-time or you’re fired” … so McRae was “fired” from his second “real” job!

Within less than a year of his “firing” his former employer had an opportunity to do a major interior landscape project, so they called him back to see if he was interested in partnering with them on the project. That project was the third hotel in a new hospitality concept called the Granada Royale Hometel (now known as the Embassy Suites Hotel.) This project was his first “commercial” project. After it was successfully installed, he completed 13 more Embassy Suites throughout the United States in the years to follow. McRae helped establish the franchising standards for the Embassy Suites trademark atriums.

At the San Antonio Embassy Suites, he was the first person to ever use Bucida buceras ‘Shady Lady’ (Shady Lady Black Olive) – He saw them at East Marsh Nursery, where they were experimenting with them to see if they could be shade acclimated. He loved their “look” and decided to purchase 3 of them. Upon arrival the trees immediately defoliated. After a conversation with East March Nursery, he decided to cut them down and ship 3 more. Those too defoliated, but the trees were left in the atrium and voila, with a lot of water, they re-foliated. Many years later, McRae designed and used over 200 Black Olives at Knott’s Camp Snoopy, with none defoliating.