About Us
Koby's Plant Maintenance Ltd. was established in 1976, by Hiroshi Kobayashi after moving back from attending UBC. He was the 2nd generation horticulturist in the family at that time. His father, Ishisaburo Kobayashi was awarded his degree in horticulture, in Japan, by the time he was 21 years old. In 1962 Hiro's Father had his first purchase order to landscape and garden at Weyerhaeuser Canada. Hiroshi's father, had set up an agreement with his cousin who he was mentoring and had also received his degree from the same university in Japan. This agreement was for his cousin to carry on Hiroshi's training if anything was to happen to him. After Hiroshi's father passed away in 1975, Ishisaburo's cousin came every year to train Hiro, up until his health prevented him to travel to Kamloops. This cousin of Ishisaburo's, helped design and build the UBC Japanese Gardens, Lethbridge Japanese Gardens and the Japanese Gardens located in Spokane, Washington.
Hiro carried on this tradition of family training to his son Denji Kobayashi, starting at the age of 5 years old. Denji was in the trees pruning, driving machinery, and mowing lawns when he started kindergarten. At the age of 12 years old, Denji had his own maintenance crew of 5 people. Denji is now the 3rd generation and is still being mentored by his father. At 37 years old, Denji, the current owner and operator of Koby's has 32 years of horticultural and landscaping experience. Denji's daughter, Kaiya, at 3 years old, is being shown the same things, Denji was being shown at 5 years old and might one day become the 4th generation of Japanese Gardener's in Kamloops, BC. There has never been a more proud papa in all of the landscaping industry, knowing his granddaughter is being taught the same fundamental's that his father was taught in 1918 back in Japan.
We are a family company which is very responsive to our customer's needs. We provide a wide range of products for both commercial and residential properties: Landscaping, Retaining Walls & Paving Stones, Pruning Services, Maintenance, Water features, Construction of all types, Irrigation Systems, Night Lighting, Excavation and Hauling, and Interior Plant Design and Maintenance. We specialize in Japanese style gardens, and also work with the customer if they want to do some of the work themselves.
In 1984, Hiro created "The Kobayashi Award" for Beautify Kamloops. The annual Beautify Kamloops gardening competition is held in June and honours those people who make the city a visually more pleasant place in which to live and to visit. Hiro's intention was to recognize the many beautiful gardens that were not seen from the front of the house. The Kobayashi Award is presented annually to the best landscaped residential lot, not necessarily visible from the street. Hiroshi recognized that the home gardener uses the front yard for welcoming everyone else but designs the backyard for their own private enjoyment and love of gardening. The Kobayashi Award is in memory of Hiro's late father and mother, Ishisaburo and Shizue Kobayashi.