John P. Smith is the founding principal and president of Horticulture Consultants, Inc. established in 1979. John earned his Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees in the landscape and horticulture fields from California Polytechnic State University.

John Smith has over forty years experience in the landscape industry and production agriculture including 28 years as Director of Horticulture and full-time professor of Horticulture at College of Southern Nevada.

John's expertise includes the landscape areas of Construction, Construction Management, Maintenance/Management, and Design. Additional areas of expertise include Soils and Plant Nutrition, Landscape Fertilization, Arboriculture, Landscape Pest Control, Irrigation Design/Evaluation/Auditing, and Non-Destructive Testing of Construction Materials.

John is licensed in the State of Nevada as a Landscape Architect, Certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) as a Certified Arborist, and maintains a Principal Pest Control License with the Nevada Department of Agriculture. John is also co-owner of Fertilizing Specialists, Inc.

Dennis L. Swartzell teamed with HCI in 1987 and is a principal and secretary. Dennis earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Horticulture from the University of Georgia.

Dennis has over thirty-three years experience in the landscape industry including the management of greenhouses, urban parks and university campuses. In 1986 he was appointed Director of the Arboretum at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas where he retired as Emeritus Director in 2002. He also has experience as the marketing director of a regional wholesale nursery and as adjunct faculty for the College of Southern Nevada.

Dennis's expertise includes the areas of Arboriculture, Maintenance Specification Development and Landscape Management, Soils and Plant Nutrition, and Landscape Construction Management. Additional areas of expertise include Landscape and Tree Appraisals, Tree Inventories, Hazard Assessment, and Hands-on Pruning Clinics.

Dennis is the first Certified Arborist in Las Vegas, the first Board-Certified Master Arborist in Nevada, and a Certified Physical Plant Administrator.