Francesco Antonio Saltarelli is a Montreal-based landscape designer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Saltarelli Outdoor Design, a firm known for high-end backyards and rooftop terraces across the city. His work blends architecture, sustainability, and everyday livability.
Francesco was born in Montreal in 1986 to Italian immigrant parents. His father worked in masonry. His mother owned a tailoring boutique in Little Italy. Craft and detail were part of daily life. Summers in his grandfather’s garden shaped his early love for plants and outdoor spaces. He learned to prune grapevines and build simple trellises before he was a teenager.
He studied Horticulture and Landscape Management at the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire du Québec. There, he focused on soil science, native plant ecology, and sustainable irrigation systems. After graduation, he worked for several established landscaping firms in Montreal. He gained experience in project management, rooftop design, and high-end residential work.
In 2014, he launched Saltarelli Outdoor Design. He started small and handled everything himself. Today, his firm is recognized as one of Montreal’s leading landscape studios. His projects have earned industry awards and been featured in Canadian design publications.
Francesco’s success comes from consistency. He values clear timelines, transparent budgets, and climate-smart design. His work shows that outdoor spaces can be both practical and beautiful.
Q&A with Francesco Saltarelli on Success
What does success mean to you?
For me, success is consistency over time. It is not one big award or one large project. It is finishing what you start and building trust with clients and collaborators. When I look back at my path, it is a series of steady steps. Learning soil science in school. Managing small backyard projects. Coordinating large teams in Westmount and Outremont. Each phase built on the last.
Success also means creating spaces that people actually use. A rooftop terrace that sits empty is not a success. A terrace where a family eats dinner three times a week is.
How did your early life shape your approach to business?
I grew up watching my father work with stone. He was precise. If a line was off, he redid it. My mother ran a tailoring shop. She understood customers and repeat business. I saw that quality and service are connected.
In my grandfather’s garden, I learned patience. You cannot rush a grapevine. That lesson carried into business. Growth takes seasons. When I launched Saltarelli Outdoor Design in 2014, I completed seven projects in the first year. I handled design, budgeting, and site supervision myself. It was not glamorous, but it was necessary.
What was the biggest turning point in your career?
Moving into rooftop design changed everything. Montreal is dense. Space is limited. When I started working on downtown terraces, I realized we were not just landscaping. We were creating outdoor rooms in the sky.
Rooftops require engineering awareness. Weight loads. Drainage. Wind exposure. I invested time in green roof certification and sustainable drainage training. That technical layer made our work stronger and set us apart.
How do you define leadership inside your company?
Leadership is clarity. My team needs clear timelines and realistic budgets. When I became a senior project coordinator before starting my firm, I managed teams of up to twelve contractors. I learned that confusion costs money.
Today, I still review plans carefully. I visit sites often. I want our sustainability consultant and lead landscape architect to feel supported but also accountable. Good leadership balances vision and detail.
What role does sustainability play in your idea of success?
Sustainability is not a marketing angle for me. It is practical. Quebec winters are harsh. If you choose the wrong plant species, you replace them every year. That is not smart business.
Using native flora, permeable pavers, and rainwater systems reduces long-term maintenance. Clients see value. The environment benefits. It aligns with how I was trained in horticulture.
Have you faced setbacks?
Of course. Early on, I underestimated timelines for a rooftop project. Material delays and weather pushed everything back. I learned to build buffer time into every schedule. Montreal winters do not negotiate.
Another challenge was hiring. Bringing in a lead landscape architect and sustainability consultant required trust. Letting go of some control was hard. But growth depends on delegation.
What habits contribute most to your success today?
Routine. I cycle regularly. It clears my mind. I sketch ideas when I travel to Mont-Tremblant or Gaspésie. Those sketches often become real projects.
I also keep close ties to my roots. Sunday dinners with family remind me why I build spaces for gathering. At the end of the day, success is simple. Create something durable. Stand behind your work. And keep improving, season after season.