As landscape contractor for more than 35 years for the Emmy® Award-winning television series This Old House and Ask This Old House, Roger Cook provided expert advice learned over the course of a lifetime in landscaping. He stepped away from the role in January 2020.
Roger’s journey with This Old House began in 1982 when he first appeared in the series. At the time, he was working as the landscape foreman for the Frost and Higgins Company, but that didn’t stop him from contributing ideas and expertise to several This Old House projects, including the Bigelow Project and the Woburn House. A phone call many years later from landscape architect Tom Wirth changed everything. It was 1988, the project was the Lexington Bed & Breakfast renovation, and Roger was on board full-time as the landscape contractor.
In 1977, Roger received a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife management and conservation law from the University of Maine. A certified landscape contractor in Massachusetts, Roger is an active member of the Massachusetts Arborist Association and has served as president of the board of directors of New England Grows and the Association of Landscape Contractors of Massachusetts.
Roger owned and operated K & R Landscape, which he founded in 1982 with his wife, Kathleen. In August 2024, Roger passed away after a long battle with illness. Surviving Roger are beloved family members: son Jason, daughter Molly, brother Greg, daughter-in-law Anna, and three grandsons—Peter, Noah, and James. He is predeceased by his beloved wife, Kathleen, who died from cancer in 2010.