Our Origin Story

Paul G. Busse, founder of Applied Imagination, has always been a big fan of trains and gardens. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1972, with a degree in landscape architecture he formed his own company specializing in creative outdoor living spaces.

In 1975, Paul discovered the brand LGB's new G-Scale model trains, which ran both indoors and out. His first train layout was installed in a friend’s hobby store, garnering local press for the store and for Paul's landscape company. At the request of Ohio Governor, Jim Rhodes, Paul created his first public garden railroad for the Ohio State Fair in 1982.

By 1984, he had officially added garden railroads to his company's repertoire, and in 1991, he formed Applied Imagination. This new company was a great artistic convergence of his work with landscaping, garden railroads and his unique use of plant material to create "botanical architecture".