Carl S English Jr was born in 1904 and grew up at English Farm (then Camas, now Vancouver) watching his mother, Betah, tending the gardens. At age 16 he built the greenhouse which has now been converted to a bocce court. A noted horticulturalist, he traded seeds with colleagues around the world and planted many of the trees around the farm, which still flourish today.

Carl is best known for his work at the Hiram S Chittenden Locks in Seattle (the Ballard Locks), where he planted the gardens that would come to be known as the Carl S English Botanical Garden.