Bryant Fleming was born in Buffalo, New York, and studied horticulture, architecture, architectural history, and art at Cornell, graduating in 1901. Fleming became the first lecturer and instructor in landscape art in the Department of Landscape Art in the College of Agriculture at Cornell, where he served as head of the department from 1906-1915.

In private practice he helped guide the development of parks in New York State, including Letchworth State Park and the restoration of Watkins Glen. In addition, he served with Warren H. Manning and others on a comprehensive campus plan for Cornell. For 30 years Fleming and his associates had an extensive residential design practice all over the country, including estates in Belle Meade, a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, and the design of Cheekwood, a 100-acre estate where Fleming guided the design of the landscape, architecture, and interiors.

In 1925, he was appointed as University Landscape Advisor to Cornell. Active in the profession as a teacher and mentor, he died on September 19, 1946.