Landscape design
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Create a functional, easy to maintain, environmentally friendly, cost effective and aesthetically pleasing outdoor space for your home yard or garden.
- Select plants for long-lived, healthy and sustainable landscapes.
- Create special habitats for pollinators and other wildlife.
Creating a design
Home owners often ask Extension how to find a student, a Master Gardener or an industry professional to help them with a home landscaping project or garden design.
Landscape professionals
Landscape professionals typically have a degree in landscape design or a related area, or are licensed as a landscape architect. Some garden centers offer full service landscape design, implementation and maintenance services.
Homeowners can find firms by searching the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association website. Use the search function to find the type of help you are looking for in your geographical location—for example, "landscape designer St. Paul, MN".
Word-of-mouth is also a very good way to find a landscape professional. When you see a landscape you love, ask the homeowner for a recommendation.
Master Gardeners
Master Gardeners are educated by University of Minnesota Extension and volunteer by teaching research-based horticulture information in their communities.
While Master Gardeners are volunteers and not allowed to accept payment or work on private properties as part of their volunteer hours, some are professional gardeners, designers or landscape architects by trade. A county program may have a website or newsletter for volunteers where job postings can be published. You can send a job description for your landscaping project to the Extension Master Gardener program in your county.
Students or alumni
To reach students looking for seasonal work or alumni in the landscape business, post a job description on GoldPass: Job, Internship and Volunteer Listings. GoldPASS is the U of M's online database to help connect students and alumni with employers, volunteer organizations and internships across the country. Posting is free, easy to do, and open to anyone.
The Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series (SULIS) is a collection of advice and how-to articles on landscape design, plant selection, implementation and maintenance. These articles form a curriculum for landscape designers as well as easy-to-follow instructions for home landscapers.
- Design: The first step in creating a sustainable landscape
- Plant selection: A searchable database of plants to support the landscape design process.
- Implementation: Preparation, planting, installation, and construction.
- Maintenance: Sustainable practices for lawns, and herbaceous and woody plants.
Selecting plants
The Plant Elements of Design plant selection program will help you find plants that match the conditions of your landscaping site.
- Go to the Plant Elements site
- Click on CREATE AN ACCOUNT
- Enter your email address
- Create a password
- Click LOGON
- Respond to your account confirmation email
- Sent from Plantselection No-reply@umn.edu