Introducing
Elizabeth M. Lowe,
Landscape Designer

Education

In May 2004, I completed the Graduate Certificate in Landscape Design from the Landscape Institute of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. This program involves 11 semester long graduate-level courses, and a year-long independent project.

At the Landscape Institute, I learned to design functional outdoor spaces that draw on the beauty of the natural world, while enhancing local biodiversity, ecological stability, and human health.

While there, I took classes in Sustainable Design, and Native Plant Communities in addition to the Landscape Institute's standard series of design courses (Design I, II, and III), along with such practical courses as Drafting, Deciduous Tree and Shrub Identification, Site Engineering, and Construction.

In order to understand landscape design in a historical context, I took two history courses. One of which, led me to write a paper on the history of Prospect Hill Park, a lovely natural park owned by the City of Waltham. In Historic Landscape Preservation Practice, I studied various techniques for preserving the integrity of historic properties, and completed a class project involving the landscape of Waltham's Lyman Estate.

My independent project bridged both semesters of my final year at the Landscape Institute. For this project I developed designs for Waltham's two middle schools. To learn more about my approach to designing for middle school students, feel free to review my final paper: “In-Between: Two Middle School Landscapes in Waltham, MA”.

In addition to my graduate education as a landscape designer, I hold a bachelor of arts in Biology and Environmental Studies from Oberlin College.

Experience

In addition to operating Grove Hill Gardens, I worked part time for Betsey Morse Mayer Landscape Design in Belmont from 2004-2006. I also gained experience gardening in small urban spaces while working for Bittersweet Gardens of Boston in 2004. I have horticultural experience from my days working in the Sun Lab (a greenhouse exhibit) at the Museum of Science in Boston. There I assisted the curator with maintenance of the Sun Lab, including plants, animals, and water features. In addition, I researched and presented information on plants to audiences of museum visitors, and interpreted exhibit components for museum visitors.

These experiences have contributed to my understanding of plant biology, and their care, along with how people, plants, and the built environment relate to one another.

For more on my mission as an ecological designer, please read about the Grove Hill Gardens philosophy. If you would like to review my complete resume in Adobe PDF format, click here.

The Grove Hill Gardens Crew

Janet Hamilton has a M.S. in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, NH. She has apprenticed on several organic farms, along with studying native plants and ecological gardening at Garden in the Woods. Prior to working for Grove Hill Gardens, Janet has both worked and volunteered for numerous organizations with an environmental or educational focus. In addition, she holds a certificate in natural foods cooking from the Natural Gourmet Cookery School, NYC.