MNLA Certified Professional, ICPI Certified, Masters of Horticulture, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. BA in Kinesiology and English. Jason has given presentations to the public on “The Urban Ecoyard.” “Less Lawn Landscaping,” “NoMulch Landscaping”, “The Great Game of Business for Landscaping” and participated in industry charettes to design public spaces.
Personal PicksFavorite Plant
Swiss Stone Pine – This is such a great upright evergreen. Medium to slow growth rate. Never gets winter burn and stays tight with great form for its whole life.
Outdoor Feature
Sauna-scaping! I love that people are getting into sauna-ing and committing to this ceremony of health focus. I love creating stone paths, wood benches, lush plantings and distinct boulder arrangements to make this experience feel natural and resorative.
Favorite Place
The Driftless Region. The area around Welch Village is my favorite because it is close and you can slip down there on a Saturday for a ride or hike but the whole area in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois fills my heart with joy.
Help clients develop clarity and excitement around their vision for their outdoor spaces.
In a few sentences, describe what you focus on most in your role.
I never have a hard time being excited about a client’s project. When I hear them talk I focus on how they are going to experience their space – is it glancing out the window doing dishes, having friends over for barbeque, a kids’ natural play area, or the joy of eating vegetables from their own garden. I want it to make a difference in their life.
Background & JourneyI always knew I wanted to do something that enabled people to experience “quality of life.” I narrowed the choices down to getting into food and cooking or landscaping. When I tried out the restaurant world, I realized that much of the creativity was in the initial envisioning of the restaurant. In landscaping, I found almost limitless learning and creativity. I still love being the person at a backyard party who gets their arm-sleeve tugged and asked about a plant or other landscape issue in their yard
I great up in the suburbs and was surrounded by foundation plantings of rock mulch and arm-stinging junipers. Big random rocks on the corner of the lot. I was at the Hennepin County Library in high school and I looked out the window to the prairie they had installed and I was struck by the juxtaposition. I really wanted to bring that sense of full-blooded naturalness to residential landscapes.
I spent 7 years with a telecommunications technology company in sales support and was able to travel the country and world in that position. It was the time when Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Patagonia were creating more empowering and employee-centered companies. I was really inspired by that.
The landscape industry is one of the few places that people can use their hands, head and heart and complete projects from tear-out to the last detail. I think that is really unique in the modern world and continues to inspire me.
I started Field in 2005 with the goal to create the company I wanted to work for.
The concept of a courtyard still inspires me. A private, enclosed space to both enjoy time with family and friends but also experience the passing of the seasons and interactions with the natural world.
A Standout Moment
Field just won a national award for a project we designed with a client we had done a previous project for. The first landscape had been a really cool dog-scape. They had moved into a ritz-ier neighborhood but still wanted the landscape to feel unique and personal. It is so great to work with a client on a second project because the trust is already there and you have started to really understand their personality and what makes them excited. I love the balance of formality and scruffy wildness we achieved on that project.
Outside of FieldI enjoy biking with my twin 12 year old boys and a variety of friends. I am a gravel biker and mountain biker. Both are incredible activities to explore greater Minnesota and beyond. Gravel biking brings me to the dusty hills of the driftless, the sandy gravel in the middle of the state and the forest roads near Grand Marais. There is great mountain biking in Crosby Ironton, the Iron Range, and NW Arkansas. And the Twin Cites has great places for both of these too.
Since 2005, Field Outdoor Spaces has helped Minneapolis and St Paul homeowners get the most from their outdoor spaces. We design and build dynamic and high-impact landscapes that are easy to care for.
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