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FeedDeep Roots
Landscape architect Jim Hagstrom balances unruly natives with the geometry of design
By Susan Davis Price
Photo by Eric Moore
For Hagstrom, owner of Savanna Designs in Lake Elmo, the back story is vital to creating a design that works. “It may sound corny, but the site speaks to me,” he says. “I like to be on the property all by myself. That gives me an intimacy with it and I get a sense of what should be there.” Corny or not, it’s proved successful. In his 30-plus years of experience as a landscape designer and architect, Hagstrom has handled large public and commercial projects, but the bulk of his portfolio includes a wide variety of residential work. Since 1988, his work has garnered more than 20 awards from the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA) and the Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Photo by Savanna Designs
Though Hagstrom’s early work was praised by his peers, not all of his designs were “comfortable” to clients, he admits. Some found his work unconventional, too native-looking, or messy. “I realized I wasn’t honoring our English-European heritage, our expectations of what is beautiful and well-kept,” he says. “I needed to incorporate those ideas more fully.” Sojourns in southern France, where he studied with well-known designers John Brookes and James van Sweden in 1989 and 1990, were turning points for him. Their concept of combining wildness with geometry struck Hagstrom as an exciting way to handle the landscapes of the Midwest.
Today Hagstrom’s designs include swaths of native flowers—liatris, coneflowers, trillium, and ferns—and peonies, iris, and roses. He uses handsome boardwalks, elegant stone patios, and brick walls to contain the exuberance. Observers now describe Hagstrom’s landscapes as lush rather than messy, and dramatic rather than unplanned.
One of his recent projects, the Andrews residence in White Bear Lake, features a restored shoreline, a bluestone patio that complements stone on the main house, and a dramatic mix of native plants and perennials that bloom in succession. This design, which won the MNLA’s 2007 Merit Award for Excellence in Landscape Design, exemplifies Hagstrom’s work: personal, contained, and vibrant. “It’s beautiful and very natural-looking,” says homeowner Nancy Andrews.”
It is also a radical departure from what often passes for landscape design. “So much of our developed land has become one large carpet of bluegrass,” says Hagstrom. “My goal is to create places that are indigenous, sustainable, and diverse.”
Pop Quiz
One surprising thing:I’m in a men’s book club, the Rivermen Readers.
Favorite drink:
Hendrick’s gin martini with 3 olives
Biggest challenge in my work:
Making sustainability sexy
What I do when I need a creativity fix:
Go to the Walker
Susan Davis Price is a St. Paul freelance writer.
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