Jim Gordon Hagstrom, ASLA

Jim Gordon Hagstrom, ASLA
ASLA Chapter: Minnesota Chapter.
Category: Works

Company/academic title: Savanna Designs, Afton, Minn.
Education: Bachelor of landscape architecture at the University of Minnesota.

Jim Gordon Hagstrom as one of Minnesota's top landscape architects, has developed a client-appealing approach to native plantings for corporate campuses, parks, and residences. An important element of successful implementation with clients is his ''neatness factor'' of sharp edges and strong shapes to native plant areas, organized foreground plantings, native flowering plants massed around entrances, and minimized lawn areas. He believes that sustainable design is only as good as its details and ongoing management. He therefore works closely with landscape contractors and installers to teach the principles of sustainable landscaping. This model has resulted in vast acreage that previously was lawn to become biologically diverse landscape.