Meet Emily Goldman | Landscape Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Goldman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Starting my own residential design business was a pragmatic and creative decision. The small scale of residential design allows for greater nuance and site-specific solutions that reflect the client’s specific design aesthetic and environmental goals. Gardening provides tangible environmental empowerment, inviting homeowners to observe and engage with pollinators, birds, insects, and the ephemeral beauty of our four seasons. Landscape Design and Architecture create opportunities for indoor-outdoor living, delivering transformative results rather quickly. Pragmatically, my home-based business enables me to be available for my family, to support our children as they grow, and to have flexibility as our needs change over time. Working from home, I can step outside to work remotely in my backyard retreat/office, where the sights and sounds of nature are relaxing, beautiful, and inspiring.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career progression makes perfect sense when I look back, but my path wasn’t always clear to me at the moment. I followed my interests and majored in Fine Art before earning a second degree in Landscape Architecture. Environmental stewardship has always been my priority, and designing landscapes provides the ideal fusion of art and science. Being ‘creative’ inherently involves taking risks– I want to push the limits, shake things up, and still deliver designs that can grow and endure with time. Landscapes are dynamic living things that change with the seasons and over the years, just like nature and artists! I have to be sensible, brave, and willing to learn something new every day. Designing landscapes that reflect our eco-region with design solutions that suit the homeowner’s lifestyle, budget, maintenance ability, and pursuit of beauty is a form of problem-solving that enriches both the earth and the homeowner.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A day in Bellvue at Colorado Shoe School crafting something fantastic would kick off the week, followed by a bike trail tour around Ft. Collins and a picnic along the Poudre River on day 2. A shopping trip to JAX Surplus with lunch at Maggie’s Taco Truck would be fabulous. A visit to the High Plains Environmental Center in Loveland, followed by Denver Botanic Gardens and Summer Home Garden in Denver, would take up day 3. A walk through downtown Fort Collins with all the shops, murals, and dining opportunities would be fun, plus a short trolley ride down Mt. Avenue to visit the garden and carriage house filled with treasures at My Sister Knits. The Old Town Farmer’s Market is great on Saturday mornings with a slice of pie from the Sunny Sky Pie truck, followed by Frisbee time at the CSU Oval on day 5. A scenic drive from Ft. Collins to Masonville to see Llamas and explore the foothills, followed by a delicious homemade dinner with drinks around the fire at night, would wrap up a fun week with friends in Northern Colorado.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I owe everything I know to the collaborative and generous green industry community, local and across state lines. Folks in the green industry are generally selfless and are more interested in seeing plants, soil, water, and earth thrive than being cutthroat business competitors. We share information and resources and build one another up as we constantly learn and strive to be better and help grow environmental stewardship through our projects.

Website: https://www.emilygoldman.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily_louise_goldman/

Image Credits
Photos by Augustin Goldman and Emily Goldman