Julia L.W. Detwiler
Landscape Architecture Portfolio
About Me My passion for plants began at a young age, when I would accompany my parents to native plant sales and pick out my favorite specimens. I was drawn to anything brightly colored or especially fragrant, loving the wildlife they attracted and the way they made the whole neighborhood smell amazing on a warm spring night. While studying Biology and Studio Art at Ursinus College, I designed and conducted my own research projects to better understand how humans impact their environment and how components of an ecosystem work together. I built upon this foundation by completing my Master of Landscape Architecture degree at Temple University with a focus on ecological restoration. Through my internships at The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, I increased my knowledge of plant culture, maintenance, installation, and design. My horticultural knowledge served me well in school, and I found that my favorite aspect of design was choosing the plant palette. Plants became the paintbrush that colored my designs. My design aesthetic focuses on creative use of color, texture, sound, and smell. I enjoy creating sustainable designs that are respectful of the physical and cultural history of the area while providing functional and timeless spaces for people to use. Through careful plant selection and use of native species, I create plant palettes with multi-season and multi-sensory interest. I believe in looking to nature for inspiration, and I still enjoy a good native plant sale.
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.� - Francis Hodgson Burnett
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About Me
Contents
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Resume Meadowbrook Farm Greenberg Elementary Internships MCPC Artwork
Contents
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Resume
Education 2017
Master of Landscape Architecture Temple University, Ambler, PA GPA: 3.65
2013
Bachelor of Science, Biology Minor, Studio Art Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA GPA: 3.12
Work Experience 2017
Community Planner II Montgomery County Planning Commission, Norristown PA • Create graphics such as hand-renderings, logos, photosimulations, and planting plans • Attend Public meetings as a representative of the County • Advise four communities directly to help them achieve their planning goals • Lead long-term projects such as comprehensive plans, model ordinances, and master plans • Review plan sets and draft ordinances to write Act 247 review letters • Earned a merit-based promotion after one year
2016
Public Landscape Design Management Intern The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia, PA • Created presentation materials for Subaru projects • Conducted site visits and wrote detailed reports • Met with and supervised contractors • Maintained the South Street Pop Up Garden • Created a plan of existing conditions at Logan Circle
2016
Landscape Designer Plymouth Nursery, Plymouth Meeting, PA • Created residential landscape designs, including photorenderings and basic construction documents • Answered client questions regarding plant selection and plant care
Awards & Honors
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Resume
2017
Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects Merit Award Class of 2017, Temple University Greenberg Elementary - Transformation to an Eco-Schoolyard
2017
The Honor Society of Sigma Lambda Alpha Awarded for accomplishments in landscape architecture
2016
Society for Ecological Restoration, Mid-Atlantic Region Poster Winner Awarded 2nd place for research on “Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Upland Meadow Restorations”
Skills & Certifications AutoCAD - Temple University, 2015 Adobe Suite - Temple University, 2014 LandFX - Temple University, 2016 SketchUp - Temple University, 2015 Community Planning - MCPC, 2017 Public Speaking - Ursinus College, 2009 ArcGIS - Temple University, 2016 Microsoft Excel - Ursinus College, 2009 Landscape Engineering - Temple University, 2014 Hand Drawing and Drafting - Temple University, 2014 Plant Identification - Temple University, 2014 Plant Care and Installation - PHS Meadowbrook Farm, 2015 Plant Propagation - PHS Meadowbrook Farm, 2015 Landscape Maintenance - PHS Meadowbrook Farm, 2015 Project Management - PHS, 2016 Wetland Ecology -Temple University, 2014 Woodland Ecology - Temple University, 2014 Ecological Restoration - Temple University, 2014 PHS Tree Tender - PHS, 2014
Skills & References
References Jenny Rose Carey Director, PHS Meadowbrook Farm 215.887.5900 • jrcarey@pennhort.org Pauline Hurley-Kurtz, MLA, RLA, ASLA Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, Temple University 267.468.8187 • pauline.hurley-kurtz@temple.edu Eva Monheim Verdant Earth Educators; Longwood Gardens Evamonheim@gmail.com
Hobbies Painting, photography, camping, gardening, hiking, swimming, drawing, and rugby.
Skills & References
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Meadowbrook Farm
Reinvigorating a Picturesque Cotswold Landscape in the Suburbs of Philadelphia After a horticulture internship at Meadowbrook Farm, I saw the potential for this former-estate to become one of the leading garden destinations in the Philadelphia area. I created a master plan to improve visitor experience and increase plant production on site while respecting the character and history of the site. Owned by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, this 25 acre suburban site increased my knowledge of the principles of formal gardening. My final design incorporated elements of traditional formal gardens combined with native plants.
Goals Community Engagement • Increase visitation and community presence • Provide more opportunities for education • Create connections to local schools, businesses,and organizations
Economic Sustainability • Create opportunities and spaces for private events • Attract local residents and young families • Increase plant propagation on site
Ecological Restoration • Increase bird diversity and population size on site • Improve the health of the natural areas on site • Create a plan to monitor the success of the restoration
Meadowbrook Farm
Pennsylvania
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Meadowbrook Farm
Montgomery County
Meadowbrook Farm is situated on a high point, and the water tends to flow offsite.
Hydrology
Watercolor Inspiration
The formal gardens surrounding the manor are arranged on several major axes, which correspond to the entrances of the house. By identifying and extending these axes, I used them to design the surrounding areas, providing a transitional space instead of the existing juxtaposition of formal and natural areas. The primary axes are shown in orange, while the secondary axes are in purple.
Garden Axes
Sales Yard
Manor House Meadowbrook Farm
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Master Plan After presenting the two design concepts to the Meadowbrook Farm stakeholders, I incorporated their feedback into the final master plan. Additionally, the loss of several mature trees opened up new development opportunities.
The primary design goals of this master plan were to separate public and private spaces, simplify circulation, and incorporate the natural areas on the site.
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Meadowbrook Farm
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Staff & Service Entrance
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Delivery Area
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Storage Barn
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Staff Building
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Production Greenhouses
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Staff Only Entrance
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Sales Yard with Store
Design Details As visitors arrive at Meadowbrook Farm, they will be greeted at the entrance kiosk before parking in the redesigned parking lot with rain gardens, permeable pavement, and interesting plant specimens. The Visitor Center contains offices, multipurpose lecture rooms, a gift shop, and refreshments. A conservatory showcases rare tropical and house plants. The children’s garden has a central water feature with multi-sensory and child-friendly plantings in addition to nature play areas.
8 Visitor Entrance with Kiosk 9 Bus Drop Off 10 Conservatory 11 Visitor Center 12 Covered Event Space 13 Restrooms 14 Children’s Garden 15 Nature Trail 16 Rill and Switchback Trail 17 Pond with Boardwalk 18 Primary Restoration Area
Visitor center and conservatory
Children’s garden Meadowbrook Farm
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Rill Garden Rills, or channels of water, are a common feature of Cotswoldstyle gardens. At Meadowbrook Farm, I proposed a Rill Garden with a switchback trail leading to the existing man-made pond. The rill connects the formal axes of the mansion to the natural hillside below. The switchback trail makes the existing steep slope ADA accessible so that all visitors to Meadowbrook Farm can enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the garden. An accessible natureinspired boardwalk allows visitors to get close to the water and observe native wetland plants. The plant palette consists of native perennials that will not only stabilize the hillside, but also provide multisensory interest.
Existing hillside 10
Meadowbrook Farm
Pond
Rill Garden
Bird blind Meadowbrook Farm
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Heliopsis helianthoides
Rhus typhina
Phlox paniculata
Lobelia cardinalis
Eutrochium fistulosum
Sassafras albidum
Monarda fistulosa
Coreopsis tinctoria
Rudbeckia hirta
Rhus aromatica
Solidago speciosa
Ilex verticillata
Aquilegia canadensis
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Asclepias tuberosa
Meadowbrook Farm
Vernonia glauca
Chrysopsis mariana
Plant Palette Inspired by the work of Darrel Morrison and Larry Weaner, I wanted to create a naturalfeeling designed space. This hillside serves as a transition from the formal gardens to the natural pond below. The goal of this plant palette was to incorporate a variety of plants that are attractive to birds, pollinators, and humans alike. Broad strokes of color paint the hillside with vibrant and fragrant perennials, whose root systems will help reduce erosion. The variety and abundance of plants creates a phantasmagorical experience for visitors as they head down the hill. 0
Eryngium yuccifolium
Pycnanthemum muticum
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Baptisia australis
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This chart helps identify in a very visual way which plants go where. Each swath of color corresponds to a group of plants that are that color. This provides a very visual way to explain the plant palette to clients.
Hydrangea quercifolia
Tiarella cordifolia
Meadowbrook Farm
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Seasonal Interest Multi-season interest is one of the most important factors for me when I choose a plant palette. By creating seasonal interest and bloom charts, I demonstrate in a very visual way what will be blooming when, and what will most likely be blooming each month. Plants were selected for characteristics like interesting seed heads, flowering time, fragrance, and ability to thrive in this hardiness zone.
January
Baptisia australis
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Eutrochium fistulosum
Heliopsis helianthoides
Hydrangea quercifolia
Rhus typhina
Panicum virgatum
Hamamelis virginiana
Sassafras albidum
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Meadowbrook Farm
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December
Meadowbrook Farm
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Greenberg Elementary
Transformation to an Eco-Schoolyard Located in Northeast Philadelphia, Greenberg Elementary has a schoolyard that is more asphalt than yard. As part of my Public Lands studio, my class redesigned the schoolyard to provide space for education and recreation. We had the opportunity to work with the students of Greenberg Elementary to create a schoolyard that met their needs. We worked in groups of four to complete our designs, and I spearheaded my group’s planting design and plant palette in addition to working with my group members throughout the entire design process. Our design project was awarded a Pennsylvania-Delaware ASLA Merit Award and was used to obtain funding for schoolyard improvements at Greenberg Elementary.
Goals
Design a comfortable, safe, educational, and sustainable ecoschoolyard for students and the public that connects children with nature and plants while encouraging active play.
Objectives • • • • • •
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Greenberg Elementary
Provide outdoor classroom and gathering spaces for learning and play that connect children to the natural environment through pollinator, butterfly, sensory, and fragrance gardens. Implement best management practices such as rain gardens, porous paving, xeriscape plantings, and greenroofs. Provide shade by incorporating trees and other structures. Provide an open and safe environment for students and visitors. Include an efficient pick-up and drop-off location for students. Install low-maintenance and vandal-proof landscape elements
Student Feedback
Existing Playground
Existing Conditions
The existing conditions at Greenberg Elementary look more like a parking lot than a playground. Weeds are the only plants that grow up between the cracks in the concrete. We did a workshop with the students of Greenberg Elementary to see what they wanted in a schoolyard. We received some interesting suggestions, like a water park, but we also were surprised by the number of students who wanted more natural elements and simply a safe place to play.
Existing Schoolyard Greenberg Elementary
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Group Design After creating individual design sketches, we were grouped with classmates who had similar designs. The unifying trait in my group was the use of the spiral as inspiration for the design. We worked together to create a conceptual design, and then each took a few areas to focus on. I primarily focused on designing the “Discovery Forest� and doing the planting plans for the meadows and rain garden. I did the final planting plan for the entire site, including cost estimates and installation instructions.
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Our theme focused on exploration, and this project helped me explore my passion for plants. I grew into my own as a designer through this design project.
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Greenberg Elementary
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Key: 1 Meadow 2 Discovery Forest 3 Proposed Parking Lot 4 Meadow 5 Rain Garden 6 Moon Garden 7 Basketball Court 8 Seat Wall Planter 9 Rainbow Painting 10 Turf Mounds 11 Rubber Play Surface 12 Student Planters 13 Sun Dial Green Roof 14 Amphitheater Classroom 15 Arboretum Walk 16 Moss Garden 17 Parent Wait Area 18 Rocket-Inspired Path 19 Drinking Fountains
Greenberg Elementary
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Planting Plan The plants selected for Greenberg Elementary needed to not only be child-friendly, but also interesting enough to engage students. By choosing plants with multi-season and multi-sensory interest, we created a whimsical plant palette with many opportunities to educate students and staff about sustainable practices and native plants.
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Greenberg Elementary
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Planting Plan
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Phlox divaricata ‘Blue Moon’
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Kalmia latifolia Mountain Laurel 11
Nyssa sylvatica Black Gum
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Rhus aromatica ‘gro low’ Fragrant Sumac
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Tiarella cordifolia Foamflower
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Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis Thornless Honeylocust
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Ascelpias incarnata Swamp Milkweed
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Sorghastrum nutans Indian Grass
Geranium maculatum Hamamelis virginiana Chionanthus virginicus Pycnanthemum muticum Clustered Mountain Mint Witch Hazel White Fringetree Spotted Geranium 12
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Weed
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Vaccinium corymbosum Highbush Blueberry
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Viburnum dentatum Arrowwood Viburnum
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Rhus typhina Staghorn Sumac
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Chrysogonum virginianum Echinacea purpurea Eupatorium fistulosum Green and Gold Purple coneflower Joe Pye Weed
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Cercis canadensis Eastern Redbud
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Baptisia australis False Indigo
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Prunus americana Wild Plum
Allium cernuum Nodding Onion
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Amsonia hubrichtii Blue Star
Greenberg Elementary
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PHS Public Landscape Design Management Internship During the summer of 2016, I interned at The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in their Public Landscapes Design Management department. I worked on a wide range of projects, including presentations for the board of subaru, updated plans of the existing conditions at Logan Circle, redesigned a historic gas station garden, and supervized the maintainance at many PHS-managed sites around Philadelphia. Through this internship, I gained confidence in working with contractors, the public, and my fellow designers. Additionally, I greatly improved my plant identification and maintenance knowledge and learned about the challenges faced in urban landscapes.
Gas Station Redesign • Historic gas station property adjacent to PHS headquarters that is maintained by PHS PLDM • Existing white pines needed to be removed for saftey • Challenge: design a space that is low-maintenance, resilient, and user-friendly • Proposed materials: Cor-ten steel, weather-treated wood, fill soil, native perennial plants • Design features: seat wall, tiered design screens unwanted views, cor-ten steel will age to coordinate with existing historic gas station
Existing Gas Station 22
Internship
Proposed Design
Proposed Design Internship
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SPRING
Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint
Amsonia hubrichtii Blue Star
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Tolerates deer, drought, dry soil, shallow-rocky soil, and air pollution Fragrant leaves Showy and fragrant lavender-blue flowers
Internship
Height: 2 - 3 feet Powdery-blue showy flowers Attracts butterflies Good fall color
Subaru Plant Palette Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ Sage • • • • •
Drought Tolerant Purple flowers with dark stems Fragrant flower and foliage Deer and rabbit resistant Attractive to bees and butterflies
While at PHS, the PLDM team was working on a bid for Subaru’s headquarters. I made seasonal interest pages to highlight the plant palette we proposed. These seasonal interest boards were used to clearly illustrate to the clients which plants we proposed and what the site would look like in different seasons.
Pycnanthemum muticum Mountain Mint • • • • •
Drought Tolerant Pink fragrant flowers Fragrant foliage Attracts butterflies and bees Low-maintenance
Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ Beard Tongue • • •
Drought Tolerant White showy flowers that attract birds and butterflies Colorful leaves
Internship
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Logan Circle Inventory During my internship in the Public Landscapes Design Management department of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, I performed a detailed inventory of the size, type, and location of plant material in Logan Circle, Philadelphia.
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Internship
Internship
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Montgomery County Planning Commission - MCPC As a Community Planner II at the Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC), I have worked on many design-oriented projects. I completed a series of photorenderings for the Main Street Greenways project, aimed at revitalizing downtown areas in several municipalities. These renderings will be used to illustrate different aesthetic and stormwater management improvements that can be made based on the Green Main Streets Primer I helped author. I also created a master plan for a local park that will be used to apply for grant funding in the future. Colleagues have called me in to work on renderings for projects they are working on. I enjoy producing both digital and hand-drawn renderings.
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MCPC
LOWER FREDERICK SIGN
MEADOW
GATHERING SPACE
RAIN GARDEN NATURE PLAY AREA BUFFER PLANTINGS
Scale: 1” = 30’
MCPC
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Artwork I use a variety of mediums to create artwork, including oil paints, watercolors, pencil, mixed media, and many more. I enjoy finding the proper medium for each project, just as I enjoy choosing the right plant for the right place. Art has helped me embrace imperfection, which in turn
has helped me become more confident and relaxed in my design projects. Through art, my designs have gained a bit of whimsy. Given the importance of art and creating in my life, I set aside time everyday to tap into my creative side.
Pen, marker, and Photoshop rendering. 30
Artwork
Watercolor landscape painting. Watercolor
Copper plate etching self portrait. Artwork
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Julia L. W. Detwiler
jlw.detwiler@gmail.com 714.609.8680