Ecological Gardens applies permaculture design principles to farms and gardens in the 7 county Twin Cities metropolitan area and western Wisconsin. We work with people to help them acquire the necessary skills to create and maintain sustainable landscapes. Ecological Gardens offers a range of customized products and services that can be tailored to meet the needs of individual customers. 

Paula Westmoreland - Owner and Lead Designer

Ecological Gardens was founded in 2000 by Paula Westmoreland and is a member of the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. Paula has a master's degree from the University of Minnesota in Ecology, Sustainable Agriculture, and Landscape Design. She received her Permaculture Design Certificate in 2001. Paula is co-founder and Executive Director of Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate. She has extensive experience in sustainable system design and has created a plant database for building polycultures and guilds. In addition, she is finishing a book of illustrated essays that provide a vision for restoring ecological health to the Greater Blue Earth Watershed in south-central Minnesota.  Paula is passionate about bringing landscapes back to life and integrating humans with the natural world.

Lindsay Rebhan - Designer and Gardener

Lindsay began working with Ecological Gardens in 2005 and currently works on Landscape Design, Marketing, Project Management and Growing the garlic and select perennials. She is a Certified Permaculture Designer and experienced gardener. Lindsay earned her BA in Environmental Studies and Justice and Peace Studies at University of St. Thomas in 2002 and went on to work on permaculture farms in Guatemala for one year. Lindsay is passionate about urban food systems including turning grass to gardens, growing a nursery, homesteading, vermiculture, raising rabbits, composting, rainwater harvest and property design. For fun Lindsay enjoys gardening, cooking, camping, traveling and volunteering. 

Laura Freund - Gardening Crew Leader and Designer

Laura works with Ecological Gardens in Design and Installation. She has a degree in Environmental Horticulture as well as Nature and Land Values from the University of Minnesota and is a certified permaculture designer. She has worked in the horticultural field for the past 9 years, 7 years with landscapes and horticultural crops and 2 years farming. Laura also works at a transitional housing facility for women, where during the warmer months, she encourages backyard farming and composting. In her off time, she enjoys fantasizing that all grassy boulevards are covered in fruit trees, all homes sport greenhouses and urban/suburban dwellers coexist amicably with chickens, goats and Jersey cows.