Portrait by Christiaan Blok The designer leans against a fence she made from strips of steel and accented with rock “finials.”

Landscape architect Margaret Joplin creates magic in the garden with desert flora and salvaged materials

Like many teenagers, Margaret Joplin wasn’t sure where life would take her after high school. So when a friend gave the Oklahoma City native a brochure on Prescott, Arizona, she decided to head West. “It sounded cool,” she recalls. “I had no idea what I was going to do. I just wanted to get away and experience something new.” Joplin signed up for classes in rock climbing, backpacking and weaving at Prescott College. Later she studied drawing and printmaking.

During her college years she worked at a local plant nursery. “One of the owners introduced me to cacti and succulents and opened my eyes to the world of plants,” she says. Five years later, Joplin headed down to the University of Arizona in Tucson to study landscape architecture.

While working on her bachelor’s degree, she got married and had Malyn, the first of two daughters. “She was born on spring break and I took her to plant class and she would sleep under my desk,” Joplin remembers.

After graduating with honors in 1985, she took a job designing for a Tucson land-development firm. But it wasn’t until Joplin attended a seminar on public art that she found her true calling. In 1990, she established Design Collaborations Ltd., an architectural design and public art consultation firm. Since then, she has created award-winning public art installations, along with residential and commercial landscapes.

Joplin credits her father, a lawyer who loved to paint and sculpt, with being a strong influence, and is grateful that her family allowed her to “float a while” before deciding on a profession. She also says her art and nursery experience had a profound effect on her. “I take a huge vested interest in plants,” states this Master of the Southwest. “I want to know everything about them so I can figure out what will do well in the long run.”

Known for her innovative use of salvaged materials, Joplin, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, has consistently received praise for her imagination. For an 80-acre project in Patagonia, Arizona, Joplin was involved in every aspect of the job, from designing a pool and spa to fencing, pots, hardscaping and landscaping. “During that time she worked diligently at finding the right plants and materials for our unusual terrain to make our project unique,” the homeowner says.

In 2007, Joplin—who lives with her husband, Michael, a glassblower, and their younger daughter, Melanie—embarked on a new venture: Pure Beauty. An offshoot of her design business, the company offers horticultural services, plants and a retail shop featuring one-of-a-kind home and garden products.

“I wanted to share things with others that I find beautiful: handcrafted, Modern, eco-friendly and repurposed,” she explains. “The time was right, and I wanted to be able to look back at my life and know I had done all the things I had dreamed about.”