Katie Elder has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art, with a concentration in drawing and lithography, from Converse College, Spartanburg, South Carolina. After deciding to remain in her hometown, she went on to study horticulture at Spartanburg Community College. While reconciling her two loves in what were seemingly unrelated studies—art and plants—Katie discovered a thing called landsca
pe design. A few years later, she has realized that the most fulfilling way for her to create is to design the landscape—followed, not far behind, by drawing in charcoal. In landscape design, she considers it working with four dimensions. Because along with height, width, and depth, there is the issue of time. She regards time as the most fascinating (and most difficult) dimension to work with in every possible aspect—most folks would agree on that. She is a multigenerational native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, and proudly resides on a parcel of fourteen acres consisting of gardens, meadow, and hardwoods with her husband, three dogs, three cats, and two birds. Her favorite part about the land is the grove of mature American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia, growing at the center near a gully. Katie now provides Spartanburg, and the upstate, with her horticultural and landscape design services.
