Leah Klooster - Senior Landscape Designer

Landscape Industry Since:     2012
Signature Landscape Since:   2016

Leah grew up on a dairy farm in southeast Nebraska. From a young age, she learned to take care of the garden, pull weeds in the beds, trim shrubs, and was often responsible for mowing. She grew interested in art in high school, as well in plants while doing landscaping work at the local Homestead National Monument. In college, she combined these two interests and pursued both a bachelor’s degree in art, and bachelor’s degree in horticulture.

She worked at the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum during college, where she formed her basis for proper horticultural practices in planting as well as management techniques in the landscape. She developed her plant knowledge by managing rain gardens and other stormwater facilities, as well as a new landscape at a historic building in downtown Lincoln, NE. The experience caring for these landscapes, combined with design work for various projects around the state of Nebraska, reinforced her love for both design and plants in the landscape.

Leah continued work in the field on landscape crews as well as working in graphic design after college, and these experiences helped build her foundation for a career in landscape design. She worked in residential landscape design in St. Joseph, Missouri before coming to Signature Landscape and serving as a Landscape Designer primarily for commercial properties. She enjoys that she can influence the beautiful landscapes at many prestigious properties around the Kansas City metro. Leah values planting both for aesthetics as well as functionality. She is continually going back to previous projects she has worked on to see what plants are doing well in both the overall Kansas City climate, as well as the microclimate on the specific property. Leah also enjoys photography and social media management for Signature.

In her free time, Leah enjoys running, biking, skiing, and hanging out with her husband watching sports. She also enjoys baking desserts and managing her own plants in her yard, with the help of her Blue Heeler, Winston.