Sydney B. Stephan, Owner

Owner and Founder, Sydney B. Stephan, has been in the landscape business since high school. He attained the Masters Degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1973. Mr. Stephan is married with six children, all of whom are active in the family business.

Horticulture Services, as its name implies, was founded in 1989 to fulfill a crucial, but lacking need in Twin Cities commercial landscaping. Earlier in his career, Mr. Stephan had been working as a foreman for a large commercial landscape construction firm. After installing a quality landscape, he would often see the health of the plantings quickly decline due to a lack of professional management. This was especially obvious with the trees, shrubs, and perennials on office campuses and townhome associations. As developers and property managers began to see the difference that professional, horticulturally based management could make on their properties, Mr. Stephan’s fledgling company grew quickly.

Eric Ofstedahl, Irrigation Operations Manager
Eric, a native of a family farm near LaCrosse Wisconsin is the longest tenured employee at Horticulture Services. Eric has a Bachelors degree in Agriculture Engineering from the University of Wisconsin River Falls and Masters Degree from St Vladimir’s Seminary in New York. Eric oversees all irrigation maintenance and construction operations for Irritech Irrigation, Horticulture Services’ irrigation division. Eric has become especially adept at upgrading existing irrigation systems both by modifying heads in the ground to run at maximum efficiency and by researching and implementing water saving technologies. Eric and his family reside in St. Croix Falls, WI.

Jason Schott, Account Manager/Snow Removal Coordinator
Jason was raised on a cattle ranch on the plains of South Dakota. Jason received his Bachelors Degree from Northwestern College, and a Masters Degree from Bethel Seminary. Jason’s primary role is to serve as an account manager, where he works individually with customers to provide them with exceptional service on their property. As an account manager Jason handles all types of projects but excels at dealing with the challenges provided by newly constructed properties. Jason also fills many other roles, including Human Resources and Snow removal Coordination. Jason lives in NE Minneapolis.

Catherine Nickelson, Horticulturist
From a young age, Cathy has been involved in the family business. Cathy received her Bachelors Degree in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota. Cathy now serves as Nursery Manager, Seasonal Color Coordinator, and Horticulturist for the company. Cathy’s skills are most prominently displayed in the seasonal color plantings that she plans for many of our sites. Cathy and her family live in Scandia.

David Stephan, Landscape Designer
Dave has been employed by Horticulture Services, LLC since his youth. He received his Bachelors Degree in Landscape Design from the University of Minnesota, and currently serves as Horticulture Services’ Landscape Designer. Dave typically has the challenge of planning changes to existing landscapes due to aging plants or poor original design. Dave and his wife live in Woodbury.

Jeff Wilson Account Manager/Estimator
Jeff was raised on a farm in northwest Iowa where he developed his interest in the outdoors. Jeff received his Bachelors Degree in Education and his Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from Bethel University. Jeff’s Primary role is to serve as an account manger where he interacts with customers to meet the unique demands of each individual site. Jeff specializes in working with sites with maturing landscapes, including both commercial and residential multi-family sites. In this role Jeff deals with many of the challenges inherent to a maturing site both in regard to plant overgrowth and disease. Jeff also serves as Horticulture Services’ primary estimator and technology coordinator. Jeff and his family live in Columbia Heights.