Our Designer
Melanie Hotham, MLA,ASLA is the Landscape Designer and Manager of the Landscape Department at F&M Contractors. Melanie earned her master’s degree in Landscape Architecture (MLA) from Morgan State University, graduating with honors and was awarded the American Society of Landscape Architects Maryland Chapter Student Merit Award for her innovative work specializing in native plants and rainwater management. She is passionate about creating spaces that connect people to nature and provide areas of relaxation and respite.
In her free time, Melanie likes to attend gardening, agricultural and horticultural shows and seminars, and research horticultural techniques and design trends so that she can bring the most up-to-date designs and materials to her clients. For several years, Melanie worked at Valley View Farms, one of the top nurseries in the region. A mainstay in the Nursery department, she became an expert in native plants. Prior to joining the F&M team she earned a coveted internship at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore which exponentially increased her horticultural knowledge and nurtured her desire to create environmentally conscious landscapes.
Melanie is an avid gardener, in the spring and summer, you usually find her and her dog, Millie, in her native flower garden or vegetable garden. Her guilty pleasure is finding and collecting new certifications for wildlife habitats. Her collection includes University of Maryland Extension Office Bay Wise Certification, National Audubon Society Plants for Birds Certification, National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat Certification, Monarch Weigh Station Certification, Patterson Park Audubon Society Bird Friendly Habitat Certification, and The Xerces Society Pollinator Habitat Certification. She is also actively involved in her community and enjoys helping to improve the community’s environmental footprint. She has led several major initiatives to improve shared outdoor spaces for humans, animals, and plants.
