In a gold frame on Ginger Belnap’s desk sits a quote—a directive from Brigham Young to enhance the world. “Your work,” it concludes, “is to beautify the face of the earth until it shall become like the Garden of Eden.”
Belnap memorized the full quote as part of a college assignment 25 years ago and continues to draw on it for inspiration. As owner and principal designer of Meadow Brook Design, Belnap built her landscape business from the ground up. “I love making spaces for families to make memories. What makes me the most proud is getting a text or call from a former client who tells me how their landscape brings their friends and family together,” says Belnap, whose work has garnered several People’s Choice awards at the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. “That’s the whole goal: to create places of sanctuary.”
Being a landscape designer is more than digging in the dirt. It’s understanding what a client wants, making calculations, and, ultimately, being a problem solver. “Every day has a new challenge,” Belnap says. Whether the obstacle is slopes, elevations, lot designs, or an unexpected gas line, “there’s always something fun to figure out.” And when it all comes together, she notes, “it just feels so good.”
Continual learning is as foundational to Belnap’s work as the plants themselves. As a teen, she learned (the hard way) about poison ivy. Last spring she joined a local farmer in his orchard for a master class on pruning. Weeks later she took a deep dive into the world of pavers so she can be a better bridge between her clients and contractors. “People are always willing to help others grow,” she says, “and there are so many things to learn.”
No matter the subject or project, Belnap is eager to dig in—and her purple boots are at the ready in her SUV because you never know when things are going to get muddy.
Uprooted
Belnap’s early years were filled with outdoor adventures with her four siblings. “We’d take the four-wheeler up the hillside behind our house to explore,” she says of her childhood in Farmington, Utah.
Those growing-up years also included some rudimentary entrepreneurship. When the local school district switched to a year-round schedule, Belnap’s mother transferred her children to the lone school that kept a traditional schedule. “She wanted us to have our summers,” Belnap explains.
The free time also helped launch the Belnap kids’ snow-cone business, which thrived thanks to steady business from the year-round students. “Everyone walking home from school in the summertime wanted a 25-cent snow cone,” Belnap says.
The siblings, who also eventually started a lawn-mowing business and a turkey-raising enterprise, earned enough money to buy themselves a trampoline and a Nintendo. But summers in their household weren’t just about earning money—they were also filled with chores. “Mom woke us up every morning at six to garden,” Belnap says. “It was the worst, but eventually it became something that I really enjoyed.”
When Belnap was 15, her father, an electrical engineer, was transferred to Hudson, New Hampshire. Belnap’s backyard changed from a desert hillside to a dense forest—a setting ripe with new opportunities. “I fell in love with the East Coast and the culture,” she says.
Belnap explored the areas near her Hudson home with her two older brothers and two younger sisters. “We would go out to the forest and pick wild blackberries and raspberries and come home and make pancakes and pies,” she remembers.
Living in the East was a turning point for Belnap in multiple ways. Spiritually, it strengthened her, as there was only one other church member in her graduating class. “Even before I stepped into my high school, people knew I was the ‘new Mormon girl,’” Belnap recalls. She learned how to explain her temple trips to Washington, DC, to her friends, who came to respect her beliefs. “I never had to turn down a drink at a party because my friends did it for me. They watched out for me.”
Likewise, Belnap came to appreciate her friends’ and neighbors’ perspectives: “I enjoyed conversations with people who had different opinions—it’s great to work through your different beliefs and still respect friends for who they are.”
Nursery School
Another turning point came when Belnap took a floral design class in high school. Her teacher, Ms. Raiti, not only handpicked Belnap to join the Future Farmers of America team—which won the state horticulture award during Belnap’s senior year—but also introduced Belnap to the school’s horticultural vocational program.
The program blended part-time school with part-time work at a local nursery. The hands-on experience deepened Belnap’s growing interest in the field. “It was eye-opening to see how intricate each plant was,” says Belnap, who was tasked with watering plants and flowers with her friend Kate.
“I became enthralled with understanding plant material—the different textures and colors.”
While working at the sizeable nursery, Belnap also got her first taste of design. “The owner allowed Kate and me to decorate the entry using whatever plants we wanted,” she says. When a neighbor suggested that Belnap consider landscape design as a profession, Belnap was surprised. “I had no idea it was even a career,” she admits.
The seed that was planted in that conversation came to fruition when Belnap enrolled at Ricks College and majored in landscape horticulture. “My dream was to either be a CEO in New York City or to run my own company,” she says. “When I finished my associate’s degree at Ricks, I had the technical knowledge to be a designer but lacked some of the skills to be a successful business owner.”
Belnap transferred to BYU, eager to expand her expertise and find her footing in the business world.
Fieldwork
As the last fans trickled out of LaVell Edwards Stadium, Belnap and her cohorts had their own task to tackle: postgame stadium cleanup.
Although Belnap had pivoted to study entrepreneurship at BYU Marriott, she kept her horticulture roots strong through working as a TA for a landscape design class and participating in BYU’s Plant and Landscapes Systems Club. To earn funds, the club’s members cleaned sections of the football stadium after each home game. In addition to picking up the trash, students also swept and hosed down the aisles—often on dark nights and in freezing temperatures.
“If it was a late game, we’d be there until 3 a.m.,” Belnap recalls. “You don’t think about things like that when you’re a fan. To this day, I still cringe going to football games because cleaning up the trash was disgusting—and I make sure that my family cleans up after themselves.”
As a BYU Marriott student, Belnap was fascinated by the weekly Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, where founders of companies such as Little Giant Ladder Systems and Cow-Pie Clocks would share their experiences and insights. “I love reading nonfiction and biographies, so the entrepreneurs’ experiences resonated with me,” she says. “It was intriguing to hear about who they were and how they overcame challenges. I could see myself in some of them as I figured out what I wanted in my life.”
By April 2003, Belnap had earned her BS in business management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. Becoming her own boss was just a season away.
Transplanted
Twenty-five-year-old Belnap worked for a Utah County landscape company, Mountain Mist, as a lead designer after graduating from BYU Marriott. She was also dating Dan, a pilot in the Air Force. One weekend he came to Utah, and Belnap sensed that something needed to change.
“I thought, Either I’m going to marry Dan or I’m going to start my own business,” Belnap recalls. Not long after she picked him up from the airport, Dan admitted that he didn’t feel like the relationship would work out, and Belnap’s next step became clear. “I was like, Okay, here I go. I’m starting my own business,” she says.
Although it felt daunting, Belnap knew it was the right move. “I had the capabilities, talents, and knowledge but had to find the courage,” she says. She began to edge forward: building clientele, valuating her time, hiring an accountant, and communicating with subcontractors. Belnap bought a $50 drafting table at a garage sale—one that she still uses—and Meadow Brook Design was officially formed.
The first few years were rocky, as they are for many emerging businesses. It was 2006, just before the economy went downhill, so Belnap taught snowboarding lessons to supplement her income. But by 2010 the side gigs ended as her company grew, and Belnap’s business has kept her busy year-round ever since. “Entrepreneurship has been a good fit for me. I like having parameters that allow me to have freedom,” she says. “I can make this company as big or as small as I want—and right now, I like it small.”
In 2015, Joseph Wing became Belnap’s first employee. They met when Belnap was a guest speaker in a landscape architecture class at Utah State University. “Ginger was an incredible mentor, guiding me on how to create thoughtful, client-centered designs,” says Wing, now a senior associate at G Brown Design. “Everyone loves working with her.”
Belnap treats everyone equally, Wing continues, which is part of what makes her a fantastic leader. “She has a natural ability to resolve issues calmly and effectively, and people truly listen to her. It’s no surprise that her business has grown steadily through word of mouth.”
Out on a Limb
Building her business wasn’t the only time Belnap stretched beyond her comfort zone. As a student, Belnap learned how to create landscape designs by hand. “Anytime I made a mistake or a client wanted to make a change, I redrew the whole thing,” she says. She continued this practice as a professional—until a builder came to her with a directive: “You need to learn AutoCAD.”
Belnap was reluctant, but she “finally bit the bullet” and enrolled in an AutoCAD drafting class at Utah Valley University. “I still draft by hand sometimes,” she admits, “because that feels good to me. But everything goes into AutoCAD so it’s easy to make changes and get measurements for contractors.”
That lesson reinforced the importance of staying competitive. Even in the landscape industry, Belnap says, there is always new plant material to evaluate or a new computer system to master. “You can’t stay in the same place; you’ve got to keep moving forward.”
As Belnap was adapting to the challenges and making a name for herself professionally, her personal life was on the brink of a change.
Family Tree
Your future husband is speaking right now. Where are you?
Belnap rubbed her eyes as she read the text message from a young woman in her ward. Belnap—who had bought a home in American Fork, Utah, and was attending a family ward—had slept through her alarm on a Sunday morning after returning from a mountain-biking trip in southern Utah at 3 a.m.
Still groggy, Belnap picked up her phone to respond: There’s no one single in our ward.
For real, the teen wrote back, the guy giving a talk right now is.
About six months later, the speaker, Covy Jones, reached out to Belnap. “You probably don’t know me,” Jones said when he called, “but I’m in your ward.”
Belnap, not wanting to beat around the bush, replied, “You’re the hot guy that all the Young Women want me to go out with.”
Their first date was going on a run, followed by eating leftovers at Jones’s house. “What I loved about the date was that Covy was open and honest, and spending time together was super easy,” she says.
Belnap and Jones, who had three children from his previous marriage, tied the knot in March 2018. “The decision to be married was hard—it wasn’t a typical love story,” Belnap recalls. But once she made the decision, she was all in.
“We still had to find tools to work through difficult situations that neither one of us knew how to navigate,” she says. “Sometimes those tools came through prayer, and sometimes those tools came through a great marriage counselor.”
In Her Element
Ask Belnap about her hobbies and you’ll get a list of activities that have two common elements: nature and adventure. From hiking and biking to rock climbing, snowboarding, skiing, hunting, and boating, it’s clear that the outdoors is Belnap’s happy place. “The mental release that comes from being outside is something that my body and my mind crave,” she says.
Belnap starts every morning with an outdoor activity, such as hiking or taking her dog on a walk near her home in Pleasant Grove, Utah. “If I’m not outside for the first part of the day, it’s hard for me to focus,” she says.
The fresh air not only helps Belnap thrive, it also helps her segment her work life from her homelife. “When your office is in your home, it can be hard to separate the two. Going for a walk is helpful,” she explains. “Even after a hard day of work, sometimes I still have to go outside so I can transition to focus on my family.”
Family is another common thread in Belnap’s hobbies, as family members often join her on her adventures. “I didn’t want to give up my hobbies when I got married, but I also wanted to spend time with my family,” Belnap says. “I realized I ought to combine the two.”
Jones, who works for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as a wildlife section chief, shares Belnap’s love for the outdoors. The couple enjoys fishing, skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking together and has plans to hike the W Trek in Patagonia in 2026. Working hard is important, Belnap says, “but not so hard that your career becomes your only passion.”
Down to Earth
Another passion of Belnap’s combines her love of creating and exploring with her desire to do good. In 2009 her singles-ward bishop traveled to Guatemala to provide cleft palate surgeries. While there, he saw more opportunities to serve, so he gathered additional volunteers to return and build homes. Belnap got involved and has been on most of the group’s excursions in the past two decades.
The organization, originally called Hirsche Homes and renamed Project Homes of Hope, completes upward of 20 homes during each excursion. “It’s so nice to give back and be reminded of what we can offer others,” Belnap says. “My problems seem petty when compared to what other people around the world experience.”
The homes the volunteers build are basic: 30-inch cinder-block foundation walls, two-by-fours, corrugated metal, solar lights, and concrete floors to reduce diseases. The concrete is donated by a company in Utah, and ticket sales from Utah County’s annual Alpine Living Nativity cover the other expenses.
“One of the women we built a home for had six children and lost her husband to suicide,” Belnap says of the spring 2025 excursion. “Another home went to a girl who was beat by her father, so she could have her own place.”
The volunteer group has grown close over the years. “We’re like family,” describes Belnap, who also serves on the Project Homes of Hope board of directors. “I got my husband to come along in 2024, and he fell in love with the experience too.”
Second Nature
As Utah begins to thaw each spring, Belnap’s work schedule becomes saturated. “Everyone gets excited to landscape because they want to enjoy their yards through the summer,” she says. Despite the extra-busy season, the effort pays off not only for clients but also for Belnap. “I love seeing what we envision come to reality.”
Belnap still finds herself intrigued with nature’s beauty, just like when she was a teenager admiring plants at the local nursery. “What God has created is incredible—the interesting little details of each plant and how they all work together,” she says. “There’s nothing more beautiful than an untouched mountain range or a summertime meadow in bloom. I’m humbled by the simple beauties that God has given us. There is healing being in the dirt and being with the Earth.”
Pro Tips
Belnap shares three principles to help homeowners who are plotting landscape projects:
- Landscape design is not done when it’s installed, so plan—and maintain—accordingly. It takes time for plants to develop. Plant material is not a piece of furniture—it’s not going to stay the same size. If you want a 15-foot tree for privacy, you must decide whether you want privacy now or whether you’re willing to wait.
- From design to reality, expect a 20 percent change. Unforeseen challenges are part of every project. Be willing to work with your contractor and your landscape designer to get the right direction, but know there will always be little tweaks.
- Understand your space and what your goals are for it. There have been many times when I show up to a remodel and the owners have a $10,000 firepit that hasn’t been used in years. Prioritize items your family will love and use and set realistic budgets.
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Written by Emily Edmonds
Photography by Bradley Slade
