She is a long-time landscape designer who studied Architecture at Universidade Santa Ursula in Rio de Janeiro, and Horticulture at William Rainey Harper College in Chicago.

She has had the good fortune to live in many different cities, which gave her the opportunity to work with a great variety of plant materials, garden styles and US climate zones.

In 1989 she met Roberto Burle Marx, a highly respected Brazilian designer, and spent a week in his office in Rio de Janeiro. Amelia now teaches about Burle Marx’s gardens and his legacy to the modern garden design movement.

Her work has been featured in various publications including Sunset Magazine, Sunset The New York Times, Fine Gardening Magazine, and more.