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About Us

Making Minnesota Backyard Dreams a Luxurious Reality

luxury in-ground pool in a backyard

Merging Outdoor Innovations With Nature’s Quest

In January 2024, Nature’s Quest Inc. made the exciting move to merge with Outdoor Innovations Landscaping. With similar values in dedication to high-quality builds and being leaders in the landscape industry, it was a beneficial switch to expand our team and expertise. By merging our companies, we bring over 20 years of experience crafting luxury backyards and offer even more opportunities to better serve our customers.

You can reach Casey directly at 651-755-7028, or simply contact us at Outdoor Innovations to get in touch.

Creating Luxury Backyards for the Twin Cities and Beyond

Located in Hugo, Minnesota, our Outdoor Innovations Landscaping team designs and builds luxury backyard living spaces to match your dream.

Our team at Outdoor Innovations covers these Minnesota cities and more:

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Afton
Dellwood
Grant

Eagan

Hudson, WI
Lake Elmo
Mendota Heights
Minneapolis
Minnetonka
North Oaks
Orono
St. Paul
Stillwater
Woodbury

Make Your Dream Backyard a Reality

Outdoor Innovations creates stunning and luxurious outdoor spaces using the highest quality materials to deliver a beautiful and functional base for your backyard dreams. If you’d like to showcase your space with our custom backyard creations, contact us today to get started.

Meet Our Outdoor Innovations Team

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Asher Judd

Owner/Operator
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Craig Palmer

Owner/Operator

Craig founded his first landscaping business, CP Landscapes, in 2001 while studying Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He expanded that venture and co-founded Outdoor Innovations with Asher Judd in 2007, which has been thriving and strengthening ever since.

Craig now oversees design, management, and sales and marketing for Outdoor Innovations.

In 2006, Craig married his wife Katie, and they are kept very busy raising their three sons: Ty, Garrett, and Tucker.

As an active, outdoor-loving family, they engage in baseball, shooting sports, golf, basketball, fishing, hunting, and the general chaos that comes with three energetic boys!

 

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Eric Monzel

Operations Manager

Eric has been with Outdoor Innovations Landscaping since 2021. Prior to joining us, Eric accumulated 26 years of experience in the landscaping industry.

Eric oversees our foremen, managing purchase orders and coordinating schedules with field contractors.

Eric is married and has two children.

In his free time, you will often find Eric fishing on a lake. He is a passionate fisherman and also enjoys hunting.

 

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Karina Bauer

Office Manager/Accounting
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Sepesitiano “Tiano” Pupungatoa

Sales & Design Consultant
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Casey Hedeen

Sales & Design Consultant

Casey is one of our Landscape Design Build Consultants and strives to be a leader in the hardscape industry.

Casey previously owned Nature's Quest Inc. in Hastings for 21 years, and as of January 1, 2024, Casey’s company merged with Outdoor Innovations.

Casey has extensive experience in every facet of the landscaping industry and is dedicated to his customers, providing the best quality products, production, and care.

 

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Trenton Dockendorf

Hardscape Foreman
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Devin Quam

Hardscape Manager
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Blake Herold

Hardscape Foreman
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Tyler Whitaker

Hardscape Excavation & Heavy Equipment Foreman
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Tim Erb

Landscape Foreman
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Ian Golladay

Landscape Foreman
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Owner/Operator

Asher Judd

Asher started his first landscape company back in 2001. He did this full-time and grew his business so much that he joined forces with Craig Palmer who also had a landscaping company and together, in 2007 they created Outdoor Innovations Landscaping.  Since 2007 they have grown their business, fleet, and manpower! Asher plays a very versatile role within the company. He does design, and sales. He also manages the entire team and is very hands-on with our scheduling! You will often find Asher unloading trucks or on job sites always willing to lend a hand.

Asher married his wife, Tracy in 2011 and they have two children, Jaxon and Alexa. They are a very active family and enjoy the outdoors, swimming, boating, fishing, shooting sports, hunting, and traveling. When he can find the time, Asher enjoys riding his motorcycle and working out at the gym. 

Asher is an integral part of the company and is very hands-on in the day-to-day operations.

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Owner/Operator

Craig Palmer

Craig co-founded Outdoor Innovations in 2007 with Asher Judd. He designs, manages, and oversees sales and marketing for the company, ensuring that OIL continues to thrive. Craig started his career with his own landscaping company, CP Landscapes, in 2001 while simultaneously pursuing a degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Craig and his wife, Katie, are busy raising three boys. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors and various sports with his family, including baseball, shooting, golf, basketball, fishing, hunting, and more.

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Operations Manager

Eric Monzel

Eric has been a staple to Outdoor Innovations since 2021. With over 26 years of experience in landscaping prior to working with us, he’s an expert in the industry and an indispensable part of our team. He oversees our foremen, manages purchase orders, and coordinates schedules with field contractors.

Eric is married and has two children. In his free time, he loves being on the lake, fishing, and hunting.

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Office Manager/Accounting

Karina Bauer

Karina has been a staple to Outdoor Innovations with her management expertise. With a Business Management degree with a marketing focus and various certifications, she has been ensuring smooth business operations since 2004. After joining our OIL team in 2024, she became well-known as the “office mom” because she keeps the office clean and well-stocked with food and coffee, so no one goes hungry or has to survive without caffeine. On top of all that, she’s also the unofficial photographer for our backyard projects.

In her free time, Karina loves spending time with her husband, John, and their four children while also supporting her non-profit organization, Wheel House Warriors, which supports veterans, active military, and first responders. Karina loves the outdoors and a variety of activities: playing with her pets, ice fishing, waterfall hiking, camping, playing piano, reading, cooking, baking, and watching both the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey teams.

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Sales & Design Consultant

Sepesitiano “Tiano” Pupungatoa

Sepesitiano, AKA Tiano or T, became part of the Outdoor Innovations family in 2020. Tiano started working for a landscaping company when he was 12 and has been passionate about it ever since. Prior to working with us, he studied Business and Landscape Architecture. Tiano brings incredible skill, leadership abilities, attention to detail, and a great personality to our OIL team. He delivers clients with high-quality 2D and 3D designs, phenomenal customer service, and outstanding results.

Tiano played college football for five years at South Dakota State University before signing with the Minnesota Vikings. With his football career now behind him, he and his girlfriend, Maggie, love golfing, hiking, and going to the movies together.

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Sales & Design Consultant

Casey Hedeen

Casey joined Outdoor Innovations in January 2024 after our companies merged. Prior to joining our OIL family, he owned and operated his company, Nature’s Quest Inc., for over 21 years. With extensive experience in the landscaping industry, he strives to be a leader in the hardscaping industry by providing the best service, quality products, production, and care to his customers.

In his free time, Casey enjoys exploring the outdoors with his three kids, hunting and fishing around the world, and finding new adventures.

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Hardscape Foreman

Trenton Dockendorf

Trenton joined Outdoor Innovations in June 2014 after graduating from high school. Directly trained by our OIL owners, he brings invaluable experience to our team and plays a huge role in the company’s success. His dedication, hard work, and leadership abilities make him indispensable to our team.

Trenton and his wife, Jaelyn, are enjoying their life together with their black lab, Reggie. In his free time, Trenton is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, fishing, and camping.

Hardscape Manager

Devin Quam

Devin joined our Outdoor Innovations team in May of 2013. Before joining the OIL family, Devin worked in the oil fields in North Dakota. As a hardscape manager, he’s a great asset to our team.

In his free time, Devin loves camping, spending days on the lake, and going for rides on the pontoon.

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Hardscape Foreman

Blake Herold

Since starting in April 2020, Blake has proven to be an invaluable member of the Outdoor Innovations Landscaping team. Prior to working with us, he was a member of the carpenters union. His expertise in quality control in projects exemplifies his craftsmanship and his skills and leadership abilities contribute significantly to our success.

Blake and his girlfriend, Rachel, are proud parents to three beautiful children. Their household is always lively with two toddlers and an infant. Despite a busy family life, Blake loves golfing, snowboarding, and cliff jumping when he finds free time.

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Excavation & Heavy Equipment Foreman

Tyler Whitaker

Tyler has been working for Outdoor Innovations since the summer of 2017. While pursuing his welding certifications (completed in 2018), he worked seasonally for OIL to help plow snow. After spending a couple of years at Rosenbauer working on generators for fire trucks, he decided to work for us full-time in 2020. Prior to all this, Tyler served active duty in the Marine Corps for four years. Tyler’s character, integrity, and leadership abilities make him a huge asset to our team, and he brings incredible skill to any job site with his heavy machinery abilities.

Tyler and his wife, Amanda, have over 17 years of combined years in the military and live with their beautiful daughter and their fur baby, a chocolate lab named Jake. In his spare time, he loves hockey, hunting, and whiskey tasting—in no particular order.

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Landscape Foreman

Tim Erb

With an extensive background in outdoor landscaping, Tim has been a huge asset to the OIL team since 2012. For 12 years, he owned and operated his own landscaping business, and now he applies his skills at Outdoor Innovations. He’s an exceptional employee who always goes the extra mile to complete tasks, and he delivers invaluable expertise and meticulousness to our company.

When he’s not working, Tim loves to fish in his free time.

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Landscape Foreman

Ian Golladay

Since starting in May 2024, Ian has been an asset to the Outdoor Innovation team with his passion for both hardscaping and landscaping installations. With his extensive knowledge and skills, he provides amazing quality craftsmanship at every opportunity and does well leading and teaching others on the team.

Growing up in Central Wisconsin, Ian and his family have ties to state forestry and Christmas Tree Farming. He and his wife got married in 2018 and settled down in St. Croix Falls, WI with their two children. When he’s not working, Ian loves being outside, fishing, hunting, hiking, swimming, and having bonfires. He also loves cooking for his family and friends.