(05/12/25) HAMMOND, La. — Like a lot of teenagers, Damon Abdi’s first jobs were part-time gigs at fast food joints. He tired of that sort of work quickly.

“I was like, ‘I really want to do something outside,’” recalled Abdi, who grew up in Maryland. “I wanted to be able to get some fresh air and build something with my hands.”

Luckily, one summer, he landed a new job that fit the bill: as a laborer for a landscape contractor. He liked it so much that he decided he wanted to start his own landscaping business one day.

“I knew I wanted to make a career of it,” Abdi said. “Not just for the outside part, but the capacity to create your own vision and put that in the landscape was something I really enjoyed.”

When he enrolled at Pennsylvania State University, he chose landscape contracting as his major. But his career plans began to shift as he realized that he enjoyed learning about the science behind growing plants.

Abdi went on to earn a doctorate in horticulture from Michigan State University, and since 2021, he’s been an assistant professor of landscape horticulture at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station. He recently was named to the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Professorship.

Abdi’s work covers a wide array of issues and brings him into contact with horticulturists of all stripes.

“My overarching goal is to develop solutions and resources to assist landscape contractors and other green industry professionals as well as home horticulturists and anybody with an interest in plants,” he said.

With a 70% extension appointment, Abdi spends much of his time educating people — working especially closely with industry groups like the Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Association, which earlier this year presented him its Young Professional of the Year award.

“I serve as that liaison between what they are seeing in the field and their challenges and then what AgCenter resources can do with them,” Abdi said. “I work closely with them for all of their events, especially with regard to continuing education and helping to grow the industry, get more people licensed and encourage best management practices.”

He also participates in Master Gardener outreach efforts, conducts workshops on topics like how to build patios and writes articles and fact sheets. He’s even on Martha Stewart’s rotation of experts who are interviewed for gardening advice — including in a recent online piece on plants that grow well from seed.

On the research front, Abdi’s focus is water management, including runoff mitigation and nature-based solutions such as rain gardens. Other projects include studies on tree establishment, mulching techniques, frost protection fabrics and reducing the environmental impact of nursery and greenhouse production. He also is involved in plant evaluations at the station, which is home to extensive trial gardens.

Louisiana’s climate and landscapes are much different than what Abdi was accustomed to back home in Maryland and at the universities he attended. That was part of the appeal of coming to work for the LSU AgCenter, he said.

“I thought it would be cool to be able to see a different plant palette and some of the unique opportunities and challenges in Louisiana,” he said. “With my background in research in water management, it seemed like a very perfect fit to be able to come to an area where I can use landscapes and landscape engineering to addresses prominent issues like water management.”

Even though his career took a different direction than he originally expected, he’s happy with where it has led him.

“It’s a lot different than starting a landscaping company, but now I get to help people with their companies, and that’s a really fulfilling thing,” he said. “It’s sort of similar — same row, but different seed.”

Damon Abdi, assistant professor of landscape horticulture, stands with petunias in a greenhouse at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter