Melissa Cowper-Smith

Melissa Cowper-Smith is a Central Arkansas-based real estate professional, artist, and advocate for creative and land-based living. Originally from Alberta, Canada, she holds a Master of Arts from Hunter College in New York City and now lives near Morrilton, where she and her family created Wildland Gardens—a thriving space for growing regional plants, making art, and connecting with the land. Melissa is an award-winning artist and dedicated gardener, known for her botanical papermaking and the use of plants grown at Wildland Gardens. She actively supports Arkansas’s artists, craftspeople, and small-scale farmers, and values deep, place-based knowledge and creative, hands-on living. Whether growing herbs, sharing garden starts, or connecting with others through art, she believes in the richness of work that is rooted in care, tradition, and a sense of belonging. Find out more about her work at https://www.cowpersmith.com