Born in Ohio, Peets received an undergraduate degree from Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, in 1912 and a master's degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University in 1915. After graduation, he taught horticulture at Harvard.Arnold R. Alanen, “Elbert Peets” in “Pioneers of American Landscape Design”, Charles A. Birnbaum and Robin Karson, eds. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
