If you’re ready to get serious about your landscape, it’s important to do it right.
Lush lawns and gardens don’t create themselves. Here’s how to work with a landscaping professional for a smooth process and pleasing results.
Determine which type of landscape pro suits your needs. Before you get started, you’ll need to determine the skill set that best matches the scope of work you have in mind.
Landscape architects, who typically hold advanced degrees in their field, are trained to develop comprehensive structural plans that include plants, hardscaping, water use, drainage and more.
Landscape designers, by contrast, specialize in the aesthetic and horticultural, rather than structural, side of yard and garden planning. They may or may not have advanced training.
Landscape contractors implement the plans laid out by a landscape architect or designer. In some cases, a landscape contractor also provides design services. Depending on your vision for your yard, you may want to use any or all of these types of professionals.
Set a budget. Just as with interior design and remodeling projects, have a firm idea of what you want to spend before you contact a pro. Not only will this give the landscaper a starting point and a helpful set of parameters, it will save both of you frustration down the road. You don’t want to fall in love with sketches of lavish flowers and stately trees, only to find out they’re beyond reach, and a pro doesn’t want to waste time drawing up detailed plans that will later have to be scratched.
