Landscape Architects

If you've just bought a new house, take a look out your back window. Is your plot simply a pile of dirt ready for planting? Or if it's already seeded or laid with sod, does your land still look more like a fairway than a lawn? Though there's nothing wrong with green grass, there's more to landscaping than occasional upkeep. In fact, the options are limitless. There is such a wide variety of vegetation and decoration, the options can be intimidating. In fact, many people throw in the towel before they even begin. We're not all born with green thumbs, and some of us don't even know what's available. This is where landscape architects come in to plan, coordinate, and implement original landscape designs to specifically fit your needs.

The Natural Blueprint
Just as you hire an architect to build your home, a licensed landscape architect is trained to create blueprints for your exterior. These professionals can work in the commercial field, designing golf courses and public parks, but often they work in the residential market, helping to renovate homeowners' yards. Though not necessarily hired to achieve the final physical results, they do create the initial vision of a yard's potential. After consulting with you to understand the size and nature of the remodel, they'll then focus on cost, function, and aesthetics to devise their proposal. Once they blend your specific needs with their own unique ideas (often using a CAD to create mockups), they'll then present several revisions of the project until getting your final approval.

An Array of Landscape Architecture
Landscape architects have extensive command over several areas of landscape architecture. Most often they work with vegetation: choosing native flowers, trees, and shrubbery that can best thrive in your specific region. But they're not limited to botany. In their landscape design, they can also include fencing, decking, patios and covers, rock beds, mulching, pavers, masonry, stone work, gazebos, pergolas, sprinkler systems, pool decks, and various water features (fountains, waterfalls, pools, spas, and ponds with fish). They can incorporate invisible fences, lighting features, retaining walls, play areas, and storage sheds into their proposal. Plus, they'll devise plans for grading, electrical work, plumbing, or drainage if necessary. And, of course, they can address the need for grass, sod, or even xeriscaping (desert landscaping) if your area requires it.

Organic Organization
These professionals coordinate your project on several levels. You can simply hire them to organize a blueprint, which involves a lot of natural micromanaging. When it comes to vegetation, placement is essential. You may think anybody can plant foliage, but there is a science to it in terms of species selection and proper positioning. Every type of plant has individual requirements and necessities. Therefore, these experts know where to locate every plant in relation to the other. Not only do they know which arrangement pleases the eye, they're also concerned about more practical matters, such as growth potential. Each plant develops differently so proper plant placement is important to ensure survival. And these landscaping specialists are knowledgeable about each species and their particular growth spans, so as root structures and limbs branch out they won't entangle, block the sun, or otherwise interfere with their overall growth.

Comprehensive Coordinators
However, these designers are not only qualified to arrange the landscape architecture in the abstract, they can also coordinate the entire installation of the project. Many work with their own crews or subcontract from reputable specialists to help the project go quick and easy. There are lots of tricks to proper planting (weed covers, grass removal, dirt fill, sand grading) and even the simplest of tasks bring with them their own problems and solutions. So, especially for bigger projects, it's always best to hire a professional landscaping crew. However, though these exterior designers can organize labor and may be able to get you a good deal on the price, once you've paid the landscape architect for their blueprint, it's yours to own. Therefore you can always hire your own contractors, do some simple chores yourself, or slowly complete certain stages of the plan at your own pace.