Garden Designers, Landscape Architects, and Landscapers. What’s the difference?

Week 1: Garden Designers

Who should I hire for my landscaping?  This is often one of the first questions homeowners ask.  Everyone has a long wish list which may get muddled with actual needs. A great way to help reduce anxiety is to first look at your personal budget.

This can feel scary and that’s ok.  You may not know what things cost because you are not in the landscape profession.  A good architect, designer, and installer will help remind you of the budget and if you wish to increase the scope of the project what that additional cost will do to the budget.  

Make a realistic budget. One rule of thumb is to invest 10 to 20 percent of your home’s value. If this seems high, consider those landscape improvements return 100 to 200 percent of their cost when a house is sold and according to the American Society of Landscape Architects.  Resale value is always good to keep in mind. Rome was not built in a day so consider doing the installation in phases over several years if you wish. 

This 3 part blog series will help you to decide which professional service is best for your family.  

Garden Designers: Many garden designers enjoy working on residential homeowner projects and partner with landscape architect firms on commercial properties. Some garden designers may have training equivalent to a landscape architect such as using computer added drafting (CAD) and having an undergrad or graduate degree in garden design or architecture.  One key difference is that designers do not have the state landscape architect license. A garden designer may need to send CAD technical specs to an architect or a civil engineer to review and receive the stamp that is required by the licensed professional for many permits.  

Competent garden designers are knowledgeable about performing site surveys, site analysis, plants, trees, soil types, drainage, irrigation, diseases, pests, hardscapes, patios, outdoor structures including pavilions, pergolas, fire pits, managing the contractor bidding process, permits, and project management.    

While some landscape designers are self-taught most have taken courses at a college, university, through an extension or certificate program, or online.  Today in the United States we are seeing more degrees in garden design in addition to the traditional horticulture 2-year program.  Many worked in previous fields before transitioning to garden design which brings an additional depth to their work such as strong project management skills, communication/bilingual, and business aptitude.  To put it bluntly:  One does not become a garden designer overnight.  

Think of your designer as your garden consultant.  You may not always love what the consultant says.

Real life example: I know you want a cactus garden outside but those will not grow to their fullest potential in the rainforest or I know you LOVE that hardscape but you will end up falling and breaking your hip as it gets slippery when it rains and there are some great hardscape alternatives available. Your consultant will be there to be your advocate especially for the implementation of your project where the majority of your budget is spent with contractors.  Your designer also knows which trades to call in and the best contractor for your personality and budget.   

Garden Girl client’s contract and pay the sub-contractors directly without a mark-up which becomes a significant saving if you need to bring in more than one sub (electrician for water/lights and nursery stock installers).    

Garden Girl has over an 85% success rate of her clients saving more on the installation than they paid for the garden design itself.  Cost savings occurred by selecting contractors’ bids, nursery stock, doing the installation in the right order, and listening to their consultant. The remaining 15% were mostly due to new feature requests and changes made mid-installation. It’s much more affordable to make changes on the plan (paper) not while the excavator is digging and a crew of five are standing around while you decide where to suddenly place a new pond.   

Not to mention saving months of frustration ripping out and replacing resources. Nobody has time for that.

Garden Girl provides business to over 30 small businesses including hiring artistic women that carve wood, stone and can handle a chainsaw.  All these jobs impact the local community, schools, and the installers' mortgage payments.  

Costs: Varies by state but expect to spend a minimum of $100.00 per hour for a trained garden designer's time.  Designers who produce work in CAD charge more per hour.  Many designers charge similar to landscape architects: 15-minute increments for time spent on projects, responding to client requests via email/phone or in-person meetings, and travel time.  

Have a Plan. Plan the Work. Work the Plan.

To drive this point home, Garden Girl always recommends vetting the contractors. At a minimum, your contractor should be licensed and bonded and insured. Always check your states website to ensure the contractors license and insurance paperwork is current. Working with Garden Girl means that you will get access to her list of professional preferred installers.