10 Times to Hire a Landscape Architect

SOURCE: Houzz

This pro can solve problems, ensure that your home and landscape complement each other and help design special features

Wondering if it’s time to hire a landscape architect? These are licensed and trained professionals who design and plan outdoor spaces that are made for living. If you’re thinking about designing your outdoor dream space, want to add value to your home with landscaping or need help working with challenging terrain, a landscape architect might be the pro you need in your corner. Here are 10 times it makes sense to work with a landscape architect to help your outdoor space flourish.

1. You Want a Landscape Design That Fits With Your Home’s Architecture

Landscape architects are skilled at creating designs that work with not just the surrounding terrain but also the architecture of your home. On this 3½-acre property in Hudson, New York, landscape architect Dale Schafer of Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture designed a garden that complements the home’s modern architecture. Schafer’s design opened up views of the Taconic and Berkshire mountains and relied heavily on ornamental grasses for color and seasonal interest. Of the completed project, Schafer shared, “It is in keeping with the simplicity of the architecture — not competing for attention, but rather a complementary foreground to both the house and the long view beyond.”

2. You Want to Create Terraces or Retaining Walls

If you want to add a retaining wall or terrace to your property, as in this project by ROCHE+ROCHE Landscape Architecture, you may need to have a landscape architect submit sealed drawings to get approval to build. Regardless of whether they are legally required in your area, having a licensed landscape architect working on a project as structurally complex as terraces will give you peace of mind.

3. You Want a Complete Landscape Plan

Whether you’ve just purchased a home, are in the midst of a major remodel or are in the process of building your dream home, incorporating plans from a landscape architect can be a wonderful way to ensure that your whole property comes together in a beautiful, cohesive way. These plans are from Jacobs Grant Design.

4. You Want to Add Value to Your Home

Landscaping is one of the (relatively) few big-ticket home improvement projects that can add considerable value to your home — and make it more appealing to potential buyers. An investment in the skilled work of a landscape architect is an investment in your home.

5. You Want an Environmentally Minded, Sustainable Landscape

Landscape architects are trained in sustainable practices, and some choose to focus on sustainable landscape design. If what you want is a landscape that integrates all of the latest thinking in water and resource conservation, a landscape architect can help bring that to fruition.

6. You Have a Challenging Feature to Work Around

Need help designing around a steeply sloped lot, rocky wall or other challenge? Landscape architects have the experience and know-how to approach all sorts of site challenges with creativity and innovation. Landscape architects are also licensed to draw grading plans and can submit sealed grading plans as part of your permit application package.

7. You Live in a Flood Plain or Other Sensitive Area

If your property is situated in a flood plain or includes some protected wetlands, it’s a good idea for a landscape architect to be on board with your project. With the stricter regulations and unusual requirements involved, you may be required to have sealed drawings from a landscape architect. Your landscape architect will also be able to come up with solutions that meet your needs.

8. You Have Concerns About Fire, Hurricanes or Mudslides

Between the seasonal wildfires in drought-stricken California and East Coast hurricanes, Mother Nature is not always so kind to our human-built gardens and structures. If weather events are a concern where you are, it may be worth hiring a landscape architect to assess your property and help create a plan for a more hardy garden design.

9. You Want to Make the Most of Your Lot

If you have a compact lot, close neighbors or both, a landscape architect can work with you to create a garden design that makes the most of your property’s positive features while downplaying or disguising the things you’d like to hide.

10. You Want to Design Your Ultimate Outdoor Room

Wish you had an outdoor fireplace, terraced courtyards and lush private gardens? Working with a landscape architect to design your dream outdoor space is certainly the most fun reason to hire this pro.

SOURCE: Houzz