There are plenty of outdoor places and spaces that we spend time in, from parks, to simply the courtyard of an office building. Landscape architects make these outdoor places more beautiful and useful. A landscape architect decides where to put flowers, trees, walkways, and other landscape details. However, it is not all glamour, it is function as well, for example, they keep sports fields from getting soggy; they work with other professionals such as architects, surveyors, and engineers to find the best place to put roads and buildings; they work with environmental scientists to find the best way to conserve or restore natural resources. Landscape architects do a variety of jobs all of which focus around making our outdoor spaces more usable, beautiful, and of course, to keep outdoor spaces as an essential part of life.

When a landscape architect takes on a project the first thing they should do is consider the reasons behind the project. If they are going to design your yard, your reasons or motivations may be to have a space that is safe for your children to play, a plot of ground to do some gardening, and space to entertain outdoors. Your landscape architect would analyze your needs and the nature around the place where they are working. They think about the weather, the kind of soil, the hills, the water, and the plants that are there. They see where sunlight falls at different times. They also look at existing buildings, roads, and walkways. All of this is important and needs to be considered to best fill your needs, haphazard placement of the things you want won't get the best results.

After everything from sun location to wind speeds is analyzed, the landscape architect should draw a design plan, make sketches, models, and photographs to explain their ideas. They then need to estimate how much their ideas will cost. After all of this, they present their ideas, and the reasons behind them to you, their client, and they go over the time frame and cost for their plan to be implemented. You may wish to make some changes, and after that is all complete the landscape architects makes a list of needed materials. Then, they tell others how to do the planting and construction shown in the design. Most landscape architects do not do the actual labor of implementing the design themselves.

There are all sorts of landscape architects. Some landscape architects work only on backyards, or on parks, or on the land around highways. Most landscape architects have a specialty, and may dabble in other areas of landscape architecture, but generally stick to one thing. Part of landscape architecture in every variety is to help the environment. As you drive along the freeway you may not think much of the ground cover or landscaping on either side, but often times the plants provide very functional purposes, such as they help stop erosion, provide wind barriers, or bring important insects to the areas nearby.

If you are planning on hiring a landscape architect, you may want to see if they attended college. Also, most States require landscape architects to be licensed or registered. That means that they have to pass a test, and will have some proof of licensing, so check with them and ask to see their certifications.