Professional Landscaper

re more likely to achieve your landscaping goals byspecifics as lawn areas, plantings, areas of general
hiring a professional landscaper—no matter ifuse and their sizes, irrigation systems and drainage
your project is a themed garden, like an Englishsystems, landscape lighting, and the projected overall
garden design or a Mediterranean landscape design, acost.
small garden design that only encompasses landscapeOnce you have agreed to the designer’s
planting or a complex construction project. Aoverall layout and made general material selections, it
well-versed Houston professional landscaper will takeis time for the implementation and construction
into account not only your desires, but the specificphase. This phase comes with its own set of
challenges of this region: dense soil, weatherlandscaping design drawings for documentation
conditions of the Gulf coast, drainage issues, andpurposes:
likely insect infestations and plant diseases.• For permitting.
Choosing a Professional Landscaper• To convey final design intent and material
Begin the process by distinguishing betweenselections for you and the installation contractors.
off-the-shelf landscaping design services and a• To specify materials and installation
professional designer who can capture your vision formethods. This paperwork is also known as
your landscape. During the preliminaries, visit theconstruction documents.
company website and ask to see a portfolio toIn the permit arena, each governing body has its
determine if the design firm under consideration has aown set of requirements for landscape plan
sense of style that complements your own.approvals. Usually a submittal of the permitting
Ultimately, you want a professional who can design apackage will be accepted or rejected by a
landscape that reflects your home’scommittee. This checkpoint illustrates why it is
architecture and your lifestyle.important to hire a knowledgeable professional, as
As you begin the early discussions, be as specific asthey will know what information to
possible about what you want the end design to lookinclude—items like engineered drainage plans,
like. Perhaps you would enjoy hardscapes, like apool fencing layout, lot coverage ratios and
well-thought-out patio design or pool design,specifications.
eye-catching gates or interesting pathways. MaybeTaking the Long View
you like to entertain, something that calls for anIn choosing among Houston landscape designers,
outdoor kitchen. Understanding these landscaperemember that it makes sense to use a design firm
elements, their relationships to each other and thethat also performs the project management and
open space, and interpreting them well distinguishes alandscaping installation. Jeff Halper, landscape specialist
Houston professional landscaper working in the topwith Exterior Worlds, says, “You want
echelon.someone who not only has great ideas, but also
The Processknows local contractors and their methods of
After selecting a landscape professional and theconstruction, the best use of materials and their
subsequent exploratory discussions, the next stepsavailability, and overall budget development and
involve meetings, site analysis, program of uses, andcontainment. In other words, you want a landscaper
use of the design professional’s expertise.who can bring you a landscape design that thrives in
During the conceptual phase, the landscapethe Houston climate—and is on-time and
professional develops the overall design and puts iton-budget.
onto paper. The resulting documents will show such