Landscape Architechs
Landscape Contractors/Construction Crew
Landscape Maintainence Crew/Gardeners
Horticulturists
Landscape/Garden designers


Landscape Architects
Who are these "landscape architects anyway?" They are usually people who are licensed under California state catagory A. Without proper license, no one can call him/herself a "landscape architect" even with a graduate degree in the field.

Landscape architects are usually ones that have gone thru school and have a B.S., M.S., or M. L.Arch. in the field of Landscape Architecture. Landscape architects are VERY good at designing and are usually involved in large scale landscape projects. Most new residential or commercial developments require the input from a landscape architect.

Dependening on experience, you'll come across landscape architects who have variable knowledge regarding plants and construction. Some may even conduct construction for you and act as a project manager.

Landscape architects charge a little higher than other groups from the landscape professions, however, if you have a large, empty lot that's due for new buildings, it's definitly worth hiring a landscape architect.

For most homes or residential projects, hiring a landscape architect is a little unnecessary. You can look into colleges or universities that have landscape architecture departments and enlist student designers. At the least, the students can get you started without costing you too much. Back to Top


Landscape Contractors/Construction Crew
This is the sector of landscape professionals that is primarily involved in construction. No one can call him/herself a "Landscape Contractor" without proper licensing. Landscape contractors are under California state licensing catagory C-27.

The contractors are able to provide you with bids, answer your questions, or implement specifications according to blueprints in regards to your landscape project(s). California State Law requires contractors to be licensed and bonded (insured) prior to performing any construction. Also, contractors may claim lien against your property if there is any dispute in the construction agreement.

Contractors MUST have knowledge in construction and know the requirements/codes for proper installation of hardwares.

Landscape contractors are usually not very knowledgable about plants and know little about designing. Most of time their designs fail to consider multiple factors that will make a landscape stand out. In the worst case scenario it will be a maintainence headache. You will usually hire landscape contractors if and only when you know EXACTLY what you want. You can either draw a plan yourself or have a plan drawn by someone else. Knowing the exact specifications can eliminate confusion in construction costs and it also allows contractors to give you a proper estimate cost and time. Back to Top


Landscape Maintainence Crew/Gardeners
These are the majority of landscape professionals. Anyone who has experience working with plants or likes to garden can call him/herself a "gardener" or even open a business in landscape maintainence. Nothing wrong with that.

Experience and knowledge varies from individual to individual; some may know a little about construction, some may know more about plant pathology. There are no standards. The only way to find out about the qualification of each individual is by talking to them and finding out what they've done and what they know.

However, they should have general knowledge in plant care, pruning, planting, and some landscape component maintainence.

Landscape maintainence crew/Gardeners are most often hired in year-long contracts to perform maintainence work. Cost ranges from $75 to over $300 per month. Location, tasks, and size of garden are some factors that affect the maintainence cost.
Individuals from this group are NOT allowed to perform construction work (labor plus material) in excess of USD $500 according to state law. Back to Top


Horticulturists
Horticulturists encompass professionals from the fields of greenhouse management, greenhouse production, urban forestry, wetland restoration and many more. People usually sub-classify themselves in a more specific category under horticulture. For example, one can be a horticulturist in the field of Urban Forestry who works for parks or cities in tree management.

In general, people from this group are MOST knowledgeable in plant care. They can usually prescribe you a maintaince schedule in regards to your specific landscape. They can also diagnose plant diseases and suggest possible treatments.

Many horitucturists work as consultants and sometimes garden designers. Because people from this group have the best all-around knowledge about plants, their garden designs usually have the best plant placements/arrangements.

If you see trees dying or grass yellowing, your best solution is to hire horticulturists in the specific area to find out what the causes are and fix the problems. Back to Top


Garden Designers
There is no set of standards for garden designers. Anyone can call him/herself a garden designer if he/she feels like it. However, many garden designers do have some qualifications. For example, a person who graduated from a college in the field of landscape architecture can become a garden designer; the same for a person who has been working as a landscape construction crew member for a few years.

Garden designers in many way function like licensed landscape architects. However, without proper licensing, garden designers are limited in what they are allowed to do, especially in large, commercial jobs. Some garden designers are well qualify for becoming licensed landscape architects, however, they may decide not to become one because of liability issues and the process of going thru the state exam.

Garden designers are most applicabe for residential and smaller landscape projects. Also, the cost for garden designers is usually less than what a landscape architect will charge. Back to Top