If you have an eye for design and enjoy working outdoors, a career as a Professional Landscape Design may be the right fit. Sometimes called landscape architecture, these individuals use their creative and technical skills to create beautiful, functional outdoor spaces for homeowners, commercial clients, schools and even municipal city areas. While large landscape firms exist, many landscape designers work independently, owning their own companies and hiring staff or assistants to help them manage projects.

In addition to handling the technical aspects of a design, such as creating CAD drawings and using software programs for rendering and simulations, landscape designers must be able to interact with customers effectively. This means presenting design concepts to clients, answering questions about plants and materials, and delegating construction tasks to contractors after the initial designs have been finalized.

Professional Landscape Design: The Key to a Beautiful Outdoor Space

Many landscape architects also specialize in a particular type of design, such as urban planning, water management or native plant habitat botany. This allows them to develop a deeper level of understanding of the environmental and scientific factors involved in these types of large scale interdisciplinary projects.

Besides improving drainage issues or adding a fire pit to a backyard, landscaping professionals often use their creativity to turn underutilized space into a relaxing entertainment area or tranquil retreat. They also use a balance of form and function, ensuring that each element has a purpose in the overall design. This balance can include elements like contrasting textures, shapes and sizes of plant materials to capture the attention of the viewer.