What is a Landscape Designer?

Landscape design is a creative profession that combines artistry, horticulture, and hopefully environmental stewardship. Landscape designers in Calgary face many more challenges than those in other cities because of Calgary’s diverse topography. It requires a deep understanding of plants, hardscaping, drainage, and more. A professional landscape designer can help you create a beautiful outdoor space that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing. By hiring a landscape designer, you’ll maximize the potential of your outdoor space and ensure that maintenance is a part of the plan (i.e. avoiding your backyard becoming a white elephant). With a landscape designer, you can create a unique, customized look for your home that will stand the test of time. In addition to creating a stunning outdoor space, there are a number of practical benefits to hiring a professional landscape designer. From reducing your water usage to making your home more energy efficient, the advantages of working with a landscape designer are numerous. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of hiring a landscape designer for your home.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The most important aspect of hiring a landscape designer is their design history and what actual customers think of them. Urban Oasis is proud of its MANY 5-star Google reviews. Of special note, when looking at online reviews, see if the reviewers have multiple reviews in Calgary. It’s important that the reviewers be real people instead of bought reviews from dormant accounts.

Landscape designers use their knowledge and creativity to plan, design, and implement outdoor spaces, including those surrounding residential and commercial buildings. Many landscape designers specialize in a particular type of design, such as tropical, water-wise, or desert landscapes. Of course, at Urban Oasis, we’ve specialized in landscaping in Calgary and the foothills area since 2006. A landscape designer will work with you to create a design plan for your outdoor space. The design plan will include the placement of plants, hardscaping, the use of water features, and other elements that are important to you. The design plan may also include a map of recommended plants and a schedule for when they should be planted. A quick note on why Calgary is a unique landscape design environment – just check out this elevation map from a previous landscaping article:

Calgary SE landscape design elevation map

Areas of Calgary where there is even a slight elevation change (most of Calgary) requires a strong grasp of landscape design fundamentals.

Benefits of Hiring a Landscape Designer

Landscape designers offer a wide range of benefits for homeowners, including:

Improving your home’s curb appeal and property value:
- A well-designed landscape can increase the curb appeal of your home and its property value by as much as 10%.
Making your home more energy efficient: A well-planned landscape can reduce your home’s energy costs by up to 30%.
Reducing water usage: A landscape designed by a professional with an eye for functionality can reduce your water usage by as much as 50%. This can be particularly important in drought-prone areas and areas with limited water resources.
Creating a functional outdoor space: A well-designed outdoor space can be functional and allow you to enjoy your outdoor space year-round.
Maximizing the potential of your outdoor space: A landscape designed by a professional can make the most of the space available to you by utilizing it to its full potential.

Creating a Design Plan with a Landscape Designer

When selecting a landscape designer, you should look for someone with experience who will create a design plan that meets your needs and desires. You can begin the process by asking yourself the following questions:

What is your budget? How much are you willing to spend on your outdoor space?
What are the important features of your outdoor space?
What do you want to include in your outdoor space?
What is your desired aesthetic for your outdoor space?
What style do you want your outdoor space to have?
What do you want your outdoor space to achieve? What function do you want it to serve?
What plants and materials do you prefer? What do you want to avoid?

Professional Landscape Designers and Equipment

A professional landscape designer will have the necessary equipment to create a design plan for your outdoor space. If you have a particularly challenging space to design, they may also have specialized equipment to help create a design that meets your needs. If you don’t have a challenging space to design, they may use general equipment to create a design plan that can be applied to a wide variety of spaces. If you decide to hire a landscape designer, here are some pieces of equipment that you can expect to see.

Drawing Board: The drawing board is a landscape designer’s most important piece of equipment. It’s used to display drawings and plans, including a design plan for your outdoor space.
Computer Software: Computer software is used to create designs, drawings, and plans, including a design plan for your outdoor space.
Level: The level is used to ensure that elements, like water features, are laid out horizontally.
Measuring Tape: The measuring tape is used to determine the exact dimensions of elements, like the distance between two trees.
Pencils and Chalk: The pencil and chalk are used to sketch designs, plans, and plantings.
Ignoring the traditional tools, they may show up with a laser pointer, camera, and laptop and import the data directly to a CAD program

Reducing Water Usage with Landscape Design

A landscape designed by a professional can help you make your home more energy efficient through well-placed trees providing shade and keeping indoor temperatures lower. They can help you reduce your water usage by up to 50%. There are a few ways in which a landscape designer can help you reduce water usage. They can help you choose plants that require less water. They can help you design an efficient irrigation system. They can also help you choose hardscaping and elements like walkways that allow for natural drainage. If you want to reduce water usage in your landscape, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Choose plants that require less water: If you have a large yard with plenty of space for plants, you can reduce your water usage by watering less frequently and choosing plants that require less water.
Choose an efficient irrigation system: An efficient irrigation system can reduce your water usage by up to 50%.
Choose hardscaping and elements that allow for natural drainage: You can reduce the amount of water flowing into storm drains and into bodies of water by choosing hardscaping that allows for natural drainage.

Conclusion

When planning and designing your landscape, it’s important to keep the home’s architecture and the homeowner’s lifestyle in mind. You want your landscape to complement your home and reflect your personal style. Landscape design is an art and a skill that takes a deep knowledge of plants, hardscaping, water management, and more. By hiring Urban Oasis as your landscape designer, you’ll better your chances of creating a beautiful outdoor space that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing.