Question
Hello Sean, I am looking for advice on a proposal I have been offered. My sister and her husband own and operate a landscaping company in the Northern Metro Atlanta area. They are now large enough to be involved with the new Home Depot program that has recently been rolled out. With this new opportunity for them, they realized they were understaffed and needed a designer. They have offered this position to me. I worked for their company for one season, so I have a vague understanding of the principles of residential landscaping. I noticed there is a program at Lanier Tech for a Landscape Design Technician Certificate,which is located only a few miles from where I would be working. Would I be out of my league if I assumed responsibility for this position while I attend this program? Any recommendations or even further questions you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Todd D

Answer
The answer is simple. If you can walk through a local nursery and name and are familiar with the growing habits and needs of at least 70% of the plants then you are probably capable of designing for most residences and can learn the rest through trial and error. At least when it comes to planting design. That is assuming you can draw well or are familiar with a good drafting program.

But when I say 'are familiar' with above...i really mean it. If you don't know the habits of the plants you will be using, you should not be designing for anyone else. And if you don't know your software or drafting you'll have a hard time selling your drawings.

You should know the ultimate sizes, speed of growth and light requirements of common plants at a minimum. It is also important to know what plants will and won't grow in certain parts of Metro Area. There are lots of plants that will grow in Peachtree City but have a hard time in Kennesaw and vice versa.

You must also know the common and Latin names of the most common plants in the landscape industry.

I would strongly recommend working for a good designer or landscape architect for at least one year prior to taking a position as a lead designer working directly with clients. That is unless you have been an avid gardner for some time and are comfortable with your knowledge.

The problem is when you are new to this business you tend to only use the plants you know and then your clients get a raw deal...so make sure you learn your plants. I cant stand seeing plans where there are only five plants and half of them are encore azalea.

As for Lanier Tech, I don't know anything of this program.

Best of Luck,

Sean J Murphy, LA,ISA, LEED AP
Please check out my blogs and articles on landscape topics like this on my websites.
http://www.seanjmurphy.com
http://amenityarchitects.com