Question
How do landscape designers go about charging for their services? I have 8,000 lot all grass and need design services where I will do the work afterwards. I never have used a designer and wondering how it works and what to expect.

Answer
Chris,
There are several ways you can go about getting a good design.Of course everything depends on,you guessed it already.....money.How much you have to spend is key.

Shop around just like you would for a doctor!

One way is to call all of your local nurseries to see if their designer will come out and give you an estimate,or if they don't have one in house,they may give you the names of the ones they use.Of course they do this because most of the designers they recommend to customers are the designer's that buy their plants for jobs.A designers fee can range from $100 an hour or a finished total of $1500 to $2500 for a complete blueprint of the finished design.
They almost always will give you a free estimate though.

Another way is do it yourself.Depending of course on your confidence or experience in any field of landscaping or/and computer designed software.There are hundreds of software programs that range from $20 to $100 that let you design your own landscape. And if you are starting from scratch you are in a perfect situation to do this.
Photos are the first step in planning.Just take photos of each angle of the property.
Some software takes into account the leveling of the landscape and what groundwork will need to be done first.If you have a level land,you are lucky.You may want some soil brought in after grading to create berms or slopes or little ponds or streams to look natural or whatever your desire to acheive the look you want.
It's all in the planning!
If you aren't experienced with a complex computer software,there are many for beginners that are quite simple to use.After you get your initial plan you can make changes at any time before you begin the hands on approach.If you don't have your own equipment you look for subcontractors that can do each specific job to acheive the final look of your chosen design.
It sounds like a huge job,but if you end up with a gorgeous landscape,it's worth it!