Question
Hello, I would your advice on what type of education or training I need or should gain to be an effective Landscape designer. As of now I抦 a full time paid firefighter and my father owns a wholesale material business (stone, mulch, plants, pavers ect.) My goal is to be able to bid job sights, design, and oversee the development of individuals landscaping needs. I have no experience in this field, so please any suggesting as to how I should start would be of much help.
Thank you,
Seth

Answer
Hello,

One strong foundation for landscape design is a knowledge of drafting,both of the manual type and by computer. It is important to learn how to convey ideas by drawings. Special emphasis should be placed on presentation drawings of various sorts,particularly 3D and realistic looking perspective drawings. Clients often cannot understand 2D technical drawings well but are more able to understand section views and 3D presentations.

Drawing also gives a sense for how things are built and fit in the landscape. In my opinion drawing manually is a good foundation for getting a realistic hands on feel for drawing and of course being able to sketch ideas on paper is a skill that should be developed and is useful for field surveys which you would do as a landscape designer as part of the site analysis. Some knowledge of basic surveying would also be helpful.

There are many online or campus based landscape design curriculums. Most community colleges offer landscape design courses and most include computer aided drafting but the quality varies greatly. Any field work you do is helpful to becoming a good landscape designer. Perhaps you could work on a landscaping crew,seek a job in gardening or groundskeeping or even surveying. Any outdoor work dealing with land is good experience.

Horticulture is a prominent part of landscape design curriculums and so working for a nursery would also be a good start. Many nurseries offer landscape design services although a heavy emphasis is placed on planting design. In order to comprehensively meet the needs of your clients you should approach landscape design with the 3 pillars,which are,horticulture,civil engineering and architecture. For instance,you may be called upon to address complex drainage problems, and that calls for a knowledge of civil engineering principles. To achieve a high quality design for structures,you should gain a knowledge of the basic principles of building construction and architecture. A knowledge of horticulture serves as an underpinning for making planting designs. The growth habits and planting needs such as light and soil,for plants,must be understood in order to effectively arrange the plants in the landscape. A designer should offer only his professional services as a designer and not offer it as a package coupled with construction.

When you obtain proficiency in computer aided drafting and have taken a course in landscape design you may qualify for an entry level postion in a landscape architectural firm or perhaps a land development or civil engineering firm or you could obtain a position in a landscaping company as a draftsman or junior designer. This would give you valuable experience. Sometimes internships are available with landscape architectural firms and if you gain 8 years work experience under a landscape architect,you can take your license exam for landscape architecture.

Volunteering to do landscape design for non-profits is also a way to gain experience. Do a design of a family members or friends property and look for practice exercise designs in books.

There exists free CAD software that can be used for training purposes. One such CAD program is ProgeCad. This program highly emulates AutoCad and so is very user friendly but the free version cannot be used for commercial purposes. Another free program is DoubleCad. This program is less user friendly and will require a steep learning curve for a beginner but it can be used for commercial purposes. AutoCad is very user friendly but comes with a very hefty price tag although discounts are available to students. With one of the free programs and a manual,it may be possible for you to teach yourself drafting and landscape design. The above mentioned programs are fully functional and perform most or all of the functions of AutoCad Light.



For a good overview of the role played by a landscape designer please see the pamphlet, "Some Facts About Landscape Design" on my website,
http://www.mahdrafting.com under the educational section. Good luck. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mark Harshman
http://www.mahdrafting.com
Email: [email protected]

http://www.allexperts.com/ep/724-104627/Landscaping-Design/Mark.htm