If you’re planning a new landscape, backyard renovation, pool, hardscape project, or complete outdoor transformation, you may come across two similar titles:
Landscape architect and landscape designer.
They aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Both may be involved in planning outdoor spaces, selecting materials, organizing planting, and developing the overall layout of a property. The difference becomes more important as the project grows in complexity.
For an Atlanta homeowner, the practical question isn’t simply which title sounds more impressive.
It’s:
Who has the right experience, qualifications, and process for the property you’re trying to change?
A landscape designer generally focuses on the planning, appearance, function, and organization of outdoor spaces.
Depending on their experience, a landscape designer may work on:
There is a wide range of experience within landscape design.
Some designers primarily focus on planting and aesthetics. Others work as part of full-service landscape design-build companies and are involved in grading, hardscaping, pools, drainage, outdoor structures, and complete property planning.
That is why the title alone doesn’t tell you everything about the person or company you’re considering.
A landscape architect is a licensed professional who works with the planning and design of outdoor environments.
Landscape architecture can extend beyond how a property looks and into more technical site-planning considerations.
Depending on the project, a landscape architect may work with:
In Georgia, the title landscape architect is regulated. Professionals using that title and practicing landscape architecture are required to maintain registration with the state.
The simplest distinction is licensing.
Landscape architect is a regulated professional title.
Landscape designer is a broader term that can describe people with many different educational and professional backgrounds.
That doesn’t automatically mean one will produce a better residential backyard than the other.
A highly experienced landscape designer who has spent years developing and constructing residential properties may be a better fit for a particular project than someone whose experience has primarily been in commercial or municipal landscape architecture.
The opposite can also be true when a project has substantial technical requirements.
The project’s needs should determine the professional you hire.
Not every residential project requires one.
If the goal is to refresh planting beds, improve privacy, redesign a patio area, or make relatively straightforward landscape changes, an experienced landscape designer may be completely appropriate.
The decision becomes more important when the property involves substantial site work.
Examples might include:
Whether a licensed professional is required for a particular portion of the project also depends on the scope and applicable local requirements.
A landscape designer may be a strong choice when the primary objective is improving how a residential property looks and functions.
That may include:
For homeowners, residential experience is particularly important.
A backyard isn’t a public park or commercial development.
It needs to reflect how a particular family cooks, entertains, relaxes, moves through the property, uses the lawn, interacts with the pool, and views the landscape from inside the house.
As site complexity increases, technical planning becomes more important.
A landscape architect may make sense when a project involves substantial changes to the land itself or when professional plans are required.
That could include:
On some larger residential projects, several professionals may ultimately collaborate rather than one person handling every discipline.
There is another option homeowners should understand.
A landscape design-build company handles both planning and construction.
Instead of creating a plan and handing it to an unrelated contractor, the same organization can remain involved as the project moves from design into the field.
That can be particularly useful for residential projects involving several connected components.
For example:
Ambrose Outdoors takes this approach through our landscape design and build services.
Drawings and construction are closely connected.
A design may look good on paper but still create complications in the field if actual grades, drainage, access, materials, utilities, or construction sequencing weren’t considered.
For example:
A patio elevation affects retaining walls.
A retaining wall affects drainage.
A pool changes circulation.
An outdoor kitchen requires utilities.
Planting affects privacy and sightlines.
Lighting needs to be considered before finished surfaces make running wire difficult.
When design and construction are disconnected, each contractor may end up solving their portion of the property independently.
That’s one way a backyard can begin to feel like several projects instead of one landscape.
They can.
Planting design is an important part of landscape architecture.
However, the amount of horticultural involvement varies significantly from professional to professional.
Some landscape architects have extensive planting knowledge and focus heavily on residential landscapes.
Others spend more of their careers working with site plans, commercial development, public projects, or technical documentation.
The same variation exists among landscape designers.
If planting quality is important to your project, ask specifically about:
A title doesn’t replace horticultural experience.
Both landscape architects and experienced landscape designers may be involved in hardscape planning.
The important question is how deeply they understand construction.
Hardscape design needs to account for more than shape and color.
It may involve:
For larger residential projects, our custom hardscaping is planned together with the surrounding property so patios, walls, walkways, planting, and outdoor living areas relate to one another.
A pool company can design and build a pool.
But the pool is only one part of the backyard.
The larger landscape still needs to answer questions like:
That’s why larger pool and landscape projects benefit from considering the complete property before the pool location is finalized.
This is one area where experience with the physical site becomes especially important.
Atlanta properties can involve:
Adding patios, pools, walls, or structures changes how water moves through a property.
Those conditions need to be understood early enough that drainage isn’t treated as an afterthought.
These are also different roles.
A landscape architect primarily works in planning and professional design.
A landscape contractor primarily works in construction and installation.
A contractor may install:
Some landscape companies provide both design and construction services, while others specialize entirely in installation.
Before hiring anyone, determine who is responsible for the actual plan.
“We’ll figure it out when we get there” may work for a small planting bed.
It becomes much riskier when you’re spending significant money across an entire backyard.
The word landscaper is extremely broad.
It can describe companies providing:
A company that does excellent lawn maintenance isn’t automatically the right company to plan a complete property renovation.
Likewise, a strong designer isn’t necessarily the right person to install every part of the project.
You need to understand what the company actually does rather than relying on the category name.
The answer depends on the project, but a comprehensive plan may address:
Not every project requires all of those elements.
The point is that the plan should resolve the relationships between the features being built.
For a larger property, it can make sense even if everything won’t be built immediately.
A master plan allows homeowners to understand what the finished property could become before committing money to the first phase.
For example:
The project may take several years.
But each phase can still move toward the same finished plan.
That’s much better than repeatedly redesigning the property every time another feature is added.
Yes, but education is only one part of evaluating a professional.
For residential work, also look at:
Someone can understand design theory extremely well and still have limited experience getting a complicated residential project built.
The opposite can also happen.
The strongest projects often come from combining good design thinking with a realistic understanding of construction.
Absolutely when the work or professional title requires it.
In Georgia, landscape architecture is regulated by the Georgia State Board of Landscape Architects.
If a company represents itself as providing professional landscape architectural services, homeowners should understand who is responsible for that work and verify appropriate qualifications when relevant to the project.
This is particularly important on projects involving substantial technical or regulatory work.
Probably not.
The design fee is typically a relatively small part of a substantial backyard renovation.
Imagine saving $1,500 on design but later discovering:
Any one of those changes can cost far more than the amount saved during design.
Compare what you’re receiving rather than only comparing the number at the bottom of the proposal.
Whether you’re speaking with a landscape designer, landscape architect, or design-build company, ask questions about the actual process.
The answers will usually tell you much more than the job title alone.
Renderings are useful because they help homeowners visualize a proposed design.
But completed projects tell you whether the company can actually translate ideas into finished landscapes.
When reviewing a portfolio, pay attention to:
A beautiful drawing is the beginning.
The property still has to be built.
There isn’t one answer for every project.
For a straightforward residential landscape renovation, an experienced landscape designer may provide everything the property needs.
For work requiring licensed landscape architectural services or more complex technical planning, a landscape architect may be appropriate or required.
For a larger residential transformation, another consideration is whether the company can carry the project from planning into construction.
Ultimately, you want the right combination of:
The difference between a landscape architect and landscape designer matters, but the title shouldn’t become the entire hiring decision.
Start with the project.
Are you renovating planting around an existing patio?
Are you completely rebuilding a sloped backyard?
Are you adding a pool, retaining walls, outdoor kitchen, and new landscape?
Does the project involve technical or professional requirements?
Once you understand the scope, it becomes much easier to determine the right team.
At Ambrose Outdoors, we approach landscape design in Atlanta by looking at the full property first. Layout, planting, hardscaping, pools, grading, drainage, outdoor living, and construction are considered as connected pieces of the same outdoor environment.
For more complex property planning, explore our landscape architecture services and our landscape design services to learn more about how we approach residential projects.
Planning a landscape project in Atlanta?
Schedule a consultation with Ambrose Outdoors to discuss your property, project goals, and the level of planning your project requires.
Tell us what you’re planning and we’ll help you figure out the right next step.