Landscaping refers to activities which enhance and modify the features of the land or site.

• Gardening is the art of growing our plants in such a way that it provides an aesthetic look and pleasing landscape.
• Natural elemental designing such as land forms or bodies of water.
• Abstract designs such as artificial lighting and weather conditions.

When you hear landscape architecture and landscape design, the two undoubtedly sound similar, but they are both entirely separate. When hiring professional help for an upcoming project, it’s imperative you understand the difference in order to hire the right service partner.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

What is landscape architecture?

Landscape architecture can be described as a multidisciplinary field. It includes studies of different sub-fields such as architecture, urban designs, geography, fine arts, environmental psychology, civil engineering, botany, industrial designs, ecology, horticulture, and soil sciences. Some essential key landscape architecture elements are as follows:

• Greenscape (a natural landscape that is covered with a thick layer of greenery).
• Hardscape (human-made landscape architecture, which includes walls or paths).
• Waterscape (a natural or artificial landscape that has water as a dominant feature).

Who are landscape architects?

A landscape architect is the one who plans and executes on structures of obvious places that have limitations regarding aspects of landscape designs. They work on small or large, rural, suburban, and urban plans with hard as well as soft materials.

A landscape architect can range from site planning of campuses, creation of office parks and public parks, designing residential estates, civil infrastructures, and also a reclamation of landscapes that deals with landfills and mines. They are the ones who examine, plan, manage, design, and nurture the view, the build, and natural environments. Moreover, a landscape architect can also present the master plan and concepts from which the detailed designs and proper technical drawings and specifications are prepared.

Education required to be a landscape architecture:

A landscape architect is required to obtain a degree in landscape architecture. A bachelor’s or master’s degree is expected to be an expert in this field. A landscape architect must know how to create things with little to no working materials, including designing outdoor spaces and plantation of commercial and residential areas. A license may be required to work in individual states. The expected yearly income of landscape architecture is $75,000 and above.

Responsibilities of a landscape architect:

A landscape architect has to meet different team members and clients that are involved in the project.

• They have to research the site and consider every difficulty and limitation posed by the environment.
• They should know how to make plans using CADD technology.
• They may spend some time on the job site.
• They have to research about the permissions that are required for construction.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

What is landscape design?

Landscape designs are related to an independent profession of art and design traditions, combining both culture and nature. The landscape design includes hardscape as well as softscape designs, maintenance planning, and seasonal changes.

Landscape design bridges the gap between garden designs and landscape architectures. This field involves the expertise of horticulture, artisan-ship, and a brief emphasis on on-site involvement from initial stages. The phases of landscape design include researching, ideas, and plans.

The design factors involve some of the objective qualities: soil and irrigation, the circulation of the vehicle and human access, climates, topography, drainage of the site, lightning and furnishing, botany habitats, security, and safety of property and other considerations.

Some essential key landscape design elements are as follows:

• Mass (the measure of the visual size of the landscape design).
• Form (the shape of the objects that are involved in landscapes).
• Line (a physical flow and connectivity of the landscape).

Who is a landscape designer?

Landscape designers do not require any degree, like landscape architecture. The main goal of a landscape designer is to make a beautiful and aesthetic landscape in a private or residential setting for their clients. The landscape designer should discuss the softscapes such as natural materials and plants required for the project site as well as hardscapes such as pools, outdoor spaces, lighting, and walls, with the clients.

A landscape designer may not need a degree, but can benefit from earning a certification in design, or can also earn a master’s degree to increase job prospectus.

Landscape designers can be self-employed, or they may work with landscape designing companies. The expected yearly income of a landscape designer is $49,000 and above.

Responsibilities of landscape designer:

• Set organizational meetings with the clients to understand the project entirely.
• Need to make 3D models with craft materials.
• Review drawings for accuracy.
• Discuss the plants and preferences according to the budget with his clients.
• Discuss the overall aesthetics and designs of landscapes with his clients.
• Look for the issues of water usage and soil irrigation.

Some common responsibilities of landscape designer and architecture:

Both landscape architecture and landscape designers have to meet with the clients to discuss the designs, requirements, and difficulties in making the design convert a client’s vision into reality. They both have to work with industry software to make the design and view the final product desired by the client.

Conclusion:

In short, the differences between landscape architecture and landscape design are:

• Landscape architect needs a degree while landscape designer does not require any certifications.
• Landscape architect works on more public and larger projects while landscape designer works on residential and smaller projects.
• Landscape architects deal with complex projects, while landscape designers deal with more transactional projects.
• Landscape architects are considered authoritative experts in their field as compare to a landscape designer.

If you have any other questions regarding landscape architecture and/or would like to discuss an upcoming project with us, please feel free to contact us HERE today! We look forward to working with you.