It happened again last week.  A client was trying to decide between my company and the company that mows their lawn.  The client hired the landscapers because my quote was a little higher.  Ugh!

This week I drove through the neighborhood and felt disappointment. The gardens had cheap wood mulch and it was not deep enough to suppress weeds.  Two great ways to keep a quote low.  As a landscape designer, I recommended bark mulch two to three inches deep to make sure most weeds will not germinate.

How do You Choose Between a Landscape Designer and a landscapers?

The answer depends on your needs.

If you want a creative landscape design and the proper horticultural methods followed, hire a landscape designer to design and carry out your project. Most landscape designers have an eye and passion for landscape design.  They have learned the right way to design, install and maintain landscapes because they couldn’t do it any other way.

Many landscape designers start out as landscapers and graduate to design because of their love of plants and design. That is how I started after college.  I began by mowing lawns while building my landscape design experience and knowledge.

Often landscapers don’t have extensive landscape design and horticultural knowledge. This spring I met a couple who asked me, “Do you pick out the plants?” I explained that, “The benefit of hiring me as your landscape designer is that I select the best plants to meet your needs and the site’s conditions.”  Landscapers they had talked to said, “Tell us what you want planted and we’ll plant it.”

Landscapers are masters at getting the job done quickly. If you have a routine project, hire a reputable landscaper.  Projects that landscapers excel at include mowing lawns, spring and fall cleanups and clearing brush.

If you are looking for someone to mow your lawn and clean up your yard in the spring and fall, hire a landscaper. However, if you are looking for a creative eye to recommend the best plants,  design the best landscape for your home and use the best methods to plant your garden, seek out a landscape designer.

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. – John Ruskin