If you're fortunate enough to live in an area where several landscape architects work, and if you have the time and energy to conduct a rigorous interviewing campaign, through process of elimination you'll be able to arrive at the landscape architect best suited to your needs. But the tips offered below will suggest some of the matters you should be considering regardless of whether you'll be contacting one prospective landscape architect or ten.
Contacting a Landscape Architect: First Impressions
Whether you find landscape architects through the grapevine or through the Web, your next step will be to telephone them. Draw up a list of questions ahead of time. The questions should reflect what you want to see a landscape architect achieve in your yard. Trust your instincts as you reflect upon such a telephone interview afterwards:
- Was the representative courteous and informative?
- Were your questions answered to your satisfaction?
- Were you rushed off the telephone, or did the representative make you feel special?
Besides your questions regarding the specifics of your own makeover, ask for references. Landscape architects worth hiring will benefit from reports from past clients. Trustworthy landscape architects will be glad to provide a list of telephone numbers of local clients satisfied with a job well done.
Choosing a Landscape Architect: Meet the Candidates
If a landscape architect's references furnish glowing reports, it's time to invite the landscape architect to your property for a face-to-face interview. If you can draw a rough plan of what you desire on paper beforehand, something concrete to show the landscape architect, so much the better. But most landscape architects will bring some sort of portfolio to such an interview, giving you a chance to point to a picture and say, "Yeah, I want something like this." Walk the property together and describe exactly what you envision.
Besides coming away with an estimate, don't forget some of the less glamorous details. Request to see certificates of liability and workman’s compensation insurance, and check that they are current. Phone the insurance company to verify current policy information.
If there's more than one landscape architect, interview them all: Competition is a good thing. All else being equal, select the landscape architect who leaves you with the feeling, "This is someone I can work with, someone who will listen to me and do what it takes, within reason, to satisfy my expectations."
