5 Reasons to Hire a Landscape Architect

When you look at the area around your beautiful home, are you stumped?

Or maybe you have a wish list of desires for your yard but aren’t sure how to pull it off?

Coming up with a cohesive plan for your landscaping requires you to take a myriad of factors into account. From knowing how water moves throughout your property, to understanding how the sun moves through the seasons to deciding if you lean towards formal or more native, there are a LOT of factors to consider! It can be overwhelming.

If you have balked at hiring a landscape architect in the past because you think you can’t afford it, consider all the money you’ve wasted in choosing the wrong plants or just ending up with a design that decreases the overall value of your home. Ignoring your landscape is missing a great opportunity to not only enjoy your outdoor space but invest in your most valuable asset.

Here are five reasons you need to engage a landscape architect:

1. Increase the Value of your Home. Landscape architects are able to take a holistic view of your property and come up with the best plan to address not just how the space looks, but how it functions for you and your family. They are able to design different zones – such as an outdoor kitchen or play area – as well as design for the architecture of the home itself. Research from Virginia Tech shows that an attractive landscape adds as much as 15 percent to your home’s value and literally grows every year!
2. Incorporate Native Plants. Whether you want a low maintenance garden or enjoy puttering, installing native plants means working with your environment and increases the success of the plantings. A landscape architect will go beyond your UDSAA Zone and create a design that takes into account the specific characteristics of your property. Do you have low, water-logged areas? Places that dry out in the summer sun? A landscape architect will be able to design for problem areas as well. Further, native plants reduce the need for water and chemicals as well as support bumblebees and butterflies in your landscape.
3. Effective Irrigation Plan. Designing an effective irrigation system for the landscape requires a thoughtful assessment of the nuances of the total landscape to determine what needs water, how much and how often. Incorrectly installed systems can not only waste water but kill plants if not thoughtfully designed. Your landscape architect will likely install a drip system which works to water the plants at the root and waste less water since evaporation is reduced.
4. Problem-Solving Gardens. A landscape architect will create gardens to solve problems in your landscape in addition to highlighting the beauty of your home. Areas that collect water during heavy rains might be made into a rain garden. A shady area might be reinvented into a secret garden. A large open space might be perfect for a pool. If you have an area that perplexes you, a landscape architect can help you find a solution!
5. Lower your Energy Bills. Yes, a landscape architect can even save you money! Did you know that by planting trees and shrubs in particular areas you can actually reduce your heating and cooling costs? An experienced landscape architect will be well versed in placement for not only creating shade and protection but also for reducing erosion.

Landscape architects can be engaged at any time of year to design your plan, so reach out today — call (703) 433-1863 — to see results before winter!