The field of landscape architecture is an interesting one. You’ll have many hats to wear and many duties to oversee. Like all fields, some skills will help you come along in the field of landscape architecture. Let’s look at what those skills are and how you can hone them to refine your craft.
A good landscape architect has attention to detail, patience while working, an eye for design, and a penchant for excellence. Refining these skills will help you become a master of your trade and make clients happy with every job you do.
Let’s go a bit more in-depth into each one of these skills so you can learn exactly how they can help you on the job, and if you don’t yet have this skill, what you can do to learn and execute it. Properly learning how to use each of these skills can not only provide your clients with outstanding work, it also build up your business and clientele in the long run.
Paying Close Attention to Detail
As a landscape architect, your primary duty is to help beautify your clients’ landscape. So, you must pay attention to the small details and catch anything unsightly before presenting a finished product to your client. You don’t want to show them their freshly designed landscape that they’ve been excited to see, only to have them find that some part of the job has been overlooked.
If this is not a skill that you already have, no worries. You can take small steps to help it become one. One way of doing this could be to have a checklist that you follow either as you are doing the job or once you have finished it. Going through the checklist will help you make sure that every part of the job is done thoroughly, and your client won’t be the one to find anything that wasn’t done correctly. Doing this will also help you get into the habit of paying attention to the finer details, and as time goes on, you’ll find that you will be looking for them without the help of your checklist!
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Having Patience When Working on Jobs
As the saying goes, patience is a virtue, and having patience when working on landscaping jobs is as important as anything else. As we discussed above, landscape architecture can be a job that requires a lot of attention to small details. For some, this can be a tricky skill to nail down as they simply don’t have the patience when it comes to repetitive or redundant tasks. Tasks such as pulling weeds, planting flowers, laying bricks, or even mowing the lawn can all be redundant tasks that may become boring over time. Especially if you are overseeing multiple different clients at the same time.
But keep in mind, even if the task becomes a mundane one for you, your client is counting on you to make their lawn look beautiful. Even if this is the fourth landscape project you are working on today, it deserves the same attention you gave to your first client’s project. Therefore, having patience is an incredibly important skill to have as a landscape architect. If you aren’t the most patient person, don’t worry, try these simple tricks to help you grow your patience.
If you find yourself getting bored on the job, you could listen to music or a podcast as you perform various tasks. This will help you stay focused on the job and give you a boost of energy as you’re working. Otherwise, you could try mixing up the jobs, so you don’t get bored with repeating the same task over and over again. If you must plant 40 flowers and pull all the weeds out of the yard for the day, you could plant five flowers and then pull some weeds. Then go back and plant five more flowers, and then go back to pulling weeds and back again. Mixing the jobs up may make it more fun and help the time pass by faster. This will also help you put in the needed time for each job and not get impatient and try to rush through it.
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Refining an Eye for Design
Again, your main job as a landscape architect is to make sure you are creating aesthetically beautiful spaces for your clients. They are paying you good money to do so, so make sure you are delivering on your promises. If design is not your strongest skill, don’t sweat it! There are many things you can do to work on it and work around it. A good place to start is to ask your client if they have any inspirational photos you can refer to when working on their yard. This will give you a good starting point on what to design their lawn after, and something to refer back to if you are having trouble coming up with ideas.
When it comes to sharpening your eye for design, try looking through architecture magazines or photos on social media. This will give you a good idea of what is trending right now and will give you plenty of ideas to reference back to when working on a project. Just because you aren’t an intrinsically design-oriented person, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn from other projects. If your client doesn’t have any reference photos to show you when you begin work, show them a few different ideas that could work for their space and have them pick out their favorite(s), this will give you ideas to pull from as you work.
You could also take the time to enroll yourself in design courses offered either through universities or online. These courses will walk you through the basics of design and teach you how to apply the principles that you learn on the job. If you don’t have the time or don’t want to spend the money enrolling at a university, oftentimes you can find free and quick videos on YouTube that can teach you the basics. You could also check out a book on design that will help you learn some design basics. Do your research and find whatever will help you learn best.
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Strive for Excellence
Lastly, in every job that you do, make sure that it is done thoroughly and properly. If you aren’t willing to give every job 110%, then maybe this isn’t quite the right role for you. If you are planting flowers, make sure that the yard is left with flowers planted immaculately and with care. Take care that they are evenly spaced, properly planted, and healthy before you move on. If you are laying bricks, make sure that each brick is laid evenly and properly spaced. If you’re mowing the lawn, make sure you haven’t missed any spots and you are cutting the lawn at the correct blade setting. Overall, make sure that each job is completed carefully and will make the client happy when they see the finished product. This is one skill that will help you grow your business and retain your clientele.
Utilizing These Skills to Grow Your Business
The skills that we looked at above will help you not only do well in your industry, but it will also help you stand out. No client will hire back or even want to pay for a landscape architect who provides them with shoddy workmanship. You need to provide high-quality work each time to stand out and go the long haul in this industry. Learn and fine-tune the skills above to help you do just that! If you find that none of the four skills we talked about above are in your wheelhouse right now, do not fret! If you put time into it, any skill can be learned! Good luck!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are any one of these skills more important to learn and use than the others?
All four of these skills are equally as important and helpful when it comes to being a landscape architect and succeeding in your role. I wouldn’t advise learning one over the others, rather take it slow and try to work on all four of the skills in your own time. If you are having trouble practicing all four at once, pick one to work on first, and once you have mastered it, move on to the next one.
I’ve always been an impatient person; how can I change myself for a job?
Everything comes with time, and I’m not suggesting that you flip a switch and become a patient person overnight. As we talked about above, if you take small steps on the job each day, you will start to see progress over time. Incorporate the suggestions we talked about above into your work routine and see what differences you notice over the month. Then slowly start to add in more steps until you get to where you’d like to be.
To learn more on how you can start your own landscaping business, check out my startup documents here.
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Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Landscape Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a landscape business owner at a job site, driving down the road or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Landscaping Business Boss: I want to help landscape business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.