The document discusses seven landscape professionals: landscape architect, landscape designer, garden designer, landscape contractor, landscaper, nursery, and landscape designer/builder. It provides details on the training and qualifications of a landscape architect. A landscape architect has a minimum of a four-year bachelor's degree plus potentially six more years of higher education and a three-year internship. They are trained in both design and practical considerations like construction techniques. However, a degree does not guarantee artistic talent and landscape architects typically receive limited training in horticulture.

1. Landscape Professonals - What You Need to Know
For What You Need to Do
The seven professionals potentially available to help you with your landscape and gardens are:
o Landscape Architect
o Landscape Designer
o Garden Designer
o Landscape Contractor
o Landscaper
o Nursery
o Landscape Designer/Builder
Although there is certainly overlap, these are distinctly different levels and kinds of professionals. We
will consider them in the order listed. First we will give a general description, list the strengths and
weaknesses, then a comparative analysis will follow. Finally, we will examine how to evaluate any given
individual within each of the professions.
Landscape Architect:
A landscape architect has a minimum landscaping company in Dubai of a four year Bachelor's degree
and may have six or more years of higher education. To be thoroughly certified she must also have three
years of internship in a landscape architectural office. The following paragraph is taken from the United
States Department of Labor.
"Persons planning a career in landscape architecture should appreciate nature, enjoy working with their
hands, and possess strong analytical skills. Creative vision and artistic talent also are desirable qualities.
Good oral communication skills are essential; landscape architects must be able to convey their ideas to

2. other professionals and clients and to make presentations before large groups. Strong writing skills also
are valuable, as is knowledge of computer applications of all kinds, including word processing, desktop
publishing, and spreadsheets. Landscape architects use these tools to develop presentations, proposals,
reports, and land impact studies for clients, colleagues, and superiors. The ability to draft and design
using CAD software is essential. Many employers recommend that prospective landscape architects
complete at least one summer internship with a landscape architecture firm in order to gain an
understanding of the day-to-day operations of a small business, including how to win clients, generate
fees, and work within a budget."
Strengths:
Landscape Architecture is a thorough and serious discipline aimed at providing aesthetically satisfying
solutions in the creation of spaces inhabited, visited or seen by humans. The study involves design
theory, engineering, planning, aesthetics, history and the sciences. The scope of the education is both
broad and deep and consequently the scale of the projects a landscape architect can undertake is
essentially unlimited.
The landscape architect has a sound education in all practical considerations - proper building codes and
techniques, legalities and so on. He can provide a detailed plan with material specifications, quantities,
sizes and so on, from which contractors can give accurate bids. Because of their degree they are
qualified to apply for a broader range of projects, for example government projects, which are not open
to non-licensed designers.
Weaknesses:
The term landscape architecture was first used By Frederick Law Olmstead in the late 1800's. At that
time there was no specific academic discipline for it so it began to be taught and studied under the roofs
of the architectural schools and has been stamped with that mind-set. - That is to say, with many
notable exceptions, landscape architecture, by the views of this author, is characterized by a quality of
architectural rigidity and over- reliance on structure. As mentioned, there have been notable exceptions.
Tommy Church and Russell Page, to name two, and there are many exceptions practicing today.
Typically, landscape architects are not taught horticulture so their plant recommendations are
frequently unreasonably limited. More importantly, a degree in landscape architecture does not signify
talent as the qualities, or lack of, in the designs produced do not guarantee or prevent a degree. In
fairness it should be said that no degree of any kind in any of these categories signifies talent - it only
signify the successful completion of a curriculum.