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Investing in a new landscape for your home is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Entrusting your hopes and dreams to a landscape designer who you’ve just met may make you uneasy.

The design team at Landmark completely understands where you’re coming from. To help you make your choice, we asked our team what they think are the characteristics of a good landscape designer. Their answers are below.

1. Empathy and good listening skills.

Listening skills are the most crucial trait you should look for in your designer. And not just whether they can repeat everything you say to them — they should be actively listening and prodding you along with helpful questions during your first meetings.

The questions they ask should also come from a place of empathy, where your designer is able to put themselves in your shoes and understand what you’re looking for. When this is done well, the questions can expand your vision and give you new ideas that you might not have thought of. 

An empathetic designer who can truly listen to you is far more likely to get your design right when all is said and done.

At Landmark, our designs are always centred on your lifestyle and values. Our team’s passion, ingenuity and discipline lead to award-winning designs. The end goal? Drawing you and your loved ones outdoors, basking in all it has to offer.

2. Credentials, training and education.

Check the qualifications, professional accreditations and memberships that your designer and their team claim to have. The capacity and ability of a landscape firm are based on their education and training.

At Landmark, our landscape designers either hold degrees related to landscape design or landscape architecture or have many years of experience. You can meet them here.

3. A beautiful portfolio of previous work.

Education is important, but real-world experience is even more important. Look at examples of your designer firm’s past work and make sure they have a wide range of experience.

That’s not to mention how fun and inspiring it can be to look at how other landscape designs have come to life! Taking virtual walks through past design will get you comfortable with what to expect — and show you what’s possible!

If you’re on the Georgian Bay coast and are considering us, we’ve tried to make it as simple as possible to see some of our past projects. We also constantly post professional photos of our projects on our Facebook and Instagram profiles — check them out for some fresh inspiration!

4. Positive testimonials from happy clients.

Take some time to research multiple landscape companies online. And while you’re doing so, look for reviews and testimonials from previous clients. These can be very telling! 

Whoever you hire will have their employees working in and around your home, so it’s important to get to know them, form a positive relationship with them and most importantly — trust them.

Reading testimonials will give you many clues in these areas. You can see some of ours on Houzz, Google and Facebook.

5. The ability to communicate with clarity.

Once you’ve committed to a designer, it should be obvious what’s happening — and when. 

Potential red flags to look for include unreturned phone calls, missed deadlines or meetings, unclear processes or not having a point person to contact at the company. 

To combat and prevent any of these red flags, we’ve laid out everything clearly on our design process page. You also have access to one of the best warranties in the industry!

Getting Started on the Design Process

We want to make sure you have the tools to choose the right landscape designer for you — and part of that is knowing what to expect. If you have any questions at all about how design works at the Landmark Group, please get in touch with us. We can’t wait to meet you.