Design: Our Passion


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Design: Our Passion

Learn new design techniques and strategies you can immediately apply to help you grow as a landscape designer.

Selling Your Vision: A Step-By-Step Approach to Creating a Conceptual Plan
Chris Heiler | February 20th, 2010

The meaning of the word "Conceptual Plan" varies from designer to designer. Personally, I use this "Concept" as a way to sell my overall vision for the property. It's all about getting my client excited and committed to my ideas. The combination of color and drawings of different views accomplishes this. . . . keep reading

CAD Showcase 2010 Software Demos

These are the recordings from the recent webinar, CAD Showcase 2010, featuring CAD Software demos by Vectorworks, DynaSCAPE and Land F/X . . . keep reading

Garden and Architecture as One: Form Composition
Chris Heiler | December 10th, 2009

At a very basic level, form composition is nothing more than combining lines and arcs to form geometric shapes such as circles, squares and triangles. Learn how to use Form Composition in your landscape plans . . . keep reading

Google Maps: More Than Just Directions
Chris Heiler | November 11th, 2009

Many of you probably already use Google Maps or a similar online mapping service. Though you may only use it for driving directions, I wanted to share with you the many additional applications built into Google Maps that are very handy for landscape designers . . . keep reading

Outsourcing Your Design Work: A Case for Virtual Assistance
Kyle Burgamy | October 15th, 2009

In order to remain competitive, a landscape designer must constantly seek to improve efficiencies with their services. With the internet changing the way businesses are run, countless opportunities exist to streamline a company and increase profitability . . . keep reading

Getting Organized: Creating a System for Managing Project Files
Chris Heiler | October 8th, 2009

Whether just designing gardens or both designing and installing your work, organizing and managing the paperwork associated with the project is critical . . . keep reading

Tech Tip: How to Use PlantMaster in Your Landscape Business
Anne Chilcott

PlantMaster is a plant database that can be used during sales presentations and for creating plant booklets for your customers. You can even use PlantMaster's plant search to find plant choices based on your design parameters . . . keep reading

The Art of Presenting a Landscape Plan
Chris Heiler, Editor

For being such a critical step in the design/build process, the importance of the presentation process is many times underestimated. We need to hone our skills as "presenters" just as we hone our skills as designers . . . keep reading

"We Don't Know How Much We Want to Spend": How to Get a Landscape Budget From Your Client
Jody Shilan

A common problem for landscape designers and contractors is trying to find out what a client is budgeting for a particular project. Clients are always hesitant to throw out a number, and designers know that without a budget they are going to be flying blind . . . keep reading

How to Construct a Detailed Base Plan
Chris Heiler, Editor

Drawing a base plan, or base map, is one of the most boring tasks landscape designers face. That said, it is one of the first and most critical steps in creating a successful landscape design . . . keep reading

July 2009 Podcast - Improve Your Garden Photography Skills

In this months podcast, award winning garden photographer and author, Clive Nichols, discusses tips and techniques landscape designers can use to improve their photography skills. . . . keep reading

Water Conservation Considerations for Landscape Irrigation Design
Brad Smith

There are a number of approaches to conserving and reducing the amount of water used in landscapes. This article focuses on the use of irrigation and how this process can be enhanced to improve water conservation. . . . keep reading

June 09 Podcast: Outdoor Kitchen Design
In this months podcast, Russ Faulk of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet discusses outdoor kitchen design and talks about the latest trends . . . keep reading

The 7 Step Landscape Design Process--Part 2
Chris Heiler - Editor

As a landscape designer, it's critical to have a step-by-step design process that you can easily explain to your prospects. In this article we'll cover steps 5 through 7 of my process . . . keep reading

The 7 Step Landscape Design Process--Part 1
Chris Heiler - Editor

As a landscape designer, it's critical to have a step-by-step design process that you can easily explain to your prospects. In this article we'll cover the first 4 steps of my process . . . keep reading

To Bulb or Not To Bulb as a Landscape Designer
Pam Duthie

Each spring as I watch for the progression of change to begin in the garden, I get very excited by the emerging season of new color from spring bulbs . . . keep reading

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