LANDSCAPE GARDENER
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Landscape Gardener Job Description and Duties:

What landscape gardener can help You the Homeowner with:
Garden Design and landscaping is a trade, art and process of creation of design plans for layout and planting of garden. In any case general principles of Garden Design apply including the creation of garden that meets the aesthetic needs of the Homeowner. There are obviously professional landscape gardeners and gifted amateurs who have a feel for that sort of work.
Garden Design includes the layout of :
Terrain landscape, such as walls, path, water features like rivers, lakes etc., sitting areas and decking;
-Plants with consideration for their horticultural requirements, their seasonal appearances, lifespan, growth habits, size, speed of growth, and combinations with other plants and landscape features. Consideration concerning the maintenance of the garden, including the time or budget available for maintenance jobs to complete, affects the choice of plants in terms of speed of growth, spreading or self-seeding of the plants and many other considerations.
Considerations in the Garden Design include how the garden would be used, the desired outlook (formal or informal, modern, traditional or exotic etc.), and the way the garden space would interact with domestic property or other structures in the surroundings.
Topographical landscape particulars such as hills or valleys may suggest or determine aspects of design such as layout and can be used in order to create a particular visual impression.
The soil types of the future garden would affect what types of plants may be planted, as will the garden's climate zone and local microclimates available.
The location of the garden also influences its design. For example, an urban location may require a different design style from the rural one. Similarly, a windy coastal location would require a different treatment compared to a more sheltered inland garden. Quality of a garden's soil definitely have an important influence on a garden's design.
Particular type of soil influences the amount of water, microelement and nutrients, the activity of soil micro-organisms, and temperature within the root location, and therefore may have a determining effect on the types of plants which will grow successfully in the garden.
However, the actual soils may be replaced or improved in order to make them more suitable for the garden and the plants to be grown. Garden soil is usually improved by adding an amendments, the process of adding beneficial materials to the native subsoil and particularly the topsoil. The added materials, which usually consist of compost, peat, sand, mineral dust, or manure, are mixed with the soil to the preferred depth. The amount and type of amendments may depend on factors, including the amount of existing soil humus, the soil structure (clay,loam, silt, sand etc.), the soil acidity/alkalinity, and the choice of plants to be grown.
Garden can be affected by its boundaries and borders, both external and internal, and in turn the design can influence the boundaries, including creation of new ones to meet the design plans.
Planting is used to modify an existing boundary/border line by widening/narrowing it. Introducing internal boundaries can divide or break up a garden into smaller areas which could have a different visual appearance and design.
The main types of boundary within a garden are hedges, fences and walls.
A hedge may be evergreen or deciduous, formalor informal, tall or short, depending on the style of the garden and purpose of the boundary intended.
Usually the wall has a strong foundation beneath it built from brick, stone or concrete blocks. A fence differs from a wall in that it is anchored only at certain intervals, and is usually constructed using wood, concrete or metal(such as iron, wire mesh or concrete fence).
Boundaries/borders may be constructed for several reasons: to keep out livestock or intruders, to improve privacy, to create shelter from strong winds and provide microclimates, to screen unattractive structures or views.
Traditionally,in western gardens, a uncluttered expanse of lawn is often considered necessary to a proper garden. However Garden Designers may use other top layers, for example those "made up of loose gravel ,small pebbles, or wood chips" in order to create a different visual appearance and feel.Designers can also utilise the contrasts in texture and color between different surfaces in order to create an overall pattern and visual feel in the design.
Surfaces for paths and access points are chosen for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. Issues such as safety, maintenance durability and sustainability may need to be considered by the designer but for the Garden Design for domestic properties the heavy foot traffic is not a hazard, therefore, the industrial type of coverage of surfaces is not usually required.
Planting design requires design talent, aesthetic judgement and a good deal of practical experience combined with a good knowledge of horticultural, ecological and cultural requirements.
Relevant planting plan is required before job commences which gives a specific instructions for a contractor how the soil is to be prepared, what plants are to be planted, what size and spacing is to be used and what maintenance operations are to be carried out under the contract if the Homeowner agrees on the maintenance section of a contract. Point of view of the Homeowners is also considered and a planting strategy is produced describing different types of vegetation in a landscape or garden.
Planting can be done by a landscape contractor (also known as a landscape gardener). landscape gardeners work to drawings and specifications prepared by garden designers or landscape architects.
Garden Design would include a choice of garden furniture ranging from a simple patio set of table, chairs and parasol, benches, swings and various lighting, patio heaters that run on butane or propane and allow Homeowner, his family and friends to sit outside at night or in cooler conditions and a picnic table.
The materials used to produce patio furniture include stones, metals, vinyl, plastics, resins, glass, and treated wood.
Presence or absense of sunlight is an important element of Garden Design. The amount of available light is a critical factor in determining what type of plants may be grown. Sunlight and duration of dayligh will have a substantial influence on the outlook of the garden. For example, vegetable garden may need to be placed in a sunny location, and if that location is not ideal for the overall Garden Design goals, the designer may need to change other aspects of the Garden Design.
In some cases, the amount of available sunlight can be influenced by the landscape gardener. The position of trees, other shade plants, garden structures, or, when designing an entire property, even buildings, might be selected or changed based on their impact in increasing or reducing the amount of sunlight provided to various areas of the property.
In other cases, the amount of sunlight is not under the landscape gardener's control. Buildings located beside the garden, plants on other properties, or simply the climate of the local area, may limit the available sunlight. Or, substantial changes in the light conditions of the garden may not be within the landscape gardener's means-ie, if substantial investment is required to alter an amount of sunlight is not approved by the Homeowner. In this case, it is important to create a garden plan which does not clash with the existing light conditions and does not require expensive investments.
Also, a garden lighting is an important part of Garden Design. There are numerous types of lighting techniques that may be classified and defined by heights of installation: safety lighting, uplighting, and downlighting.
Safety lighting is the most practical type of lighting. However, it is more important to determine the type of lamps and light fittings needed to create the desired effects. Presence of light regulates three major plant processes:
-photosynthesis.
-phototropism.
-photoperiodism.
Photosynthesis provides the energy required to produce the energy source of plants. Phototropism is the effect of light on plant growth that causes the plant to grow toward or away from the light.
Photoperiodism is a plant’s response or capacity to respond to photoperiod, a recurring cycle of light and dark periods of constant length.
Private domestic garden, is the most common form of garden and is in proximity to a residence, such as the 'front garden' or 'back garden'. The front garden may be a formal and semi-public space and so subject to the local laws and regulations. It is usually found in the yard of the private homes, a garden can also be established on a roof, in an atrium or courtyard, on a balcony, in windowboxes, or on a patio.
Residential gardens are typically designed at human scale, as they are most often intended for private use. However, the garden of a great house or a large estate may be larger than a public park.
Residential gardens may feature specialized gardens, such as those for exhibiting one particular type of plant, or special features, such as rockery or water features. They sometimes also used for growing herbs and vegetables for personal use.
All mentioned above shows that if the private garden needs to be redone, partly remodeled or maintenance is required, finding and hiring a professional landscape gardener is necessary to achieve a best result.