David, I checked out your profile and I can see you are an ambitious individual. It's very impressive that you have started a successful business at such a young age :-) And that does change somewhat what my typical advice would be. How much does a college education matter to you? What sort of a fall-back plan do you have if your landscaping business does not thrive? How would you prefer to earn a living, should it come to that? I am not intending to spread gloom and doom but ours is a service industry highly dependent on disposable income and if that income dries up - as it did about 7 years ago - ours are the first kind of businesses to go down the drain. It is just a reality that you need to be prepared to face. Like I said previously, it is a BIG jump from a lawn care business to landscape design and installation. I think you anticipate taking your business into the design-build realm and that is a somewhat natural progression. But design-build firms tend to focus on residential projects. It is a whole different ballgame when it comes to commercial landscape planning and design and that is typically well beyond the scope of a design-build. If I can make an awkward analogy, it's a bit like designing and building a skyscraper compared to building and designing a single family residence. The first has a team of architects that do just the design portion. Once approved, the whole ball of wax is turned over to the general contractor and the subs for construction and typically (except for some limited oversight or approval of change orders) that's the last the architects are heard from or involved. With the SFR, the designer is often the general himself and is intimately involved with the construction process all the way through to completion. So to finish this analogy, LA's are not normally associated with a design-build company and usually work completely independently from any installation contractors. You will have a big learning curve here so my suggestion is to start small. Hire a designer, maybe even on a part time basis as the need arises. Note that I said 'designer', not an LA. Until you have established a landscape design reputation, you won't generate the need for a full time designer and most LA's will require full time employment plus benefits. And their higher/different level of training typically calls for a higher salary as well. Plus, residential landscape design does not require the same educational background or licensing requirements - the vast majority of LA's never do residential projects - there's just not enough money in it to make it worth their while. Although an unlicensed, fresh out of college LA may appreciate the experience of a design-build environment, before moving on to bigger and better things. You will also need to educate your crew into the technical aspects of landscape installation. They will need to know about grading and drainage, how to install irrigation systems and landscape lighting, build retaining walls, install various hardscape elements, operate heavy equipment, etc., etc., etc. Pretty different from lawn care skills or light pruning :-) None of this has answered your question about getting a degree yourself. And I can't answer that for you. Part of it has to do with my very first paragraph - what kind of fall-back plan do you have for your life and your career? I can say that most accredited universities - those that provide degrees in Landscape Architecture - do not offer night classes. And the course work is very intensive. So you have to be prepared to put your business on hold while you attend 4-5 years of classes and whatever apprenticeship period your state requires or turn it over to your brother or other responsible employee to manage in your absence. But at the end you will have a degree you can rely on for employment (albeit very specialized employment) elsewhere or in the future. An alternative is to get formal training in landscape design. This is typically a two year Associates degree and is often offered through community or technical colleges, sometimes in association with a horticulture degree or certification. Night and weekend classes are common so you can run your business AND still get an education. This type of training should also introduce you to all the technical aspects of the business as well but all the classroom, book-learning in the world will not prepare you as well as hands-on experience. And you definitely want to get that well under your belt before offering these types of services to paying clients. So even with a landscape design degree, an apprenticeship with an established design-build company is highly advised. I seem to have written a book here :-) Let me just sum up by saying that moving from residential landscape design into commercial/municipal landscape design projects is not common for a design-build firm. Most DB's do not have the skills or resources to accommodate that switch nor are the developmental bodies that sponsor or oversee these sorts of projects inclined to look at DB's as a source for either a designer or an installation contractor for the same reasons. Sure, I do a few commercial projects now and then but most are just simple parking lot planting plans or just larger scale residential projects - like designing the common areas for condo associations or street plantings for a residential development. And these are all types of projects a non-licensed designer or a DB with adequate experience is able to handle. I hope all this is somewhat clear :-) feel free to ask for any clarification you might need. Familiarity with the subject sometimes leads to overlooking or leaving out significant points but I think/hope I've hit most.

karni - I have spoken to the neighbors, kind of a long story, we'll see if something happens. They are very very nice people but have a very very busy lifestyle. They shouldn't have such an elaborate perennial garden on such a small lot if they aren't in a position to maintain it closely. I didn't get the impression that they were willing to "give up" anything. They seemed like people who "want it all" even if they can't "take care of it all". Think I will add something else: DON'T set up an elaborate abundant garden unless you have time to maintain it or pay to have someone maintain it for you regularly (biweekly). You don't have to fill every nook and cranny of your yard. Remember landscaping the "emptiness" is important too. Need the diversity of plants AND "space" for a really beautiful garden IMO.

First of all, are these clients all wanting and needing a design and willing to pay for it - separate from a design-build solution? After all, what they really want is the finished product. The design is only a tool to get them there. I charge a flat fee based on a meeting with the prospect on site. I never quote pricing during an initial phone conversation. As a design-build contractor, my goal is to get the construction contract and not just do the design only. I ask what they want and determine how time consuming and difficult it will be to figure out elevation changes, etc. I may or may not offer to credit the design fee towards the construction costs depending on whether I sense hesitation once I propose the design fee. I have a design agreement that spells out what they get for the design, the process and the fee. In that I state an hourly fee shall apply if they make excessive changes to the preliminary plan such as asking "what if the pool was placed on the other side of the yard?" I would simply say, well sure, at $50 per hour, I can certainly redraw the plan... to which they quickly agree that what I came up with would be superior. I avoid such statements because my preliminary plans are so well thought out, to me, they are essentially bullet proof, but I go through the motions and let them give me feedback, which is usually very minor since I have been doing this a long time. Having contractor relationships are key because they ultimately need to get it built. Most all contractors either sub out their designs to freelance designers or have someone on staff or do it themselves as the owner (if they are good designers). You bring value to your design if you can follow through with the project to construction and perhaps get a bit more fee for supervision (depending on the contractor chosen). The fee determination is also based on whether there is an existing site plan so I dont have to measure the property from scratch. If its a new build, its easier than having to measure a bunch of existing trees, curved walkways etc. which adds time. A flat lot is much easier than a hillside which can be twice as much time to figure grading and drainage issues. Also depends on whether the plan is a master plan that shows everything including hardscape, irrigation, lighting and some construction details or whether its a planting plan only. there fore, I have a range of design fees. My website goes into some of this discussion if you want to check it out. http://jsllandscape.com/designs.html

Thank you everyone for your input - some great info here for me to consider. As I have been researching landscape professionals, I have been concentrating on those who seem to have significant hardscaping experience, since I know our project is going to involve a new retaining wall and section of patio at a minimum, and possibly much more. Someone to help me choose plants and design plantings is a secondary concern, although I have certainly been paying attention to people's styles in that regard as I research. Anyway, the people I have emailed thus far are all design-build firms, which I assume will be the easiest way to deal with this project, especially given Revolutionary's note about not building what other people design. That is understandable and I'm sure most of these designers have a team of masons/contractors they work with to avoid that exact issue. It sounds as though paying a designer for a buildable set of plans to shop around to contractors will just end up costing a lot more in the end, for very little benefit - that is, as long as I can find a design-build firm where both the designer and builders are equally talented! Asking whether these designers are willing to chat on the phone first is a terrific idea - I will absolutely ask! Site consultations have been offered at anywhere from $200 for one hour to $375 for three hours, and while I don't find those fees outrageous for someone's expertise, I really don't want to agree to the fee only to find that I can't stand someone the moment I meet them, LOL.