Where do landscape designers typically work?
A landscape designer is a professional who plans and designs outdoor spaces, such as gardens and yards, by combining plants, materials, and layout to create functional and visually appealing environments. For employers, hiring a landscape designer reduces risk, improves coordination, and ensures outdoor environments perform as well as they look.
Landscape designers typically work in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings, depending on their role and the type of projects they handle, these could be:
- Residential properties
- Commercial properties
- Public and civic spaces
- Institutional settings
- Design and construction places
- Self-employment and remote work
Let’s explore them now more in detail.
Residential Properties
Residential properties are one of the most common work environments for landscape designers. In this setting, landscape designers work directly with homeowners to plan, design, and enhance outdoor living spaces.
Projects may include front and back yard design, garden layouts, patios, walkways, decks, outdoor kitchens, and water features. Landscape designers also select plants, trees, and shrubs that suit the local climate, soil conditions, and the homeowner’s maintenance preferences.
Commercial Properties
Commercial properties are another common work environment for landscape designers. In these settings, designers create outdoor spaces that enhance the appearance, functionality, and brand image of businesses and organizations.
Landscape designers may work on office buildings, corporate campuses, shopping centers, hotels, resorts, restaurants, and mixed-use developments. Their responsibilities often include planning entryways, courtyards, parking areas, walkways, and outdoor seating spaces that are both visually appealing and practical for high-traffic use.
Public and Civic Spaces
Public and civic spaces are important work environments for landscape designers, as these areas are designed for community use and public enjoyment. Landscape designers help shape outdoor spaces that are accessible, functional, and visually welcoming for people of all ages.
Common projects include public parks, playgrounds, plazas, streetscapes, town centers, and waterfront areas. Landscape designers plan walking paths, seating areas, green spaces, and planting layouts that support recreation, relaxation, and social interaction.
Institutional Settings
Institutional settings are another common work environment for landscape designers. These projects involve designing outdoor spaces for organizations that serve the public or specific communities and require a balance of functionality, safety, and visual appeal.
Landscape designers may work on campuses for schools and universities, hospitals and healthcare facilities, museums, cultural centers, and religious institutions. In these environments, outdoor spaces are designed to support learning, healing, accessibility, and quiet reflection.
Design and Construction Workplaces
Many landscape designers work within design and construction workplaces, where they collaborate closely with other professionals involved in building and development projects. These environments often include landscape design firms, landscape architecture offices, and design-build or construction companies.
In these settings, landscape designers are responsible for creating detailed plans, drawings, and planting designs that align with architectural layouts and construction requirements. Much of the work takes place in offices or studios using design software, alongside meetings with clients and project teams.
Self-Employment and Remote Work
Many landscape designers choose self-employment or freelance work, which offers greater flexibility in how and where they work. In this arrangement, landscape designers often operate their own businesses and manage projects independently.
Self-employed landscape designers may work from home offices or private studios, creating designs, plans, and proposals using digital design software. They typically meet clients on-site to assess properties, discuss project goals, and review design concepts.
Remote work has also become more common, allowing landscape designers to collaborate with clients and contractors through virtual meetings and online tools. While some site visits are still necessary, many aspects of the design process, such as drafting, revisions, and consultations, can be completed remotely.
This work environment allows landscape designers to serve clients across different locations while maintaining a flexible schedule, making it an appealing option for those who prefer autonomy and varied project work.
The chart below provides a comparative summary of the information above, outlining typical work settings for landscape designers, along with example projects, collaboration teams, and cost considerations.
| Work environment | Examples | Typical project size | Special considerations | Teams they collaborate with | Project cost range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Residential Properties |
Licensed
Private homes, gardens, patios, rooftops yards |
Small to medium |
Client preferences, budget limits, maintenance needs, local climate |
Homeowners, contractors, installers, gardeners |
Low to medium |
|
Unlicensed
Office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, restaurants |
Medium to large |
High foot traffic, durability, branding, accessibility, maintenance efficiency |
Architects, property managers, contractors, engineers |
Medium to high |
|
|
Public and civic spaces |
Parks, plazas, streetscapes, playgrounds |
Large |
Safety, public access, regulations, long-term durability, sustainability |
Municipal agencies, urban planners, government officials |
High |
|
Schools, universities, hospitals, museums, religious sites |
Medium to large |
Accessibility standards, safety, healing/learning environments, long-term planning |
Administrators, architects, facility managers, contractors |
Varies (project-based) |
|
|
Self-employment and remote work |
Home-offices, private studios, virtual design services |
Small to medium |
Client acquisition, business management, remote coordination |
Clients, contractors, suppliers, consultants |
Low (startup) |
Where landscape designers work varies by project type, scale, and organizational needs, but their impact is consistent. By addressing site challenges, coordinating across disciplines, and balancing design with constructability and maintenance, landscape designers help employers deliver higher-performing outdoor environments with greater efficiency and long-term value.
