Starting own landscape design business

[daftpixie]

My boyfriend is thinking of starting his own landscape gardening business, he his very talented but at the moment does not have any qualifications to show this, only natural ability. At the mo is designing for friends and building up his portfolio, and is planning to take a course which will take a couple of years to complete.

He lacks the confidence to make a break for it as he's worried that people would not contract him for business on the basis he has no recognised certification to show his ability. Do you think that you would have someone design for your garden based on a proven portfolio? or that you wouldnt want someone who was currently unqualified (in this field anyway)?

Also, any suggestions has to the right way to go about starting up and advertising? any how you would like to see ideas presented? in colour schemes? or by themes?

Any ideas and suggestions would be fantastic and much appreciated x

[joko]

my ex did this and the issue isn't really about colour, and an eye for design, its also about understanding the soil, the plants and the growing conditions.

i don't know how far he has got regarding that side, but for instance if he plants something that needs bright sunlight up against a fence that never gets sunlight because it looks nice is not good enough - it will obviously not thrive.
if he plants things too close together so one plant overwhelms the other within a few weeks because its a fast grower.
can he assess the soil PH etc and solve and potential growing problems?
can he lay turf?
does he know what plants are poisonous or sharp and not advisable around children and animals?
Could he build a patio? put in decking? small walls?
can he build a pond that won't leak? and that fish can live in?
does he know the right way to aireate (sp) the soil?
can he give advice to the owners on maintenance etc? can he plan the seasons so that there will alway be foliage and colour on show?
does he know what to use to rid the garden of an existing aphid problem before he starts?

there is so much more to it.

i am afraid most people want the whole package that will last them a good while, not just it being 'done up', so i would suggest he gets the qualifications

good luck

[daftpixie]

yep, he has the technical ability to, excellent knowlege on plants, soil etc and can do all the hard landscaping, like is say, natural ability, understands the land. When i asked about presentation of ideas I realised that landscaping gardening as a whole was not about designs and colours, I meant that from purely an portfolio aspect. Thanks though for the help, I guess it shows that without the qualification people may think he can only do pretty temporary stuff, whereas the qualification would assure them he has genuine knowledge and skill. Cheers joko

[Catso]

Whilst joko is of course right, I'd disagree with your own conclusion. We engaged the services of a garden designer and the most important thing to us was their track record. "Can they deliver the goods?" I've no idea whether they had an professional qualifications in landscape gardening and didn't care.

If your boyfriend has all the knowledge, in at least most of the areas joko mentions, then go for it. If he's any good at it, he will soon get a reputation.

[Trotbot]

Natural ability tends to win over pieces of paper, particularly in practical areas such as landscaping. Luck is always required in these things, and the biggest challenge is getting to sit in front of prospective clients. Enthusiasm and an instinctive understanding of their needs and how to achieve them within the budget will serve him well.

Be prepared to take some small commissions at a reduced rate to get known, but critically assess the non-financial benefits. If someone opens their garden for charity in the summer, try and work on a corner of it. If they are in the middle of nowhere and have no friends then there are limited benefits to working at cost

[daftpixie]

Thanks for all your replies, Trotbot re small commissions he was thinking of offering lawn mowing, hedge trimming etc to get his name known, is that the kind of thing you meant? and is planning to start on small city garden scale in the beginning, and its great catso that his knowledge and past work will speak for themselves, the qualification would maybe just be an extra exampla of his abiltity, good stuff, thanks x

[joko]

oh well sounds like he has the know how - its just proving it now! how about if he approached some local public places that have gardens - such as libraries, old folks homes, etc and offer to do the work for them for free, if they pay for the supplies - it would be like a public billboard for his skills and he can leave cards and flyers etc at these places, and you will also have some great photos and sketches for your folio.

as has been mentioned word of mouth is invaluable.

also if he has flyers or leaflets made he should mention some of the issue i raised and explain a little of how he deals with them etc, which will show people that he has knowledge.

if he is not skilled at drawing, i would ask an arty friend to produce some of his groundplans into a final art work so that they can seen the process - from the measuring up and consideration stage to the final piece.