Landscaping is all around us. It is the process of making a garden or any piece of land attractive. Most places just hire companies or businesses that offer landscaping services as it is easier that way.
Landscaping is a process that combines both science and art to be able to produce something beautiful. A landscaping professional can help you transform your land into something magnificent. The professionals that you work with will slowly guide you through the whole process of landscaping. This includes the construction and design of the place.
When people want to do the landscaping work themselves, they tend to rush into the construction without coming up with a plan beforehand. Having a landscaping plan helps you to visualize the scale, layout and design of the plan. By visualizing, you will be able to pinpoint the things that are or are not suitable.
A career in landscaping is physically demanding and requires a lot of work to be put in. However, the end product is very rewarding to those who put in the effort. As a landscaper, you are required to do a lot of things. Some of it being:
- Meet with clients to discuss the project
- Sketch a rough design idea or drawing of how the landscape would look like
- Order materials needed for the project
- Plant trees, flower, typically any sort of plants that the clients requested
- Make sure that everything is done by the rules and regulations of the building
To become a landscaper, you require a special set of skills and interests to be able to do the job properly. Some of the skills and interests include:
- Free hand drawing skills
- Good knowledge on plants and its living conditions
- Project management
- Organisational skills
- Enjoy working outdoors
Being a landscaper is a full time job. It does not matter if you are self-employed or working for a company. The hours are fixed as you will be working for a client. Being a landscaper means working in many different areas which includes government owned parks, residential premises, hotels and resorts. Landscaping is work done outdoors. It can be physically demanding and draining as the job requires you to lift, shovel and kneel on the ground. You also have to do a lot of tasks and services like:
- Grass maintenance services
- Tree pruning and cutting services
- Florist services
- Cleaning services
- Gardening services
- Bringing Brazil to East Berlin, Alex Hanazaki
In 2017 at the Internationale Gartenausstellung (IGA), the training architect Alex Hanazaki was invited to design a layout for a garden that would be in Berlin with a hint of Brazil added to the mix. Alex Hanazaki was based in Sao Paulo, He is a Brazilian with a Japanese ancestry. He claimed that he intentionally tried not to dive into Brazilian stereotypes, like football.
Alex Hanazaki could not fully go out of his way to design the garden due to the climate in Berlin. He ended up choosing plants such as cherry trees and bamboos as no tropical plant would survive the climate of Berlin. Alex Hanazaki added paving stones with rusty finishes to give it a Brazilian touch as it is common back there. His view of the project was to create something minimalistic yet modern. This is because he has the aim of wanting to improve quality of life and integrate people with nature.
- Landscaping in a residential complex, Fuzhou, China, SWA Group
The SWA Group unveiled the project in southeast China. This was considered a big project as the area is 45 hectares and was surrounded by 12 small hills. The clients wanted the landscaping to follow the natural site of the area, not removing and adding anything that is not on par with the site.
An existing lake at the site was preserved and it became the centerpiece to the residential complex. The design of the site was modern complemented with urban refuge and the garden scenery around the area. The site does not only feature a residential area, but also a boutique hotel, shopping area and clubhouse.
- Garden House, Kuwait, AGi Architects
A family requested the help of AGi Architects to help design a house that would allow them to live outdoors everyday of the year. Even during summer, when the temperature rises to approximately 40 degree celsius in Kuwait. The Architects assigned to this project, Joaquin Perez-Goicoechea and Nasser Abulhasan, decided to use plants to resolve this issue.
The pair designed a total of three gardens to help cope with the heat in Kuwait. The core of the house consists of a garden with a pool and fountain. This is to be used during the summer to help counter the heat. There is also a winter garden that sits on the roof of the house where a terrace can be opened up to view the sea. The summer garden is approximately 4m below the street levels in Kuwait and it features a waterfall to give people a cooling effect.
The pair of architects claimed that it was hard to come up with a design to give all three gardens its own personality but also be considered as one space. It was then settled that the garden will be designed first, and the house will be designed around the gardens. Meaning, the house is designed to best suit the three gardens.
- Village in Xixi Wetland Estate, Hangzhou, David Chipperfield
For many years, Hangzhou has been credited for having ancient waterways lined with gardens, temples and buildings designed to better suit the dynamic of the surrounding landscape. The lead architects from David Chipperfield Architects are Mark Randel and Libin Chen. They did everything to make sure that the apartments will be able to blend in with the natural landscape.
There is a water garden that surrounds the village compound. The village holds many two storey buildings in dark and light stone colour. The village has a very minimalist and modern feel with a touch of greenery.
- A home in the City, Palazzo del Sol, Miami, Enzo Enea
The idea of this project was to build a 43 residence condominium Palazzo del Sol. Enzo Enea was contacted by Fisher Island Holdings to develop a landscape concept for the outdoor spaces of the condominium. He was required to maximise the use of outdoor areas and build a new concept of outdoor living.
Miami is a tropical city, the temperature can soar up to 40 degrees celsius. So it requires a lot of study to be able to build a new concept of outdoor living. Since the project was already ongoing before Enzo Enea came into the picture, he had to catch up with the pace by working fast and coming up with brand new ideas.
Though there are a lot of requirements to become a landscaper, the accomplishment of putting in so much hard work into landscaping at the end is worth all the pain and sweat. If you are looking for any type of landscaping services, there are many companies to choose from. For example, Landscape Contractor Singapore and Hawaii Landscape. Feel free to share with us if you have experience being a landscaper here in Singapore! We are always looking forward to hearing from you.