Design
Landscape design
Our certified landscape designers plan a property for how it will be lived in and for how plants actually perform in Georgia, then our own crews build it. From the first walk of the site to a finished, planted landscape, it is one firm from plan to installation.
- Certified designers Certified landscape designers plan every project.
- Since 1986 Four decades designing for metro Atlanta properties.
- Design to install The same firm plans it, builds it, and maintains it.
- Residential and commercial Private yards and large commercial grounds alike.
What design covers
Designing a landscape that lasts
Good landscape design is more than choosing plants. It reads the site, plans for the seasons, and ties the planted and the built into one composition.
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Reading the property
Every design starts by reading the site: sun and shade through the day, slopes and drainage, the soil, mature trees, and how you actually want to use the space. The land decides much of the plan.
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Plant selection for Georgia
Plants chosen for metro Atlanta conditions, the summer heat, the red clay, and the sun or shade of each bed, so the landscape thrives for years instead of just surviving its first season.
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A considered plan
A layout that ties beds, lawn, walkways, and focal points into one composition, with structure that reads well in every season, not only in a spring bloom.
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Hardscape integration
Patios, walls, walkways, and water designed as part of the landscape from the start, so the built and the planted fit together instead of being added on later.
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Phasing to fit a budget
A design can be installed all at once or in stages as budget allows, planned so each phase stands on its own and builds toward the finished landscape.
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Curb appeal and daily use
A design serves both the view from the street and the way a household or a business moves through the grounds every day, the entry, the patio, the path to the door.
How it works
From consultation to installed landscape
A design project moves through three clear stages, and you can see and shape the plan before any work begins.
- Consultation
We meet at the property, walk it together, and talk through what you want: how you use the space, the look you are after, and what is and isn’t working now. There is no obligation to go further.
- The plan
Our certified designers put together a plan, the layout, the plant palette, the hardscape, and how it all fits, so you can understand the finished landscape and make choices before any work begins.
- Installation
Licensed crews install the design: grading, beds, plantings, and hardscape. From there it can move straight onto a maintenance program, so a new landscape is cared for correctly from its first season.
Built for Georgia
Plant selection for Georgia conditions
Metro Atlanta is not an easy place to grow. Summers are hot and humid, the native soil is heavy acidic clay that drains slowly, and a single yard can swing from full afternoon sun to deep shade under mature hardwoods. A plant that thrives in one bed can fail ten feet away. Designing for those conditions, rather than against them, is what separates a landscape that fills in and matures from one that has to be replaced.
We choose plants that suit both the specific spot and the region: the right plant for the sun, soil, and moisture of each bed, arranged so the composition holds its structure through all four seasons. Where the soil or grade needs help, we correct it as part of the install rather than planting into a problem. And because we also build the hardscape, the drainage, the lighting, and the irrigation, the whole landscape is planned to work together from the first day.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does a certified landscape designer actually do?
A designer plans the whole landscape rather than just planting what is on hand: the layout, the plant palette, the hardscape, the grading and drainage, and how each part relates to the others and to the house. The goal is a property that works as a whole and holds up over years, in Georgia’s specific conditions.
Do you install the design, or just draw it?
We do both. Because Atlanta Scapes designs, builds, and maintains, the plan is drawn to be built by our own licensed crews and then kept up by our maintenance programs. One firm carries it from idea to installed landscape to season-after-season care.
All services →How do you choose plants?
By the site and the region. Metro Atlanta’s heat, humidity, and acidic clay soils reward some plants and punish others, and every bed has its own sun, shade, and moisture. We choose plants that suit both the specific spot and the Georgia climate so the landscape establishes and thrives.
Can hardscape and water features be part of the design?
Yes, and it is best when they are designed in from the start. Patios, retaining walls, walkways, lighting, and water read as part of the landscape when they are planned together rather than added on afterward.
Hardscape →Can a project be done in stages?
Yes. A design can be installed all at once or phased over time as budget allows. We plan the phases so each one looks finished on its own while building toward the complete landscape.
Request an estimate →Start with a walk of your property.
Tell us what you have in mind and we will meet you at the site, talk it through, and put together a design plan with no obligation.