12 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Landscape Architect

By Joshua Tripp, Landscape Architect, ASLA — PLACE Landscape ArchitectureLast updated: May 2026

Hiring a landscape architect is not like hiring a landscaper. You are bringing on a licensed design professional who will shape how your site drains, how your home meets its grade, what gets permitted, and what your outdoor space looks like for the next thirty years. Get the hire right and the rest of the project gets easier. Get it wrong and you pay for it in redrawn plans, permit delays, and a finished landscape that fights the site instead of working with it.

After more than two decades designing residential, civic, and commercial landscapes across the Inland Northwest — from custom homes on Hayden Lake to public work like the grounds of the Hemmingson Center at Gonzaga University in Spokane — we have sat on both sides of these conversations. Below are the twelve questions we tell homeowners to ask before they sign anything, and what a good answer actually sounds like.

1. Are you a licensed landscape architect, and in which states?

This is the first question, and it is not rude to ask. "Landscape architect" is a protected title. A licensed landscape architect has earned an accredited degree, logged supervised experience, and passed all four sections of the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.) administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. A "landscape designer" has done none of that and cannot stamp drawings for permits. Both can be talented. Only one is licensed to take responsibility for grading, drainage, and structural site decisions. Ask for the license number and verify it with the Washington Department of Licensing or the Idaho licensing board.

2. Have you designed projects on sites like mine, in this region?

A firm that designs flat suburban yards in a mild climate is not automatically equipped for a steep, forested lot on Lake Pend Oreille. Inland Northwest sites carry conditions you will not find in a national portfolio: freeze-thaw cycles, dry summers, wildland-urban interface fire exposure, shoreline regulation, and well or septic siting. Ask to see two or three projects similar in type and region to yours.

3. Who will actually do the work?

At some firms the principal sells the project and a junior designer executes it. That is not always a problem, but you should know it going in. Ask who drafts your plans, who attends site visits, and who you call when you have a question in month four.

4. What does your fee structure look like?

Landscape architects typically charge an hourly rate, a fixed design fee, or a percentage of construction cost — often in the range of 5 to 15 percent on larger projects. None of these is inherently better; what matters is that the structure is written down and that you understand what each phase delivers. A vague "we'll figure it out as we go" is the answer to walk away from.

5. What is included in your design package — and what isn't?

A design fee can mean a single concept sketch or a full permit-ready set with grading plans, planting plans, irrigation design, and construction details. Get the deliverables in writing. The gap between "a pretty rendering" and "a buildable document a contractor can price" is where most budget surprises live.

6. Will my project need permits, and have you handled that approval before?

This is the single most useful question you can ask. Shoreline work on Lake Coeur d'Alene, Hayden Lake, or Lake Pend Oreille runs through Idaho Department of Lands review and county shoreline permitting. Hillside and forested lots trigger erosion-control requirements. The right answer names the specific approvals your project will need and how many similar ones the firm has walked through.

7. How do you handle grading, drainage, and stormwater?

On most Inland Northwest sites this is the real engineering of the project, not the planting. Ask how they manage water on a sloped lot, whether they coordinate with a civil engineer, and how they keep runoff off your foundation and your neighbor's property. If the answer is only about plants, you are talking to a designer, not an architect.

8. How will you coordinate with my builder, architect, and engineer?

The best outcomes happen when the landscape architect is at the table early, coordinating with everyone before the foundation is poured. Decisions about driveway placement, drainage swales, retaining walls, and tree preservation are far cheaper to make on paper. If you are building new, ask how they work alongside your custom-home builder — for clients building in North Idaho we regularly coordinate with regional builders such as Mountain View Construction so site and structure are designed together rather than in sequence.

9. What plants will you specify, and why those?

A good answer is regionally specific. For North Idaho that means species suited to your USDA hardiness zone, deer pressure, and fire exposure — guidance the University of Idaho Extension publishes for our region. Beware anyone who reaches for the same plant list regardless of where the site is.

10. Can you show me a project five or ten years after completion?

Anything looks good the week it is installed. The test of a landscape is how it holds up once plants mature, slopes settle, and seasons cycle. A confident firm can show you older work and talk honestly about what they would do differently.

11. What does your timeline look like?

For a residential project, expect roughly 8 to 14 weeks from the first site visit to a final permit-ready set of drawings, longer for commercial or civic work. If someone promises a full set in a week, ask what they are skipping.

12. What happens if something goes wrong during construction?

Plans meet reality on the job site. Ask whether the firm offers construction administration — site visits during the build to answer contractor questions and confirm the work matches the design. This is the difference between a set of drawings handed off at the curb and a partner who sees the project through.

Licensed Landscape Architect vs. Landscape Designer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really need a licensed landscape architect for a residential project? Not always. If your project is a plant-focused refresh of an existing flat yard with no permits, a skilled designer may be the right, more affordable choice. But if there is grading, drainage, a retaining wall, a pool, shoreline frontage, or any permit involved, hire the licensed professional. The upfront premium is almost always smaller than the cost of fixing unpermitted or under-engineered work.

How much does a landscape architect cost in the Inland Northwest? For a residential design package, expect roughly $2,000 to $15,000 and up depending on size and complexity, with larger projects billed as a percentage of construction cost. Designers generally run lower because their scope is narrower.

What's the difference between ASLA membership and a state license? A state license is the legal credential that lets someone practice and stamp drawings. Membership in the American Society of Landscape Architects is a professional affiliation that signals continuing engagement and education. Look for both, but the license is the non-negotiable one.

How far in advance should I hire one? As early as possible — ideally before you finalize your home's site plan. The most expensive mistakes are the ones discovered after the foundation is in.

Will a landscape architect work with the builder I've already chosen? Yes. A good firm expects to coordinate with your architect, builder, and civil engineer, and prefers to join the team early rather than inherit decisions already locked in.

Do you only work in Spokane and Sandpoint? Our offices are in Spokane and Sandpoint, and our work spans the broader Inland Northwest and Intermountain West — Coeur d'Alene, the Tri-Cities, Eastern Washington, North Idaho, Western Montana, and Eastern Oregon.

Before You Sign

The questions above are not about catching a firm out. They are about making sure the person you hire matches the project you actually have. A licensed landscape architect with regional experience will welcome every one of them, because clear expectations make for better projects on both sides.

If you are weighing a project anywhere in the Inland Northwest and want to talk through what it would take, get in touch — and take a look at our portfolio to see how we have handled sites like yours.

Image: photo by Max Vakhtbovych on Pexels