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So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business

By Love Albrecht Howard

Every day talented and passionate gardeners think to themselves, "There must be a way to turn this into a career." So You Want to Be a Garden Designer helps them turn that dream into reality by providing the practical, step-by-step information every budding designer needs to develop and nurture a thriving garden design business. A successful, self-made garden designer herself, Love Albrecht Howard conveys not only the basic skills required for the profession, but also the crucial details that can mean the difference between success and failure.

Among the many questions she explores with warmth, humor, and a big dose of reality are: What do I need to learn? How do I tackle fences, stairs, decks, and other construction projects? How can I avoid using chemicals? What's the best way to deal with challenging personalities?

With extensive photographs, practical drawings, and clearheaded advice, So You Want to Be a Garden Designer is the comprehensive manual that all garden designers will wish they'd had from the start.

Filed under: garden design, new books, instructional, professional, reference

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 424 pp.
Book dimensions: 6 x 9 in. (230 x 150 mm.)
Images: 32 color photos, 85 b/w photos, 11 b/w line drawings
ISBN-10: 0881929042
ISBN-13: 9780881929041

Media reviews

"The garden design profession appears to be expanding, as many self-taught gardeners are entering the field. ... [Howard's] personal story enlivens the writing and illuminates many subtle yet essential aspects of the profession. Readers who are considering taking the leap will appreciate Howard's guidance and encouragement."

—Alice Joyce, Booklist

About the author

Love Albrecht Howard

Love Albrecht Howard has owned her landscape and garden design business since 1994. Her design work has been featured in national magazines and on the HGTV and DIY cable networks and she has taught local adult education classes in gardening as well as chemical-free lawn and land care.