Most people hire landscape architects in the spring. This is not the ideal time to do so. In the spring everyone wants their garden designed and installed. However, if you hire a landscape architect in the spring, it may take several months to complete the design, and then you are getting into the summer heat when it is not the best time to install the garden. The spring window of opportunity has passed! In addition, designers and installers get overloaded with too much work during the spring season. So, either projects are moved to the fall or simply turned away.
Summer is also not an ideal time to hire a landscape architect for several reasons. One, the summer heat makes it difficult to do any outdoor work. Two, many people go away on vacations during the summer. Although, summer may be a good time to hire a designer to just do design work. That way, by fall, the project is ready to be installed.
I suggest that the best time to hire a landscape architect is in January and February. January and February are the slowest months of the year in terms of landscape design business which makes them the best time to do design work. By starting on the project in January or February, there is ideally enough time to design the project during the winter, and then in the spring, from March through June, the project will be ready to be installed. Installing in the spring is the ideal time since the garden can be enjoyed during the warm season and the garden has time to grow and get established before the next winter.
The second best time to hire a landscape architect is fall since things are slower than in the spring and the summer heat is not a hindrance. Projects can be designed in the fall and installed that fall if smaller, or if larger, can be installed next spring.
Clients tend to forget that landscape architects work all year. Spreading the work out throughout the year is ideal. Landscape architects are available to work all year, and in fact, must work all year since they are operating a business. So, to summarize, I applaud you for hiring a landscape architect, since you will receive a high quality completed project. Secondly, call a landscape architect any time of the year, preferably not in the spring.