Information

Rick Laughlin, APLD is the owner and principle designer of Laughlin Design Associates, Inc., (LDA) a company that does mostly residential landscape design and exclusive commercial.

Rick is a Certified Professional  member of the APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers), and is founder and past-President of the six-state APLD Inter-Mountain Regional Chapter.

Other Professional Memberships:

Society of Garden Designers, United Kingdom

Garden Writers Association of America

Utah Nursery and Landscape Association

In a continuing effort to enhance his knowledge of the profession, Rick attends APLD conferences, other professional classes/seminars, and travels to gardens in the United States and abroad.  He has a strong college background in horticulture and wildlife.  Rick has been an avid gardener for 35 years and a professional landscape designer for 16 years. As a teenager, he installed gardens in Virginia. Rick grew up in a landscape intensive family, served as college greenhouse caretaker, installed residential and commercial landscapes in Virginia, and then moved to Salt Lake to continue the profession.

LDA has designed and installed projects in Park City, North Carolina, Idaho and Utah.  Notable projects include Marquee Restaurant, (now Ruby Tuesdays) Park City, Parkview Plaza, Sugarhouse, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, and numerous residences in Salt Lake City and outlying areas.  We work with a wide range of garden styles to suit your needs.

The design process is a systematic, problem solving procedure the landscape designer applies to a wide variety of design situations. Its application varies based on the design situation. In any given design application, the designer inventories and analyzes site and client data into a functional design program that offers the best alternative. Designer evaluates the site as a whole to develop a unified design that repeats forms and materials. This results in a functional, useful, visually appealing plan.

  1. Phase 1-Design Consultation A) Initial ideas and site walk-around, discuss design area problems and potentials.

     

  2. Phase 2-Survey A) Measure property, create a scaled base plan.

     

  3. Phase 3-Site Inventory A) Photograph design areas, record site elements and key views.

     

  4. Phase 4-Site Analysis A) Evaluate existing and proposed site elements as they relate to proposed design, develop functional diagrams.

     

  5. Phase 5-Conceptual Design A) Converts functional diagrams into outdoor spaces/rooms that have specific shape and form, review plan with Owner.
                                                   B) Provides Owner opportunity to offer feedback on the design.

     

  6. Phase 6-On-Site Verification A) Verify conceptual design by measuring and marking plan on the ground to ensure it will work.

     

  7. Phase 7-Master Plan A) Revise conceptual design based on Owner input.
                                        B) Shows specific plants, plant tables, hardscape elements, and installation notes; includes two (2) copies for Owner.

     

  8. Phase 8-Implementation Preparation A) Prepare for construction and installation with supporting notes, locating contractor(s), and site implementation meetings.
     

Construction Consulting Services: 

As a consultant on the landscape implementation the landscape designer consults with the owner and contractor(s) to ensure the design intent is maintained throughout the project. The designer is a valuable asset to the owner with his experience in the construction process coupled with his skill in coordinating the process to produce an efficient, high quality project. During a typical design implementation, unforeseen questions and problems arise that require the designer's attention. Changes to the design are necessitated by site conditions encountered during the implementation.

Design elements never appear on the ground as they do in the landscape plan: perspective distorts their appearance from different viewing angels. On-site adjustments need to be made! This involves frequent on-site visits by the designer to mark out key lines, borders, structure locations, and placement of key landscape elements. Mistakes made during this project phase are magnified in subsequent phases. As garden elements are brought on site, each one is placed and this affects the overall balance of the composition. Frequently, the designer will reset rocks or plants that have already been positioned in order to achieve a better overall balance.

The contractors I use are good at their trades, but they are not designers. I consistently communicate the design intent to the contractor(s). Throughout the implementation, I look for mistakes and correct them. Since the landscape designer has a thorough understanding of the owner's needs, he adds value to the project and gives the owner peace of mind.

APLD Professional Certification

Project Addresses
Biography
Design Process
Links

Recent Publications
Article: On the Dry Side

APLD June Member of the Month

Featured on the Monrovia 2008 garden calendar

Plant/Maintenance Information
Low Water Lawns
Plant Maintenance
Thyme Lawns
Watering Guidelines

Testimonials
Clayson
Becker
Flaherty
Rusho
Metcalf
Progressive
Wright
Patterson
Cross
Rafferty
Liender
Bowler

Rick Laughlin, APLD

Email:  laughlinds@lgcy.com      801.485.8634

"There's a realationship between the value of what we create and what we're paid for creating it."  David Tisherman, 2008


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