Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Costa.
Liz, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started landscaping as a summer job in Woods Hole at 14 years old. I worked on amazing properties, primarily on Penzance Point. These were million dollar homes with professionally designed landscapes. I did this every summer during high school. After high school, I decided to go to UMass Amherst where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture. I graduated in 2008 and landed my first job at a landscape construction company; the great recession hit, and I was laid off 2 months later. After a year of serving sushi in Boston and never landing a job in a Landscape Architecture firm, I decided to go back to my roots. I moved back to the Cape, and applied to every big landscape company out there – unfortunately, they needed laborers more than designers. I laced up my boots again, and went back out into the field.
Over the course of 6 years, I went from laborer, to foreman, to assistant manager, to Account Manager, and then started my own business. I became a MA Certified Landscape Professional (MCLP), a MA Licensed Pesticide Applicator, and certified in Invasive Plant Management. After a year of running a landscape business, I made a lot of great contacts along the way, and so I decided to get back to the original goal of being a designer. I sold off my equipment and accounts, and put my focus back onto landscape design.
So here I am. It wasn’t the path I had planned, but they all ended up being incredibly valuable experiences. I’m a better designer because of my intimate knowledge of the construction, maintenance and design process. I know what plants and materials are successful in the long run, how to make a design more affordable by taking into consideration the amount of maintenance – pruning, pesticides, watering, fertilizers – certain plants will require over time, and the durability of hardscape and construction materials. I’ve gotten a first-hand look at what happens to the landscape AFTER it has been designed and installed, and so I can prevent certain negative outcomes. My knowledge provides designs with a better ROI.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been challenges along the way. Working in a male-dominated profession can be tough at times. Not every guy likes the idea of having a chick to work with. Most have been very respectful, but I’ve encountered my fair share of sexism, especially as I became successful and started to move up in a company. I was recognized repeatedly for my dedication to my job, to expanding my knowledge of the industry, and my contributions to a company in an effort to make us more profitable. But of course, some preferred to believe, and vocalize, that my accolades came from “getting on my knees” instead of acknowledging my hard work.
As a business owner, I found it difficult for potential clients, men AND women, to understand that my business wasn’t offering “girl” services – many times I was met with the “oh, so you plant flowers.” Yes and no. I CAN plant flowers, but I can also provide hardscape, site work, planting installations and maintenance services. I may be the owner, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a capable team. I’m not out there to prove that “girls can do it!” I’m out there to utilize my years of experience, professionally certified knowledge, and formal education to provided quality services. I’m a chick running the show, but more importantly, I’m a qualified individual. I wish the sexism didn’t exist, and I, by no means, don’t feel the failures I’ve experienced are because of it. But when I look back on some of the obstacles I’ve come across, sexism played a roll.
The other struggle is differentiating myself. Although I have a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture, I’m not a Licensed Landscape Architect. I’m a landscape designer. However, that is a loosely defined term. Literally anybody can call themselves a landscape designer and A LOT of them are terrible; there’s a plethora of “designers” with a lack of plant knowledge, lack of construction knowledge, lack of formal design education, and way too confident. It makes it harder for me to gain the trust of a contractor or homeowner when they’ve worked with a “landscape designer” in the past, only to have the design fail quickly. That’s why I try to reiterate and underline in bold italicized my qualifications. There are so many integral components to a success landscape design (or any design, for that matter), and if you don’t know what those components are, you really shouldn’t call yourself a designer.
So yeah, ignorance, sexism and crappy “landscape designers” are my obstacles.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Land Care Company – what should we know?
The Land Care Company provides landscape design services. Landscape design is all about creating outdoor spaces; it’s an extension of your home, laid out with its own type of “rooms”, “doorways” and “corridors”. A successful landscape design comes from putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together so that they fit for the long haul. The site, architecture of the house, owner’s needs, restrictions, budget, likes and dislikes, use of the spaces and circulation in and out of them, durability of materials, planting maintenance requirements, they all need to come together.
The different types of landscape design services I provide range from a renovation, to a new install, or a master plan, a perennial garden or Conservation mitigation layouts. Recently, my projects have been focused on Conservation Mitigation layouts and residential renovations. The Conservation Mitigation layouts are necessary for those looking to build within the boundaries of sensitive landscapes defined as “resource areas”, these areas are typically waterfront homes that lie within wetland and ocean buffers, velocity zones, and nesting areas of sensitive species of animals. A landscape plan comprised of a certain number of approved native species, installed with specific spacing, height, and maintenance requirements, needs to be presented and approved by the local Conservation Commission before construction of any kind can begin if that construction falls within the boundaries of an identified “resource area”. The Cape is all about the waterfront properties, so needless to say, that type of work keeps me busy.
Next on the list is landscape renovations. Most properties, large and small, were not professionally designed, or really even designed, for that matter. Over time, plants get too big for the space they occupy, the property is used differently since the kids are all grown and out of the house, there’s a few more bucks to play with out in the yard, and the owners are building an addition to the house, so why not fix up the yard. These are my favorite. It’s basically a property makeover and can be less expensive than a whole new design; you use as much of the existing plants and materials as you can, incorporate some new ones, maybe add a small patio, work in some raised beds or what have you and BAM, it’s like a whole new yard.
As a company, I’m most proud of the integrity of my work – I want to give you the best design for YOU. I want it to have all the things you want, not what I want, but what you want, and more importantly, the things you need; you don’t know what you don’t know, so I always inform my clients so that they can make educated decisions for their property. I will not “yes” you to death. Example. You love roses, just LOVE the look of roses, always wanted roses, and roses are the best. OK, we can work some roses into the design to give you what you want BUT, x, y and z are what will be required in order to maintain those roses on this property because only a, b and c types of roses will thrive here. So, knowing that, do you still want roses? What you want are roses, but what you NEED is a blooming shrub with fat pink blooms that likes full sun and well-drained soil with limited pests and low fertilization requirements. Now THAT is the difference between giving a client what they want and what they need. In the long-haul, they’ll save money, time and headaches by incorporating the right components into their landscape and lifestyle.
What sets me apart is my unique combination of education and experience. I think a lot of Landscape Architects haven’t spent much time working on a wide variety of landscapes designed by a wide variety of designers. Maybe they work in their own yards, but that doesn’t equate to 17 years of landscape contracting experience. They may not have the same insight as to how the landscape has changed. The flaws, success and failures of the originally installed design. So how can they know what needs to be improved upon? And a lot of landscape designers don’t have a formal education. Maybe they’ve read all sorts of books about perennials, and have their own veggie gardens, and love making annual flower boxes, but that does not equate to 4 years of formal education in design. I’m different because of my involvement and experience in the landscape.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance. The plan rarely goes to plan, but I’ve learned to be flexible and honest with myself. I went back and forth a number of times about whether I even wanted to stay anywhere near this industry after all these years. I’ve put in time, energy, money, and heart, and sometimes I’ve just felt beat up and defeated in this process. But whenever I actually get the chance to sit down and work on a design, I love it. And I’m good at it. And I have to remember, not everyone is gonna love what you do, not everyone is gonna support you and not everything is gonna go to plan, but if you love what you’re doing, then push ahead.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheLandCareCo.com
- Phone: 7743923973
- Email: liz@TheLandCareCo.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/landcareco2540/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheLandCareCo/
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