mainstreetlawn
What a Landscape Designer Can Do that AI Can’t
The advances we have seen in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have given all of us access to what seems to be unlimited information and expertise. With programs like ChatGPT, anyone with online access can simply upload a photo, provide a few basic instructions, and create landscape design plans. While you will still need to hire actual people (for now anyway) to implement your AI design, do you actually need a real landscape designer to create the plan? We have outlined a few key areas below that highlight why a human landscape designer is beneficial and necessary.
Soil and Terrain Characteristics
While all yards share common ground characteristics, there are countless soil and terrain characteristics to consider that are unique to the region where you live and your specific yard. While AI can capture a few of these, having a human landscape designer will be essential to create an effective and sustainable landscape plan. A landscape designer who works in your area will have knowledge about your soil type and will do a site visit and examine the terrain. This on-site and in-person visit is important to understand which plants and materials are best for your property based on your soil type, how your specific soil will absorb water, and how the terrain will move water to ensure proper yard drainage. With this type of information, a designer can create a plan that caters to your specific soil conditions and works with your unique terrain.
Light Conditions (sun, shade, and microclimates)
Knowing the light conditions throughout your landscape is vital information. These conditions will impact almost all material and plant choices when developing a landscaping plan. For example, an area with full sun will require specific plants and may benefit from an overhead structure to provide more shade, while an area with too much shade may not sustain plants or grass at all. While AI can place your landscape accurately on a map and determine basic sun patterns, it cannot precisely determine the sun and shade throughout your yard. A landscape designer will be able to see how neighboring homes, nearby structures, and surrounding trees impact your specific light conditions and adjust your design plans accordingly.
Plant Knowledge
Understanding plants is probably the most important reason to hire a human landscape designer. When making a plant recommendation for you, AI knows to look at the type of plant as well as the hardiness zone for your area. Unfortunately, just because a plant has the right hardiness for our zone doesn’t mean it will actually live here. For example, an Azalea is hardy between zones 6 and 9, so AI would not hesitate to recommend planting an Azalea in North Texas, where we sit in zone 8. However, a human landscape designer with knowledge of our area would never recommend planting an Azalea here. A landscape designer would know that Azaleas need acidic soil, and, unless highly amended, our soil will simply not support the long-term viability of an Azalea. Having local knowledge from someone who has studied and watched specific plant types thrive and fail over the years is essential when recommending plants.
When considering using AI for your landscape design, we would strongly recommend trying it out before you contact a landscaping company. Upload a photo and experiment with ideas to help uncover what you really like or don’t like. Then take this information to a landscape design company and use it to help them understand your overall objective for the design. This is a wonderful way to use AI in conjunction with a designer and achieve the best possible plan for your unique property and landscape.
Share this post
© 2026 · Main Street Lawn Care and Landscaping, LLC