Landscaping & Hardscape

An introduction to the landscaping and hardscape trade: what landscape contractors do, reading landscape plans and grading for drainage, building paver patios and retaining walls, planting and irrigation basics, the equipment and materials, the hazards and how to control them, and the licenses, certifications, and career path.

The second landscaping and hardscape course, for the installer who knows the basics and wants to build it right: shooting grades and cutting and filling from the grading plan, piping and outletting stormwater on the lot, subgrade and aggregate base compaction that is tested rather than guessed, segmental retaining walls with geogrid and drainage and the line where an engineer takes over, paver and concrete flatwork to ICPI/CMHA tolerances, irrigation hydraulics, zoning and legal backflow, and the planting specs, warranties, takeoffs and production rates that make the job pay.