Glossary
Landscape Architect Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential landscape architect terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key landscape architect vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in landscape architect training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Accessibility
- Design that works for all abilities.
- Bioswale
- A planted channel that filters runoff.
- Construction documents
- Drawings for building.
- Grading plan
- A plan for shaping land.
- Green infrastructure
- Natural systems that manage water.
- Hardscape
- Paved and built features.
- LARE
- Landscape Architect Registration Examination.
- Master plan
- A long-range plan for a site.
- Native plants
- Plants native to a region.
- Planting plan
- A plan showing plants.
- Punch list
- Final items to fix.
- Rain garden
- A garden that absorbs stormwater.
- Site analysis
- Studying a site’s conditions.
- Specification
- Written requirements.
- Submittal
- Material proposals from contractors.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Landscape Architect practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Landscape Architect training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.