Landscape design is more than plants and patios. It’s where ecology, art, architecture, and community converge. The Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) is square in the center of this convergence. APLD News illuminates the world of certified professionals, sustainable practices, design awards, education programs, and environmental stewardship. Designer, homeowner, educator, or industry watcher, APLD News provides concise insight into trends and innovations defining contemporary landscape design.
What Is APLD?
APLD started in 1989 with a purpose of expanding landscape design as a profession and achieving recognition of skilled designers, specifically through its Certified Professional Landscape Designer (CPLD) credential. It stands out from other groups in being member-driven, certification-focused, and environmentally oriented—providing both legitimacy and camaraderie to designers of outdoor space.
With over 1,300 members worldwide, APLD is structured in state and regional chapters, quarterly publications, a global awards program, and an adamant advocacy of environmentally responsible practices.
What APLD News Covers
APLD News covers five topics of interest:
- Awards & Recognition
- Sustainability Initiatives
- Professional Development & Certification
- Chapter News & Events
- Industry Trend Reports
Each section places a premium on the applied work, success, and evolving values of the landscape design profession.
Award Highlights in APLD News
APLD’s International Landscape Design Awards is among the industry recognized programs. Rhode Island’s Katherine Field was voted Landscape Designer of the Year for her residential design Fen’s Edge in the 2024 awards, which impressed judges with emotional connection and sensitive use of planting and materials.
Best of Show awards were given to California’s Westside Diablo team for an elegant, cohesive design that resolved a difficult site in a creative manner. Judges adored the natives layered over walkways integrated into space.
Not only do these awards honor design excellence, they elevate the status of landscape designers as part of architectural and environmental discussion.
Sustainability in the Limelight: Healthy Pots, Healthy Planet
APLD’s best sustainability program is its Healthy Pots, Healthy Planet campaign. The program brings the environmental impact of plastic nursery pots to the forefront. It encourages designers, nurseries, and consumers to adopt more sustainable choices. They’ve conducted a survey, released statistics, and made calls for commitments across the industry. To plant using biodegradable or reusable pots.
The initiative supports APLD’s overall climate efforts, biodiversity stewardship, energy efficiency, invasive species control, and donating data to help shape sustainable design protocols like SITES™.
Grassroots efforts like this are evidence that APLD isn’t just talking about sustainability, it’s reshaping purchasing and design practices.
Professional Development & Certification News
APLD’s CPLD certification is the sole peer-reviewed landscape design professional program. Candidates send in project portfolios from the field that are working, are peer-reviewed within their local area, and agree to continuing education. Not even 20% of members have achieved this level, it demonstrates dedication, ability, and a higher sense of professional integrity.
APLD News also regularly refreshes certification prep courses, webinars, continuing education, and call-outs for National Collegiate Landscape Competition activities. These allow members to stay current on industry norms and regulations.
Chapter Updates & Regional Insights
Local chapters, like California, Oregon, DC‑MD‑VA, Washington State, and a few others, share regionally relevant news. The California chapter, for instance, publishes California Landscape Design magazine four times yearly, with features on edible landscaping and fire-resistant gardens. A recent issue extolled the virtues of edible garden design as a lovely and ecofriendly choice.
The Oregon chapter encourages climate-smart design, community involvement, and member-driven horticultural activities since the chapter was established in 2003.
DC-MD-VA and Washington chapters organize local networking, educational, and outreach activities within their regions.
APLD News features these local happenings, conferences, seminars, and member achievements.
It bridges people together despite enormous distances.
Trend Reports & Industry Perspectives
APLD News continues to report on trends impacting the profession, the application of AI design software on landscape design, regenerative planting systems, fire-wise planning, native plant policy, and biodiversity projects. One study by an AIGC researcher in 2024 looked into the growing adoption of AI-generated content in landscape architecture, from concept work right through to optimization of plant choice.
APLD anticipates these developments and integrates them into professional development and resources.
Year-end reviews by APLD highlight flagship projects, award winners, sustainability accomplishments, and leading policy issues. Yearbooks provide a snapshot of the association’s influence and strategic focus.
Why APLD News Matters
APLD News does not just report the news, it elevates the profession as a whole. By reaffirming standards of certification, promoting environmental stewardship, and showcasing real projects, it puts landscape designers on a platform where they are not garden decorators but ecological artists and technical professionals.
For residents seeking a designer, these challenges outline why employing a CPLD-certified designer is relevant. To environmentalists and policymakers, APLD News delivers expert information and encouraging examples of sustainable design in action.
International Reach and Opportunities for Learning
APLD News also delights in advertising their international conferences in advance—like the San Diego 2025 conference on biodiversity and ecosystem-based design. These conferences include presentations on indigenous planting systems, habitat incorporation, and sustainable products, allowing designers to develop their practice and network globally.
Durable GreenBed
Mentoring the Next Generation
APLD News frequently features student engagement, most notably in college competition. By means of mentorship and design laboratories, APLD guarantees the next generation of designers enters the profession with purpose, ethics, and creativity.
Advocacy and Legislative Updates
Members also routinely face state or local regulations requiring professional credentials—but occasionally get landscape designers mixed up with licensed landscape architects. APLD News helps monitor legislation, inform officials, and promote understanding of the distinct role landscape designers have.
Sustainability in Practice
APLD News addresses incorporating sustainable practices, everything from soil health procedures and composting to water-sensitive planting and invasive species control. Healthy Pots is just one; additional subjects discussed include compostable pots, where to find native seed sources, and low-impact irrigation procedures.
Saluting Projects That Inspire
Each award-winning landscape in APLD News contains more than photos, they are followed by design stories, material choices, engineering design solutions, and sustainability concerns. The stories then act as showcases on what can be done with beauty, functionality, and sustainability.
What Readers Gain from Reading APLD News
- Breakthrough design and sustainability news
- Certification and continuing education information
- Advocacy tools, policy debate invitation, and licensing clarification
- Designer and homeowner inspiration to excellence
- Chapter news, networking, and community connection
APLD News is a testimony to a profession in progress, one that honors the past but points toward a greener future. With awards, advocacy, events, and green efforts, it speaks for the individual designer while raising global standards of design.
From discovering a certified designer, to moving forward sustainable policy, to designing gardens that impact, APLD News educates, unites, and empowers.
Stay informed, stay current, and let APLD News be your guide through the continually changing world of professional landscape design.
