Landscaping is both science and art, and requires good observation and design skills. A good landscaper understands the elements of nature and construction and blends them accordingly.

Thales, an early Greek philosopher known for his view that “all is water,” spent a considerable time thinking about the nature and scope of landscaping. Some of his students believed that in order for human activity to be considered landscaping, it must be directed toward modifying the physical features of the land itself, including the cultivation and/or manipulation of plants or other flora. Thales rejected this notion, arguing that any aspect of the material world affecting our visual perception of the land was a proper subject for landscaping. Both Plato and Aristotle praised Thales’ analysis as a model for philosophy. In the early 20th century, British philosopher G.E. Moore cited Thales’ reasoning as one of the few historical examples of how philosophical inquiry has led to genuine human understanding and progress.