A typical day for a landscape architect will also include the creation of planting plans to assist customers in gardening more successfully or to achieve certain aesthetic effects. Design use existing land characteristics or landscaping. Recommend changes to organization's facilities or site conditions that will improve employee satisfaction or operational performance. The hours are typically long, with many architects working seven days a week during peak seasons. This is due to the fact that new projects always begin coming in when the spring thaw causes problems on streets and other public areas. During these early months of the year, when no signs of vegetation are visible outside office building windows, an architecture firm's reputation can be seriously affected by the quality of its design work. As the weather begins to warm up and plants start to grow, they require maintenance to keep them healthy. This is when many landscape architects see more of their work come in over the phone or via email. They may have to wait until the end of the season before they can visit customers' properties to make sure they're happy with the work done so far. Landscape architects usually receive a salary commensurate with other professions with similar requirements and qualifications. However, due to the nature of their job, they often do not make as much as engineers or architects. Most firms are small, with between one and four employees.