About Us

Unique Landscapes that are Down to Earth

Smith+Baker is a complete Landscape Architectural design-build company that transforms everyday outdoor spaces into unique personal retreats.

Smith+Baker was created as a collaborative effort between Eric C. Smith and Justin W. Baker in January of 2005. The intention of the collaboration was to provide an outlet for their creative passion of designing and building unique, residential landscape projects. Over the years, Smith+Baker has been able to expand its service base to provide a wide range of landscape architectural services. The humble beginning of basic landscape renovations has evolved into complete site master planning that can incorporate anything from unique landscapes to elaborate outdoor kitchen and pool design projects. Smith+Baker is a company that was founded on hard work, dedication and integrity. The company has grown by leaps and bounds by focusing on our core values, but most of all, by the kind words of our satisfied customers that continue to refer Smith+Baker to their friends and families.

Read what our clients are saying.

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Our Team

Eric C. Smith, RLA

Owner, Landscape Architect

Eric is licensed landscape architect with a Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. Eric is a Baton Rouge local, growing up in what was then, the small town of Central. While growing up, Eric was exposed to several job markets including agriculture, residential construction, lawn care and landscaping. After graduation, Eric spent some time in Houston, Texas working with Gillman-Rose Landscape Architects focusing on high-end residential landscape design/build projects. The high-end market of Houston allowed Eric to expand his creativity by working on projects with no limit on the design or budget. The experience Eric has gained throughout the years, allows him to stay grounded and meet budget needs while maximizing every dollar invested with the most creative solutions for each project. In his role as co-owner, he focuses on customer relations, sales, and hardscape design.

Justin W. Baker, RLA

Owner, Landscape Architect

Justin is a licensed landscape architect with Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. Justin grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina with a passion for golf and LSU football. With family roots based in Monroe, Louisiana, Justin made many trips to LSU to cheer on the Tigers. His love of LSU led him there for his college years. After Graduating from LSU, Justin worked for Edward D. Stone Jr. and Associates (EDSA) out of Baltimore, Maryland on a wide variety of community planning and urban design projects. Justin, again, returned to Louisiana to co-found Smith+Baker. In his role as co-owner, he focuses on detailed designs, design estimating, and project management. Justin is also a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Landscape Architecture’s professional society.

Caity Pinto

Office Administrator

Caity is vital member of the Smith+Baker family. She joined the firm in January of 2014 and has been an integral part of our growth and success. Originally a resident of Slidell, Caity spent some time between Louisiana and Arkansas while caring for her mother who was ill. Her mother lost her battle with Breast Cancer in 2008 and Caity returned to Louisiana. With a broad history of work experience from medical coding/billing to office management of a printing company, Caity had the skillset to become a major contributor to the success of Smith+Baker. As office administrator, she wears many hats. Caity operates as our office manager, bookkeeper, customer relations manager, HR department, and receptionist. She truly loves interacting with our customers and employees. Our core values are expressed through Caity with everything she is involved in and we are truly blessed to have her as a part of our team.

Bart Broome

Superintendent of Operations

Bart joined the Smith+Baker team in 2018. He now oversees all the operations within the company to ensure premium client satisfaction. His main focus is quality control for the maintenance department but he also lends a hand on the install side. His vast knowledge of horticulture and irrigation play a very important role in the Smith+Baker culture. Bart is a Baton Rouge native who attended Catholic high. He is married with three beautiful girls that he coaches in several sport related activities.

Vision

To be recognized as the Capital City’s most trustworthy Landscape Architecture, design/build firm.

Mission

To provide functional outdoor solutions that are unique to each customer while continually establishing ourselves as the most trustworthy design/build firm in and around the Capital City area.

Core Values

  1. Integrity – having strong moral principles and striving to always do what is right.
  2. Quality – The effort put into a creative design deserves nothing less than the best implementation.
  3. Teamwork – Internal support throughout our staff to accomplish the task at hand.
  4. Commitment – a dedication to always improve and provide the best service for our customers.

What sets us apart?

Our Design Staff:

Many customers are unaware of the benefits of working with a licensed landscape architect. Our owners are both graduates of Louisiana State University’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. As landscape architects, they are trained in “spacial” development, the same as architects and interior designers. Every good design comes down to how the space will be used and how well it functions when in use. Good design truly embodies a solution for how the space will be used, whether large or small.

Our Production Staff:

The standards we have for our staff at Smith+Baker are very rare to find in our industry. By enforcing pre-employment/random drug screenings, as well as criminal background checks, we provide a secure and safe work environment for our employees and customers. Our crews are in uniform. Smoking on the job, loud music and foul language are not permitted.

What Our Clients Are Saying

Testimonial

Smith and Baker solved our patio drainage problems and worked closely with us to develop a lovely landscape that has garnered many compliments from friends and neighbors. They were highly attentive to our desires regarding the landscape. Their crew and subcontractors were friendly, efficient, and neat. They were there when scheduled or let us know if they could not be. They were a pleasure to work with.

A. Maverick
Testimonial

Before we called Smith & Baker, our yard looked like a swamp and was unusable for days after a hard rain. Eric & Justin created an awesome drainage plan and installed it quickly. Everyone kept us informed and up-to-date throughout the entire installation process. Eric & Justin were always easy to reach and always available to answer any of our questions. Now, we are so happy to have a beautiful green yard and not a muddy mess! Smith & Baker’s work is top-notch, and we will definitely be using them again for future projects. These guys are great!

K. Gaspard
Testimonial

I hired Smith and Baker to put in some drainage in my backyard, near my pool. It flooded every time it rained and my back patio was a muddy mess a lot of the time. Smith and Baker created a drainage system to re-route the water into a drain in our front yard. They were in and out in 2 days and we haven’t had any flooding problems since (this was 3 years ago). They were very professional, speedy and efficient. I’d recommend them to anyone!

K. Gary