Brown perhaps touches the earth before spring (10)

I believe the answer is:
landscaper
'brown perhaps touches' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.
'earth before spring' is the wordplay.
'earth before' becomes 'lands' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'spring' becomes 'caper' (capering is a kind of springing).
'lands'+'caper'='LANDSCAPER'
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution?
Install my app