I love a good garden project but after spending too much money on plants that don’t work (or worse, just plain die), I’m stumped and frustrated at the lack of design in my yard. Designing a fixed indoor space is one thing, planning a garden that will continually grow and change (and is subject to weather) is quite another. Sometimes even a true DIY’er could use some professional direction.
If you consider yourself a novice, or maybe you just don’t have time, using a professional landscape designer may be just what your outdoor space needs. But if you’re concerned with cost want to do the landscaping work yourself, consider the online resources available to you. There are plenty of inspiration sites like Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset Magazine or Life On The Balcony that can give you ideas and suggestions. But there are also landscape designers that will create a custom plan or vision for your space, complete with a list of plants, trees or edibles that will work best in your space. It’s a perfect combination of getting the garden of your dreams yet being able to do the work yourself over time and within your budget.
Last week I wrote about Dot 2 Dot Gardens, a custom landscape design shop that works with clients online. Below are some additional professional resources that offer various fee structures and scope of work. All will work with your unique space and ideas and draw up a plan of action for your yard.
Big Dipper Landscaping: Simply submit digital photos and your garden style preference. They will present you with a telephone consultation, a detailed landscape plan and a complete plant list. There are also packages for outdoor lighting, swimming pool and irrigation plans. Another great design offered is their digitally enhanced landscape design. For as little as $50.00, they will take one of your digital images of your yard and using state of the art computer illustration, re-landscape your image to show you how the plants will look. It’s a virtual before and after of your yard.
Web Landscape Design Ideas: Lawrence Hoyle, the owner of this company, has been a landscape designer for 46 years. Forgive the very lengthy page and scroll to the very bottom where you’ll see various pricing levels for this custom design company. Provide as many photos as you can, locations of existing structures or trees and an idea of what you’re looking for. They will draw up a plan for your yard and give you free email follow-up for the following 12 months. This company also offers outdoor lighting and irrigation plans as well.
Bloom Garden Design: This firm provides online planning based on your personal garden needs and wants. They charge $45.00 per hour.
Image credit: Dot 2 Dot Gardens Newlywed Garden Design: $125.00
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Any garden designer who doesn't study the site to see sun/shade patterns, soil type and other factors is not worth spending any money on.
A good observation I learned from studying landscape design in school is to survey the nursery you're at. If it's a reputable one, the plants will be laid out where they do best in...shade plants in shade section, sunny plants in the sunny section, usually. And ask your nurseryperson for advice on what to grow.
And be realistic about your garden expectations, i.e. if you really have the time and interest. If you don't like to garden, buying high maintenance plants doesn't make sense. Start small and build from your experiences and mistakes. Have fun too!
finding the right plants that grow in your soil and amount of light is kind of hard...especially if your soil is mostly clay or sand...it not a bad idea to take a good survey of your yard before submitting your ideas to a website/designer online..be sure to know exactly what they are able to do for you and what sorts of guarantee they offer...
maureen
I just had a landscaper come and do my backyard, and holy crap was it worth every single penny. It was expensive (4 grand for softscaping, irrigation and lighting) but man was my garden a loosing battle with weeds, excess concrete and raccoon poo. Also, the plants I had picked out was not gelling. I don't have a bad eye for stuff, but gardening a bit at a time is hard and takes a solid knowledge of plants and a solid long term plan. Now It's like I have a new room to hang out in.
I think garden design is very difficult to do without visiting the site. As someone who designs buildings, interiors and landscapes, I would say that the landscape design is the hardest to do without seeing in person. Also, I would definitely want to hire someone who worked in my region. Plants that thrive in one part of the country or region make not work in another even if they are technically in same zone. Also local designers will know the best places to purchase the plants needed (and can often track down hard to find plants). Most designers will gladly work hourly or for a reasonable fee and give you an overall plan. Then you can choose to implement it yourself over time or have them complete it for you. I am working with a client now that is doing most of the work herself:
http://www.statelykitsch.com/category/garden-design/stacey-garden/
We have developed a plan that will probably take 5 years or more to finish, but by breaking the site down the overall shapes, features and larger plants, the project now can be worked on in manageable increments as money and time allows. This also means that she doesn't waste time and money putting things where they shouldn't go or won't do well.
Living in a city, I'd love to see a post dedicated solely to landscaping city yards. I looked at all the links in this post and they're all dedicated to large suburban properties. They don't help me at all :(
It is impossible to correctly assess a site without seeing it firsthand. You need proper measurements, an understanding of the soil, and of the environment that surrounds the site.
You cannot send pictures to someone and ask them to design something, it does not work that way. Companies who do this are a joke, they do not understand the value of their product.
Home owners who need help with their property should meet with a landscape designer or landscape architect and discuss the site.
YES! We have a small urban yard and despite the fact that I am very confident in my interior design skills - even exterior house design - I am strangely at a loss for landscaping. To make matters worse, our current landscaping is almost exclusively very evil, thorny, overgrown barberry bushes. And my husband is perhaps the only person I know who doesn't really like flowers. I'm not even a fan of grass. This is gonna be a tough one...!
@EatMoreFruit and HeidiS
Thanks!
With $50.00 you can get a lovely plan to hang in you kitchen as decoration. Not a garden that will work and survive trough the seasons and the years.
In garden design you have to take in to consideration climate, soil, plant combinations, microclimate/exposition, changing aspect of the plants through the seasons, growth of the plants through the years, genius loci, desired functionalities, available maintenance (time and skills) AND design.
You don't get that with 50 bucks.