If you have grand designs for your garden or backyard, a landscape designer can help, offering additional inspiration and advice where you need it. In addition to idea generation and conceptual design, landscape designers also have the knowledge and experience to help the vision for your outdoor space blossom and grow.
Landscape designers are skilled in dealing with the fine details of a project. Knowing the right questions to ask in consultation with your designer can help you achieve your gardening goals and get the most out of working together.
While it’s good to support up-and-coming businesses, you may want to work with a well-established company with extensive experience and acquired knowledge (like Malone’s Landscape, which has been in the business for over three decades).
Ask about credentials or memberships from recognized organizations, as these are a good indicator of work being up to date with industry standards. Most importantly, ask to see their portfolio as this can help you to give you a sense of their style of work.
While it can be difficult to tell exactly how long a project is likely to take, an experienced landscape designer should be able to offer an estimate in terms of timescale, factoring in any unexpected challenges along the way.
Asking your landscape designer how they handled such challenges in previous projects can also be useful, in addition to how they handle project management overall including work with other contractors and tradespeople involved.
It’s important to establish what your communication preferences are throughout the project, as well as the frequency of updates. This way, you and the designer can offer the right amount of input needed to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
A written contract helps to outline some of these expectations ahead of time. This should include details such as a detailed project timeline and how best to resolve any potential disputes or other challenges in case they arise.
Payment schedule, material costs, and pricing should be included in the contract (remember to ask about consultation fees as well). Discussing these details can help to make sure that cost estimates remain on target, helping you to stay within budget.
Fee structures may vary, so find out whether this is hourly, by design fee, or whether they charge for a percentage of the total project. It’s also worth asking about liability and workers’ insurance to ensure that you are covered throughout the project.
In consultation, ask what the number of acceptable revisions would be for the project. It’s also a good idea to ask about warranties for materials and workmanship, as this may help to cover costs after the project is completed.
In terms of ongoing maintenance, ask when the garden is likely to grow in, as plants such as ground covers and ornamental grasses can be used to fill the space as you wait for larger, more expensive plants such as shrubs and trees to develop.
In some cases, your designer may also be able to arrange for assistance with ongoing landscape maintenance, but from the start, they can also help you find a realistic way to achieve your goals in a way that balances style with sustainability.
