These shrubs are completely overgrown and nasty! Why is water getting into my basement at that corner of the house? There is absolutely no curb appeal here. I can’t look at this yard anymore! How much does landscaping cost? I don’t want to deal with another unreliable contractor. Where do I even start?!?
It can be very frustrating when you realize that you simply work too hard to live with a problem landscape, but you just aren’t sure what to do!
Many homeowners push off problem landscape until it is so overwhelming that they have to do something. Problems can be compounded over time until a complete overhaul is required in order to save the home’s appeal and the homeowner’s sanity. Other times the issue is a simple fix but has been put off due to lack of knowledge, time, and budget. Much valuable time can be consumed by meeting multiple contractors who all say different things, getting multiple estimates in different price ranges, and still being unsure of what steps are the best for you and your home.
This is where a professional landscape designer can help to save your sanity. Most professional designers will offer a complimentary initial consultation in order to meet you at your home and really get a feel for the site and your needs, wants, hopes, dreams, and budget. This consultation is vital for your project and is the foundation as to how the designer can best help you make sense of the problem landscape. It is important to prepare for the consultation and make the best use of your time by considering a few key things. You’ll want to list out your priorities and the “must” fixes. Consider how you want to use the space and be sure to convey the reality of how you plan to take care of your landscape. Think about how long you really plan to stay in your home. What is your high end and low end of your budget? What does your ideal dream landscape look like?
A landscape design plan
A good professional designer will gather all of that important information from you in order to come up with the best solution to your landscaping needs. Depending on the scope of your project, a simple estimate, a sketch plan, or a master landscape plan will need to be completed in order to best illustrate to you, and eventually the install crews, exactly what should happen. Landscape plans vary, but typically run between $300-$600, which is small investment when considering the long term cost of poor design or no design. In the end you need to decide if you can trust your designer to meet your goals, solve your problems, stay within a reasonable budget, and have a great install crew and to come do the actual work.
If you look out your window and see a problem landscape but aren’t sure where to start, give us a call and ask for an initial consultation with our designers. We’d love to help you learn how to solve your problems and start seeing the potential in your landscape!
