How to prepare for a landscape design

You’ve bought a house or you’ve decided recently that this is the year you are going to redesign your landscaping! But aside from contacting a landscape designer, what else do you need to do? What can you expect?

It is important to be prepared. A consultation will typically last at least an hour and involve taking pictures of your yard for our designer to put the design together electronically.

First, make a list. Some great questions to answer on this list are:

1. What is the main use for this space? Looks? Entertaining? Living space for your family? How do you plan to enjoy this space?
2. What size space do you need to use? If you are using it to entertain, how many people do you expect to entertain at once? If it’s for only family use, how large is your family? Will you want a nice intimate space for two or a lot of seating for a large family?
3. Do you want to include any functionality in this space? Play area, vegetable garden, BBQ space, etc.
4. What level of maintenance do you want? Some people prefer something that is low maintenance while others like to spend time working in the yard. Knowing how much time and effort you will have available for your yard will help the designer choose the best plants for the space.
5. What is the light pattern in the space? Afternoon sun? Filtered sunlight? Anything 6 or more hours of direct sunlight is considered to be full sun while 4-6 hours is considered part-sun or part-shade.
6. What is your budget? This can be a hard question to answer if you’ve never renovated a landscape before. Landscape installations range dramatically in price so having an idea of a realistic budget range will be helpful.
7. Do you have a specific style in mind? This is a great chance to share information about personal styles or insight and also a good time to show any pictures or magazines of designs that resonate with you.

Designing your space should be fun! Feel free to ask your designer any questions that you have during your consultation. The designer wants you to enjoy the space and be happy with the results!